~*~*~ THE RAT RACE REBELLION TELEWORK BULLETIN ~*~*~ Dear Reader, A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR This week brings news of hiring from Alpine Access and new bells and whistles at RRR.com, tips on how to start your own nation on the ocean (what better way to escape the Rat Race?), a bunch more job leads, scintillating wit and breathtaking leaps of intellectual artistry, and, mais oui, freebies too! Enjoy, Good Luck, and Be Well. “WORK AT HOME WITH BENEFITS” -- OUR NEW EMPLOYER LIST Some companies not only hire home-based workers, they offer benefits, too. That’s not a bad deal, at a time when, here in the US at least, brick-and-mortar employers are cutting or eliminating benefits, and retirement contributions as well. We’ll be adding to the list regularly -- it’s at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/benefits.html -- so don’t forget to check back for updates. RRR.COM LISTS 7,000TH JOB LEAD, 25,000 OPENINGS Please join me in toasting our bleary-eyed research team, whose efforts since Feb. 2007 just registered over 7,000 jobs and projects, representing some 25,000 openings. Every lead is “screened by hand,” and Chris or I see each one, too, so we’re talking, like, a whole lotta online screen time... Here’s to the next 25,000, and Beyond! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz “ALPINE ACCESS SEEKS 1,200 AGENTS” Colorado’s 9News.com reported this week that virtual call center Alpine Access is looking for 1,200 home-based agents. For details, see lead no. 2 below. LAID-OFF ONSITE CALL CENTER AGENTS GET OPTION TO WORK FROM HOME Sending brick-and-mortar call center agents home makes eminent sense, as the swelling “homeshoring” movement attests. The New Customer Service Cos., Inc., which hires both types of agents, underscored this point recently when it gave laid-off Virginia agents the option to stay on with the company in home-based positions. We don’t know all the details, but it sounds good to us. For more, see http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/01/19/daily74.html. HEALTH BENEFITS ADD $1,500 TO THE COST OF EACH DETROIT CAR [A big part of Rat Race stress here in the US comes from disappearing health insurance. Hence this piece.] I just finished a book by an exec named Steve Miller, who made a rep handling “turnarounds” (companies in trouble). Among other points, he talks about how hard it is for Detroit cars to compete on price -- we’ll leave quality issues for another day -- when health benefits add approximately $1,500 to the cost of each vehicle. (Some commentators say that “GM is a health care company that makes cars.”) Everyone should have insurance, Miller agrees -- especially in a country as wealthy as the US -- but he feels it’s unfair in an era of global competition to burden companies with the cost. No other industrialized country does this, he adds, and he asks how US products and services can compete with those from countries where health care is provided by other means (via the government, for example). I’m no economist (studying the law was bad enough), but a lot of folks here in the US are expecting the new chap working from home (the White House) to get the insurance problem right, and I for one passionately hope he succeeds. US companies are steadily reducing or eliminating insurance coverage, and some 50M Americans -- 10M of them children -- now have no insurance at all. -- Steve Miller’s 2008 book, “The Turnaround Kid,” which is an excellent read for anyone interested in an inside look at Fortune 50 management (and mismanagement), is available in (US) libraries and on Amazon. -- The NY Times recently covered US health care issues at http://tinyurl.com/clhlf2. “THIS IS A NON-PHONE JOB,” OUR NEW ICON SAYS Many folks aren’t looking for a call center or other phone-intensive job, and by the same token, many of our past and present jobs don’t involve heavy phone use. However, we thought it would be useful to indicate with an icon or graphic these “non-phone” leads, so we had our graphic artist drum one up. You’ll see it in action on our Fresh Work at Home Job Leads page, at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/job_postings.html. It’s not as entertaining as parachuting Elvis imitators in Las Vegas, maybe, but still. Hope you find it helpful! TIRED OF ALL THOSE PETTY LAWS AND RULES? START A FLOATING COUNTRY! If you’re tired of not being able to let your hair down when you want, or set off a petard in your back yard, or having to wear a safety helmet when you take a bath, the current issue of Wired has an intriguing option – Seasteading! What’s the deal? Go out past the 200-mile territorial limit, and set up your own country on a floating platform. Before you laugh, the concept has indeed been funded by a venture capitalist (PayPal founder Peter Thiel), and is starting to get its, um, sea legs. Sounds like a good place to get away from the Rat