We Found An Apple Job That Lets You Work from Home (w/ Benefits!)
Dreaming of working from home during your terrible commute each day? Here’s a cool opportunity to work from home for a company you probably already love: Apple.
That’s right: You could be the next Apple At Home Advisor — an official Apple job where you would be in charge of offering virtual support for the company’s popular products, including iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, through the customer service program AppleCare. If you’re looking for more flexibility and the ability to work from home, this could be your chance to make that dream a reality!
You don’t need to live in a specific city to be considered for the job, though Apple is advertising through listings on job boards throughout the U.S. Instead, the company is looking for people with technical expertise who can work from home to get the job done to their standards.
Interested? Here’s what you need to know about these legitimate work from home jobs.
What Do Apple at Home Advisors Do?
“As our customers’ first point of contact, you’ll be the friendly voice of Apple, providing world class customer service, troubleshooting and technical support,” explains the At Home Advisor job posting. “We’ll rely on you to listen to our customers and use your technical expertise, creativity, and passion to meet their needs — and remind them that behind our great products are amazing people.”
You’ll spend your time helping people use and troubleshoot their Apple products, supporting customers with everything “ from iPhones to iPads to MacBooks to desktop Macs” — all from the comfort of your own home.
This sounds easy enough, but is it too good to be true? That depends on your previous experience in customer experience and technical knowledge.
At Home Advisor Job Qualifications
The company is looking for problem solvers who are amazing with customers. They want applicants who are “enamored by the way things operate, and have the ability to figure out how technology works when things go wrong.”
Apple is also looking for people who can multitask, “analyze and resolve a variety of complex technical issues, and comfortably navigate a technical environment.”
The actual list of qualifications is long — and actually a bit scary. Apple asks for you to have a “a quiet workspace, ergonomic chair and desk, which means stay-at-home parents with young children around would likely not qualify, nor would those who rely on coffee shops as their “home offices.”
The company also requires the “flexibility to work between the hours of 7:00 a.m. CST and 10:30 p.m. CST including weekends and holidays, with the possibility to flex up or down hours depending upon business needs. It’s not clear whether they mean you’ll actually need to work during all of those house or whether you’ll work shorter shifts during that time.
How Much Do At Home Advisors Make?
While the job might eat into your family or social life, it could translate into some pretty good money if you end up getting hired. Most AppleCare At Home Advisors make between $9 and $12 an hour, so if you do work as many hours as the job description suggests, this job could be quite lucrative.
The company will also give you an iMac to use for work, as well as employee discounts and even benefits. They’ll also reimburse up to $600 a year for Internet service.
How to Become an Apple At Home Advisor
Getting hired isn’t as easy as figuring out how to use your iPhone. The first four weeks “on the job” — during which you’ll be training from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. — are actually a testing period, according to a guest post from Ashley Verrill on TechCrunch. Verrill explained:
The curriculum is broken into four, one-week sections that are a mix of live instruction and self-paced modules in iDesk [the training program]. Then at the end of each week, everyone takes an exam. You’ll have two chances to hit the grading benchmark (two advisors said this was 89 percent, one said it was 80 percent), before you are kicked out of the program.
So you’ll need to know your stuff, and be ready to study hard during the training period if you want to land the job.
While you’re at your desk and getting paid, Apple wants to make sure you’re actually working and paying attention to the training. According to the former advisors Verrill spoke with, the company does this in a couple of different ways.
“For example, trainers deliver regular prompts to each person throughout live instruction. These can be questions, requests for input, or just a cue for the trainee to click on,” reported Verrill.
One source said Apple also monitors the trainee’s mouse movements. “If your mouse doesn’t move in a certain amount of time, then you’re sent a prompt. If you still don’t respond within 30 seconds, the trainer might actually call your cell phone,” explained Verrill.
Are You Ready to Be an Apple At Home Advisor?
If you want to an Apple job — especially one that allows you to work from home — you’ll want to make sure you’re already technically savvy enough with Apple products to qualify. If you fit that bill already, be sure that you’re ready to put in the time to dedicate yourself to this career.
The hours can be grueling and stressful, according to past advisors, but Apple is dedicated to building a strong community and ensuring you don’t feel like you’re working alone. “Before training starts, each advisor is sent a care package that might have a T-shirt, plaque, mug, gift cards and other keepsakes demonstrating that they are ‘part of the Apple family,’” Verill noted.
That said, you’ll definitely need a quiet environment, so if you have roommates or a family, you’ll need to talk to them about creating dedicated quiet space so you can make it through training and keep this dream job.
If you can make all this happen — or already have such a lifestyle set up — becoming an Apple At Home Advisor could be a great opportunity to make money at home.
Your Turn: Would you apply to become an Apple At Home Advisor?
