One thing I see a lot of work at home sites do is offer a “top 10″ list of work at home jobs. I’ve never written one and never intend to.

Why?

1. Most lists call “work at home opportunities” “work at home jobs.”

Too many of these lists merely add to the confusion many job seekers have about the confusion between work at home jobs and home businesses.

There’s nothing wrong with suggesting a home business, but keep things clear. A home business is a great option for many people, but others prefer to work for someone else.

For example, many so-called data entry opportunities are simply pay per click affiliate marketing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s hard to learn, not to mention expensive. Some people do earn quite a bit at it, but you’re better off going through a source that doesn’t pretend you’re getting a job. It’s a business and you’re best off treating it that way and understanding the financial risks involved.

2. Most are nothing more than poorly screened affiliate links.

Worse, many haven’t properly reviewed. Many people make their lists based on what they hope to earn, not on what is really a good opportunity. There’s nothing wrong with earning money from a legitimately recommended product, but you should really know what you’re suggesting.

Many recommend survey sites, and go on about the money one can earn. Trouble is, it’s very hard to earn from surveys, and it’s quite time consuming.

Worse are the ones that recommend gifting programs and other flat out scams. When you’re trying to make a living of any sort at all from home, the last thing you need is to be scammed or get involved in illegal activities.

Add in places that advertise work at home jobs, charging for access then providing poor quality, and there’s a serious problem with most of these. A very, very few places that charge for resources to find work at home jobs are legitimate. Most have old leads that won’t do you any good at all. I’ve heard good about sites such as Telework Recruiting (yes, an affiliate link, but carefully screened) but not many others.

3. Your best option is not mine.

There are so many possibilities I could suggest. I started out in medical transcription, for example, but that is decidedly not the career for every person who would like to work from home.

Now I run my own websites, doing information and affiliate marketing. Once again, decidedly not for everyone. It’s fun for me, and many others will enjoy it, but that doesn’t make it worth declaring a top 10 work at home opportunity.

Besides, there are too many variables in such businesses. I can tell you all about what I do, but your version of it would still be quite different.

4. It’s more important to know what you want to do.

If you want to work at home, the first thing you need to consider is what you want to do. What are your skills and interests? This can help you to narrow down the possibilities before you start job hunting.

5. I don’t like to encourage people to look for the easy solution.

Why? Because too often when people start looking for the quick and easy solution, they fall for scams. That’s why people still fall for envelope stuffing scams, email processing, gifting, assembly scams and so forth. It’s so easy to find scams when you want to take the easy way to work at home riches.

I’d rather people know that there aren’t shortcuts. If it appears to be too good to be true, it probably is. If you don’t understand where the money is coming from, forget it. If the pay is oddly high, beware. Just as when you work outside the home, you have to earn your money through hard work. It comes easier for some than for others.

Taking the time to search for the right opportunity for you is worth the effort.