Dear Do-It Man: Are there any true work-at-home jobs that are flexible enough for a mother with a sick child?
My child has cancer and I need to be available at odd times to be with him.I need the job desperately. I am self-trained in secretarial and medical transcription skills. I can't afford to attend school at this time.
With rent going up, food going up and medicine going up, I cannot afford a caregiver for my son. And money is non-existent in our home.
- C.J., Centerville.
Dear C.J.: Here are three companies that contract with home workers in the Salt Lake area.
A possible problem for you is that you need your own equipment (typewriter or computer). Also, some of these require a background you might not have. We're including them because they might be of interest to other readers.
- Unibase, 986 W. Atherton Dr. (4700 South), pays home workers for data base entry. Its clients include a national delivery company. You must work at least four hours a day and have an IBM-compatible computer with a 486 central processing unit and a modem. You must be able to type at least 50 words/minute and do 10,000 keystrokes/hour on a 10-key. For information call 264-6002 and ask for Sandie. She'll arrange for you to take typing and 10-key tests.
She says the company contracts with approximately 800 home workers in the Salt Lake area and it is looking for more.
- Transcriptions Ltd., 350 E. 500 South, Salt Lake City, hires home workers to do a wide variety of hospital transcriptions including radiology reports, discharge summaries and surgery descriptions. "We're always looking for good people," said a spokeswoman. In addition to typing skills, you need your own IBM-compatible computer (with a 386 or 486 central processing unit) and a modem. The company provides you with the transcribing equipment. You must also have a good background in medical terminology, anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. If you don't know what these terms mean, this is not the job for you. The company prefers people who have worked in a hospital records department for a couple of years and/or who have taken classes in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and medical terminology. To qualify you must pass written tests on medical terminology and grammar and satisfactorily transcribe an operation and a discharge summary. For information call 328-4811 and ask for Donna.
- Hometech Inc., Seattle, Wash., pays homeworkers in cities across the country including Salt Lake for transcription, word processing and typing property and casualty insurance policies. The company, which used to be called The Homework Co., was started over 40 years ago by a property/casualty agent whose office couldn't keep up with the backlog of untyped policies. He started contracting out work to people who could type policies in their homes.
To qualify you must have your own equipment. In some cases a typewriter will do, in others you'll need a computer. You must have enough experience in the property/casualty business to be familiar with the jargon.
The company doesn't expect to need more home typists in our area in the near future. However, you could send a letter of introduction saying how many hours a day you're available, summarizing your experience and describing the kind of equipment you have along with your resume to be on file in case an opportunity opens up. Write to Hometech Inc., P.O. Box 9160, Seattle, WA 98109-9160.