Part 2 of the daily Grindstone: The Tele-Commute

While I know I haven't posted on here in a while, it's because I've been busy doing a little research about the next topic, "TELECOMMUTING."  Telecommuting is a growing trend with modern day professionals who are looking for a way to help cut expenses while still working.  Many career fields offer the ability to telecommute or partially telecommute, especially in this growing field of information technology.  So what is telecommuting?

Simple.  It's simply doing the work that you can from home.  If you spend all day processing data, or providing tech support to off site satellite offices of your company, then whats the point of driving into an office every day to do a job over the internet or over the phone?  As the field of Information technology grows, and data transferring is getting faster and faster, telecommuting allows your company to save money by not needing such a large facility to house your workspace or supplies or liability insurance for you as a person on site, and save you money because you don't have to drive into work every day.  Now some companies may still require you to come into the office may once or twice a week, but that a sure shot better then 5 or 6 days.

So now your probably asking yourself, who would be interested in hiring someone offsite, and who exactly are they looking for?  Well the answer there is simple; Any company who outsources work to a foreign country could be enticed to hire you as an off site representative.  Companies looking for Writers, Tech Support, IT Personnel, Product Review Technicians, Quality Control, Data Entry, Account Transcribers, Data Analysts, the list goes on and on.  Add to that that this type of work is GREAT for college students because it give you the ease of flexibility in your schedule to attend classes, and do the work from your dorm if necessary, and you have a win win situation.  Not only can you work to get some extra cash to offset college expenses, but you can do it on your own time.

http://www.elance.com

If your interested, the company Elance.com provides free listings of work proposals that you can bid on, and they act as a micromanagement firm, making sure you get paid for the work you do.  They can provide a great source of extra income for anyone looking for a part time or full time job and they have people looking for employees in just about every field.  They aren't the only company providing such services.  As the Telecommuting and Freelance market grows more and more companies are offering services like these.  Of all the ones I've looked at recently, I would have to say that Elance is the most effective at teaming top not employers up with skilled employees, and a base account is free.  If your looking to maximize your potential, then I suggest that 

Freelancer.com

you also check out  Freelancer.com which provides an almost identical service, with a slightly different approach.  Both offer free accounts and a user friendly network, as well as an ability to mingle with professionals you would likely have never met before.  What do you have to lose? A piece of your carbon footprint? Yeah, like thats a bad thing...  While your at it, use the links, provided in this article and show support for this blog with the Elance and Freelancer affiliate programs.  Here's hoping that this information helps someone earn a living doing something they love without ever leaving their home... I know its brought me pretty close.