How to Secure the Best Digital Nomad Jobs and Work From Anywhere
Do you dream of seeing the world—but also have bills to pay?
Luckily, it’s possible to both travel and work, thanks to the digital nomad lifestyle. It’s easier than ever to find online work, which you can use to fund your travels and see the world.
Even cooler, more countries are starting to offer digital nomad visas, letting you live abroad and work remotely. Countries like Barbados, Mexico, and Germany are actively recruiting nomads to live and work, an amazing way to spend a gap year.
But before you set off, spend some time thinking about job opportunities. Keep reading to find some of the most common digital nomad jobs—plus, how you can get hired!
What Are the Best Digital Nomad Jobs?
The beauty of living in a digital society is that more and more of us are working remotely! We love that so many jobs can be done from anywhere in the world, but which are the best for digital nomads?
Here are some of the best jobs to consider.
Blogger and Influencer
If you’re creative, a talented writer, and willing to work hard, you can find success as a blogger and/or social media influencer.
If you start your own blog or website, you can make money in lots of ways, including ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate sales. Yes, it can take a long time for a blog to build up enough traffic to be profitable, so you might want a second income stream while you grow your blog.
When it comes to social media, there are plenty of ways to make money on Instagram too. You can score free travel opportunities, advertising deals, and even start selling your own products.
Some of the most popular blogger and influencer niches include travel, food, fashion, and fitness.
Freelance Writer
Looking for more digital nomad ideas? If so, one of the most popular gigs is working as a freelance writer.
With strong writing and communication skills, you can find plenty of online writing work, especially in marketing or content writing. If you build up a few clients and are reliable and dedicated, you can make a great income working as a writer.
As a bonus, you might want to learn more about SEO, as this often goes hand in hand with digital copywriting.
Virtual Assistant
Another great career choice is working as a virtual assistant, or VA. This is a broad term for anyone who assists another person or business with their work.
VAs can do just about anything, including booking appointments, sending out emails, managing social media accounts, or assisting with marketing.
A VA is usually paid hourly, so you’ll attract clients if you’re focused, organized, and efficient.
Web Designer
Web design can be a very lucrative way to earn money while enjoying the nomadic life. If you have web design skills, especially when it comes to coding, you can create and design websites from anywhere.
You can start your own web design business, so first build an SEO-optimized website for yourself. Over time, your client base is likely to grow due to word of mouth, as people often recommend web designers to their friends.
Graphic Designer
Another skilled job to consider is freelance graphic design. If you have strong design skills with programs like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can make great money doing design jobs for small businesses.
It can take some time to learn the basics, but if you’re creative, artistic, and have a strong eye for detail, you can do well as a graphic designer.
Customer Service Support
You don’t necessarily need to work as a freelancer to be a digital nomad. Many people prefer to work full-time or part-time for a business, as this can provide a more reliable income than freelancing.
Luckily, more and more companies are realizing that some of their jobs can be done remotely and are happy to hire workers outside of their geographical area, as long as they’re willing to work set hours.
You can often find work in customer service, data entry, or administration as a digital nomad. Some roles even offer benefits like paid time off or healthcare, which can be a huge advantage.
Just keep in mind that if you’re traveling internationally, it might require late nights or very early mornings if you need to work American business hours.
Translator
Are you fluent in another language? If so, you can make great money working as a translator.
This might require listening to recorded conversations and translating them into another language, or doing the same for written documents. This is skilled work that tends to pay well, making it an excellent gig for a nomad.
Or, if you’re not bilingual, you could possibly work as a transcriber. This is someone who listens to a conversation and then writes it down, creating a written record of what was said.
You need to be a strong listener and very detail-oriented, as the job can be tedious—but there’s always plenty of transcribing work to go around.
How Can I Find a Digital Nomad Job?
Ok, so now you know more about some of the most popular digital nomad jobs—but how do you actually find them?
Here are some of the best ways to find remote work. However, keep in mind that remote jobs are becoming increasingly popular, meaning there’s plenty of competition for each job advertised.
For the best chance of success, apply as soon as you see a role you like, as vacancies can fill quickly. Also, be sure to put your best foot forward, making the effort to tailor your application to each role.
Facebook Groups
Gone are the days when Facebook was just a social media platform for sharing photos of your cat. It’s increasingly become a tool for job seekers.
You can find plenty of job groups on Facebook, dedicated to posting job ads and hiring remote workers. Search for ‘digital nomad jobs’ on Facebook and plenty of groups will come up.
However, Linkedin, the more traditional social media tool for professionals, can still be a good resource. Plenty of employers list remote jobs on their Linkedin pages, so make sure your Linkedin profile is accurate and up to date.
If you don’t yet use Linkedin, it’s free to join and easy to use, so it’s worth taking the time to set it up.
Online Job Boards
There are also plenty of useful online job boards that you can check regularly when you’re looking for work. These job boards cater to freelance and remote workers, so they are great to check daily if you’re looking for work.
A word of warning—sometimes, you’ll see a job board asking you to pay a membership fee before you can see the jobs. More often than not, these are scams.
Some job boards may ask you to register with your name and email address, but you don’t need to pay lots of money to an online board to find good jobs.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is another popular way to find work. Perhaps you’re living in a hostel and you hear of a work opportunity from someone in your dorm room—if so, go for it!
Many jobs are filled by word of mouth before they’re even listed on job boards, so it always pays to ask around when you’re traveling.
Reach Out to Your Networks
Another top tip for finding work–don’t be afraid to reach out to your previous contacts.
For example, if you had an office job before you became nomadic, why not reach out to them and see if they ever use remote contract workers?
Or, put a call-out on your Linkedin or social media accounts that you’re actively looking for work—you never know what you might find that way.
Become a Digital Nomad and Enjoy Your Independence!
Living life as a digital nomad can be incredibly liberating–goodbye 9-5! However, you might not have an office job anymore, but you do need a source of income, so these tips should help.
Try to line up some work before you set off as a digital nomad. You’ll find more confidence if you have income coming in, although having some money in savings for an emergency is smart too.
Get started today and live your life the way you want to–as a digital nomad!
Luckily, more and more companies are realizing that some of their jobs can be done remotely and are happy to hire workers outside of their geographical area, as long as they’re willing to work set hours which they control through remote work control software.
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