As the whole country is rocked by the current recession, a lot of people are looking at home-based business opportunities as the best alternative today to generate income. Below are five of the top-rated work-at-home jobs that you can easily start in your home.

1) Call center agent

Because of modern software applications that allow you to log in to your company’s system from your home computer, employers find it easier to hire home-based customer service agents. You’ll be sitting in the comfort of your home office and answering phone calls from your company’s clients all over the globe.

A computer high-end computer, a fast broadband connection and a phone line are basically all you need. The technical support agent’s responsibilities can vary depending on each company’s job description. The most common task, however, involves providing the clients with technical support for electronic or digital devices sold by your company.

2) Telemarketing Agent

A telemarketer’s job also involves talking to clients over the phone. The telemarketer makes cold calls to a list of sales leads or potential customers and introduces them to the company’s product line or services offered. They are also required to arrange appointments between the potential customers and the company sales team who will close the sale.

3) Transcriptionist

Online transcriptionists need to listen to recorded audio files and transcribe them from audio into written and printable format. Transcription jobs are split into two categories which are General and Medical. A general transcriptionist’s job involves transcribing audio recordings of various social and business function such as teleseminars, conferences, interviews or lectures.

Medical transcription requires intensive specialized training so you will be able to recognize the medical terminologies used in the audio files which were recorded by doctors and other health professionals.

4) Web Designer

Web designing jobs pay well if you have the skills. You can work either as a regular employee for a company, or as a freelancer who can accept projects from many different customers. This job would naturally require that you have expert skills in web design, and knowledge in HTML, CSS, PHP, and other computer scripts and languages.

5) Writing

You can work exclusively for one employer or as a freelance writer for various clients. Writing jobs provide varied choices with the types of writing styles, subjects, and publications you can choose from. You could write for offline print markets such as magazines, or concentrate on online publications by writing articles for e-zines and article directories.

You can also “ghostwrite” for other people who want to author their own e-books but don’t possess the writing skills. Writers can also boost their online income by writing and publishing their own e-books on the web, putting up their own content websites financed by banner ads, affiliate products and other links. If you can write well, there are a lot of opportunities for you to generate cash online.

There are numerous other types of online jobs that can be accomplished at home, but these are probably the most familiar ones. As technology move onwards to further advancement, we are more likely to see even better and more varied work-at-home jobs in the near future.