When Youre Injured and Unable to Work, Consider These 8 Careers

When You’re Injured and Unable to Work, Consider These 8 Careers The pain and suffering from an injury are compounded when they prevent you from working. If you are employed in a position that involves physical labor, any injury could put you out of work for some time, and that makes it harder to recover financially as well as physically. What’s more, your employer isn’t obligated to keep you. After your sick and vacation days are used up, the company has the option to observe its best interests and let you go. “Unfortunately, the system is backed up against the injured worker,” Dennis Liotta, of Edgar Snyder Associates told FoxBusiness. “If they are injured on the job it provides a little more protection, but for people who aren’t injured on the job, the options are severely limited.” What you do immediately after your injury could open more options for you, though. First, contact a personal injury attorney. Some laws are designed specifically to protect injured and disabled workers, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, which grants 12 weeks of paid time off to workers in mid- to large-size businesses who have been employed more than a year. There are also statewide programs that can help you get coverage even when you’re on disability. “Some employers pay for group short-term and long-term disability insurance for their employees,” says Bethany Laurence, editor of Nolo.com. “This private insurance usually pays 50% to 80% of your gross monthly salary until you can work again. Ask your HR department if you have ERISA insurance and file a claim right away.” An attorney can help you uncover all this information and establish greater security in this incredibly stressful period in your life. He or she might also file a personal injury case on your behalf that will cover your medical expenses and cost of living while you’re unable to work. If you and your attorney are unsuccessful at winning compensation to cover your injuries, you don’t have to take this lying down. Take your life into your own hands and think about pursuing any of the following work-from-home careers while you’re too injured to handle your regular job. Virtual Assistant You can earn between $10 and $15 per hour performing simple duties like replying to emails, managing calendars, doing social media, and entering data. All this can be done from home on a computer, so it requires zero manual labor. Online Teacher Companies like VIPKid and Emersion Learning pay online teachers between $15 and $20 per hour to teach English to children overseas. The hours are often odd because of time differences (between 4 a.m. and 12 p.m., typically), but it’s a great way to make a buck if you have a little teaching experience and an enthusiastic personality. Survey Taker Earn between $1 and $50 for each survey you take. Some surveys are as short as five minutes and others require a couple of hours. But your opinions are valuable to companies, and they may pay decent money for your feedback. Avoid registering for services that demand a hefty membership, because that’s counterproductive to your goal. Some of the best sites to search for surveys include: Darwins Data Swagbucks Pinecone Research Survey Junkie Paid Viewpoint Real Ways to Earn Money Online Telephone Nurse If you’re a certified nurse at any level who can no longer work on the floor due to an injury, you can still put your skills to good use through telemedicine. Remote healthcare organizations search for good nurses who want to work from home, and the pay is very good. Customer Service Representative Companies are turning to remote workers for customer service work because it helps them cut overhead spending on facilities like call centers. Some companies will pay only $8 per hour, but others pay as much as $20 for service skills and ability to work with their online systems. Freelance or Consult If you have a marketable skill that you can no longer put to ongoing use in a physical workplace, consider offering it on a freelance or consulting basis. You can set your own wage based on market rates and enjoy the benefits of working in your chosen field despite your injury. Sell Stuff Online Although “thrifting” is a hobby for many people, it could provide a full-time income for you. Shop on garage sale social pages, through Craigslist, and at thrift stores for like-new products that you can purchase cheap and resell for more. It can be a lot of fun, and your earning capacity is largely up to you! Travel Agent Travel agents earn a commission from the bookings they arrange for clients. You can do this almost exclusively from your home, and you don’t even have to meet people in person if you don’t want to. This job also comes with a lot of benefits, such as free travel, which means you could pay your bills and do what you love at the same time! Work-from-home careers can really work! Your injury doesn’t have to disable your lifestyle. You can still take charge of your income potential and be financially secure with any of these great remote jobs.