Race. And set off some firecrackers! To get your country started, go to http://tinyurl.com/a4arod. LOUISIANA STATE AGENCY LIKES TELEWORK The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals’ Medicaid agency, home of a successful telework program, expects to have 134 employees teleworking by the end of next month, Federal Computer Week reported this week. “Teleworkers handle tasks such as Medicaid eligibility determination,” the article notes. “The largest single group of department teleworkers came from a once-centralized call center that has since dispersed into home-based offices.” Jen Steele, the program’s director, is a teleworker herself. In the piece, she makes the key points that teleworkers “have to be well suited both in terms of job duties and work habits…and they have to have a supervisor supportive of the program as well.” For more, see http://fcw.com/articles/2009/01/26/practicing-what-she-preaches.aspx. FRUGAL AND SIMPLE LIVING Voila this week’s giveaways. If you see something you like, be sure to grab it fast, as free stuff goes quickly on the Web. (Sorry, we have no control over supplies, or when the vendors decide to halt their offers or fulfillment.) Enjoy! Free sample Murad Sleep Reform Serum for skin: http://tinyurl.com/adm87s Free Amber Alert GPS™ "Child Safety Package": http://www.amberalertgps.com/free_ebook.html Free sample Bear Naked Fruit & Nut Granola: http://www.bearnaked.com/postcards/sample.asp Free sample Whites Premium Dog Food (UK): http://www.whites-premium.com/free_sample.php For more freebies, see http://www.ratracerebellion.com/freebies.htm. RAT RACE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange.” -- GK Chesterton Rebelliously Yours, Michael Michael D. Haaren, Editor-in-Chief The Rat Race Rebellion =>=> New Leads for Home-Based Jobs and Projects <=<= *Editor’s Note: All positions are screened, but we can’t of course “guarantee” the legitimacy of any hirer or lead, so please do your own ‘due diligence’ as well! Also, please note that on occasion the hirer will decide to change the description or the availability of the job or project shortly AFTER the summary is published here. (Unfortunately, we have no control over this.) Therefore, be sure to read the underlying ad carefully, and apply promptly for any job that interests you. 1. Communications Contractors BzzAgent is looking for part-time Communication Contractors to respond to "consumer-generated marketing reports." For more: http://www.barefootstudent.com/index/listings/page17475.htm 2. “Alpine Access Seeks 1,200 Agents” According to Colorado NBC affiliate 9news.com, Alpine Access is looking for 1,200 home-based agents. The company hires agents as employees rather than independent contractors, and offers group rates on insurance. “For qualified employees, we also offer a matching 401(k) plan.” Pay is $9 per hour. For the company’s agent FAQ page, see http://www.alpineaccess.com/external/careers/faq_general.html. For the 9news piece, see the link below. For more: http://www.9news.com/money/article.aspx?storyid=108310&catid=344 3. Sports Writers (“Guides”) About.com is looking for part-time Guides "to cover a number of topics, including mountain biking, sailing, scuba diving, volleyball, waterskiing / wakeboarding, and world soccer" For more: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=625412 4. Medical Coding, Insurance, and Office Management Online Instructor Kaplan University is seeking a Medical Coding, Insurance, and Office Management Online Instructor. Must have a Master's or doctorate and 1 year’s online teaching experience. For more: http://tinyurl.com/cpj6qx 5. Freelance Energy Writer - US or UK SmartBrief, Inc. is looking for a Freelance Energy Writer "to help create daily online business and energy news e-mail newsletters from approximately 6 to 8 a.m. EST Monday through Friday." For more: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1013860 6. Support Engineer (MySQL Cluster Telco Customers) MySQL has an opening for a Support Engineer to "help customers troubleshoot technical problems they face in using MySQL Cluster." For more: http://tbe.taleo.net/NA3/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MYSQL&cws=1&rid=75 7. Online Work From Home Instructors EducateOnline seeks teachers for reading, math and/or algebra. “Current teaching certification is required. We prefer two years teaching experience” in the subjects mentioned. For more: http://educate-online-tutoring.com/job-opportunities#online-instructors 8. Chinese, Mandarin / English Translators Meaningful Machines is looking for Chinese-English translators to work on building a "high-quality Chinese-to-English dictionary, including parts of speech, syntactic patterns, and translation into English." For more: http://linguistlist.org/jobs/get-jobs.cfm?JobID=62420&SubID=202667 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~Advertisement~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chris and Mike here -- Do you need writing experience to qualify for freelance writing, blogging, proofreading or editorial jobs? Want to demonstrate your expertise for hiring managers or prospective clients? We recommend Helium (it’s free). You can get writing experience with an easy-to-start blog, and be eligible for compensation while you learn. You can also choose among many popular topics, and build your credentials while you write about what interests you. For more, visit http://www.helium.com/?ad=680&placement=HAP002. