As a Military Spouse, it can be a challenge to seek and find professional employment when you move regularly or are located in a remote area, an overseas location or small population center. One solution to this problem might be considering the freelance opportunities in your field. The notion of "working from home" is often associated with small franchise style sales opportunities or telemarketing, however the web-based freelance employment market is growing and offers many professional level projects.

Small companies and start-up businesses will often out-source professional work through freelancing websites as a cost-effective way of producing a product or completing a project in a minimum amount of time without hiring extra staff. This short-term, contract-based work can be an ideal way for a Professional Military Spouse to maintain meaningful employment and establish a good reputation in your field. It can also be a good option for making new career connections and staying in touch with your career field while searching for more permanent employment in a location.

The types of contract work available on freelance websites includes projects in Marketing and Communications, Business Consulting, Writing and Editing, IT, Graphic Design, Administrative Support, Legal, Finance and Accounting fields. 

How do Freelancing Websites work?

Freelance websites all work slightly differently but operate under the same principle. Companies or individuals can post project-style work on the website and freelancers bid on the jobs by sending through a quote and any supporting evidence of their ability to complete the work ("bid"). Freelancers also establish a profile on the site where they can include samples of their work and showcase reviews. Companies and Individuals with contract work can also view the freelancer profiles and approach the freelancer directly for a work project.

Payment for projects is usually managed through a secure system, such as PayPal, and the money held by a third party (the website) until the work is partially or entirely complete. Membership on the websites is usually free, but sometimes includes a subscription so that you can bid on projects. Read the fine print carefully and always err toward the websites that only charge when you make money. For some you will pay a small fee when you accept or complete a project and this will be a set fee (ie $5); for others a percentage (ie 8.5%) will be added to the bid you submit for a job and automatically deducted from the payment.

What Professional Freelancing Websites are out there?

Elance : With over 66,500 jobs posted a month, Elance is the largest US based freelance website and has the biggest range of US professional projects. As the most reputable site, it charges slightly more than some other sites (8.5% is added to your freelance bid), but tends to attract larger companies and corporations. 

Freelancer : Freelancer began as a Swedish freelancing website but is now the world leader in freelance opportunities. Freelancer allows you to compete for worldwide projects and still be paid in $US dollars.

Guru : A simple and easy-to-use site utilized by companies including the Red Cross and Verizon.

oDesk : oDesk runs as a virtual office for freelancers. In addition to posting projects, oDesk tracks your hours spent on each job and pays you accordingly.

Flexjobs : Charges an annual fee of $49.95 but allows you to search for Professional Telecommuting positions in addition to Freelancing opportunities.