5 work-from-home jobs for expecting mothers
Being a mom is no joke. Being an expecting mom? Even tougher. Spending nine months living on the whim of a tiny embryo growing inside you is a scary, scary thought. But how did our moms do it? How do they make it look so easy? Most importantly, how much did they have to give up for us?
Now don’t go on a guilt trip and call your mother up, crying. If your mother left her job when she found out you were along the way, understand that things were different then and keeping to the vast majority of societal norms, she probably thought her sole focus needed to be you. But for those who donned those maternity pants and walked straight to their desks to go forth another day of hard work, you realised that being a good mother has nothing to do with keeping or losing your job. It’s about establishing a balance between work and home, keeping an active check on your health and of course, having the gynaecologist on speed dial.
Today, with the internet encompassing a virtual world of endless possibilities, things aren’t so black or white anymore. You could choose to work from the comfort of your home amidst the pampering of your family, putting together your two worlds and slipping into your dual roles as the situations unfold. To put it simply, you don’t need to spend nine months of your life memorising baby hand-books and binge-eating yourself into a stupor. You can now work from home instead, waking up every day with a sense of purpose, keeping to your fixed hours and managing your own little office-space in the confines of your home.
There is a plethora of opportunities and job roles that is available to work-from-home mothers when it comes to imbibing all the cultures of the various industries. However, these are a few off the top of our heads that are most easily accessible and adaptable for all young, excited and passionate to-be mothers everywhere.
Every independent site starts somewhere, right? Today, blogging is one of the greatest revenue-building platforms making headway in a competitive market, and the best part – it can be done from home. Blogging has too often been tossed off as a ‘hobby’ for the creative, but this old-school thinking is being shoved aside by the revolutionary intelligentsia, aka the millennials, who are now even sharing experiences and offering tutorials on how to monetise on your individual blogs. Be it on tech, literature, politics, sports or even a guide to baby care, WordPress and Blogger are the answers to all your questions. So what are you waiting for? Type away!
Transcribing
Although most people deem this off as ‘exasperating’, and it does indeed require a lot of patience, it’s the perfect job for expecting mothers. It will definitely key up your patience levels – something you’d better master before you have your kid. From Production houses to news and financial media companies, many companies are ready with fat loads of cash to splurge on transcribers as they are vital to the industry. So prep your headphones, ensure good visual and start clicking.
Freelance writing
I can personally vouch for the limitless job market for freelance writers. Sign up with Freelancer or Media Jobs Daily or Elance or the hundred available websites that work as bounty-hunters for talented freelance writers, and who knows? Maybe we’ll be reading about your book on ‘survival strategies for an expecting mother’ someday! These sites will help you get in touch with individuals and organisations who are willing to pay you by the hour, by the word or by the article, added to which is the fact that your work with your name will be going viral.
One thing you do possess after years of slogging through the contours of our complex education system is knowledge. What you need to do is figure out which subject interests you the most and which you’re extremely well-versed in. Once this is in the clear, decide on the age group you want to teach and the amount you want to charge by the hour. Then, spread it across social media like nobody’s business. Employ your friends and relatives to spread the word the old fashioned way –word-of-mouth. Motherhood and teaching have always been somewhat congruent, and what better way to dive into the former than having first-hand experience teaching and dealing with notorious children?
Tech worker
You could be a web designer, a software creator or a coder. Either way, make your work public and start taking on Freelance gigs. Sign up on LinkedIn, start tweeting and make those Facebook statuses go viral. Go all out and draw in a crowd. Before you know it, you’ll have a lap full of projects and not enough time in the world. Another demo for being a new mother. Like we’ve often heard our own moms say, “so much to do, so little time”.
So don’t hold back. Start, create and deliver on whatever you wish to take up and give it your absolute two hundred percent. After all, that’s what being a mother is all about, right?