By Carol Tice

Time was, you had to be a graphic designer, a consultant or a freelance copywriter if you wanted to ditch your cubicle and make money in your pajamas. But advances in technology have brought work-from-home jobs to nearly every business sector. If you're ready to trade your morning car-commute for a quick stroll over to your home computer, consider these unusual work-from-home possibilities.

Everyone's looking for a way to pick up a few quick bucks in this economy, making many wonder if selling cosmetics is as easy and fulfilling of a career as it is touted to be. Maybe or maybe not, say a variety of sources. A few cases of cosmetics won't necessarily get you the promised Cadillac after a couple of months (or years), and, if pursued improperly, your eyeshadow enterprise could put you in worse shape than before. However, if you're careful, crafty, cunning, and a cosmetics queen anyway, there's a chance that investing in door-to-door cosmetics companies could boost your self-esteem while putting a few extra dollars in your bank account.

KRISTINA COWAN, SENIOR WRITER, PAYSCALE.COM

In the early 1990s Eddy Salomon fell prey to a work-at-home scam. After forking over his hard-earned cash and coming up short, Salomon made a decision.

"I never wanted to be scammed again, and didn't want others to be scammed, so that led me to creating my own Web site," said Salomon, an Internet marketer and online business owner.

In 2000 Salomon launched his site, WorkAtHomeCareers.com, which provides content on work-at-home job opportunities and hosts ads from companies offering home-based work.

"I help people avoid work-at-home scams and find opportunities they might not have thought of. And I offer the opportunities based on some of the companies I work with," explained Salomon, who is based in White Plains, N.Y.

Salomon, who also works full time as director of Internet marketing at New York Life Insurance Company, said he dedicates many evenings and weekends to his home-based business, which brings in about $10,000 a month.

Jennifer Logullo, a full-time home-based worker for Corecubed, an integrated marketing, design and PR firm, said it's critical to be aware of scammers.

"You have to be careful because there are so many of what look like good opportunities, where you can make a lot of money. .... If it sounds too good to be true, it is," said Logullo, who is based in Maryland.

Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com

How would you like to work from home? No hustling out the door 10 minutes late, no fighting your road rage or battling for the last seat on the train, no fast food lunch and no noisy co-workers. Sounds like heaven, doesn't it?

More than ever, workers are attracted to the 30-second commute, thanks to social and economic trends. Technologies necessary for setting up a home office are widely available, relatively inexpensive and getting easier for people to use. And more workers are seeking flexible schedules to care for children and aging parents.

Many people associate working from home with starting a home-based business and becoming an entrepreneur, but more and more employers are offering this option to workers in order to attract and retain top employees. In fact, 7.6 million employees conduct work from home every month.

Don't fret, there are jobs that you can find with established employers. Even if the job is advertised as office-based, these positions are telework-friendly and could be in your future

Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

Are skyrocketing gasoline prices cursing your commute? Wondering why you're driving to work only to spend your hard-earned dollars to get you there and back? Perhaps telecommuting is the answer.

Telecommuting is changing the way we work. An estimated 10 percent of today's workforce works from home and remains on the company payroll. And a recent study commissioned by Bell Atlantic estimates that 2 million American businesses support some kind of telecommuting program.