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 9. Health Professionals/Writers (“Guides”) About.com is looking for licensed medical professionals with writing skills "to cover a number of topics, including colon cancer, leukemia & lymphoma, muscular dystrophy, podiatry, schizophrenia, and urology." Part-time, pays on average “$1,000 a month.” For more: http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=625413 10. Speech Recognition Editors/Medical Transcriptionists Transcription, Technology and Support (TTS) is looking for experienced Medical Transcriptionists for a combination of speech recognition editing and medical transcription. For more: http://www.mtjobs.com/job_detail.cfm?RowID=16990 11. Featured Travel Blogger/Writer Vagabondish.com is looking for a travel-loving blogger to cover all aspects of travel. For more: http://jobs.problogger.net/view/1961 12. Online Consultant The Alliance for Climate Protection (founded by Al Gore) is looking for a part-time Online Consultant to develop content and contribute to other online projects as needed. For more: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/324984-39 13. Flex/Flash/AS3 Engineer ConnectSolutions has posted an opening for a Flex/Flash/AS3 Engineer "with experience developing Rich Internet Applications using Flex, Flex Builder, and ActionScript." Position includes “[t]he ability to telecommute part time for the right candidate (HQ is located in San Francisco, CA).” For more: http://www.devbistro.com/jobs/85199 14. Arise Tech Support Virtual call center Arise continues to advertise for Tech Support agents. For more: http://www.arise.com/content/tech.asp 15. Google Ads Quality Raters - Korean Language (US or Canada) Google continues to seek part-time Ads Quality Raters, fluent in Korean, “for reporting and tracking the visual quality and content accuracy of Google advertisements.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/8fkzud 16. Medical Transcriptionists SoftScript (http://softscript.com/) seeks part- and full-time MTs with at least 3 years’ acute-care experience. For more: http://mtjobs.com/job_detail.cfm?RowID=17001 17. “Investigative Reporters in Media Advertising” OTR Global seeks part-time Researcher/Writers in “media advertising, including television, online and/or out of home advertising. Strong writing, researching and interviewing skills and ability to connect the dots a must. Journalism, cold calling and/or advertising experience a plus.” For more: http://www.journalismnow.com/viewJob.php?jid=762 18. Sr. Software Developer WordStream Internet Marketing seeks a Senior Software Developer. “The Sr. Software Developer will be responsible for the development of the WordStream Search Engine Optimization (SEO) products. Our software suite is designed primarily using Python on the backend and using a browser-based RIA as a frontend.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/b6zouv 19. Google Ads Quality Raters - French Language (US or Canada) Google continues to seek part-time Ads Quality Raters, fluent in French, “for reporting and tracking the visual quality and content accuracy of Google advertisements.” For more: http://tinyurl.com/asxyrm 20. Legal Transcriptionists TypeWrite Word Processing Service continues to seek “qualified and experienced independent contractors to transcribe legal hearings.” For more: http://www.typewp.com/9786.html ******************************* That’s this week’s issue, Dear Reader. Until next week’s issue, don’t forget to visit us for fresh job leads at http://www.ratracerebellion.com/job_postings.htm ! Rebelliously Yours, Michael -- Michael D. Haaren, Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief Staffcentrix, LLC Email: mhaaren@staffcentrix.com Co-author of the bestseller on working from home as a Virtual Assistant, THE 2-SECOND COMMUTE, now available at Amazon.com or http://www.2secondcommute.com. See what else we’re up to on the Web, at http://www.WAHBoom.com (our new work-at-home site for Boomers), http://www.msvas.com (our Military Spouse Virtual Assistant community), and http://www.fse-entrepreneur.com (our Foreign Service spouse e-Entrepreneur community). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ All contents copyright 2008 Staffcentrix, LLC, "The most trusted name in home-based careers."(TM, SM) All rights reserved.