Having a steady job and a regular salary is the most practical way to stay out of debt and provide some form of financial security. However, if you can no longer stand the stress in the workplace, the daily tedium of a 9 to 5 grind or the tiresome commuting from home to the workplace and vice versa, perhaps it’s time to get out of the rat race and consider a work-at-home career.

There are millions of wage earners who are dissatisfied with regular employment outside their homes. The reasons can include the hassle of commuting daily to and from their workplaces, not enough time to spend with their families, the stress of office politics or employers that are just hard to get along with. A lot of people want to start earning a living at home but don’t know how to make the first step.

First, bear in mind that working at home is just what it says – it involves real work. The obvious advantages of a work-at-home career are:

• You eliminate the hassle of commuting to and from your workplace.
• You can be your own boss. You are only accountable to yourself and to your clients.
• You don’t need to get up on a bitter cold morning to go to the workplace. You can get up any time you please. You can even work in your house clothes.
• You can spend more time with your family.
• You won’t have to put up with the hostile behavior of your boss or co-workers.

Before you start quitting your day jobs, it pays to know that there is more to a work-at-home career than just being able to work in your pajamas. Quitting your job without first establishing a promising home career is committing financial hara-kiri.

You can find a plethora of websites on the Internet that offers a slew of work-at-home jobs. It will, however, take a lot of research time and due diligence to separate the honest companies from the scammers. You might even have to go through a trial-and-error period where you will have to learn from your mistakes. Getting up after a fall and moving forward is paramount especially when entering a new career. It is only if and when you have a growing and steadily paying work-at-home career that you can “fire your boss.”

You must find the area of work that suits you best. Nowadays, the best work-at-home career is making a living via the Internet. You can earn money by being an online marketer, a writer, a blogger, or a marketing affiliate. You can also sell software, information and other products online. All you need basically to work online is a high-end computer with a fast Internet connection and a quiet workplace at home.

Being your own boss requires you to work efficiently without external peer motivation or a boss’s supervision. You will have to carry out your work on a daily schedule and be able to meet deadlines. Also consider a quiet and stress-free home office. Distractions at home that are beyond your control can severely affect your work.

A lot of entrepreneurs who got rich working online did not have an easy start. They plodded on despite falls and hard knocks. If you can take on the task, then consider a work-at-home career as the way for you to go.