20 Flexible Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms

Being a stay-at-home mom is no less demanding and time-consuming than a full-time job—one with unlimited overtime and no pay. And yet, it can be much more satisfying and fulfilling than a conventional career.

But still, many moms who stay home to take care of the kids find themselves looking for jobs for stay-at-home moms. Some of them simply want to contribute to the household’s income, while others are looking for something productive to do that they have something to show for.

Whatever your reason, working a job while being a stay-at-home mom can have a really positive impact on your life.

Rather than getting in the way of your household responsibilities, being employed can actually help you deal better with the emotional challenges of being a stay-at-home mom. It can keep away the SAHM blues by boosting your confidence and adding variety to your daily life, which can sometimes get pretty dull as a stay-at-home mom.

20 Feasible Jobs for Stay-at-Home Moms

Here is a list of some of the most convenient jobs for stay-at-home moms to simplify your search for a job that suits your capabilities and preferences. Some of these jobs require a specific skill set, but most of them can be done by just about anyone.

1. Pet Sitter/Dog Walker

Being a stay-at-home mom can be quite stressful, as it is a round-the-clock job with basically unlimited responsibilities. A great way to relieve some of the stress while also making some money is to take on pet-care gigs—unless you don’t like pets.

Pet care gigs usually involve providing dog-walking and pet-sitting services where a pet owner drops off their pet at your house for some time.

Both can be really fun, and you can even involve your kids. Your kids will probably love to have a pet to play with at home and may even want to come along with you when you go to walk a client’s dog.

And you do not need to go from door to door in your neighborhood asking people if they are looking for a pet sitter, websites like Rover and Wag have got you covered.

2. Proofreader

If you have excellent grammar skills and a keen eye for detail, working as a proofreader might be a good idea for you. A proofreader reviews written material for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting and also makes sure there are no inconsistencies in the text.

Although a degree in a related field like English or communications can give you a competitive edge when landing a gig, you do not really need any specific formal qualifications for this role.

You can easily find proofreading gigs on online freelancing platforms and work from home at your own convenience. Or you can reach out to newspapers, magazines, and publishing agencies and see if they have any open positions.

3. Online Tutor

Not only can teaching be a really rewarding job, but your experience with students can be very helpful in bringing up your own children as well.

And thanks to websites like Wyzant and TutorMe, getting work as a remote tutor today is easier than ever. So if you have prior teaching experience or have comprehensive knowledge of a subject, tutoring online can be a very convenient way for you to make money as a stay-at-home mom.

Even if you don’t have expertise in a particular subject, you may still be able to teach elementary school children. Many stay-at-home moms give tuition classes at home, which they promote on social media, and you could do the same. It might be a good idea to start by tutoring the children of your friends and family to get a feel for it.

4. Translator

If you are fluent in more than one language, you can monetize your linguistic skills by working as a translator. There is a huge demand for translators in the global economy of today, and you could tap into it to get a decent-paying stay-at-home job.

The easiest way to find translation jobs is by searching online freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer.com. On there, you will find many gigs where you have to work on documents or different types of content and translate them from one language into another.

And since it is project-based work, you can do it around your own schedule, and it pays very well too. Most translation projects pay $0.30-$0.50 per word.

5. Virtual Assistant

Many stay-at-home moms quit their office jobs to take care of the kids. If you are someone like that, you should consider working as a virtual assistant for executives looking to outsource their non-core tasks like research and calendar management.

Working as a virtual assistant may allow you to utilize the skills you have developed at your job. It would also add to your resume and help you land a job if you plan on working again in the future.

Go on a freelancing website like Upwork or Fiverr, search "virtual assistant," and see if the results have any gigs that match your responsibilities at your previous job.

You can get different types of work as a VA, ranging from basic data entry to more sophisticated tasks such as editing and social media strategizing. Though virtual assistant work mostly includes basic administrative tasks like answering emails, managing social media accounts, and scheduling appointments.

6. Synkdup Headhunter

If you are active on social media, working as a Synkdup headhunter is one of the most flexible and convenient jobs for you as a stay-at-home mom.

The Synkdup Headhunter program is a commission-based share-and-earn program where you share job listings on your social media handles to help job seekers find a job. Headhunting is ideal for stay-at-home moms for the following reasons:

• You have no obligations, you work when and as much as you want.
• There is no prerequisite for qualification, skill, or experience.
• There is no monetary investment of any kind involved.

Headhunters are provided with a dashboard on their account that is regularly updated with links to new job openings across the U.S. You just need to go to your dashboard and click on the "share" button to have the links posted on all your social media handles that you have added to your dashboard. You get a commission of up to $25 whenever a candidate applies to one of these jobs using a link posted on your social media.

7. Seamstress

Can you sew? If yes, why not work from home as a seamstress? I know the idea sounds almost as old-fashioned as the terms "housewife" and "homemaker" themselves, but going back to tradition can work surprisingly well sometimes.

You can start a little seamstress business where you offer various tailoring services, from doing alterations to creating custom clothing for clients. You can promote your services on your social media handles and through word of mouth and take as many or as few orders as your schedule allows.

