Telecommuting jobs are going mainstream at last
Don't try to read this while you're stuck in rush-hour traffic, but we've got good news for you: The decades-old promise of bagging the commute to work from home may be a reality at last.
FlexJobs, an online job search company which focuses on telecommuting opportunities, reports a 27 percent increase in the past year alone in the number of postings for remote jobs.
And, it has a list of the top 100 companies to watch for remote opportunities in 2015. Predictably, tech companies like Amazon, at number 4, take up a fair number of slots in the top 100. But the range of skills in demand for remote work, and the companies that need them, is surprisingly wide.
Health Services Professionals
With increasing demand for home health care visits for the disabled and elderly, companies that provide them are looking for people to work in the field, and from home. Insurance company Humana, with over 50,000 people on staff, has offered telecommuting jobs to licensed registered nurses, home care providers, social workers and related professionals. Other big companies including Aetna, UnitedHealth Group, HealthFirst, Health Net and CVS Caremark are on the list, too.
Educators
The growth of online education is providing opportunities for instructors who want to work from home part-time. Kaplan, number 6 on the list, has a million students on its rolls worldwide and employs more than 30,000 teachers to coach them, many of them working remotely on flexible schedules. At the higher-education level, Western Governors University, number 35, offers courses that are "independent of time and place" for instructors as well as students. Several other institutions of higher learning, including the University of Maryland, make the list, too.
Government Work
Even the federal government is catching up with the trend. The U.S. Department of Transportation offers telework opportunities for air traffic, railway and highway safety inspectors as well as desk-bound jobs in finance and analytics. The Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture also look for flex workers.
Customer Support
In today's world, "customer support" covers a wide range of tasks, from hand-holding buyers of new gadgets to direct sales to debt collection. Those jobs increasingly are available with a remote option. Number 2 on the FlexJobs list is Convergys, a global management company that serves big clients seeking to outsource some or all of those functions. The venerable Kelly Services has branched out from its temp-secretary roots to provide short-term services in a wide range of professions. It's number 5 on the list for remote job seekers.
New Tech
Well, duh! America's biggest technology companies are practicing what they preach when it comes to home office productivity. It's no shock that Amazon is a top innovator, at number 4 on the list. The company has customer support specialists working from home as well as from its many fulfillment centers. IBM, at number 8, hires people around the globe to provide its technology consulting services.
Executive-Level Jobs
Clearly, many companies are getting over their need to keep their employees under management eyeballs at all times. In fact, another study from FlexJobs, of the most surprising work-from-home job listings of 2014, is littered with high-level titles like chief operating officer, chief executive officer and senior staff attorney. They may have to offer telecommuting to get the best candidate. A report from Inc. magazine indicates that eight out of 10 people would work from home at least occasionally, if given the chance.
Words To Remember
If you're looking for a job that allows telecommuting, there are certain search terms that you should keep in mind. If your skills fit the bill, any of the following job titles could trigger a response, according to FlexJobs: consultant, case manager, sales representative, engineer, marketing manager, account executive, interpreter/translator and developer.
In case you're wondering, FlexJobs practices what it preaches. It's a "virtual" company, and all of its employees work remotely.
Want to see the top 10 companies hiring remote positions? Click through below.
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Sample job titles: Senior Study Director, HR Generalist, Clinical Research Associate
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