There is so much out there that is not traditional in terms of work. After 29 years working in an industry that I did not like, I made the change. I decided to put my education to work for me and do something that was not so crazy. I became a freelance website content writer.
That might sound like a crazy move, but for me it was the best thing I could have ever done. A lot of people say they are writers, but honestly, what does that mean? There are a lot of different types of writers. A freelance website content writer pretty much focuses on creating content for other peoples websites. That may be an online article or maybe a blog post. Whatever it is, it is something that is produced and sold to another person.
The reason you can unchain yourself from the American workforce is that it is not too difficult to find clients in other countries. This means that you are working on a global basis. About a year into being a freelance writer, I found clients from all over the world. It works out really well for those of us who can read and write American English. Lots of non-American companies need content written for the American reader. Case-in-point: A few years back Dell Computers was getting negative feedback because their call center was located in India. People who were already mad because their computer was not working would call the help number, and then have to struggle with a technician who struggled with English. Dell made a change to appease callers, but their solution was bunk. The same Indian Technicians would answer the phone calls and say their name was John, or Bob, or David, but they still had the accent. It was quite a humorous situation unless you were frustrated by the fact that your computer was not working. This kind of story really brings home the point that people who are reading, calling, or shopping are looking to do so in their native language. America is a huge consumer of products, and that means that content on websites needs to be in American English if it is directed toward Americans.
I have had the privilege of working with marketers from Great Britain, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Canada, and Russia. All of these people needed content, which I provided for them. Some of these clients are still with me. Others pop up once in a while. Because I was willing to let my education work for me, I was no longer required to go to work at a job I did not like. Because the economy was so bad, I did not have to fight with 500 other people for a new job. Today I work for a content company. I work from home, and I work when I want to work. At the end of the month I am making more money then I did working for a corporation and nobody complains that my work attire is sweatpants.
David S is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