Another way to make money sewing besides taking client orders is to make interesting apparel of your own and sell it on Etsy, a popular online platform for selling handmade products.

8. Website Tester

Website and app developers often find themselves looking for someone to test-use and review their newly developed websites/apps to ensure that they are user-friendly. And there are online platforms that cater to this need by allowing everyday people to sign up for testing gigs.

Website testing can be an excellent remote job for stay-at-home moms who are good at wording their thoughts and providing feedback.

As a tester, you are typically required to navigate a website for 20-30 minutes and use different functions on it. Then you provide written feedback on your experience and answer specific questions.

This feedback is very valuable to developers as it is used to make improvements to the website, and you can get up to $10-$60 per test, depending on how elaborate it is. Userlytics and UserTesting are among the most trusted websites for getting testing gigs.

9. Interior Decorator

Is making your home more aesthetically pleasing your favorite chore? Do you love rearranging furniture, picking out colors, and doing other home decor stuff? If yes, being an interior decorator (not to be confused with ‘’interior designer’’) might be the perfect stay-at-home job for you.

You might need to leave your house to visit the job site now and then, but many parts of the job, like communicating with the clients, creating design plans, and selecting materials online, can be done entirely from home. You just need to arrange for someone to watch the kids when you have to visit a site in person.

10. Transcriber

Project-based online gigs are a great option for stay-at-home moms because of the short-term commitment and flexibility they bring. And one of the least skill-demanding yet well-paying of such gigs is transcription.

Transcription involves listening to what is being said in an audio or video recording and typing it up to make a text version of it. The only skills you need are typing speed and accuracy and good listening skills. And you may also want to invest in equipment like a foot pedal and headphones.

TranscribeMe and Rev are websites where you can easily find transcription gigs that pay per minute or hour of transcription work. You may also find such gigs on various freelancing websites.

11. Blogger

Though running a blog is no less time-consuming than a full-time job, the flexibility to work from home and around your own schedule makes it a very good option for stay-at-home moms who can write.

And you don’t have to have a great vocabulary or literary skill to make it as a blogger either; simple conversational English and decent research acumen would suffice just fine. So if you are someone who is good at putting things into words, you should definitely give blogging a shot.

If you are wondering what to write about, why not just start by writing about your experience as a stay-at-home mom? You can provide tips on parenting and home care, and share your unique perspective on SAHM challenges.

12. Data Entry Clerk

Almost all businesses need to update their databases with new information. And a data entry clerk is responsible for doing just that.

Data entry jobs are pretty simple, with no educational or experience requirements, and can be done perfectly well just by following simple instructions. It is a very viable option for stay-at-home moms who don’t mind doing monotonous, repetitive work on a computer.

It primarily involves entering bulk data of different types into your employer’s system and checking for discrepancies or mistakes. The data could be anything from numbers and words to pictures and even GPS locations.

The main requirement for the role is the ability to accurately input large quantities of data into a computer system without making any errors. If you are proficient in Microsoft Excel, familiar with keyboard shortcuts, have good typing speed, and can pay attention to detail, you should be easily able to get a data entry job where you can work from home.

13. Affiliate Marketer

If you have a significant number of followers on social media, you should consider promoting the products or services of a business online as an affiliate marketer.

When you sign up for an affiliate program, you are given a unique web link or code, clicking on which takes the user to the business page of the company running the affiliate program. You share the link on your social media accounts and get a commission every time someone makes a purchase after clicking on your link.

If you frequently post pictures of your baby or your life as a mother on social media, baby products could be your market segment or niche for affiliate marketing. In that case, you should consider joining the affiliate programs of companies selling baby products like Buy Buy Baby and Carter's.

14. Help Desk Associate

Help desk associates, a.k.a., customer support representatives, respond to customer queries and provide guidance to customers. They do this via different communication channels, like company helpline numbers and email, which means it is a job that can be easily done from home.

As a customer support executive, you may also be required to provide technical support to customers, for which you would be provided adequate training by the company. A quiet place, a PC with a good internet connection, a headset, and a sense of professional politeness are usually all you need for this role.

If you have good communication skills and like to help people out, this might be a great job for you. You can easily find remote customer support work on your regular job search websites.

15. Social Media Manager

Social media managers are often required to manage multiple social media accounts of a business at once, and the multi-tasking skills you have developed as a stay-at-home could translate very well into this role.

Social media is an important marketing tool today, and since Social Media Manager is typically not seen as a professional position, small businesses are usually looking to outsource the management of their social media accounts.

If you have good marketing sense and a passion for social media, being a social media manager could be a very fitting job for you. As a social media manager, you would be working to build and maintain the social media presence of a business on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Most of the time you would be doing things like creating and scheduling social media posts, responding to comments and messages, and analyzing the performance of your posts.

Here is an idea for getting work as a freelance social media manager with no prior experience.

Pitch your services via DM to the accounts of small businesses that don’t have a lot of followers on Instagram. When you get a revert, you can offer to work for free for a week or two to help them decide if your services are worth paying for. This way, you can get clients even without a portfolio of your previous work.

