Work from home
Photo: Rashed Sumon
Sitting at home doing nothing at all? Wishing there was some way you could earn some cash without having to commit to a nine-to-five job? Thanks to the Internet, it is now possible for freelancers to get work from the very comfort of their homes. No bosses threatening to fire you and no time restrictions. There are a number of sites today that are dedicated to helping freelancers earn some money. It also helps small businesses get their work done at low costs. Websites, such as www.articleinsider.com and www.freelancer.com are dedicated to making amateurs come forward with their work and get paid at the same time. There are many companies that require small projects like data-entry, logo designing or some kind of market research done, but not on a day-to-day basis. Hiring someone full time or even part-time in such cases would be a waste of time and money. However, if these companies simply dispense these tasks to onto an online freelancer, the company is relieved from the task of having to place advertisements, take interviews and pay monthly salaries for a trivial task. Outsourcing websites can prove to be ideal for such companies. These websites benefit not only the employers, but the freelancers as well. Students who are looking to earn some pocket money during their vacations or free time can ideally use this platform to reveal their talent as well as gain some experience. Women, who are unable to leave their homes and go to work due to their family responsibilities, may also take advantage of this platform. In these economic times, many writers are turning to the internet in hopes of finding writing jobs. The internet has now become the publishing platform of choice (or necessity!). The internet has become mainstream and everyone has access. By eliminating the need for a publisher, writers can now face their audience directly. Here, there are no editors to determine who gets which story, dole out assignments or pay for articles. The writer himself becomes the publisher. Well-written, thoughtful articles will attract advertisers. Online advertising is the principle revenue engine driving the internet economy. That is how Google makes its money. It has been true for the traditional publishing industry as well. Over time, if a person's writing is solid and the topics are well chosen, a body of online work is likely to generate advertising revenue. The more people read and find the articles interesting, the more advertising revenue will be produced. Amateur photographers, graphic designers, animators as well as programmers can use this as an outlet to show their skills and if they can do a few good projects with a good company, they might be able to carve a niche in the human resource department of the company. However, one should be aware of hoaxes. The work-from-home job market is rife with scams. There are many out there claiming to provide online job opportunities or 'the chance of a lifetime to earn solid cash'. Most frauds tend to use spam as a tool-of-choice. They advertise in social networking sites as well as post anonymous emails to your inbox, promising you loads of money for zero effort, in exchange for some money sent to them first. These are the scams that one should be wary of. Tell-tale signs of non-authenticity include promises of lots of money, sending the advertisement in the form of an email from one of your contacts and asking you to send them some pre-registration money. Legitimate employers never charge to hire someone. Fraudulent companies may direct people to send money to cover the cost of materials or process the application. Also programmes that "do the work for you" are doubtful. In the end, if anything about the advertisements gives you any sort of doubt, don't do it.
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