This question comes up fairly regularly, but it is a good one.    To me, it seems that that a lot of people who want to work at home tend to focus on the "at home" part too much.   This inevitably leads them to a lot of the shady "work at home opportunities" out there.   A much, much better place to start is by considering what you'd like to do, your skills, what you're good at, etc.    Then, build upon that as the foundation, while keeping the "at home" part as one aspect of the plan.   You need to be a bit of an entrepreneur and carve out your own little business, rather than waiting for someone to come along with some task they'll pay you to do at home.    It doesn't need to be anything big, you can just start small with a job here or there and build it up bit by bit through referrals or other inexpensive advertising.   It's not easy, but it's also not shady.   If you keep it simple, the risk is low and you can adapt, scrap the plan, or just plain fail, as necessary without any big loss.

For example, if you're good with computers, start some computer fix-it business.   If you like kid care, maybe a take care of another kid or two.   Maybe you like to fix cars or lawn mowers or whatever.    Maybe you're a writer.

Other things may not lend themselves to being at home all the time, but might still fit into your life.   An after-hours handyman service?    Private bartending lessons?

I don't have all the ideas, but the point is to create something for yourself, rather than waiting for someone else to supply it.

....Lastly, I'd like to discourage the shady work from home people from posting here.   These posts usually bring about a bunch of spam from them.  If you're from a "work from home" company promoting yourself, please review the site's terms and conditions and posting guidelines before posting.

SAT tutoring just weekends from September to June brings in a few grand a year for me.

I got my feet wet working for Huntington, but at about $13/hr, the pay sucked.  Kaplan and Princeton Review both start around $20/hr.  Put in a year or so with them, then maybe bust out freelance using a site like WyzAnt.com to find students.  Your hourly rate will depend on your location.  I charge $75/hr here in expensive NJ.  I also do two one-week intensive courses at a community college for a bit over a grand a week.  I hope to grow that to four weeks next summer. I've heard of people who stay with Princeton Review long term and work up to $100/hr.

For a true at-home slant, you can do tutor.com, which is actual online live tutoring, usually nights and weekends.  I did it for a year until the SAT gigs started bringing in more cash.  Tutor.com pay starts in the low teens/hr, but the raises are every 6 mos.

It sure beats retail.

--Tom

That Homeschooling Dad