A technology research firm IDC.com had a recent study that showed that there are now an approximate of 112000 home-based agents working in the United States. And this number will still grow up to 300,000 by 2010.

Three of the companies hiring home-based agents include:

1. Alpine Access

They have been hiring home based customer service agents since 1998.

Unlike other work opportunities out there, we allow you to work from home. With Alpine Access, you can expect to be paid for all of the time you work - not on a per-minute or per call basis where, if calls don't come in, you don't make money. Further, we pay for application processing, background checks and for training. As employees of Alpine Access, you will experience a different kind of job, working from the comfort of your own home-office.

Apply here to become an Alpine Access work-from-home agent.

2. Convergys

The customer-service company that gets the most 800-number calls - its agents handle about a billion per year - is Convergys (www.convergys.com), which right now is tripling the number of its home-based agents from 1,000 to 3,000. (Convergys also has 60,000 employees in its 55 U.S. call centers.)

Apply here to become a Convergys home based agent.

3. StaffCentrix

To look into opportunities in the field of virtual assistance, check out Staffcentrix, which has been matching people with virtual-assistant jobs since 1999. The site is chock-full of job leads and other resources.

via CNN