by Gary Swart, oDesk.com
A lot of people make all or part of their living through freelancing, working from home. oDesk, for example, has a community of more than 200,000 remote work providers. But not all skill sets are created equal, and as waves of layoffs and ongoing instability have more workers looking to broaden their options, an increasing number of people are wondering whether their skills can be translated to freelancing opportunities.
In a recent survey of freelancers, a majority (59%) said that if they weren't providing freelance services, they wouldn't be able to meet their financial obligations; and nearly a third (32.4%) said freelance earnings are their primary source of income. In addition to helping to make ends meet, you will be strengthening your skills and building relationships for future opportunities.
So where are these jobs coming from? On oDesk, we've seen a number of sectors increase in activity in the last year:
Freelance writing: Journalists are being laid off left and right, so the competition can be fierce. But at the same time, the Internet has created a wide variety of new writing jobs, many of them better suited to the new freelancer than the old hand. Companies are hiring bloggers to give a public voice to their websites, for instance.
Graphic design: Any job where you can work from your own computer on things that lend themselves to portfolio presentation is good work for the remote freelancer. At oDesk, we saw 1,400 design jobs posted in April '08, rising slightly to 1,500 in December, and then rising sharply month by month to about 2,250 in April '09.
Software developer: We track development jobs by individual platforms, from Ajax to Zope, and in most of them, particularly the newer technologies, we're seeing rising demand, across the board.
Management & coordination: From high-end project management to simpler jobs as a long-distance personal assistant, we're seeing a rise in employers turning to remote providers to handle administrative tasks, whether it's basic scheduling or serving as project lead for complex Web development teams dispersed across the globe.
Freelance opportunities are plentiful in today's economy since companies are often reluctant to make room in the budget for a full-time hire. The internet has also enabled these jobs to be done remotely, opening up possibilities for motivated job seekers to get access to these new types of jobs not previously available.
So, what are you waiting for? Take a look at the available jobs today.
Gary Swart is CEO of oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams.
Career Opportunity
A lot of people make all or part of their living through freelancing, working from home. oDesk, for example, has a community of more than 200,000 remote work providers. But not all skill sets are created equal, and as waves of layoffs and ongoing instability have more workers looking to broaden their options, an increasing number of people are wondering whether their skills can be translated to freelancing opportunities.
In a recent survey of freelancers, a majority (59%) said that if they weren't providing freelance services, they wouldn't be able to meet their financial obligations; and nearly a third (32.4%) said freelance earnings are their primary source of income. In addition to helping to make ends meet, you will be strengthening your skills and building relationships for future opportunities.
So where are these jobs coming from? On oDesk, we've seen a number of sectors increase in activity in the last year:
Freelance writing: Journalists are being laid off left and right, so the competition can be fierce. But at the same time, the Internet has created a wide variety of new writing jobs, many of them better suited to the new freelancer than the old hand. Companies are hiring bloggers to give a public voice to their websites, for instance.
Graphic design: Any job where you can work from your own computer on things that lend themselves to portfolio presentation is good work for the remote freelancer. At oDesk, we saw 1,400 design jobs posted in April '08, rising slightly to 1,500 in December, and then rising sharply month by month to about 2,250 in April '09.
Software developer: We track development jobs by individual platforms, from Ajax to Zope, and in most of them, particularly the newer technologies, we're seeing rising demand, across the board.
Management & coordination: From high-end project management to simpler jobs as a long-distance personal assistant, we're seeing a rise in employers turning to remote providers to handle administrative tasks, whether it's basic scheduling or serving as project lead for complex Web development teams dispersed across the globe.
Freelance opportunities are plentiful in today's economy since companies are often reluctant to make room in the budget for a full-time hire. The internet has also enabled these jobs to be done remotely, opening up possibilities for motivated job seekers to get access to these new types of jobs not previously available.
So, what are you waiting for? Take a look at the available jobs today.
Gary Swart is CEO of oDesk, the marketplace for online workteams.
Career Opportunity
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