Working from home might not be for everyone — but it definitely has its perks.
There’s no commute time, fewer coworker distractions, and of course, the ability to send emails from the comfort of your home.
Sara Sutton Fell, founder and CEO of FlexJobs, says, “Work-from-anywhere remote jobs are ideal options for people who really enjoy traveling, are full-on digital nomads, or who have to move frequently but don’t want to sacrifice satisfying and well-paying careers.” As technology improves and global internet access becomes more and more reliable, companies are beginning to realize the potential of remote working. Additionally, this also means that a variety of industries are hiring, for every skill level and career stage. Now is a great time to take the leap, live out your dreams of travel, and have a successful career while doing it.
Whether you’ve got a basic computer or customer service experience, advanced technical skills, or specialized professional skills, we have listed the best remote jobs you can find on the web.
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Your Current Job
Continuing advances in technology now make it possible for many different types of professionals to work from home. As more companies move their operations online, many tasks can be completed remotely. And having employees work from home is an efficient, cost-saving alternative for many companies.
When negotiating with an employer to work from home, be as flexible as possible. The more flexible you are in meeting your employer’s needs, the better your chance of snagging the gig.
Web Developer Jobs
Being a “developer” is a blanket term for a huge variety of tech-friendly jobs. This category can include anything from software engineering to app development, to website design, systems administration, testing, and ops infrastructure.
It’s one of the most popular categories for a reason—there’s demand, and it pays. The tech industry is the future of how we work, so it’s no surprise that many location-free jobs fall within this category. It’s a great option for those who love to travel, too, because it’s often self-paced work that is low-client facing.
If you don’t have experience with web development, don’t worry. There are many resources out there to help you get started at any skill level. It may go without saying, but this career is best suited for the tech-savvy.
Designer Jobs
For the more creative remote job seekers, web-based design may be a viable option. Graphic design, WordPress theme design, UX and UI design all fall within this category and all require different skill sets.
With tons of free and paid resources out there, it’s not impossible to break into the web design field. Though many stable jobs require experience, freelance is a reliable place to start. Additionally, this is another job with high demand and a bright future—everybody with a product to sell, business to maintain, or presence to grow needs design help.
Customer Support Jobs
Location-independent customer support careers are another expanding field. All it takes to be successful in this career is a computer with wifi, call or chat software, and great customer service skills. Even many more opportunities are available to those with specialized skills.
Customer support jobs require little contact with the rest of the team, and many companies know this and are willing to hire distance-based employees. Usually, companies look for impeccable English skills, the ability to work autonomously, and mastery of simple admin tasks like tracking data on Excel.
This job is great for remote workers because of the flexibility. There are a huge number of industries that need customer support, and sometimes being in a different timezone from the customers is a benefit.
Writer Jobs
Blog writing is a popular way to start, especially for those who love to travel and write about their experiences. Beyond blogging, though, is a whole world of writing and editing opportunities.
Technical writing is a well-paid niche for those who have knowledge in a specific field—manuals, online help articles, training, and reports all fall within this category. For a variety of healthcare-related companies, including medical publishers and pharmaceutical companies, medical writers are in high demand. Professionals in this field are responsible for reviewing medical information, writing documents, editing other medical writers’ submissions, and working with senior management to keep projects on track.
Copywriting is a type of persuasive writing, great for those with a marketing mindset.
For those who love to write, eBook self-publishing is a good way to earn passive income once the work is put in. With sites like Amazon and E-junkie, it’s never been easier to get your writing out there.
You can also make extra money with your writing by building SEO backlinks. SEO is a $75 billion industry and backlinks are very valuable for any online business. Many SEO agencies work with freelance writers to help them build backlinks for their clients.
Teacher and Tutoring Jobs
Advances technology and high-speed internet connections have created more opportunities for teachers to work with students across the globe. In addition, there is a growing demand for online teachers as more states permit K-12 children to attend public school online.
Your income may be based on the number of hours you work and the type of classes you teach.
Translator Positions
If you are bilingual or proficient in a multitude of languages, this opens a lot of possibilities for work-from-home jobs, such as bilingual call centers, translation jobs, interpretation, localization, online teaching, and more. Of course, each of these jobs can require a different skill set in addition to your language capability. Also, jobs will vary by the language you speak. Many of these jobs can be done remotely or on a freelance basis.
Keep in mind that if you have a bilingual skill you may also want to include bilingual as a keyword in your job search for all types of job categories as well.
Translators who want to work remote might be employed by a translating company, or translate news stories and articles, web pages, and books.
Accountant
Accounting jobs may seem like pretty boring desk jobs to some, but in reality, much of the work of an accountant can be done from just about anywhere on a computer in the right industries. This is especially true for niche areas, like international tax preparation, small business accounting, and so on.
This career is great for people who want to stick with more traditional jobs. More and more opportunities are likely to open up as businesses continue to adapt to new technologies.
Data Entry
Why it’s great: Data entry is in high-demand and can pretty much be done anywhere, anytime, which is great news for nomads! Data is integral to business– it’s used to help the tracking of inventory and shipments, used to aid in business plan creation, and can assist businesses in measuring performance and output.
Although it’s beneficial to have some previous experience, this is reflected in the relatively stable compensation. There are freelance, one-time gig, opportunities out there, too, though, so if you need to brush up on your data entry skills, it’s not impossible to get started while already on the road.
This is an especially great job for the tech and business savvy job seekers out there.
Virtual Assistant
These days many small businesses outsource tedious tasks to virtual assistants. There’s a lot that goes into running a business, much of which can be done from anywhere with internet access! The type of work ranges anywhere from secretarial duties, like handling appointments, to more technical work, like updating websites.
Depending on your skillset or niche, there’s a huge market for virtual assistants. These jobs can range anywhere from short-term contracts, one-time gigs, to long-term partnerships or permanent employment.
If you’re an especially organized individual, this job might be for you!
Social Media Manager
This is a newer job that has been seeing huge growth within the last couple of years and is great for those who love social media. Being a Social Media Manager means looking after the various social media accounts that most companies seem to have today. Duties could include making posts, answering inquiries, planning out strategies for user involvement, and so on. These days a great number of companies have this position, or one like it, or even hire freelance managers to help them out.
Although it’s a relatively new job, there are thousands of listings on sites like careerbuilder.com, simplyhired.com, and upwork.com. Often some experience is required, but this experience can be gained by building your own social media presence or helping out those in your network. Often times Social Media Managers are paid by the hour, or with a monthly or retainer fee.
Conclusion
The future of location-independent careers is bright, so these are just a few of the options out there. Take some time to research if you’re thinking of making the transition into the remote work, but be assured that it’s very possible to do what you love while also living how you want.
Further reading:
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