You've got the skills, now find out how to make the switch to one of these 20 jobs best suited for working from home.
Remember when your home was just your home? Your kitchen table had food on it, not folders? Your dining chair didn’t have to provide lumbar support for eight hours a day? Across the globe, the pandemic brought offices into living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms, and that trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Boot the family or the cat off the sofa. It’s your workspace now.
The top 20 work at home jobs
If you’ve got the skills, working from home requires just a laptop and a good internet connection. But not all industries make it possible. We’ve ranked the top 20 based on how easy they are to do remotely, as well as giving you our top tips on how to land the job for yourself.
1. Web Developer
Web development can range from designing websites to building the code that makes them work. If you know how to do it, your skills are in high demand. The sector is expected to grow by 8% over the next decade, with almost every industry depending on it in some way.
It’s a job that really lends itself to the working from home lifestyle. When you’ve got the skills to bring websites to life, it doesn’t matter if you do it in your suit or your pajamas.
Check out all: Web Developer jobs and remote Web Developer jobs
2. IT support
Where would we be without IT support? Probably not on this blog, for a start. They’re the people who keep everything running, fixing big things like brand new system installations through to the more annoying things, like Keith in admin who’s forgotten his password for the third time this month.
It’s a great home working job. You’ll need skills in computer literacy, coding, mathematics and customer services to get in on the act, and probably a whole heap of patience. (No Keith, ‘password123’ isn’t strong enough).
Find all: 183,000 IT jobs and 26,000 work from home IT Support jobs
3. Virtual assistants
The job of a virtual assistant was designed to be done from home. It says it in the name. You could find yourself doing a little bit of everything, for one company or many at the same time.
Daily tasks might involve accountancy, administrative duties or even marketing, all of which can be done wherever you fancy.
Browse all: Virtual Assistant jobs and work from home Virtual Assistant jobs
4. Translators
Translate from your kitchen. Translate from the bath. Translate from the garden shed. So long as you know how to speak and write in two different languages, you can translate from pretty much anywhere.
Courts, hospitals, the police and schools are just some of the places that depend on translators to get their message across, and if you’ve got that certain je ne sais quoi (or ‘I do not know what’ if we were to translate it) you could provide an indispensable service.
Explore all: Translator and Interpreter jobs
5. Counselors
Zoom quizzes got old pretty quickly, but Zoom counseling sessions could be the future. Clients can now dial into sessions, meaning you can offer therapy and advice from the comfort of your home.
You’ll need various qualifications to become a counselor, but one thing you won’t need anymore is the relaxing leather sofa.
See all: Counselor jobs and Counselor work from home jobs
6. Legal assistant
Picture the scene: the Law & Order theme kicks in (it’s called "Dun Dun," if you’re wondering), you put your briefcase down, open it up and reveal the paperwork that will blow the case wide open. You’re a legal assistant, and you could be dealing with anything from criminal cases to copyright claims or corporate legal proceedings.
This job is often at the start of a legal career, and you’ll need qualifications or a law degree to get your foot in the door.
Browse all: Legal Assistant jobs and Remote Legal Assistant jobs
7. Teachers
Hail to the teachers. While many of us had to cope with working with our kids at home throughout lockdown, you guys do this for a living! As schools begin to open up again, there could be opportunities for a blended approach to working, with many universities and colleges continuing to deliver virtual lessons for the time being.
You’ll need teaching qualifications to get started, although higher education values career experience too.
Check out all: Education jobs or the 58,000 work from home Education jobs
8. Banking
Going to the bank no longer means heading out to a big building with marble floors. Now it often means heading online or tapping on an app, which has resulted in many of the jobs in the industry moving to remote.
Finance is packed with work from home opportunities for all kinds of backgrounds. Bank managers, loan officers, customer support teams and even app developers are all in high demand.
Explore all: Banking jobs and these remote Banking jobs
9. Social media managers
Whether you’re fond of Facebook, talented on Twitter or trending on TikTok, your skills could help businesses market to the masses and go viral for millions of people. Social media is big news. It’s how many brands speak to their customers, and how even more customers talk back to the brands. If you know how to use it well, you can work from home to conjure up campaigns, hashtags, gifs and more.
