The American Heritage dictionary defines “virtual” as “existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name.” In other words, something that seems real, and in some ways is real but isn’t actually real.

While you can split hairs and argue semantics all day long about whether or not virtual communities, websites, games, etc. exist, or merely exist in essence, the work needed to create them is very real. That has led to the creation of a whole new industry of virtual jobs.

The very real people who hold these virtual jobs bring very different skills to their cyber assignments. Only some of them are programmers capable of writing directions languages like java or C++ that create the framework of a game or a website. Many more of these workers are creative types who work in words or images, and administrative personnel who are skilled at operating productivity programs like spreadsheets and email.

Virtual job holders do not have cubicles in physical offices assigned to them, but they may still be actual employees of a company. In those cases the hiring firm still dictates what hours the person works as well as what they do and how they do it during those hours.

Independent contractors and freelancers can also work virtual jobs. In those cases arrangements with the hiring company are spelled out through formal or informal contracts. The hiring company specifically has no power to tell the contractor or freelancer where they can work or when they must work.

Certain kinds of projects lend themselves to this sort of a business relationship more readily than others. Computer programming and web design were among the earliest types, but one of the fastest growing virtual job segments involves customer service.

Traditionally these jobs have been filled by employees working in centralized call centers. These call centers have either been operated by the company directly or by outside firms who contract with several different companies to offer inbound or outbound call services.

Many enterprise sized companies around the world have begun outsourcing their customer service department assignments directly to individuals. High speed Internet connections and simplified software services have made it possible for these companies to hire home workers who log in to the company’s extranet to access the programs they need to complete their tasks. Calls are similarly routed to them over the Internet. Some of these programs are so sophisticated every keystroke of a virtual worker can be monitored and every call recorded. This ensures the company’s control over the quantity and quality of work being done by the individual at home is the same as it would be at a physical company location.

Companies that hire freelancers or independent contractors to handle virtual jobs are usually more concerned with getting a specific project completed or with having routine tasks done by someone else so that they can concentrate their business efforts elsewhere. They aren’t concerned with when or how the job is done so long as it meets certain minimum quality standards.

As virtual jobs become more plentiful and more people seek them out to either supplement or replace a full time traditional job, more training programs on how to do these jobs are also created. Several new programs have been added by colleges and technical institutes both online and offline to certify that an individual has the basics skills required to operate standard communication programs and productivity tools that are used to carry out these jobs.

The area is still too new, however, for there to be any across the board standards for what constitutes a minimally or a highly skilled virtual worker.

Do you have a hobby? Is there something that you enjoy so much that is what you would rather be doing? If so, your hobby might be your next job. There are hobbies that make money without feeling like you are doing work. If you like to write or do genealogy or make dolls, these are all money makers if you go about it in the right way.

There are many people who would like to have the talent you have when it comes to your hobbies. But everyone has something they are better at than anything else. So your talent might not be theirs but something they do may seem impossible to you.

When you find something that is interesting to you such as genealogy, there are many others who are interested in knowing about their family history as well. It might just be they do not know how to research to find out everything they can. Or they may not have time. It takes hours sometimes to search through census records and all the histories of the different families that came from various backgrounds.

The hobbies that make money will be the ones you might not even consider. There is a call for anything you can think of that you do well. Do you like to sew? There are people who will pay large amounts of money for handmade items. If you know how to make quilts, this is another item that people actually travel to different areas of the country to buy. They are also available online since the internet has become such a popular medium for shopping.

The hobby that you have been doing for years can pay off. Are you a traveler? Do you like to visit out of the way places and see things that you do not normally see on the regular routes that most people travel? If so, you can write about these places and publish them on the web. This is becoming a popular way of traveling today. The same hotels and attractions that are seen every time someone goes on vacation are becoming mundane. The articles you write that let people see there are other attractions when vacationing can become quite popular. Anything out of the ordinary is one thing people like to know about.

If you are having trouble thinking of a hobby that you can turn into a business, think about all the things you have done over the years and which you enjoyed the most. There are many things that you just do and do not consider them a hobby. Do not start something just for the purpose of turning a hobby into a business. The hobby must be something you love to do and have experience doing.

A website is a good idea to advertise your expertise. Marketing is very important to let people know the service you perform is available. This is absolutely imperative to let people who do not know you have an idea of the services you can provide. They cannot hire you if they do not know what you do.