Do You Need a Laptop to Work From Home?

With more and more people working from home, the question of laptops for work becomes a big issue. While most people have a laptop, there are people who only use a desktop or even a tablet to use the internet.

But are these devices sufficient to use? Can you use a desktop or a tablet to work from home or do you need a laptop.

That’s a pretty straightforward question and easy enough to answer. If you’re someone job hunting, then it would be good to know ahead of time before finding a work from home job.

So, here are a few things to know about laptops and working from home.

What Kind of Laptop Do You Need to Work From Home?

First off, let’s assume that you do need a laptop to work from home. If you do decide that you need to use a laptop for work, it’s important to understand that you need to have a fast laptop. Now, most laptops are fast enough, so that is not an issue.

But if you are operating off of an old laptop, then you might run into some problems. Many work from home jobs require you to use online work tracking systems that allows the employer to tell if you are working the hours that you claim to be working.

Also, you might be using an online system such as Salesforce or some other bulky system that requires a lot of memory.

If you’re using an older laptop, one which has a lacking in the RAM department or is just a slow laptop that’s only fit for surfing the internet, then you will need a more modern laptop.

There is no particular laptop that you need to use, so I am not suggesting that you need to have a Apple laptop or any particular trendy model.

All you need is a current laptop that is not going to crash if you’re running a virtual platform or a custom workplace interface that the company uses with their work from home staff.

If you have a laptop which is slow, then you won’t be able to use it for work. However, hold off on buying a laptop unless you have a job offer or if you don’t have another means of getting online. Be prudent with your purchases.

What if You Don’t Have a Laptop?

If you don’t have a laptop, you don’t have to run out and buy one. As long as you have a working desktop then you will be able to handle online work. You will need to be able to send resumes, respond to emails, and do online interviews with a webcam. As long as you can handle that, you can begin the job search for a work from home job.

If you don’t have a working laptop, or if your laptop is slow, then you’re going to need to upgrade.

What if you have a desktop? A desktop is fine. There is a whole culture and image of people who work from home also working in places like Starbucks or other café environments. Obviously if you want to work from a coffee shop, then you’ll need a laptop with the ability to connect to the coffee shops wifi.

But if you don’t have a laptop and you still want to work at home, you certainly can do so as long as you have a good desktop for your home office.

In fact, many people who work at home and who use a home office are fans of using a desktop. Desktop computers can function nicely as a work from home computer. There is no need that the computer that you use is a laptop. As long as you can use the software that the company uses, and use it without a problem then you’re fine.

Can You Work From Home without a Laptop?

You most certainly can work from home without a laptop. You can’t work remotely outside of your home without a laptop, but you can work from home remotely without a laptop.

There are some benefits to working with a laptop, however. These include:

• -Flexibility to work in multiple settings
• -You can bring your laptop to office meetings when needed
• -You can bring your laptop to a client meeting
• You can work from home while on vacation!

Is It Worth it to Buy a Laptop To Work From Home

The only time it would be worth it to buy a laptop to work from home is when you are offered a job and they require a higher speed and higher performance laptop or desktop than what you have.

If you can make do with your current laptop or computer, then it’s up to you. Should you upgrade or not is a personal financial question.

You are not going to get a better job because you have a nicer laptop than the next job applicant.

Work from home companies do not care about the type of computers that you have and if one is more stylish than the other. That’s low on their list of concerns.

Companies care only about the bottom line. How productive you can be for how cheap. They are only interested in finding and keeping people who can do the job that they need done in order to make profit.

If you can do that with your current laptop, then that’s perfect. If you are unable to do it with your current setup, then it’s on you to figure out how to work around that.

Caution: do not buy a laptop thinking it will get you work. You need only have an internet connection and some way to check emails, send resumes out, and have video interviews.

Once you have landed that remote work from home job, then it’s up to you to decide if your current setup is sufficient.

Then you can factor in how much the laptop or desktop will cost (it might not even be too expensive for you to buy when you consider how much your pay after the first few weeks will be).

You can always buy a laptop or a desktop if you end up with a legit work from home job.

However, I strongly caution that you do not buy a laptop thinking it will land you a new job.

Also, never purchase any sort of laptop or device from a company that is seeking to hire you. That is a huge sign that the company and the job are fraudulent. Stay very far away from any company that asks you to spend money before offering you a job.

As a side note, it’s worth mentioning that you should always be very cautious about off-shore recruiters and any USA recruiting agency that hires and employs outsourced recruiters. These agencies can be very dangerous to work with especially since they often work with questionable jobs. There are legit work from home jobs, but it does require you do your due dilligence in searching them out.