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A freelancer is an independent contractor. Have you been looking for freelance employment? Are you thinking you have the skills and discipline to work independently? With a computer, high speed internet, phone, fax and skills you can work from home in almost any field with companies in almost any country. Companies benefit by working with freelancers or contractors because they are not responsible for employment/tax costs. Make sure your home environment fits with the type of work you want to do. If you plan to do phone work, you can't have sounds of small children or dogs barking in your background. Companies still want their home workers to appear to be working in the companies' offices.

Writing/Editing/Proofreading

If you're hoping to find job listings for writers or freelance photography jobs there are opportunities online. In previous times freelance writers and photographers contacted magazine and book publishers with samples sent via the mail. Now, you can search the web and find organizations hiring freelancers of all sorts. Freelance writing, editing and proofreading are valuable services to many businesses. Companies can't afford to distribute documents and marketing materials that contain errors. An extra pair of eyes help to find errors that could be costly or embarrassing. They need accurate and professional workers to create and polish written materials.

There is a wide range of pay. Low paying jobs range from $10 per article to $200 per educational paper. High paying jobs range from $600 to $1,000 per article. Ghost writing a novel can get you thousands.

Web Developers

With technological advances telecommuting jobs became possible and prevalent. Freelance opportunities have moved beyond writing and photography. Other freelance employment areas to explore include jobs for web developers. Web developers usually offer HTML and programming services to create interactive or database driven websites. Web developers are programmers and work with web based code like ASP, .NET, Cold Fusion, DHTML, Javascript, PHP, SQL and more. Web development and web maintenance are viable freelance jobs ideal for work at home.

'Someone who wants to be a developer has to have a good eye, think like a programmer and have some graphic design capabilities. If you only know HTML then you won't get very far and will find that you have a lot of limitations to the types of sites you can build', says Joey Costa, owner of The Tek in Cary, NC. In addition to HTML, you should know C programming, pearl, and good graphics programs like Photoshop.

Mystery Shopping

Consider also, mystery shopping. Mystery shoppers provide businesses with much needed information on customer service and help increasing sales. A mystery shopper covertly evaluates the cleanliness of a facility, how products are placed, the staff's helpfulness and knowledge. It is an opportunity for a business to improve services and provide training. The shopper provides detailed reports answering the questions posed in guidelines for conducting each shop.

This is not a field in which you'll get rich. You may find steady work if you provide great reports, follow job guidelines exactly and live in an area where frequent shops occur. Signing up with multiple mystery shopping service providers should bring you more frequent mystery shopping jobs.

How Much Do Mystery Shopping Jobs Pay?

Mystery Shopping pay rates vary depending on the type of assignment and establishment. Sometimes it is just reimbursement for money spent during the shop. You are given a set spending limit and are told if it will be reimbursed. For example, you shop an express lube service. Your oil change and lube will cost $29. You are reimbursed $29. In another case you shop a supermarket, you pay for the job is $11 and up to $6 of your purchase will be reimbursed. Your total pay for the job is $17. Shopping auto dealerships, property management firms, and other such establishments often pay a rate anywhere from $30 to $75. Other examples: retail stores pay $10 -$30/shop, fast food $5-$15/shop, casual dining restaurants pay $15 to $30 with a meal allowance of $15 - $20.

Virtual Assistant

If your administrative skills are strong you may consider being a Virtual Assistant. A Virtual Assistant (VA) supports one or more businesses remotely. Duties may include secretarial work, meeting and travel planning, project management and web maintenance. As an independent contractor you'll decide with whom you'll work and how and when you'll work.

Clients are most often small businesses and will hire a Virtual Administrative Assistant to save money. Since you are working from home you use your own equipment and the client incurs not employment costs like taxes and benefits. You are responsible for your own taxes as an independent contractor. Virtual assistants can support just about any industry. The ones hiring VA's most often include real estate, coaching, financial services, accounting and legal.

You can learn how to become a VA and earn certification through one of many online training organizations. These organizations work with your existing skill and teach you how to create, operate and become successful in your VA business. Many refer you to your first virtual assistant job. You should research training providers well before paying for training.

Virtual Assistants usually charge by the hour. Rates range from $25 to $50 per hour. Some VA's work with clients on a retainer. The VA is paid up front and the client sends work when needed.