I’m being asked to pay for a work from home job. Is this a scam?

Why you might have to pay for a remote job your applying for

The work from home space is fraught with get rich quick schemes, mlm businesses, and other pie in the sky opportunities posing as legit jobs. So it is natural and actually healthy to be skeptical and even suspicious when you are looking for a remote job and find there’s a cost to it. However there are many legit work from home jobs that do have a cost associated with them.

Legitimate work from home jobs that have a cost 

Many jobs in the insurance, real-estate, financial lending, legal, and marketing space have cost to them. Most of these companies pass the cost along to the applicant. These jobs and opportunities, because they are production based use a contracting compensation model to mitigate potential inefficiencies of an unsupervised team. So while these opportunities are wonderful because of their freedom and earning potential, the companies that offer them off set their cost of equipping, training, and managing to their independent contractors. So expect to pay for the more attractive job offers you may feel drawn to. However not every cost is legitimate, so knowing what cost are legitimate is crucial.

Cost you might have to cover to perform certain jobs

Every industry has certain components that go into making up the COE (cost of employment) that a position has. However there are some common ones that you may want to consider before applying.

  • Licensing
  • Training
  • Tools

Because you will be working remote and in a field that may have federal and state regulations, these COE components are very typical to find in most job opportunities.

Licensing – If you are in a field like insurance, real-estate, marketing, or in care of data you might have to be licensed to perform a job. Some of these licenses are mandated by state and federal regulations, and some of them might be from the company offering the job. In our business at TW3 we work with several top tier companies to do marketing for. They require anyone that does marketing to be licensed and trained to do so. Naturally there are expenses to this and as such is part of the overall COE that is assigned to the applicant in order to perform certain jobs.

Training – In the older model of work the company pays for the building, the office, the staff, and all of the assets needed to meet, train, and equip its team members. In the new remote model these cost are no longer part of the companies fixed cost liabilities. This means they typically pay more for the work to be done but require the cost of training and equipping be covered by the independent contractor. So while you make more to do the same job, you are expected to pay for your training.

Tools – That phone, desk, chair, computer, and software used to be part of what the company provided by coming into the office 9-5 each day. Now you are expected to have all of that as an independent agent contracted to do their work. While this can be a deterrent for many it’s also a great asset to those thinking on a tax savings basis. Now the cost of work is all deductible. Not only are these tools deductible but scalable. As an independent, who say’s you can’t use them to do jobs for several others to maximize your income with them?

What to expect and what to accept in cost to work from home

Naturally not every job opportunity that has a cost should be considered. However not every work from home job that requires an investment should be dismissed. Knowing what to expect and being reasonable on what to accept will help guide you to the perfect job.

Accept cost to do a certain remote job, but expect to have more time, freedom, and earning potential. Accept that learning a skill will be up to you, but expect the more skills developed, the greater opportunities you will receive from multiple businesses that will increase your earnings.

Start today and start on your terms

The great thing about this whole new world of remote self employment is the options. The job seeker today has more choices than ever before. You can work in any field, any job type, and more on your terms than ever before. So yes the cost of employment has shifted but earning power and freedom has also.

Text the WFH to our number above if you’d like to see how we can help you earn up to $40hr + Commissions on your terms.

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