$ Ka- Ching! Get paid to do customer service— from home!

One of the fastest-growing fields, customer service job openings are expected to expand almost 13% through 2022! Even better: Many companies are looking to hire folks to work from home on a flexible schedule! Here’s how you can get your piece of the pie: ✔ FIND YOUR DREAM JOB!

As an at-home rep, you’ll provide customer service for all sorts of companies—and get paid up to $25 an hour! “The best way to find good work-from-home jobs is by networking online with people in the business,” says Ciara Mccoy, who has been doing customer service jobs at home for more than five years. “I join ‘work from home’ groups on Facebook and comment on the group chats. It’s a great way to find out if a place is good to work for and what they may be looking for. Many of the groups are private— you have to request to join—so people feel safe sharing candid opinions there.” Want pro help finding a trustworthy gig? Mccoy recommends staffing agencies that specialize in work-from-home jobs, like or Teleperformance (Teleperformance.com) or Kelly Services (Kellyservices.com).

✔ GET YOURSELF HIRED!

“Generally, employers are looking for someone with basic Internet and word-processing skills, a dedicated landline and high-speed Internet,” says Bethany Mooradian, author of I Got Scammed So You Don’t Have To! and owner of Queenoftherandomjob.com. Also smart? Working retail—even a job as a cashier in college— counts as customer service experience, so be sure to highlight that in your résumé!

✔ BE SURE IT’S LEGIT!

“Always avoid any jobs that require money in order to get hired, and verify that training is paid before accepting a position,” Mccoy says. “Also, while it’s very common that you may have to take some kind of exam after applying (to check your typing skills or the like), you should never have to pay for it.”

✔ THINK BEYOND THE PHONE!

“Customer service takes so many shapes now,” says Melissa Smith, founder of The PVA, a virtual assistant staffer company, and author of Hire the Right Virtual Assistant. “It could be an online community manager, a ticket processor, a person who takes fulfillment center requests, being in charge of shipping for e-commerce. Many of these just involve using a computer, not answering phones. To figure out the right job for you, think of all the ways you ask for help and then ask yourself which you would enjoy the best.”