"As you can see, I have been working for myself for a long time now and couldn't imagine ever going back to regular employment. I have a varied repertoire of clients who bring me stable employment, from a Spanish restauranteur for whom I do virtually everything - sorting out his post, composing and typing all his correspondence, book-keeping, paying the bills etc - to working for a Member of the Scottish Parliament on a contract-agreed number of hours. In between the regular work I take on other bits and pieces, for example, I am at the moment typing up a thesis for a university student. I like the variety of the work and enjoy being able to pick and choose my hours and the greatest thing of all is that I can sack my own boss!"

"I definitely find more pros than cons or I wouldn't have been freelancing for so long, but there are still things you have to consider before going it alone. The first one is that the buck stops with you! If you are approaching a deadline you might find yourself working until 2 o'clock in the morning to complete the task, so you have to be self-disciplined and not leave things until the 11th hour. You could also run the risk of not being paid by a client, which happened to me once, so you must be selective about who you work for. Plus, it is up to you to keep abreast of changes as it's important to make sure your skills are up-to-date. And finally, you have to be proficient at what you do to offer good value to the customer. I don't sell myself cheap: one prospective client said that I was expensive, so I told him it was because he was getting the best!"

"A virtual assistant rarely has face-to-face contact with his or her employer as it is designed to be an internet service so you do need extremely strong internet skills. Most of all, I enjoy the freedom of being self employed, as I have other business interests and I can do the work as and when I wish. I have the opportunity to pick and choose which jobs I want to take on - Virtual Assistants are a close knit community and each tends to specialise in a particular area, so if you get offered work that isn't in your field you generally pass it on to someone you know who works in that area. Another advantage of working from your own office is that you aren't wasting time and money on travelling, and it can also fit in well with your family and home life."

"Being a VA can be a very lonely job at times, but I belong to lots of networking groups which helps. Also, there is no-one to run to when your computer breaks down, so knowledge of the computer as well as internet skills is important. Continuity of work can be a tricky one, plus you have to know your own limitations and not bite off more than you can chew. Common sense and a basic understanding of business are pre-requisites - you can't be picking up the phone to ask a question about a job every few minutes! You must make sure, too, that you get a very clear understanding of what is expected of you before you start. And watch out, because you can get landed with quite laborious and time-consuming tasks! Remember, running your own business means you have to do your own book-keeping and also take into account the cost of advertising your services - being a VA means that you need exposure on the net in as many places as possible to get yourself known."

My day begins at 8:30 am and ends at 4pm, and I work during term-time only. I really enjoy the hustle and bustle of school life and I have a varied and interesting job - dealing with admissions and school leavers, admin support for the year managers, helping with student problems, disciplinary procedures, medical requirements to name but a few. We are certainly kept busy all the time and the working hours are excellent because it fits in so well with my own family commitments. Another benefit is that siblings of teachers would most likely get priority on the admissions register. The school is a very sociable place to work and I have met lots of new people and made plenty of friends. I have also learnt a great deal about school procedures and undergone extensive training.

The only downside, but it is a big one, is the pay - it is appallingly low. Admin staff are the lowest of the low as far as the payroll is concerned. It isn't the school's fault, it is the system but they know they can get away with it because the working hours make it so attractive. There is always someone waiting to hop into your shoes, so they have you over a barrel. This can make you feel rather under-valued, despite there being a great deal to learn and the job carrying a fair amount of responsibility.