What better jobs are there than being an AMer?

Trust funder?

I think it is important to remember that many here have not reached the $XX a day mark and probably only aspire to become a self sufficent AM at this point.

Yes AM offers great rewards, but most folks (including me) still have the day job.

Well, I can't say that I derive a lot of moral satisfaction out of selling products to people who are probably too far in debt to pay their bills anyway, but the hours are great... :P

My perfect job would be as a novelist. Same hours, same freedom, maybe less pay, but at least you're creating something unique and giving people something to do while they're waiting at the doctor's office. The good thing about Adsense/AM is that it gives me time to work on my hobby writing, so maybe there's hope of being published eventually ;)

The best job out there for me is being a Dad. I don't do AM full time yet, but it has helped me take the whole summer off so I could spend more time with my 3 and 1 year old kids.

Summer is just about over though and it's time to get a new consulting contract. :(

Maybe by next summer I'll be a full time Webmaster. It's hard when you have a mortgage and 2 college educations to save for.

ant

Hmmm... no inventory, pack nothing, ship nothing, perform no customer service. Sounds like a good lifestyle to me. ;-)

I enjoy sitting on my front porch with my coffee in the morning watching all my nieghbors going to work. They all wave at me. I think they think i'm unemployed.ha ha. Life is great.

'
I enjoy sitting on my front porch with my coffee in the morning watching all my nieghbors going to work. They all wave at me. I think they think i'm unemployed.ha ha. Life is great. '

You are up that early! I think all of my neighbors assume that I am a drug dealer. I never go to work yet I have a corvette parked out front, and I am always taking vacations.

When it comes to freedom and flexility this is probably the best job out there. When it comes to actually feeling some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment I would rate it one of the worst.

I am personally viewing it as a quick money maker so that I can focus on other things other than making money some time down the road.

When it comes to actually feeling some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment I would rate it one of the worst.

Glad I'm not the only one that feels this way. It's causing a real lack of motivation. How do you stay motivated?

How do you stay motivated?

Addiction >;->

No seriously, I find there are a lot of rewards quite apart from the financial ones - friends asking if they can write articles for me to have their name in print, readers writing in and saying thanks for all the hard work in developing the site, all the free time and never having to work for someone else's agenda.

Not to split hairs but from what you have said Rfung you are not an AMer, your Adsense with a small amount of AM money.

true no?

it varies on a montly basis, for example last month it was about 60% adsense and 40% AM, but it can be 80%-20% as well. I haven't had a month where AM earned more than AS, but I'm working towards it.

However, on the matter of the hair split, I use AM/AS as shorthands to define where the money come from, but whereas "Affiliate Marketer" is a profession, AS doesn't quite stand for anything along the same lines, and if we really think about it, in both instances we only get paid if a specific action gets done, be it at the click level, or at the purchase level. I suppose someone who does exclusively AS might be harder to be labeled as an AMer, but I'll let the philosophers ponder about that one. I had a thread started way back a year ago or so about that went something like(paraphrased) 'what do you tell people when they ask you what you do for a living?'. We could go and look back into it for more accurate words...or... get a nice comb and just brush over the whole thing :)

to go a bit back on topic, although I do find great satisfaction in earning money doing this, I also find the need to find something else to fill up all the free time that's left over. Right now I've got the travelling (and, at the risk of sounding cliche'd, cuz I don't use the word L often, I'm afraid I've fallen in a state of deep emotional connection with Paris, enough for a weeklong stay), but anyway, eventually i'll have to settle down someplace for the long term and figure something out to do. But I probably should start working on it now. If my writing sounds disjointed, it's because I've been reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". In fact, Doug stole that idea from me.

yeah I understand what your saying.

I stopped reading your updates awhile ago, last time I read it you were something like 80/20

anyways

I like making sites and trying to game search engines

I've known a lot of people who thought they were getting some kind of satisfaction out of their work, thought they were doing something useful or important, and got summarily canned once the economy turned down and they were suddenly expendable...

Working for the man is for chumps.

Right your own rules my friends. Right your own rules.

Writ large.

Amen, brother.

From a chump who plans not to be soon........

Right now my only motivation is the money. I do like the fact that I earn enough so that I can donate money to worthwhile causes like doctors without borders and environmental organizations. After all of the money for myself, donating is probably my second motivator, those causes need money, and this is a good way for me to earn it.

Travelling and the freedom to take off when I want and where I want to is the biggest motivator.

But there still seems to be a sense of satisfaction that is missing. I dont think anything online will ever fill that void.

My motivation is money, and freedom. Haven't got enough money to quit my dayjob, but this is my dream. Had no vacation is last 3 years, only long weekends :) Besides, I know it's totally not for me - sitting 9 to 5 at the office for the salary.. No way. That's, like, slavery :)

Haven't had a real day job in two years. Take off all summer and go boating! Affiliate programs are awesome. Now I'm looking for a new products and markets. Wonder what my neighbours think.

But there still seems to be a sense of satisfaction that is missing. I dont think anything online will ever fill that void.

I agree 100%

The money can be great, and often is. Sometimes it totally sucks, but I find that it still averages out to be WAY more than a full time job (in my case anyways).

The only problem is that with all that free time, you tend to get bored faster and working from home leaves me thinking how nice it would be to share an office with about 15 co-workers... sometimes anyways. :)

All in all, it's not so bad. I really can't think of anything better at the moment... maybe rockstar?

A framer, love seeing what I can create with my two hands.