You’ll need a creative mind and a computer. An ability to perform TikTok dances is optional.
See all: Social Media jobs and Social Media work from home jobs
10. Insurance
We wouldn’t usually call insurance companies trend setters, but many of their employees were already working at home before the rest of the world was talking about it.
Most of their support teams are based remotely, and if you’re as good with numbers as you are with speaking to customers, you could be joining them. The field is predicted to grow by 5% in the next decade. You could grow with it.
Find all: 238,000 Insurance jobs and these 35,000 Insurance work from home jobs
11. Writers
Writing is a career that has long been done remotely. On an oak desk, in a library packed with leather-bound books, or in a coffee shop, ideally. We wrote this blog staring out across the ocean for inspiration. If you’re good with words, there’s a place for you in marketing, education, journalism and publishing, although it is a very competitive industry.
Entry level jobs can be gained with a relevant degree or some writing examples, but more senior positions need lots of experience and hefty portfolios. Get your pen out and start scribing.
Browse all: Writing jobs or the remote Writing jobs
12. Transcribers
When you work as a transcriber, it’s your job to take voice recordings from experts in either medicine, law or education and turn them into written reports. It’s ideal for working from home. In fact, the quiet your own home affords you makes it work even better.
A good understanding of industry language might be useful for this sort of role, as well as an excellent grasp of English.
Explore all: Transcriber jobs
13. Data entry specialists
There’s so much data in the world and someone needs to make sense of it. That someone could be you. Your role here would be to take things such as bills, medical records or legal forms and input them into the right systems.
If you understand IT and have clear communication skills, you can easily work from home in this field. It doesn’t matter where you do your data entry, just where your data is entered.
See all: Data Entry Specialist jobs and remote Data Entry jobs
14. Graphic designer
Can you make things look good? Can you specifically make things look good in Adobe software or online? Does the question of “Can you make the logo bigger?” send shivers down your spine? Then you could be a great graphic designer. There are plenty of graphic designer jobs in marketing and advertising sectors, and many of them can be done from home.
Polish off that portfolio and get applying.
Check out all: Graphic Designer jobs
15. Customer service
Whenever you call someone about a product, to place an order or to change your details, there’s a good chance you’re speaking to someone in their home office/kitchen/pajamas.
Customer service is key for most industries, and the main skills you’ll require are good people management and solid organization.
Find all: Customer Service jobs and remote Customer Service jobs
16. Software developers
Do you know your jQuery from your UmbrellaJS? Do you also know other types of coding language? You could be a software developer, working for creative start-ups, marketing agencies, big industries or anywhere else that produces digital content.
The area is expected to grow by a huge 22% (!) over the next decade, so if you know how to code, design and develop, you could have the skills to pay the bills.
See all: Software Developer jobs or remote Software Developer Jobs
17. Usability testing
All websites and apps need testing before they go live. That’s where you’ll come in. Your job will be to effectively try and break things online, something you can easily do from home. Break the internet in bed, break it over breakfast, break it wherever you like.
Training (and salary) for this role varies hugely. Some companies prefer ad hoc usability testers to work for a few hours, while others will offer full time work for constant checking.
See all: Usability Tester jobs
18. Nursing
Not all heroes wear capes, and the biggest heroes from the past year and a half wear stethoscopes. Remote healthcare has grown rapidly recently, with virtual appointments helping cut down waiting times and allow vulnerable patients to get the help they need from home.
If you’ve got medical training, a career in nursing (or any healthcare for that matter) could be hugely rewarding and truly invaluable.
Explore all: Nursing jobs and remote Nursing jobs
19. Event planner
If you have a background in hospitality or tourism, event planning could be the perfect career move. While you might have to visit potential sites, the majority of this job can be done from home, allowing you to plan conferences, parties, weddings and more without ever heading into an office.
As things gradually start to open up again, events will be on everyone’s agenda.
Browse all: Event Planning jobs
20. Accounting
If keeping accurate financial records is your bag, a remote role in accounting could be a great way for you to take your office home.
You’ll need a good grasp of accounting practices and a qualification to be considered. You’ll be the backbone of many companies, and responsible for everyone’s paycheck. No pressure.