经济危机之后美国的SOHO一族正在扩大，涵盖的范围也很广，但是SOHO一族的竞争依然比较激烈，工资也相对较少。SOHO一族能身兼数职，并能根据自身需要安排时间。

Amid the economy's many ailments, some good news has remained mostly off the radar: The at-home work force is growing, and it is encompassing new occupations ranging from radiology and nursing to auditing and teaching.
在那么多的经济问题之中，有些好消息仍基本上没被人们注意到：SOHO一族正在扩大，而且涵盖的新职业也从解读放射医学影像和护理到审计和教学，不一而足。

The bad news: Fierce competition means your odds of landing one of these jobs are poor. And if you succeed, you will probably take a pay cut.
坏消息是，激烈的竞争意味着找到这类工作的机会很小。即使是找到了，也可能要接受薪水降低的现实。

For companies, home-based employees, independent contractors and freelancers are helping cut costs and improve customer service. Full-time, home-based freelancers and independent contractors in the U.S. are expected to increase by 200,000 workers to 11 million by the end of 2009, says Ray Boggs, a vice president of IDC, Framingham, Mass., a market-research firm; he sees another 200,000-worker increase in 2010.
对企业来说，在家工作的员工、独立承包人和自由职业者有助于降低成本、改善客服。马萨诸塞州市场研究公司国际数据公司副总裁伯格斯说，预计2009年底前，美国的全职、在家工作的自由职业者和独立承包人将增加20万人，至1,100万。他认为，2010年还会再增加20万。

While that is a mere blip on the radar in an economy that has been losing nearly that many jobs in a month, the trend means a lot to the individuals who are benefiting from it. They are avoiding dreaded commutes, doing volunteer work, pursuing college degrees or caring for family. And they are performing increasingly complex tasks from home, from reading MRIs to helping clients search for Bigfoot, the mythic wilderness creature.
尽管在一个单月新增失业人口就有这么多的经济体中，这个数字微不足道，但趋势对那些从中获益的个人来说却有着重要意义。这些人避开了令人头痛的上下班，还可以做义工，攻读学位或是照顾家人。此外，他们可以在家里从事越来越复杂的工作，从解读磁共振影像到帮助客户寻找传说中的野生动物“大脚怪”。

'We are seeing a general broadening of the work-at-home landscape,' says Christine Durst, chief executive of a work-at-home Web site and co-author of a new guidebook on the topic.
德斯特是一个在家办公网站的首席执行长。她说，我们开始看到在家工作的领域在普遍扩大。她还与人合着了一部新的相关指导书。

Many skilled at-home professionals and managers earn less than a corporate salary. Less-skilled customer-service or sales work usually pays about $8 to $15 an hour, ranging as high as $25 or more with incentives or premiums. Some companies pay by the minute or hour spent on the phone, while others pay by the shift. The jobs vary by company from full-time employee positions with benefits to part-time independent contractor positions.
很多在家办公的熟练专业人士和管理人士挣得比公司工资要少。没有那么熟练的客服或销售工作的薪水通常是每小时8到15美元，加上激励或奖金后最高可达每小时25美元。一些企业按接打电话的分钟或小时计薪，还有一些按班次付薪。公司不同，工作也不同，从享受福利的全职职位到兼职独立承包人职位。

Home-based work enables newlywed Stacey Anderson, 30, Ballston Spa, N.Y., to tackle numerous roles. Since landing a customer-service post last summer as a contractor for VIPdesk, Ms. Anderson has been able to bend her work hours around her husband's rotating shifts on his job. In addition, she squeezes in a full-time course load as a college student.
在家办公的工作让居住在纽约州、刚结婚的安德森可以身兼数职。自去年夏天在VIPdesk找到了一份客服承包人的工作后，她就可以根据丈夫的倒班时间调整自己的工作时间。此外，她还可以挤时间修全日制大学的课程。

Such intangible incentives are drawing skilled, experienced people. Mark Frei, a senior vice president of West, says 80% of West's home agents have some college education, compared with 30% of those who work in office-based call centers
这样的无形刺激吸引来了能力强、经验丰富的人。West高级副总裁弗雷说，该公司80%在家办公的人员都拥有本科学位，而在公司电话中心工作的人中只有30%拥有本科学位。