Bookmaker, theres nothing like winning every race!

Failing that Id go and work in Antique restoration as a French polisher.

Man, I've been in AM for only 4 months and I whish I could quit my day job. I would like to see how much more I can earn if I could work at this full time.

I'm just about to add my 3rd site. First two are doing o.k. but not all that well yet. I'm still trying to break the XX perday mark on a consistant bases.

Hopefully, in 2-3 months or so I'll be a lot closer to my goal.

I can think of at least 4 jobs right off the top of my head.

1. Lottery Winner
2. Rock Star
3. Professional Athlete
4. A list Actor

I can understand the other three, but... you'd rather be a lottery winner than an AMer? Really?!

I think I'd be ashamed if that was all I was good at.

I enjoy my job now as an AMer, but I am frequently reminded by my husband and some friends that it's not for everyone. My husband would prefer something physical to do. He likes to create and make things with his two hands. One friend likes to have the structure of a 9-5. While another likes to not have to worry about what will happen tomorrow. (let's face it, you have to have a steel stomache to deal with month to month AM, especially if you have kids).

I feel I am blessed. But not just because I do AM. I feel I am lucky because not only do I have the luck to be the few who make it in AM, but I enjoy it as well. My husband and friends could eventually do it, I am sure, but they would be miserable, so I doubt that they would see it as a blessing.

let's face it, you have to have a steel stomache to deal with month to month AM, especially if you have kids

That's true but it is also true for all types of business. Actually, you really need to have a very strong mental strength and the rest will follow.

Being an AMer is not even a job, it is a business. While it is good, its obviously not the best job or business or occupation or whatever.

IMHO, being a super successful investor is better because that's really passive income :)

Strange. I'm making enough now in AM to easily quit my job and have no worries. So, have I quit my job? No way, I enjoy what I do in the "real" world. I get satisfaction out of working a "real" job AND doing AM.

With a "real" job I get to interact with co-workers and do things with them without disassociating from society. My real job allows me to go "somewhere" on a daily basis instead of being confined to the home on a 24-hour-per-day basis.

With AM I no longer have to worry about monitary needs. I like to challenge myself with AM and that's why I do it. I discover new things that seem difficult and will work on it until I conquer it. The challenge and money is what motivates me.

As far as I'm concerned, it's the best of both worlds. There may come a day where I "reduce" my hours at my "real" job somewhat so I can go on more vacations, spend time with family etc, but I'm not at that point yet.

Cheers,
Dave.

Hmmm... How about trying to improve the prevention and cure of cancer? That's what my day job is about - writing research papers, book chapters, and (ugh) grant proposals. I'll admit that sometimes, reading this forum, I think it'd be nice to not have to go to work each day and have time to write the Great American Novel [I've written two, but neither of them qualify as great ;)]. But when I really think about it, I feel I'd miss something.

OTOH, if there's one thing cancer research isn't, it's instant gratification. "Instant breakthroughs" take years, and more times than not turn out to be less than hoped for. Grant proposals fall through more often as funding gets cut back. Having some websites that I know people actually get some use from now, today is kinda nice.

Otherwise, I'd repeat everything Davewray said (except about no financial worries - my goal is to get there by next spring). My mother died suddenly 10 days ago, and the people I work with have been incredibly supportive - they really are like a second family. If I quit my day job, I'd have to go visit them all the time, anyway, so I might as well get paid for being there (and have health insurance, and a retirement account...). ;)

What better job….? Who want a job? Most people are working to get money; AFF is for making money too. To make $1000/day that’s 99.99% AFFs dream’s, where at other opportunities $1000.00/day that’s only beginning. Also, AFF require every day works, improving, improving, and looking for other way to stay on the top. Good points, that’s you can make it on your own time, own place, from any place in the World, working and a same time keeping feet in warm ocean ( as rfung does).

I’m talking about Entrepreneurship, where The Sky a limit. Bill Gates, many others did it. I’m not flying soo high, 100 mils$ in 7 years will satisfy, and it is achievable. It can be done many ways. One way that’s sale on line with AFF supports. Other that’s selling traditional way, it can be done too. After stop worring about paying bills, everyone will be more productive and life will be more fun.
I stop dreaming to win on capitalistic lottery ( Wall Street), stop reading Journal and Barron’s and start looking for something else. I want to sell something, not only my time and knowledge.
In the past I start in US few businesses. Some were temporary success,… after few years completely broke. To find better, less expensive products I start be interested in China. Again almost broke, because Chinese product was cheap made, customers returns were 60%. Now I call it “Chinese Syndrome” - we want less expensive product, Chinese produce from cheaper material and lousy made, we can’t sell with good profit because it is cheap and bidding price down, Chinese produce even cheaper,….. etc, etc.
To stop this I desired to organize own production, own factory. And made it. In just 2 years I build 120 000 sf 3 buildings factory where I may produce a lot.

Why I’m writing this? We are selling on line OK, still just touching single % digit in my niche market. To be much bigger, we need expose, need more sales. Advertising by PPC is too risky, too costly, best way that’s Affiliates. Ebay and Amazon are good samples. I’m looking for good, experienced AM, why will be willing to trade his work plus standard 10%/2% AFF/AM pay plus and I’ll help him/her to set-up similar factory as mine. You will choose own product to sell. You don’t need to be a Chinese, I’m not. You may even stay in our Chinese factory, free room, board and access to Internet.

Serious responds please, don’t need another seminar or e-book. Please contact me by PM

Jan