Virtual Reality

Virtual Assistant – once a fictional dynamic of a futuristic science fiction movie has now become a force in the work world. Virtual assistants are independent contractors who from a remote location, usually their home or office, support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services.

According to recent surveys, the future of the work world appears to be leaning toward business owners investing more and more of their money on online workers as opposed to investing in office plans. With high energy costs and expensive transportation, businesses will ultimately turn their work force into virtual teams of online workers. Younger workers do not want to limit themselves to commuting and cubes.

More companies are ramping up their hiring of anywhere workers who will not need to come into or even be near the corporate office. American Express, Amazon, United Health and Aetna are companies that have already come to the conclusion that hiring more virtual workers gives them access to millions of potential candidates rather than limiting themselves to local job prospects. It also saves businesses on commercial real estate costs and reduces turnover, as workers become ironically loyal when offered their freedom. It is also quite possible and most likely that one day, workers may be able to work from the road. Many cars are now Wi-Fi-equipped. Cars are literally being turned into internet hotspots.

Most of the virtual jobs available today are concentrated in health care. But with so many virtual assistants hoping to land a lucrative work at home gig, many job seekers are finding that they need to specialize and find a niche in order to get themselves noticed by employers. Data Mining is a newly emerging field that involves a wide range of duties including research, analysis, database management and similar functions that are designed to help businesses have a competitive edge in the marketplace. Average annual salary ranges from $50,000 to $120,000 per year. If you are a technology guru, mobile technology has created a growing new segment of the workforce for virtual assistants who can work with mobile devices, apps and services. For obvious reasons, programmers are in high demand.

The virtual professional is often a well-educated, hard working, computer literate, and expert in their field. In general, a virtual professional has the ability to meet all of the outsourcing needs of a company. With so many businesses going mobile nearly all markets will be affected and the options for the candidate qualified to be a virtual assistant will be limitless.

Source: Goudreau, Jenna. “The Best-Paying Jobs You Can Do From Anywhere.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 19 Oct. 2012. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.