Stay at home mom jobs are thought to be the answer to the dilemma faced by many women when they become mothers and wish to stay home with their children. With the advent of the internet, it is now easier than ever to simply work at home, managing kids, housework, and an income source without changing out of your bunny slippers.

Or so it is thought. But the truth is, it’s not as easy as one would believe to find stay at home mom jobs that pay enough to bring home the income most moms are used to. There are three main categories of stay at home mom jobs: real telecommuting jobs, pocket change income, and home based businesses. Let’s talk about these different topics.

First, there are telecommuting jobs. This is what most moms think of when they think of stay at home mom jobs. A company hires you, for an hourly rate, and you sit at your computer doing the work. It could be customer service, marketing, you name it. At the end of two weeks, you get a regular paycheck.

Do jobs like this exist? Yes. But they aren’t available to many moms online. Why? Well, the most common way to get a telecommuting job is to bring your present job home with you. If you do not have a job that is conducive to telecommuting, then the market is limited online to those with extensive experience in the fields they are applying to, just like any regular, offline job.

There are many freelance positions online for writers and customer service representatives, however. Keep in mind that these independent contractor positions do not generally pay an hourly rate.

Most common online you will find pocket change income sources, instead of actual stay at home mom jobs. These are things like taking online surveys for cash and prizes, getting paid to read email or complete offers, completing tasks at sites like Mechanical Turk, or becoming a representative for a company such as ChaCha. While these activities are guaranteed not to make you any significant amount of money, they can be fun ways to pass the time and will provide you with money for a vacation or Christmas gifts if saved all year.

Finally, we come to home based business opportunities. These are marketed heavily to moms online, and can be a good source of income. Opportunities include working with a direct sales or network marketing company, starting your own content based website, or starting your own business based on any skill or hobby you currently have. Of the three methods of stay at home mom jobs, working for oneself has the potential to make the most money, but takes the longest to get started.

The bottom line, however, is that you don’t need stay at home mom jobs in order to be able to stay at home with your children. Usually, careful management of your existing income and learning how to stretch your dollar are the best ways to survive off one-income in a two-income society.