"You must have a career plan before you go out into this big world of ours," reinforced the professor delivering the commencement address during graduation! High school and college guidance counselors repeatedly tell students of the importance of having a career plan.

It is important to note that career plans aren't just for those who work offline. Telecommuters should have one also. Before you can map out your career plan, you need to understand career plans.

Consider a career plan akin to planning your next vacation. You need to decide where you will go, in which mode of transportation you will travel, determine the best route to take and then how to ensure you have a good time once you arrive.

Spontaneously deciding one Friday night that you will not ever again return to your job because you want to telecommute is not a recommended course of action. The first decision you have to make is deciding what kind of work you want to spend your time doing.

Do you like working with numbers, databases, marketing collateral, search engine optimization, building websites, writing content or something entirely different? If you don't settle in with something you like to do, your telecommuting career won't last long.

Next determine if you can make any money working in your chosen area. Can your family budget support your start up costs? You should have a website, business cards and may need to pay for some initial advertising.

Can your family budget survive the initial lean months? If not, you will have to work your new telecommuting job search and any jobs you are hired to do while you are still employed outside the home. Once your at-home telecommuting income stabilizes, then you can submit your letter of resignation and leave behind the daily commute to work.

Once you've reviewed your destination, determined where you're going and how you will get there, you're off to a good start. Just make sure you have enough "traveler's checks" in case of an emergency. Once you have thoroughly examined your road map -- your career plan, then hang on and enjoy the ride!