Ready For A Remote Career Change? Here Are 13 Work At Home Skills You Can Learn This Year

Think you don’t have any work at home skills? Does a remote career change sound like a dream? It doesn’t have to be. Today, more and more people telecommute. In fact, nearly 18% of global workers are fully remote. This number is expected to rise in the coming years. 

That means, it’s no longer unheard of to transition from lifelong office worker to brand new home office worker. 

But, if you want a quick transition, there are some work at home skills in greater demand than others. Here are 19 niche skills you can use to work remotely in a jiffy.

1. Legal Transcription 

Fun fact: Legal transcription was my very first work at home job. As a legal typist, I listened to recordings — depositions, mostly — and typed them out verbatim. To do this, I used a headset, transcription software, and a foot pedal. 

There are a number of companies that regularly hire legal typists. Often, you don’t need previous legal transcription experience to be considered. However, I HIGHLY recommend some type of training. At the very least, proper training will make you a more efficient typist. And, in the world of transcription, this is big since the quicker you can type, the more you can earn. 

Before you jump all in, check out the free Legal Transcription Course at TranscribeAnywhere. From there, you can determine whether or not legal transcription is one of the right work at home skills for you.

2. General Proofreading

The world is filled with content. On the Internet alone, there are about 1 billion websites. This amounts to a never-ending stream of words that make their way to the worldwide web, every single day. 

Many of these words aren’t published on a whim (granted, some are). Instead, they’re carefully vetted before going live. Part of the vetting process involves proofreaders. 

As a general proofreader, your job is to go over content — blog posts, website copy, ebooks, articles, and more — with a fine-tooth comb. Your objective is to find all the spelling mistakes and grammar errors that were missed during the editing process. And, there’s plenty of work to go around. 

Do you think you have what it takes to get paid to read all day? Sit in on this free webinar for aspiring proofreaders to find out. 

3. Copywriting and Copyediting

The right words can sell. So much so that businesses and brands pay a lot to get their message across just so. Often, this task is outsourced to copywriters and copyeditors. 

A copywriter’s main objective is to craft content that sells. Think of websites, sales pages, product descriptions, and even emails. The messages these relay can persuade you to make a purchase or keep you from buying altogether. 

Good copywriting is one of the work at home skills that can be learned, but you have to love to write. My friend, Phon, is a longtime copywriter and copyeditor who’s made a living with her words. Be sure to check out her FREE masterclass to get an insider’s look into the world of copywriting. 

4. Customer Service

Of all the work at home skills on this list, perhaps the most in demand is customer service. There are no shortage of customer service jobs from home. From Fortune 500 Companies to small startups, all types of businesses embrace virtual call centers. 

Generally speaking, remote customer service pros receive inbound calls via their computer. Calls can range from general questions to billing issues, and everything in between. Really, it depends on the company and their line of work. 

Many customer service jobs from home are entry level. That is, you don’t necessarily need any experience to get started. However, if you want to give your resume a boost, you can always take a super affordable customer service course on Udemy. 

5. General Transcription

General transcription is another entry-level friendly work at home job. If you can type quickly and accurately, you just might be great at general transcription. However, keep in mind, it takes quite a bit of skill to listen to something and type what is being said. To be successful, you need a strong grasp of grammar, the ability to multitask, and quick fingers. 

There are plenty of low-paying general transcription jobs that will take a chance on a newbie. But, if you really want to transition to a work at home career, you’ll need the training to back up better pay. 

TranscribeAnywhere has an amazing and free general transcription course you can sign up for. There, you can learn what it takes to create a successful career typing from home.

6. Medical Transcription

Medical transcription is a much more specialized form of transcription. You will need some type of training in order to be considered for these remote-friendly roles. Often, medical typists deal with complex cases and tricky terminology — that’s where the training comes into play. 

The transcripts you produce as a medical typist become part of a patient’s medical records. So, it’s super important that they’re 100% accurate. And, although you need formal training for this line of remote work, it’s something you can learn relatively quickly and also from home! 

Thanks to Career Step, you can complete the Medical Transcription and Editing program in less than a year and on your own schedule. As a bonus, Career Step works with remote-friendly companies to help place students post graduation. How’s that for a win, win? 

7. Bookkeeper

In the United States, all businesses — no matter how large or small — are required, by law, to maintain bookkeeping records. For many smaller businesses, it doesn’t make sense to have a full-time bookkeeper on staff. Instead, they choose to outsource the work to a virtual bookkeeper. 

Virtual bookkeeping has been named the most profitable of the work at home skills by Entrepreneur. With low overhead costs and plenty of work to go around, it’s pretty easy to see how bookkeeping get this honor. 

As an added bonus, bookkeepers don’t need formal training (unlike accountants). Many bookkeepers learn their trade through on-the-job training or by taking a course.

I recommend Bookkeeper Business Launch as a good starting point for aspiring bookkeepers. There’s a free introduction series you can take to see if bookkeeping is the right work-at-home career change for you. 

