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Becoming a Part-Time Virtual Assistant: Office Skills You Can Use From Home

ByWalter Briggs

Many small business owners are buried in email, scheduling and paperwork. A virtual assistant, often called a VA, helps with those tasks from home over the internet. If you spent years as a secretary, office manager or bookkeeper, you may already have the skills.

A few hours of VA work a week could, as a rough estimate, cover a bill like your internet service. Here is how to think it through.

What a virtual assistant does

The work is office work, just done remotely. Upwork lists tasks such as:

  • Scheduling meetings and taking calls
  • Answering support emails and common questions
  • Invoicing, tracking receipts and keeping in touch with vendors
  • Posting to social media and keeping email lists up to date

AARP’s guide to part-time jobs from home adds email management and event planning to the list. You don’t need every skill. Many VAs offer two or three things they do well.

Skills and training

There is no national certification for virtual assistants. What clients care about is that you are reliable and careful. Helpful skills include:

  • Comfort with email, a word processor and a spreadsheet such as Word and Excel
  • Clear, polite writing
  • Keeping track of deadlines and details
  • A steady internet connection and a quiet place to work

Some community colleges offer short VA or office-skills courses if you want a refresher.

What it might pay

Pay varies a lot, so treat these as rough guides, not promises.

  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median pay for secretaries and administrative assistants (the closest official job group) at $23.23 an hour.
  • Indeed reports an average of $22.76 an hour for virtual assistant job postings in the U.S., as of October 2026.
  • Upwork says VAs on its site typically charge $10 to $20 an hour, with a median of $13. That figure covers its worldwide marketplace, where many freelancers live outside the U.S. Upwork’s own guide also shows higher rates, roughly $20 to $35 an hour or more, for VAs with marketing, customer service or bookkeeping skills.

Beginners on freelance sites often start lower while they build reviews. Results vary.

Where to find VA work

Freelance marketplaces

On sites like Upwork and Fiverr, you create a profile, list your services and apply for jobs or wait for buyers. These sites take a cut of your pay. As of October 2026:

  • Upwork’s freelancer service fee ranges from 0% to 15% per contract, set when the contract starts.
  • Fiverr says freelancers receive 80% of what the client pays, and money is held for 14 days before you can withdraw it.

VA agencies

Companies such as BELAY match experienced VAs with clients. BELAY hires VAs as independent contractors, says it is not designed for entry-level applicants, and does not hire in some states. Check each company’s own site for current rules.

People you already know

Local small businesses, your church, a club or a former employer may need a few hours of help a week. A short note saying what you can do and your hourly rate is a fine place to start.

How to start, step by step

  1. Write down three tasks you could do well for someone else, such as scheduling, invoicing or typing up notes.
  2. Decide on a starting hourly rate using the ranges above and what feels fair for your experience.
  3. Make a simple one-page description of your services, or a profile on one freelance site.
  4. Tell five people you know that you’re offering this help.
  5. Start with one small client so you can learn the rhythm before taking on more.

Spotting work-from-home scams

VA work is a favorite cover for scammers. AARP reports, citing the FTC, that about $501 million was lost to business and job-opportunity scams in 2024. The FTC and AARP point to these red flags:

  • You are asked to pay for training, a “starter kit” or a certification to get the job. Honest employers never charge you to work.
  • You are sent a check and told to deposit it, keep part and send the rest back or buy gift cards. That check will bounce, and you’ll owe the money.
  • The “job” is receiving packages and reshipping them. The FTC says reshipping is never a real job.
  • High pay for little work, no interview, a refusal to video chat, or a move to a messaging app like WhatsApp.

Never share your Social Security number or bank login before you’ve confirmed a real business. Search the company name with the word “scam” or “review” first. Report problems at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Taxes and benefits

VAs are usually self-employed, which means no taxes are taken out of your pay. The IRS says you must report this income even without a tax form, and you generally need to file if your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more. You may also need to pay estimated taxes during the year.

If you get Social Security and are under full retirement age, earnings above $24,480 in 2026 can reduce your benefits for a while. SSI, Medicaid and housing help have their own income rules. Please check your own situation at ssa.gov and irs.gov before you start.

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