So.... anyone hiring? ;)
Seconded, how does one get into this?
I've never done an earnest search for work-from-home jobs, but what little skimming I've done suggests they are few and far between. Or, as many of you have suggested, you have to first establish the trust relationship by doing good work on-site for some time. I'm in IT, BTW.
I think the salaried versus hourly question is interesting. At my current and previous jobs, both salaried, there is/was an expectation of how many hours I'm supposed to be in the office. But in both cases, the amount of work naturally ebbs and flows. So an
optimal arrangement would have me probably working roughly the same hours on
average, but day-to-day would (or more like week-to-week) would vary greatly. But instead---and I would assume this is the same for most office workers---when the load is light, we piddle and look busy. And when the load is high, we work really hard (sometimes hastefully) to avoid staying late.
Reminds me of when I did a bit of reading about "ROWE": the Results-Oriented Work Environment. It's where the manager or client basically says, "This project is work X dollars to me, so I will pay you (employee/contractor) that when it's done." It takes time out of the equation and is an incentive for the worker to deliver as efficiently as possible. Seems like working from home would naturally fit this paradigm.
I don't know how realistic this is, but I have a vision of what I think would be a near-perfect situation for me. That is, a job that is mostly work-from home, and fairly technical development. Something that is loosely structured enough that I can basically get an assignment, and check back in after some time (say a week or two) with a finished product, or at least a completed milestone. Within that time, I could use my time more optimally, i.e. better match times when I'm in "the zone" to when I'm actually working (rather than trying to force output when I'd rather take a walk or do some domestic chores or play guitar or whatever). And as a programmer, I find that a substantial amount of inspiration or "ah-ha" moments come when I'm doing some menial task, like showering or laundry.
My in-laws have a vacation home on a lake in a neighboring state---free vacations for us (minus gas and food). All we do when we're there is bum around, relax, take in the scenery. I currently have to use vacation time to go there, so it's maybe only a week at a time. But with a work setup like I described, we could go up there for like a month or two at a time, and I could still work.
If the work itself was reasonably interesting, I'd consider such an arrangement a "hobby job", i.e. something I really don't need to
retire from. I'd be happy if it made just enough to cover the bills, and let my portfolio reinvest/grow naturally.
