Work at Home Opportunities for People with Fibromyalgia

I am always saddened to hear about people who are completely disabled by fibromyalgia and have to give up successful, satisfying careers because their symptoms won't permit them to maintain a regular work schedule.

So far, I've been fortunate to have a very understanding supervisor who allows me to work a maxi-flex schedule and even do some work from home. The fact that I've been with the same agency for twenty years and always been a productive, hard working employee certainly has something to do with this. But every now and then, usually when I'm having a bad flare, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for me. Of particular concern is the brain fog. I'm a Budget Analyst and the brain fog really interferes with my ability to analyze and calculate. It also wreaks havoc with my memory. I have to check, double-check and triple-check everything I do. What if my symptoms progress and I'm no longer able to do my job?

For most of us, it's not that we can't do any work at all. It's more a matter of scheduling, duration and type of work. Thanks to the internet and advances in technology, the options for working from home are growing at a phenomenal rate. Of course, there are many scams out there, too, so you have to be careful. General rule of thumb, if they want you to send money, it's a scam. Legitimate work at home opportunities will pay you, not the other way around.

A little research uncovered four legitimate work at home opportunities that could be a good fit for a person with fibromyalgia. There are certainly many other work at home opportunities out there, but I tried to stick with those that offered the most flexibility and control over work schedule and workload.

Call Center Operator: In recent years, many companies have outsourced their customer service call centers to foreign countries. The results have not been real positive and now many companies are moving their call center operations back to the homeland and outsourcing to home-based American workers. LiveOps is the world's largest virtual call center with over 20,000 independent at-home workers handling customer service calls for companies like eBay, Coca-Cola, LifeLock, Pizza Hut and Ronco. West at Home is another reputable call center that hires home-based agents. All you need to get started is a high-speed internet connection, dedicated land line, and a quiet, uninterrupted work space. Your work schedule is up to you. You can apply online and training is provided.

Virtual Assistant: If you have strong clerical and/or administrative skills, a work at home career as a virtual assistant may be just what the doctor ordered. You can operate as an independent contractor or join an already established group like Virtual Office Temps. You can choose to be a jack-of-all-trades or specialize in an area like word processing, data entry, transcription, payroll or bookkeeping. To get a better idea of the kinds of services people are looking for, go to eLance.com, click on the "Find Work" tab, and then click on the "Admin Support" link. The opportunities for virtual assistants are endless and continually growing. You determine when you work and how many assignments you want to take on. For more information about the burgeoning virtual assistant industry, visit the website for the International Virtual Assistant Association or network with other VAs at VANetworking.com.

Freelance Anything and Everything: The internet has opened up unlimited options for freelancers - whether you're a freelance writer, photographer, artist, administrative assistant, web designer, graphics designer, accountant, management consultant, engineer, architect, computer programmer, lawyer, telemarketer, transcriptionist, construction estimator or CAD technician. The possibilities are absolutely endless. The most well known resource for freelance jobs is eLance.com but don't overlook sites like HireMyMom.com, ifreelance.com, and guru.com.

Blogging for Dollar$: If you like to write and have some computer skills, you may be able to make some money as a professional blogger. Most bloggers make money through advertising programs (like Google Adsense, Chitika, and Text Link Ads) and affiliate programs like Amazon and Commission Junction. Others sell their own digital content like ebooks, music, podcasts, videos, etc. Common sense tells me that you need to be web savvy and a prolific writer to make money with your own blog. Another option is to blog on a pay-per-post basis. At sites like PayPerPost and ReviewMe, you can get paid to write a blog post about a particular topic or product.

Writing for Associated Content: If you like to write but don't want the responsibility of running your own blog, try writing for Associated Content (AC). You won't get rich but you can make some extra spending money. Write about what you know and what interests you. AC usually pays $3 - $20 per article and you earn a little money every time your articles are viewed by others. If you give AC exclusive rights to your article, they may resell the rights to your content and you get paid for that also. It's fun to see your byline on the screen and gives your self-esteem a little boost.

I hope and pray that you never find yourself disabled by fibromyalgia, but if you do, don't ever give up on yourself or on life! Yes, it's a chronic condition and no, there is no cure (yet.) But that doesn't mean that you'll never get any better. There are many things you can do to improve your fibro symptoms. Give yourself the extra special care you deserve and lean on your fellow fibro fighters when you need to. You never know, you might just discover a brand new career!