Working abroad online for a U.S.-based company?

[GerriCampos]

I'd love some advice about what legitimate jobs exist online and what types of degrees would be necessary to obtain a job like that. I met someone on a flight to Santiago recently who was there with her large family of small children and husband. She told me they lived in Chile because it's gorgeous and her husband works online. So there are no legal issues about being employed in the US. How can I do something like that?? All I have is an associate degree in Psychology. I'm willing to put a couple more years of school in. Where do I start???

[CleeIB]

Actually, there are potential legal issues there. The husband might have to pay Chilean taxes because he lives there, or there might be residency/visa issues. With each country comes a different set of legal challenges.

"Working online" could mean anything from "take surveys for money" to "working a normal job, just being so high-powered that you can conduct business mostly through email".

Work-at-home moms often depend on the Internet for income; they have a forum with all sorts of listings online jobs and discussion: http://www.wahm.com/forum/

Given your background, you could see if any online work is available in psychology. "Working online" just means that people only have to communicate through the Internet for work to occur. Of course, that's easier for certain professions (writer) than others (you probably can't walk dogs over the Internet). But if you're clever enough, you can find an online path in professions that don't have obvious online components.

Good luck!