8. Facebook Ad Pro

You’re probably on Facebook throughout the day. Businesses and brands are too. They use Facebook to promote products, interact with customers, and even respond to complaints. 

But there’s a side of Facebook you’re probably not too familiar with as a consumer — and that’s Facebook Ads. The Ads platform is a popular way for businesses, bloggers, and brands to get their names and products in front of new customers. This paid-for platform can help driv new leads and sales, but only when done correctly. 

Because it can be tricky, many businesses outsource their Facebook Ads to the professionals. These pros create campaigns and strategies that get ‘likes’ and ‘shares.’ With a little bit of training, you too can become one of these sought-after pros with Facebook Ad knowledge.

A great place to start is Facebook itself. But, you can also check out Facebook Side Hustle to learn the ins and outs of ads on the world’s most popular social networking site. 

9. Virtual Assistant

Another of the work at home skills that are in high demand are administrative ones. I’m talking everything from online research, to calendar management, and even email answering. Honestly, there are no shortages of tasks that can be done by a virtual assistant. 

As a blogger, I too turn to a variety of virtual assistants — or VAs, as they’re called — to help me manage my day to day operation. This includes responding to emails, helping with social media, creating graphics, and doing keyword research. 

If you’re great at getting things done and an expert delegator, you’d probably kill it as a VA. This is one of the work from home career paths that has exploded in recent years, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Head on over to Horkey Handbook if you want to undertake training to become a VA. That way, you can start marketing and selling your services as an administrative pro that works from home! 

10. Graphic Designer

Design is all around us. From the layout of a webpage to the logo on a shampoo bottle, we’re constantly surrounded by design. But good design and bad design are two very different things. And, for businesses and brands, can make the difference in how memorable and successful they are. 

That’s why the design process is often done by a third-party — someone who can objectively look back and lend their eye to the creative process. It goes without saying that graphic design is one of the work at home skills that is both in demand and super lucrative too. 

And, since it made this list, graphic design is also something you can learn in a short amount of time. Thanks to Graphic Design Startup, you can get up and running as a professional graphic designer from home in just a few weeks! 

11. Pinterest Assistant

Pinterest has come a long way from an invite-only, idea-saving app. Today, it is a visual search engine used by millions of men and women every day. 

And because it has such a far-stretching reach, many businesses and brands actively use Pinterest as a way to generate sales and find new customers. But, like all things social media for business, Pinterest can be a big time suck. That’s why many opt to outsource the work to a Pinterest Assistant. 

A Pinterest Assistant can create pinworthy graphics, promoted pins, or new group boards. Often, they are tasked with filling a queue to automate Pinterest activity using a platform like Tailwind. Sound confusing? It’s not! It’s a work at home skill that can be easily learned and lead to a new remote-friendly career in no time. 

Head on over to Become A Pinterest Assistant to learn more about this in-demand career and whether it’s one of the work at home skills you want to develop. 

12. Medical Billing & Coding Pro 

The healthcare industry is booming. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this field is slated to grow 18% in the upcoming years — much faster than the national average. 

Although you don’t typically think of healthcare as being a remote occupation, that has changed in recent years. One such occupation with tons of telecommute options is that of medical coding and billing. 

Medical billing and coding pros assign unique labels to patients’ medical procedures. These codes are eventually used to file insurance claims. This job, in particular, is highly in demand. In fact, a CNBC study found there are far more medical billing and coding jobs than there are professionals to fill them. 

So, if you want to switch gears to a career in healthcare that also lets you work remotely, this is a great option. Keep in mind, you will need to obtain training and certification.

Fortunately, Career Step has a fully online program you can complete quickly and be up and running in about a year’s time. Career Step even works with remote-friendly employers to help you find a telecommute position after you’ve graduated. 

13. Real Estate Assistant 

Realtors are busy. They show properties, track down new leads, and negotiate their way to the closing table. It’s no wonder, then, that these professionals often need an extra set of hands to help them get through the day. That’s where real estate assistants come into play. 

This is on the list of work at home skills you can quickly learn in no time. And, it happens to be a highly in demand as virtual assistants become mainstream. As a virtual real estate assistant you may help respond to emails, gather documents, and keep in touch with home buyers and sellers. 

The best part? You don’t need to be licensed to get started. Instead, head on over to Horkey Handbook to learn more about this telecommute career that you can start learning today. 

Work At Home Skills You Can Learn Quickly 

There you have it — 13 work at home skills you can easily learn. Remember, it’s never too late to learn a new skill. In fact, now is as good a time as any. Remote work is on the rise, and is projected to grow in the coming years. 

And, as a rule of thumb, the more skills you have, the more opportunities you have to earn. That’s why it never hurts to learn as many work at home skills as you can! 

Happily, 

Ashlee

P.S. This post contains affiliate links. Check out my disclosure statement to learn more!