I am currently facing what many of you who are reading this are probably facing as well — the company you work for is passing on rising health care costs to employees, your salary is flat or sinking every year, you’re told to use up your vacation time or take unpaid time off. This is the situation that you can find yourself in when you work for a corporation. You’re ultimately subject to the whims of the corporate leadership, and as most of you probably know by now - the corporate world isn’t exactly soaking neck deep in ethical behavior or concern for workers.

Unfortunately, worker loyalty and company loyalty is a thing of the past. In the 1940’s and the 1950’s, you would join with a prestigious company, work there for 25 or 30 years, and then retire on a sweet pension into your golden years.

The company cared about you and took care of you, so in turn you devoted your entire life to giving the company your absolute best. The 1980’s seem to be the turning point, with NAFTA and the exportation of jobs to foreign workers. Companies started getting greedy, loyalty to workers (at least in the U.S.) plummeted as corporate leadership started doing whatever it took to cut overhead, increase profit, and win those coveted stock options and bonuses.

The Plague of Outsourcing

Over the last couple of decades, Western workers are forced, more and more, to make difficult decisions. Many of our jobs are being outsourced to 3rd world countries where the pay is a fraction of that for industrialized nations, and the standard of living is even lower. Citizens of those countries are exploited, and citizens of the Western world are gradually coming to terms with the fact that company loyalty is dead. This is the world we live in.

However, there’s another amazing reality that’s shaping up, thanks to the Internet. The Internet is leveling the playing field, so that no matter where you live, you can produce something that people all across the world want. Let’s face it - whether you’re sitting in the UK, the U.S., India or China, if you have information or knowledge that a large majority of folks want and are willing to pay for, then you have the potential to create your own work at home job.

Finding Legal, Real Work from Home Jobs

Are there legal and real work from home jobs? Yes. I’ve personally successfully accomplished several. One was working as an Ebay Powerseller of Antiques. The product you sell doesn’t matter, all that matters is that you identify a source for goods that you can get at a decent price, and list and sell on Ebay at a higher price. However, the work is grueling - taking pictures, writing up listings, dealing with customers, packaging - it takes a great deal of time and often the profit margin is very small.

There are other things you can do to take advantage of the Internet in order to draw an income. These are legal, real work from home jobs that only require your skills, not your pocketbook. If you can write, there’s great demand for professional bloggers, and the pay is increasing every day. Creating your own website or blog may take some time to launch, but if you put in the effort you could potentially generate some impressive residual income. Don’t forget the value of intellectual property like writing quality, useful eBooks (or even real books) and selling them online. If you have a skill or knowledge that people are asking for - then you can serve a niche that no one else can access.

Yes - there are ways to find legal and real work from home jobs and opportunities. All it takes is a little bit of creativity and a pinch of nerve to work for yourself rather than a corporate madhouse. And, of course, you’ve got to find a way to cover your health care costs….and that is a major sticking point for most U.S. workers. Hopefully, this is something that will get resolved soon so that more people can start working for themselves, rather than “the man.”

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Ryan is a technology writer and investigative blogger. He has been working as an online writer for numerous clients for over 5 years, and now consults webmasters and blog owners about effective SEO optimization. Ryan has 52 post(s) at Free Writing Center