Talk to me about remote careers

[fivestrideline]

So I must be losing my mind - but I’m thinking of going back to school. I have an associates degree, and almost a BS in credits (soft dropped out due to COVID shutdown and with moving around I never went back).
I could definitely go finish my pre-med biology BS or do something in the medical field - radiation tech or really bite the bullet and go nursing/PA - but something I’ve learned from reading these forums is that the working ammys who seem to have the time keep a horse or two going are mostly WFH or hybrid remote. With gas prices skyrocketing the idea is even more attractive. I don’t want to pay someone to keep my horse(s) going so I can show up on the weekends - I’d rather do most of it myself!

I’ve been browsing online ads for WFH/remote postings just for fun and there’s a lot of telemarketing or customer service positions. While I work in CS now, it is certainly the least favorite part of my job. I’m wondering what other options I might look into if I do decide to go back to school or change job markets!

So, those of you who WFH and care to share, what is your job title? I’m curious to see what people can do these days from home. Those of you keeping a horse or two going and competing semi-regularly (even “just” unrated!), how are you supporting the hobby? If you could go back to school or job hunt again, what would you do?

[Knubbsy]

I am primarily remote (I’m meeting my boss for the first time in 3 years later this month!) and usually love it. Less drama than my last in-person job, a lot more flexibility in getting out to the barn, moving time around to get to appointments, etc. My boss and skipline actually love when I work from the barn because it shows I make an effort in my work-life balance. So as far as if you have the option, if you’re not an extrovert that needs to be around people a lot, go for it!

As for my title/field, I’m a humanitarian researcher/data analyst which I needed a masters for (technically two because this is my second career). I personally don’t do field work or deployments, but many of my colleagues do which means they’re out of town for at least 2 weeks at a time, if not more (for the Ukraine response I think they were asking for a 2 or 3 month minimum commitment). Not so conducive to not needing pro-rides. I did my career change in 2018 and don’t regret it one bit (despite more student loans). While it pays more than my last career in museums, it’s not enough to support a horse on my own- my spouse is a full stack developer (computer programmer) for one of the big contracting firms so makes significantly more than me (even when independent starting out made more than me). That’s a field that is definitely remote more and more, but you at least need a programming boot camp plus an internship if you don’t do the BSCS route. Programers who go the FAANG route make a whole lot more but that’s a lot more experience and stress and I think they require in person from what I’ve heard (could be wrong).

[clanter]

Sort of as I for years I was a regional technical sales manager on commission. This made it easy for me to be anywhere the horses needed to be shown. As a commission employee I was responsible for all my expenses which gave me more freedom. Best Paying Job I ever had. Well into six figures. Often a sales call was no more than a call as I knew my clients.

One client that I picked up my company had wanted for several years but they would not talk to them. I made a sales call and was also rejected by his screener. He told me Boss was out with his dog, boss is inseparable from His Dog. Oh, what the dog’s name?

Sent Dog a letter of what I could do for his owner, along with a gift of dog treats.

Landed that account.

[widge]

We have hybrid/flex where the option of going into the office is available but policy dictates you don’t have to go in. FWIW, I work for a healthcare company (office type things not actual healthcare delivery). My sister works for a different healthcare company and has WFH/telehealth regularly as well. Options are out there!

[amymoyer1]

There’s all kinds of options with a Biology degree. I’m in NJ and I work for a pharmaceutical company. I’m considered “administrative” and have been working from home almost exclusively since the Covid shut down 2+ years ago. I literally have been into the office less than 10 times in those years. I do document management. Not very exciting, but I help with legal searches as well as providing information for drugs to get to and stay on market.
I started many years ago, but I had my BS in biology. The industry is not yet to the point where they are accepting “work from anywhere” as reality yet, but we’re slowly headed there.
There’s all kinds of jobs in the healthcare industry that are more flexible with office work than there was 3+ years ago. Take a look at ads for temp/contractor work requesting biology and see if there’s anything you might like to do. Most places prefer to hire temp to permanent so they can see if you can fit in to their environment. Even contractors don’t always need to go in to the office.
Good luck finishing your degree! It will be worth it in the long run.

[fourfillies]

Think about finishing your BS and consider adding a certificate program in medical coding or quality. Lots of remote options in these HC fields. I agree RN/PA/MD/patient facing HC jobs are both rarely remote and often have inflexible schedules unless you are able to work nights/ride days. This works for a while but gets really tough as you get older. Ask me how I know.

[clanter]

@fourfillies

I agree RN/PA/MD/patient facing HC jobs are both rarely remote and often have inflexible schedules unless you are able to work nights/ride days.

wife is a RN (retired) but when she was working at a large hospital she had to work a given number of hours per pay period but had nearly complete control on setting her monthly work schedule. She could arrange some fairly large gaps in the work every two months (it was up to 13 days) without using any paid time off (PTO)

Both of our daughters have science degrees, one is in Chemistry the other Biology … neither work in those fields today but those degrees sure gave them a gateway into their present occupants as the last recruiter told one if you can obtain a degree in that field what we do will be child’s play

[Jealoushe]

Insurance, always work, always advancement, and tonnes of employers looking.

