The Top 10 Paying Virtual Assistant Employment Opportunities
By Denise Wright
articles@workhotline.com
Many stay-at-home moms have looked into virtual assistant employment because of its recent popularity and flexibility. Though assistants work for themselves , they should focus in one major area of assistance. Virtual assistants are not limited to tasks relating to proofreading, word-processing and data entry. There are many positions that require a greater skill, and assistants who are knowledgeable in those skills can make more than the average assistant.
1. Real Estate Assistants
Virtual assistants who assist real estate agents tend to perform many tasks, from typing up and designing flyers to be stored at the house-for-sale to posting pictures and information on websites. Occasionally, they will be responsible for making calls to either the homeowner or potential homebuyers, and they may also be responsible for drawing up the legal paperwork when the house is sold. An excellent real-estate virtual assistant charges between $75-$150 an hour, other assistants charge between $40-$55 an hour.
2. Accounting/Bookkeeping Assistants
Many companies send out their payroll and other financial statements for accountants to go through and process. Some accountants are even in charge of business financial goals and spread-sheet design. The average salary for an accountant assistant is $54,000, if she is working full time.
3. Editing/Proofreading Assistants
Businesses who need presentations or pamphlets (looked at by a professional) will often send their business to virtual assistants who proofread and edit the pamphlet and send it back for printing. The average salary for editors and proofreaders is $30,000.
4. Executive Assistants
Assistants to executives must understand the business of the executive in order to perform their duties. They perform many tasks including Internet research, editing, database creation and over-all receptionist work. Full-time executive Assistants make $50,000 annually on average.
5. Medical Transcription Assistants
Most medical transcribers do coding to transfer information on patient charts to a medical code that is readable by insurance companies. After transcribing it over to code, the assistant will send the information back to the hospital or clinic. Medical coding knowledge is required to do coding, but can be learned by taking a class either online or at a local college. Most transcribers make $10-$20 an hour, but skilled ones can make even more.
6. Graphic Design Assistants
Some graphic designers work for individual companies and do all their work for the one company, though others act as virtual assistants and are "on call" with several different companies. Graphic designers must have strong skills in design and in design software. Since graphic design is a competitive market, most designers make around $40 an hour, though designers with strong skills could make over $200 an hour.
7. Website Design Assistants
Website designers work for various companies updating websites as needed. They may also host a server for their clients to take care of all their needs. Website designers must be skilled in design and some "computer languages" like html. Like graphic design, website design is a competitive market as well, but those who have the most knowledge can make between $150-$200 per hour.
8. Translating Assistants
Any business that needs information translated may look for assistant from a translator. Translators generally receive documents that needs to be translated from the business, and returns the documents after translation. Most translating assistants make between $15-$25 an hour, but can make more depending on how many languages they know and their fluency in those languages.
9. Legal Assistants
Legal assistants do not necessarily need to know law, but it is very useful. They do need to have an understanding of legal documents, as they will spend most of their time filling those out. At times, they may be required to do some documentation for the Law Firms for which they work. Legal Assistants who have a strong understanding of law and documentation can make approximately $96,000 a year.
10. Marketing Assistants
Marketing assistants can be in charge of everything from thinking up new slogans to posting advertisements online. They must have creative skills and sales skills. Good marketers can make $60,000 or more a year. Though there are several choices to choose from, if you are thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, you should focus on the skills you already have or know you can obtain.