Moi - I actually have been thinking of taking a CAD class this coming fall. I love doing design work but, as you said, everything is CAD now and hand drawings don't cut it anymore.

Entrepreneur . com has tons of information on starting businesses, work from home options, etc. You can choose things that interest you. They tell you about start up costs, etc. I did research on work from home options for me and came up with all sorts of things.

Some of the things were real simple too. Like sending out cards for corporations. Fill out the envelope, put a stamp on it, and bring it to the post office. How simple is that. But many busy executives need this done for them.

If anything, this site will get you thinking about ideas and things that you can do.

Again, I do medical transcription from home. For me, it is not necessarily lucrative as I can't sit for any length of time (some days only 10 min at a time and then I have to get up). However, I have friends that are also in the field who are doing quite well. There is training involved.

Medical record coding is another option. This is applying codes to information in a medical record for billing purposes and to maximize the $$ on the bill to the insurance. Training is involved as it's pretty detailed work and you need to know all the codes. More and more physician's offices, clinics, and hospitals are having people do this from home. It is an upcoming trend and at this point, there are very few good coders out there.

dear Pawket Protay Ector. LOLOL

I have seen some of your wonderful work and I think CAD will help benefit you. If I can be of ANY help, please do not hesitate to ask. I don't know everything about it, nobody does, but I can help with whatever I can...

sharing knowledge and passion is part of what life is about and I am always eager to learn. OK, getting ahead of myself here. LOL

medical transcription/record coding is very important and I think you might be onto something there. Da wife is a nurse and they are just way too busy and short staffed. A really good medical transcriptor/coder is really important and in high demand.

I hope it continues to work out well for you.

I guess I will have to get that pocket protector, more mechanical pencils which I love any way, geeky glasses, and a slide ruler. LOL. Wait a minute, I am sure the instructor wouldn't even know how to use a slide ruler. LOL. They would think it is some ancient kind of thing like the abacus. LOL.

Good transcriptionists and coders are in high demand. Although many physicians, hospitals, clinics are going towards the electronic medical record and voice recognition. However, with voice recognition it is not perfect and a really good transciptionist with awesome proofreading skills would do well in pursuing those using voice recognition. It is a branch off of the field that many have not even considered at this point. In fact, when I was at my PCP and he was talking about voice recognition and how transcriptionist would soon be out of jobs, I told him that with voice recognition it doesn't know when you are ending a sentence and if you say "period" or "question mark" or even "new paragraph" many of the softwares out there will actually type those words not the punctuation. Therefore, someone has to go in and listen to the dictation and proofread for the dr.

I am wondering as a nurse who has only just retired so still up with all the jargon, whether I would be able to do transcribing for similar companies to those you work for, even though I live in Oz. The language differences would not be a problem as I only have to reprogram my spell check from British to American English.

Medical record coding is another option for me, as I have done a little of it in the past 2 years, so again still up with current stuff. My problem would be the difference in codes from one country to another.

How would I find out the names of comanies that take on transcribers etc? Is anyone willing to share...(by PM if necessary)?

I'm not prepared to wager any more of the money we have in our retirement fund on the stock exchange Moi. We did float DH's retirement funds and lost many thousands, so my retirement funds are all that we have now.

Already in the past few months the stock exchange has taken a nose dive, so my money has also depreciated rather rapidly. To gamble more now would be stupid.

I'm still looking for something I can do from home, and the computer seems to be my best option.

Any and all information would be gracefully received.

Hi Koala - I'll do some checking for you to find out which companies outsource to those overseas. I know there are a few and the 1st one that comes to mind is MedQuist but I haven't checked in to them in a while and don't know if they do anything overseas. Also, try googling "transcription services in Australia." You will get all sorts of companies coming up. Check some of them out.

Interestingly, the transcribing software that we use is made by a company in Australia. The download was free as are the updates. I also purchase my equipment from them and they have great products.

Since you have done some coding before as well as being in the health care industry for so long it will be easier for you to get in to. Talk with people you used to work with as well as small physician's offices in your area. Let them know your expertise. Working in the field previously really helps. I am sure you have developed relationships with many of the doctors and their staff in your area (or at least nearby). It is a great way to start networking and get a feel for what is out there.

Most hospitals in the states, require one to work at their facility for at least 6 months to a year before allowing them to start working from home. I am not sure if that would be the same in Australia but it is something that you would need to think about 1st.

Transcribing for dr offices is far easier than hospitals. Working for the hospitals, they prioritize the reports and you never know what you are going to get. You can't specialize as you can working for private facilities such as clinics, dr offices, even vets. For me, I did general work for a bit and have since "specialized" in orthopedics and rehabilitation. I love it! To think that ER nursing was the thing for me years ago and now I really love the ortho/rehab stuff.

What type of nursing did you do and are you still interested in that area? If so, go for it. Typing things that are interesting to you makes a huge difference. Place networking calls to those specialities and just see what happens.

Let me know if I can help in any way.

hi there my husband used to work from home before he got post concussion syndrome .He used to sell books on amazon and we used to make a good bit doing that so you could give that a try hope it works out for you

I just found this and thought it might be useful to lots of people here.

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