16. Research Participant

Paid online surveys are a must-consider option for stay-at-home moms who are just looking to make a little extra money in their spare time. Most of these surveys are conducted for the purpose of market research and just require you to answer questions about stuff like your purchasing preferences honestly.

Swagbucks, Survey Junkie and Branded Surveys are among the most reliable websites for paid online surveys. When you sign up and create an account, you start getting notifications for available surveys that you can take.

You usually earn points for completing surveys, which you can redeem for cash after they reach a specified threshold. In cases where you are paid directly in cash, you can earn up to $3 per survey.

17. Bookkeeper

A bookkeeper is someone who maintains the financial records of a business. It includes doing tasks like recording transactions, tracking income and expenses, managing debts payable and receivable, and so on.

Since the records of most businesses today are digitized, you can easily work as a bookkeeper from home with a computer and internet connection, making it a great option for stay-at-home moms.

If you have great math skills, you can get a job or internship as a bookkeeper at a small business even without a professional certificate or prior experience, and learn the work on the job as you go along.

18. Graphic Designer

If you’ve got a creative flair and an eye for design, you might want to consider working as a graphic designer. Graphic designers usually make stuff like logos, advertising material, and infographics for clients using different types of design software.

Graphic designers are in great demand on freelancing platforms, and you should be easily able to get graphic design projects even as a beginner. You will have all the work flexibility a stay-at-home mother needs from a job and good pay as well.

You will need to gain proficiency in using design software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. For this, you can watch tutorials on YouTube and practice your skills by designing mock-ups for imaginary companies. These mock-ups will also help you build your portfolio, which is essential for getting work.

19. Product Photographer

Being a product photographer is one of the most feasible jobs for stay-at-home moms who have a passion for photography. The client sends the product to you, and you can conduct the photoshoot at your own home.

The rise of e-commerce has created a huge demand for product photographers. Small-scale sellers on e-commerce platforms are often looking for photographers to take high-quality pictures of their products at freelancing costs. And as a stay-at-home mom, this is a great opportunity for you to tap into.

You can set up a little photography studio at home with a camera, tripod, and lighting equipment. And you can build your portfolio by taking aesthetic pictures of things you can find in your own home. This could include electronic appliances, clothes, kitchenware, and so on.

To identify potential clients, you can visit e-commerce sites and look for sellers with average or below-average images of their products. Once you find a seller who could use a better photographer, reach out to them and offer your services.

20. Recruiter

If you have good interpersonal skills and like working with people, you should consider working as a recruiter to help companies find the right fit for their open job positions.

Your primary responsibilities as a stay-at-home recruiter would include tasks like evaluating resumes, conducting interviews on call, and scheduling interviews with the hiring team. You may also be required to write job postings.

While a background in HR or recruiting would be useful, it is not necessary to get a job as a recruiter because most staffing agencies provide training to new hires.

How to Find Stay-at-Home Mom Jobs

Flexibility is almost synonymous with stay-at-home mom jobs. Stay-at-home moms need work that they can do from the convenience of their own home, preferably around their own schedule.

If you’ve got a professional skill set, freelancing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are probably the best option for you. On these platforms, you can pick up projects as per your own availability and complete them from home.

If freelancing does not work for you, you can try one of the many ways to make money online out there, like selling stuff on the internet and monetizing your social media.

Or, you can use Google’s job search feature. Just go on Google and enter ”entry-level jobs from home’’.

Getting remote work is easier than ever now in the post-pandemic era when many employers have realized that there is no need to have workers come in to the workplace to do their work. So, if you have prior experience at an office job that can be done remotely, you should, first of all, look for openings for the job in part-time roles online.

And if you don't have any work experience, there are still plenty of remote-work jobs you can get online, such as data entry and transcription. They usually don’t require any experience, and you can do them on your own time and schedule.

Time Management Tips for Working Stay-at-Home Moms

Once you have got a job, one of the biggest challenges you are going to face is time management. So, here are some tips that can help you ensure your domestic responsibilities do not clash with your work:

1. Set a schedule: Planning your daily schedule beforehand not only saves time spent deciding when to do what in real time but also makes your day less stressful. So, set a schedule for yourself and stick to it as closely as you can.
2. Delegate tasks: There must be tasks in your domestic duties that can easily be done by someone else like your spouse, children, or other family members. You should recognize these tasks and delegate them whenever you are overburdened. You should also consider having friends or neighbors babysit for you.
3. Reserve your work hours: Let your family members know that you should not be disturbed when you are working unless it is something urgent. If you have fixed hours when you work, communicate the hours with your friends and tell them not to call at those hours.
4. Minimize distractions: It is much easier to eliminate distractions than to resist them, and self-discipline is key to time management. So, do what you have to do to limit distractions, from turning off the notifications on your phone and getting off social media to keeping a separate room to work in.
5. Utilize nap time: Many jobs need you to put in some time of uninterrupted work. If your job is like that, consider using your kids’ nap time for these tasks.

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