For the baby boomers and people born before the 80’s the idea of work is limited to working from a cubicle inside a building. Hence the reason for many of the skyscrapers and office towers in many cities. Many of them cannot conceive of a job that allows you work from virtually anywhere at your own convenience.
However, this seems to be the work trend of the future – people working from everywhere connected through the internet. According to a study of over 3,000 businesses by Forbes, more than 50% of all people in their 20s and 30s prefer working online. Also, more than 80% of new businesses will be built with virtual workers over the next ten years. In fact, many Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, United Health and Aetna have started hiring more remote workers.
Many co-working centers are also springing up across the US. These co-working centers simply offer a workspace to freelancers or remote workers for a day, a week, a month… for as long as they need. With these growing trends, it’s very possible that in the near future, there’ll be no need to be geographically restricted to get your dream job. So, what exactly is responsible for the sudden boom in virtual jobs? Why are people settling for working remotely instead of the standard 9 to 5 in an office?
Convenience and Freedom
The most thrilling and obvious reason for the boom of remote workers is the convenience and freedom it offers. For people who work remotely, they can either work from home on the couch, from the local Starbucks, or anywhere else they choose. There’s no need to rush out of the house to beat the morning traffic jam or rush hour.
Ask anyone who once worked in an office and now works at home if they will ever go back to working in a cubicle, and chances are they will tell you they won’t. People love having their freedom. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have more time on their hands, the feeling of being able to work anywhere without all the office politics or some supervisor breathing down your neck makes it feel more like your time than work time.
Quality Family Time
If you live in a metropolitan city, then you know how bad the traffic situation and how it can affect the time you get home. Most people can literally count the number of hours they spend with their family every day on one hand. The boom of virtual jobs has allowed many people the luxury of reconnecting with their family and spending more time with them.
24/7 Availability
Companies are beginning to see that you can hire someone in a different time zone and still be very productive. With this system, work can go on at the company 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Having a team of virtual workers has resulted in increased and enhanced productivity for companies that have been able to make the transition. And the interesting thing, really, is that many virtual workers are fiercely loyal to their employers.
How Can You Join the Virtual Workforce?
It’s pretty simple really, and it depends on your skillset. The health sector has largely adopted the remote workforce. There are many teleradiologists, telenurses, telepharmacists, and medical transcriptionists who earn between $33,000 and $400,000 every year. If you’re a teacher, you could also become an online post-secondary teacher with an average salary of $62,000 annually.
Other jobs you can do include technical writing, document translation, website designer, programmer, software developer, advertising, sales and marketing, freelance modeler, blogging, and project coordinator. These are just a few of the jobs that you can do. All you need is the requisite skills and knowledge. If you don’t have any of these, you can always learn them. Thanks to the internet, there’s an abundance of courses about everything you could ever want to know.
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Oscar King acts as an independent workforce consultant, helping businesses to get the maximum productivity out of their employees, and includes how to set up their business for effective telecommuting. For important documentation, he recommends finding an online fax service for secure transmission, and to go to http://findafax.com for the best rates. You can find out more about Oscar on his Google+.