[fivestrideline]

Thanks for all the replies y’all! I definitely will look into some of these paths. Luckily my fiancé has a good job so I don’t have to support the entire household + ponies, but what I’m currently doing just isn’t cutting it. The company is great about giving me time off whenever I need it but the pay and the hours make horses difficult (and my current horse is burning through cash at the vet like it’s his job!).

[173north]

My partner and I are both WFH in different areas of digital media.

If you’re thinking about the medical field, I have a friend who works remotely for a medical startup as an insurance coordinator.

[arbeegirl]

With a biology degree, you can apply for a position at FDA. There are many with remote or hybrid opportunities. I have been remote since March 2020 and since I changed positions within the agency I will stay remote.

[MunchingonHay]

I have been WFH since Covid and then I moved out of state and was able to take my job with me.

I am in sales. We furnish businesses with apparel decorating machines. I am purely preformace based now. If my numbers slip, I have a shorter slide out the door.

[malarkey]

100% remote since March 2020, and will stay that way. I LOVE working from home. MS in User Centered Design / Information Design and background in Software Test. Work in Technology.

I wish I could have made the transition to 100% WFH when I was younger. There’s really no reason why I couldn’t have, I’m in IT for goodnesssakes. It’s just that old management trope of WE NEED TO BE SEEING EVERYONE EVERY DAY IN AN OFFICE SPACE FILLED WITH CUBICLES AND BAD LIGHTING AND YOU NEED TO BE HERE BY 8:30AM. Ugh.

Now I can roll out of bed, pour a cup of coffee and saunter over to my computer, flip it on, and start work. All while wearing pajamas and NO makeup and NO fixed up hairdo. (We don’t turn our cameras on). It’s glorious. It also really removed workplace drama from my awareness.

Best of Luck getting there. I think you’d love it.

[lazaret]

I’m an attorney, but prior to that I was a software analyst and worked from home from the early 2000s. I would say IT is one of the most progressive areas as far as work from home just because it’s been part of the lexicon for a lot longer than other careers.

[NichtNixen]

Been 100% WFH since COVID, and had flexible options before that (except at a weird micromanaging place dealing with movie industry people). I’m a technical trainer/instructional designer - science and information architecture background. Most positions are remote, and there’s some good, stable ones in the medical industry, which is where I started, although I’m at a federally funded aerospace lab now.

[SweetMutt]

Software engineer. In my time in the field (the past decade-ish), it’s been friendly to people making sidesteps in, though there are more qualified candidates now so jobs have gotten a bit more competitive and look for relevant education or a bootcamp vs. the “we’ll teach you” attitude I used to see more of. However, something like a biotech company would really value your education, and maybe you can slide a few CS 101 type classes in there before you graduate if it at all interests you. There are also engineering-adjacent roles like project and product management that are a little more about people and less about code, if that’s more your jam.

I have 2 horses, one who I show regularly and one who’s older and retired to the trail life. My budget and schedule allow me to keep those two comfortably, and probably could do more with trail guy if he were up for it.

My only real complaint about my career is the amount of time I have to spend sitting at my desk. Doing it from home beats the hell out of going into an office, though. I make up for it by spending most of my non-work time outside. I would definitely choose the same path if I did it again.

[halla]

A large percentage of the people at my barn are nurses, it seems to give them hours that work really well, and some are able to condense their hours into fewer than 5 days of work.

[Turntable]

Honestly radiology tech seems to be a perfect degree for riding horses. I know a couple of people who do that and they make good money, work a few long shifts per week (3x12 or 4 x 10), have the rest of the time off and don’t have to deal with all the people/ paperwork / BS that nurses do. And there is work everywhere you move. One of my friends described it as the perfect job for introverts.

[DawgLady]

I’ve been WFH since 2008 (I tell people that I was remote before it was cool). Don’t think I could ever go back to the office now. My previous job had inflexible hours and old-school mentality, so I wasn’t able to ride much. My current job, in marketing, is a dream from work/life balance perspective. They’d let me ride every day and not care. They want me to be happy. Both were WFH, but the flexibility was totally different.

I say this to illustrate that not all remote positions are created equal. When you finish your education and start interviewing, make sure that the company supports flexible hours. That’s really the secret sauce.

[Mersidoats]

All of my WFH titles have held the word “analyst” in them. Analytical or data work is the type of work that can be done from anywhere. Software companies are mostly all remote-first. Many consultancies are hybrid or remote.

Product companies will be the most flexible on hours, client service companies less so. I worked for a consultancy where I’d be on calls at 7:30am or 11pm. It was awful. I just shifted to a product company that lets me set my own working hours (within reason). This is key. I asked about working hours in all of my interviews and was up front with my manager that I needed mornings to ride the horses. He didn’t even blink.