If you are bent on becoming a work@homie, either for on-the-side earnings or as a full time endeavor, there are some initial investments that should be made.The following are hardware must-haves for work@homies:

Computer of Decent Specs
It does not have to be the most expensive, but if you plan on making a purchase anyway, then get the best that you can afford. A good pc can last many years, so buy one that can keep pace with developments over the years.

Unless you are a graphic designer, video editor, or web developer, most work at home jobs are not resource-intensive. If you already have a pc, it should probably be good enough to jumpstart your work-at-home career. Once you have found your niche, a powerful pc is a sound investment to make simply because you can get more productive years out of it.

Optical Disk Burner
I believe a burner is one of the most important things to have when you work at home. You need to be able to make a back-up of your work files. Flash drives will not work as permanent backups mainly because it is used as a mobile data drive to transfer files from pc to pc. What you need is to be able to permanently burn copies of your work to an optical disk and have it stored away somewhere safe. This is true for all types of work at home jobs.

Headset
This is a must for work at home transcriptionists and online tutors. For web content providers and ghost writers/researchers, it is not required. As for me, while I do not need it for my online job, I use it to listen to music which makes my online job feel a little less like work.

If you need a headset for your work at home gig, you should be willing to pay more for good cushioning. Having a headset on your ear for prolonged periods of time can become uncomfortable, and that piece of foam may just be the only thing to get you through the day.

Foot Pedal
Only for work at home transcriptionists, especially MT’s (medical transcriptionists). Foot pedals allow efficient start-stop control of voice files. A foot-operated device connected to the pc or to a stand alone media player is used to control the flow of the record, leaving your hands free to type the transcription. While it is possible to transcribe voice files without a foot pedal (I did that a couple of times), your work is slowed down considerably, and you end up earning less than you could.

Good Sound Card
Necessary for home-based transcriptionists. A good sound card can process audio files at higher bit rates, thereby producing clearer sound. The accuracy of a transcription depends upon the quality of recording and clarity of playback, as well as the ability of the transcriptionist to predict words in proper context. A stand-alone soundcard is a necessary investment for a work at home transcriptionist. It might also be helpful for home-based online tutors who provide tutorials through online conversations or voice chat.

Comfortable Keyboard and Mouse
You will not be able to appreciate ergonomics until you have been working at home for some time and that carpal tunnel syndrome and RSI (repetitive strain injury) creep up on you. In my case, I work as a research assistant and ghostwriter so I type and surf for most of the day. All of the home-based jobs that I have had since I became a work@homie more two years ago have involved word processing and research. Needless to say the chronic, repetitive typing and clicking motions have taken its toll. Two months ago I began to feel some discomfort on my right wrist which I was able to solve by taking a few minutes of rest and stretching. It also helps to slightly change the position of my mouse and the orientation of my right hand.

Personally, I do not subscribe to the idea of buying an ergonomic keyboard and mouse set simply because anything that forces your hand to stay at a certain positions and make repetitiuos movements for prolonged periods of time can eventually cause strain. Moreover, ergonomics is very relative, some are more comfortable in a certain position while others prefer something else. So to buy one just because it says “ergonomic” may not be a good idea.

What I would suggest is to buy a mouse and keypad that feels right for you (ergonomic or not) and make sure to slightly change their angles periodically so there is slight variation in your hand positioning. Also make sure to rest from time to time and do some wrist exercises. Just listen to what your hand is telling you and react accordingly. That is good enough ergonomics for me.

Microphone
Necessary for online tutors and counselors. Fortunately most headsets already come with microphones, so a separate purchase is not required.