On-line work at home

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babala

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On-line work at home
« on: November 05, 2008, 08:32:52 AM »
I always see those ads about working for companies at home on-line. Are these things legit or scams? I applied for a job and it turns out to be an on-line job. There is no money required for any kind of software or training.

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Foscolo

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Re: On-line work at home
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2008, 09:06:36 AM »
I've looked into this sort of thing a few times in recent years. Firstly, I'd say that anything requiring any sort of payment in advance is going to be a scam, but that's obvious really. (Or is it? Maybe some people actually go for it.)

Where it's legit, the problem is often that the hourly rate works out very low. The companies concerned are relying on people being so delighted at the prospect of being able to work at home that they'll do it for peanuts.

Another common problem is that there may be a lot less work than you're led to expect - or even none at all. That appears to have been the case with an online ESL program launched (and later closed down) by the UK newspaper The Guardian a few months ago. It's much easier to sign up workers than to get paying customers.

The obvious thing to do is cut out the middlemen who are taking the profit and work directly for the end consumer - of course, that's a lot easier said than done, and the feasibility would depend very much on the type of work. But if you can get it set up, a relatively small amount of work could pay more than huge quantities doing it for an employer. I've been peddling my ESL writing skills to clients trawled off the internet for some time now, and hope never to have to go back to being ripped off by an employer again.

The idea of thousands of students paying good money for online ESL lessons is one that seems to appeal regularly to internet entrepreneurs, but rather less so to actual students. Face-to-face lessons are going to be preferable to most, and pursuing that angle may be more profitable for most ESL teachers.
« Last Edit: November 05, 2008, 10:48:05 AM by Foscolo »
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