This week I had a chance to interview Calissa Leigh Hatton from CalissaLeigh.com.
What companies have/do you work for?
Many! I started out writing articles for $2.50. I didn’t think about myself as a writer. I thought it was just a job.
Ten years later, I work for Butler Hill part time as a data annotator, and I work for myself. I run my blog, have sponsors for it, and occasionally write for various online magazines.
Lately, though, I’ve been going to college, as I had a lot of free time and I wanted to take advantage of the local school. I’m also working on a few novels and stories.
What advice would you give someone trying to break into your field?
Read everything you can get your hands on about the job you want. For my writing career, I read everything at the library on writing. I looked up information online for any details I could soak up.
That was also true for any work at home job I held. It was all a matter of reading as much as possible about the job and then, if I figured out I would be a good fit, I’d do it.
Reading made a difference.
What is the best thing about working from home?
The two second compute from my bedroom to the home office. I don’t fight traffic. I don’t have to wear fancy clothes. My schedule is flexible. Time is valuable. I wanted work that I could wrap around my personal aspirations and my family and the things I love, not vice versa. Working from my house fit for me.
What is the worst thing about working from home?
Getting past the illusion that it isn’t real work, or it might be a scam, which friends or family members may think. Most don’t remember that before the Industrial Revolution, everyone worked from their own home and at their own schedule. Some may not ever like what you do, but you have to let it go. Know that what makes you happy and works for those you love is the best solution.
What encouragement can you give to my readers?
If you want to work from home, find your skills. What do you want to do? Most jobs can be done from home, so you are only limited to your skill set.
Even if you aren’t at your ideal job now, explore. If you need classes or if you need to be an apprentice, do what it takes. You are here for a reason, finding your place.
Some of us are meant to be the musicians, the artists, the filmmakers, the dancers.
Some of us are meant to be the doctors, the chemical engineers, the manufacturers, the physicists.
The doctors’ and engineers’ job is to support the musicians, and artists with the essential elements that make it possible for them to exist and do what they are meant to do.
And vice versa.
