Working at home seems like a dream job for many people. The freedom of a work at home job is only one of the many benefits; there are also no commuting hassles to worry about, and you get to pick when you work, how long, and what you want to do. The only trick is actually managing to snag a work at home job, since the competition for them is immense.

There are a few ways to start. First of all, you can try a freelancing site like Guru.com or Elance. These sites specialize in connecting freelancers to prospective employers. If you are a good writer, programmer, or have any kind of special skill that is often needed in just about any profession, this is a good place to start. The downside to freelancing websites is that they tend to be very competitive.

There is also the avenue of affiliate marketing. Getting into marketing of any kind on the internet is a deep prospect and should only be undertaken if you are serious about making money online. However, the freedom offered through affiliate marketing - which is basically selling other peoples' products on the internet through your own website - is even greater than online data entry or freelancing jobs.

Whatever avenue you choose to make money online, you need to find a reliable source of legit online jobs. There are many forums and article sites that can direct you to legitimate job opportunities on the internet. You can also sign up through a third part contracting company which will align you with prospective online businesses; it's important to have a good resume in hand before applying to most of the companies you will find there.

The other alternative is to sign up with a site like Legit Online Jobs, which has you write ads and post them to various different employer sites, as well as Google Adwords. You do have to pay a membership fee to get access to their database, but you're essentially guaranteed a job with this fee, as members have access to all the subscription benefits. Elance and Guru are much the same; by paying the subscriber fee, you get to post unlimited applications and do not have to worry about your connections to prospective employers running out.

Before you sign up with any online job prospects, make sure you do some background research on the company. Scams and pyramid schemes are numerous on the internet, and even well-researched and experienced job seekers can fall into the clever traps set out by scammers. It never hurts to know exactly what you're getting into, so take the time to make sure the company is reputable.