Part time jobs are essential to the U.S. economy. Students and college graduates just starting out are often placed in these positions. Experienced workers who need some extra cash to pay off bills often find themselves in part time employment. Whether employed by retailers, bookstores, major corporations or even working solo via the web, the option of hourly pay is one many take in troubled economic times.
Online Part Time Jobs
With the explosive growth of the internet in the last decade, new opportunities have arisen through websites that allow workers to make money via a computer and broadband connection. Sites including Suite101, Demand Studios, BrightHub, Associated Content and HubPages allow writers to generate a steady stream of income called revenue sharing or get paid a flat fee per article. Other websites such as Guru, iFreelance, Freelancer and eLance match companies with skilled candidates looking for part time work.
The web has also opened up a new breed of part time jobs – virtual assistants. Working through companies including Alpine Access and LiveOps, VAs assist business executives and others in everyday routine office tasks including writing memos, answering telephones and scheduling meetings. Virtual assistants work at home independently; some even start a business serving the business needs of their clients.
Retail and Sales Part Time Work
Retail jobs come in all shapes and sizes. Some including warehousing and stocking require strenuous labor, while others such as cashiering require good customer service skills but not necessarily muscular strength. Restaurant part time employment tends to be hectic, working off of tips with a lower base salary. The general rule here is the more expensive the restaurant the higher the take-home pay. For a more relaxed work environment, part time jobs in the library, bookstore, apartment leasing office, floral shop, video shop or bakery are all good options.
Consulting Part Time Employment
Consultants utilize their expertise to help companies in a number of business functions including graphic design, marketing, software programming and accounting. This part time job can be run out of a home office or at the client site. Given several years of experience in a specialized area of expertise, consultants can make a far higher salary than if employed full time. Career boards such as Monster, CareerBuilder and Dice list consulting opportunities; also perform a search using Linkedin and TwitJobSearch.
With the advent of the internet, part time employment is becoming easier to find and more comfortable to boot. No longer are part time jobs limited to strictly retail work; as more opportunities arise on the web to earn a salary, more workers are enjoying making money from the comfort of their home offices.
Daniel Gansle - Daniel J. Gansle is the author of 2012: Day of Reckoning, graduate of Anthropological Studies and expert in ancient Mayan culture.
