Working on the Road Here are 7 of the Best Jobs for Digital Nomads
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Tim Marting
Freelance Writer
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Working on the Road
Many people dream of hitting the road and seeing the 190+ countries in the world. To make this dream a reality, they pack their suitcases and become a digital nomad. However, joining the community of working nomads will not always be about lounging on a Caribbean beach or hiking Machu Picchu. Keep in mind that it is essential to have regular and dependable revenue streams to keep up with this kind of lifestyle.
Fortunately, you will find a plethora of opportunities for digital nomads in this day and age. If you are determined enough and know where to search for these remote freelance jobs, you will discover that living this kind of life is certainly feasible and even shockingly easy. Below, we will look at a few of the most popular jobs for digital nomads that don’t tie you down in one location and let you travel.
7 Best Jobs for Digital Nomads
Without further ado, let’s explore the phenomenal opportunities that await working nomads.
Programmer
When thinking of work-from-anywhere jobs, many of us instinctively imagine programmers coding on the beach with the beautiful sunset in the background. This comes as no surprise, though, since programmers actually make up a significant part of the community of working nomads.
Programmers create computer code for a variety of tasks, the most common of which are websites, apps, and software. As a programmer, you must have a strong understanding of several computer languages, such as Python, HTML, and SQL, to name a few.
Unfortunately, this type of job has a steep learning curve due to the time and effort required to master the necessary languages. Lucky for you, there is a broad variety of courses online, which you can use to learn different programming languages without having any background at all.
What makes programming an ideal choice for digital nomads is that it is one of the highest-paying gigs on average, with beginners potentially making somewhere between $20,000 and $45,000 a year and seasoned programmers earning upwards of six figures.
This line of work also doesn’t require an internet connection most of the time. Programmers can complete many of their daily tasks offline; they just need to check in with their clients every once in a while. This is a notable perk for people who love hitting the road or living in rural areas with poor internet connections.
Virtual Assistant
Being a Virtual Assistant (VA) is among the top digital nomad jobs, especially for working nomads new to the lifestyle. If you have plenty of experience handling administrative tasks, organizing paperwork, and are willing to be online 24/7, then you are fit for this job.
But what exactly is the role of a virtual assistant? The thing about this remote freelance job is that it covers a very expansive field with no clearly defined list of duties. Most of what you will do is dependent on your client and what their needs are.
To provide you a sense of what the job entails, some typical VA tasks include basic digital marketing activities (sending emails, managing social media communities), low-level data processing and data organizing, and calendar management. Essentially, anything that makes someone’s life easier is a task of a VA. You can find many VA jobs for digital nomads on freelancing marketplaces like Upwork.com and Freelancer.com.
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Complete a short quiz to know all your options!
Writer
You don’t need to be a New York Times best-selling author to earn from your writing. This industry is actually extensive, highly lucrative, and brimming with opportunities. You can either write for yourself and establish a blog or work as a freelance writer providing content for other websites.
From a copywriter selling products to a technical writer simplifying complex topics, there are many different kinds of digital nomad jobs within the writing industry. With an increasing number of publications and other media outlets going online, new opportunities emerge daily for digital nomads who are into writing.
One huge perk about writing is that you can do it from anywhere, and you don’t have to be online 24/7. You can always write offline and just email your assignments when needed.
As is the case with nearly all remote freelance jobs, experience is a significant advantage when initially starting in writing. So before looking for online gigs, it’s a good idea to concentrate on developing a portfolio that demonstrates your writing abilities.
How much you make as a remote writer depends entirely on the kind of client and amount of work you do. Most people who do these work-from-anywhere jobs are freelancers who charge by the hour or by the project. As a newcomer, you may earn as little as $20 to $30 for each article, but after you’ve established a portfolio and references, you can start charging as high as $500 per piece!
SEO Specialist
It’s common for companies to build a website to promote their offerings to their target audience and have a platform for advertising. But what’s the use of a website when people don’t find it online when they do a Google search?
This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialists come into the picture. They optimize a website to help it rank high in a search engine (usually Google) and increase the number of visitors from that search engine.
To be an SEO specialist, you need to have a strong research background, stay up to date with current trends, and develop content that drives traffic to the site. You also need to have a good grasp of keywords, Google Analytics, and backlinking. As with so many careers for digital nomads, there are a ton of online resources and courses available to anyone who want to work on these abilities.
Language Teacher
Thanks to the digital tools we currently have, we can now study languages outside of the traditional classroom setting. Because of that, becoming an online language teacher has become one of the most popular remote freelance jobs that allow digital nomads to work and live abroad. Teaching is also an excellent option for those seeking flexibility since many employers give you the freedom to pick your own hours and whether or not you work.
When it comes to teaching, the best digital nomad jobs require at least a Bachelor’s degree in any field. For aspiring English teachers, it’s also a good idea to get a credential such as the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language).
Social Media Manager
Like a VA, a Social Media Manager is another excellent profession that enables digital nomads to work while traveling since this only requires an internet connection. As a Social Media Manager, you will assist businesses who want to improve their social media presence by creating and planning content for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and other platforms. Your task also includes driving traffic to the social media accounts and collaborating with social media influencers.
Similar to most of the digital nomad jobs listed here, your potential income as a Social Media Manager varies considerably. It primarily relies on your background and the kind of job you perform. However, you can expect to earn anywhere from $10 to $25 per hour as a beginner and $30 to $70+ per hour for larger projects needing more expertise and time commitment.
Where will your next adventure lead you?
Complete a short quiz to know all your options!
Designer
If you have a knack for designing, being a designer is undoubtedly one of the best jobs for digital nomads to have. You can always start with little to no experience then gradually build your portfolio.
Take on remote graphic design jobs on sites like Fiverr.com and Upwork.com, where you can find companies in need of designs for logos, websites, merchandise, and promotional materials. From this alone, you can potentially make up to $50 per hour as a beginner and over $100 per hour as an experienced designer.
Another essential factor that makes a designer one of the best digital nomad jobs is that you don’t have to be online all of the time. You can go into a café with a sketchpad and not even ask for the WiFi password.
To succeed as a digital nomad designer, you need to familiarize yourself with tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. If you want to design websites, you will also need to master HTML and CSS.
The Bottom Line
Going the digital nomad route and finding the ideal remote job can open a lot of doors for you and make your workdays more enjoyable. Whether you actually plan on traveling or stay right at home, the digital nomad lifestyle is certainly an excellent path to take, given the freedom that comes with work-from-anywhere jobs.
The jobs for digital nomads listed here are just a few examples of what you can expect to find in the online work realm. Use them as a springboard to find your dream job and turn it into a career that lets you work remotely while exploring the globe. Best of luck in your digital nomad journey!
Author
Tim Marting is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Citizen Remote a site for remote workers and digital nomads. Although from the US, Tim currently lives in Spain, and has been a world citizen for the last 5 years, living in 3 different countries. He had other long-term stops in Australia, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand and the UK. His life goal is “to enable border-less travel and border-less relations for the rest of this beautiful world.
