As the internet in general and online business in particular grow, so, naturally, does the demand for people: specialists in new professions.
Usability specialists, if I’m not mistaken, have been named one of the most in-demand new professions (maybe the wording was different, but that was the gist).
Clearly, to make money online you have to be able to do something. Usability people, obviously, and, traditionally, designers, copywriters and programmers. There’s also the caste of SEO people and assorted bums ;)
So the received wisdom is that you have to be an expert in some field to earn well online and retire to the islands. And that’s perfectly logical.
But! What about those who can’t do anything of the sort, which is to say the majority?
Lucky for them, there’s demand for them too!
Unskilled mental labor (or rather, the labor of the right index finger) is a new phenomenon in the economy ;)
First, there are content managers, the people who fill websites with information wherever that can’t be done automatically.
A content manager’s work costs from 5 to 15 dollars an hour!
At 20 hours a week (half-time) that’s up to 80 hours a month, which at $10 an hour comes to $800 a month. Where in real life do unskilled workers earn like that?
Of course, content managers aren’t always that busy. And the work isn’t easy. But still.
Now picture someone from a small Ukrainian town who earns, say, $500 a month sitting at home. You can only be happy for them.
Second, there’s customer support. A phone, email, ICQ, and you can work whether you live in Bila Tserkva or in Kryzhopil, a byword for the middle of nowhere.
I think that, starting with the simplest work of filling forums and online stores, you can find more serious work that doesn’t require being physically present in an office somewhere in central Kyiv.
Provided, of course, you’re willing to work hard and learn. And from there you can join the ranks of the specialists.