The nomad lifestyle is the goal of many budding entrepreneurs and those hoping for a better financial future. Studies show about 23% of working aged adults are actively looking for a job located outside of their home country. A HUGE 66% when asked, said they are prepared PRONTO to go abroad now for a job situated overseas.
Over the span of hundreds of years, the North American continent served as the Number #1 place to migrate to for improving one’s financial prospects. So, if you wanted a better life for yourself and your family, one country stood high above the rest. The USA.
After Covid-19 American’s began to join in the dreams held by others. Are there places outside of the USA to build or maintain a solid financial footing and to enjoy life at the same time? The dream of running your office from the beach is alluring. With Covid-19, many Americans found out just how boring, drab and mundane our working lives had become. Before we list the top 12 digital nomad careers to become financially and location independent, let’s take a peek at the best countries to work virtually.
Global remote jobs and digital nomad location
The Stepstone Group together with Boston Consulting conducted a survey of 150,000 employees spanning 180 countries to develop a list of the most popular international work locations. As you ponder your journey toward a digital nomad career, consider these global hotspots:
- Australia
- USA
- Canada
- UK
- Germany
So, as we think about joining the millions of others to embrace a digital nomadic lifestyle, we realize that achieving our goal of permanently working from anywhere in the world takes a lot of work and preparation. Luckily, with so many digital nomad career options currently available, working online while travelling the world is entirely possible.
Whether you are only getting started and are looking for digital nomad jobs for beginners, or are already making a living online and want to make the move to reach a location-independent lifestyle, here are 12 best digital nomad careers that you can rock from that office on the beach.
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Web and App Development
This is one of the top-paying digital nomad jobs, and also one of the most common choice among digital nomads. Many web and app developers already work from home anyway, so transitioning to a life of coding on the go isn’t very difficult. Being a developer is a remote-friendly career option because everything you do is on your laptop or in the cloud, and there are lots of support and meeting groups all over the world to connect with like-minded individuals. Moreover, being a web or app developer is a great overall career choice because it offers you lots of room to grow as a professional.
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Online Marketing / SEO Strategist
Freelance digital marketing is a common career option for digital nomads because it has low entry-level costs and lots of potential to grow. Online marketing is a broad career that can encompass all kinds of aspects. Still, some of the most popular choices among digital nomads include being a SEO specialist focused on traffic generation strategies or a general online marketing consultant.
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Content Writing/Copywriting
If you’re wondering how to become a digital nomad but don’t have any technical skills, content writing can be your ticket to spending your days typing away on a tropical beach. This is one of the easiest ways to start generating a full income straight away as a native English speaker. If you’re wondering what the difference between content writing and copywriting is, learn that they are very similar. While content writers focus on writing blog posts and general content for websites such as product descriptions or category pages, copywriters write more persuasively, with sales pages being a good example.
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Blogging and Affiliate Marketing
Close to the content writing, blogging is another common path for digital nomads, but instead of writing as a freelancer for clients, you’d be writing for yourself. If you have a way with words and the determination to build a solid audience, you can earn a decent income as a blogger to fund your adventures. Besides monetizing your blog with ads and affiliate marketing, you can also mix it up by providing consulting services or writing e-books.
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Graphic Design
Graphic designers are creative individuals who only need their tablet and /or laptop and a dash of inspiration to develop their products. This makes this career an excellent choice for a digital nomad, not only because you can do your job on the go, but also because travelling can actually help you expand your skills. New experiences and sensations bring with them fresh ideas, not to mention the possibility of meeting graphic designers from all over the world.
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User Experience (UX) Design
The job of a UX designer is all about putting your technical skills to use to provide a great experience for customers who navigate a website or use a certain product. Online courses are available if you aren’t already familiar with this career, and it’s also important to have a strong understanding of customer psychology if you want to be successful as a UX designer.
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Online Language Teaching
Another great solution for native English speakers, online language teaching is a job that you can do remotely. What’s great about it is that there are lots of opportunities all around the world to teach English as a second language, and many digital nomads choose to conduct a mix of online and offline classes. The latter comes with the added benefit of allowing you to completely immerse in the culture of the place you’re visiting.
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Social Media Manager
Helping businesses run their social media channels is something easy to do on the go, so it makes for a lucrative digital nomad career. As a social media manager, you’ll manage Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts for multiple clients. Some of the skills required for this career include a strong visual sense and the ability to write copy that is engaging and sometimes punchy.
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Coaching and Consulting
Consulting and coaching services have become more and more popular in recent years, and they are often the career choice of those who decided to leave the traditional business environment and are specialists in their field. To be successful as a digital nomad coach, you should have in-depth knowledge around a certain topic and industry as well as excellent communication skills so you can develop your strategy to advise individuals and businesses and help them reach their goals.
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Translation
If you are fluent in another language, you can become a freelance translator. While this might not be as lucrative as some of the other career choices mentioned above, it’s a perfect choice for bilingual individuals and those who have a way with words but are not interested in becoming content writers.
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eCommerce
Having an e-commerce platform is one of the easiest ways to achieve location independence. Whether it’s fulfilment by Amazon or dropshipping, an online store might not always require your physical presence, which makes this career option one of the most popular among digital nomads.
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Social Media Influencer
Finally, you can bring in the big bucks as a digital nomad if you have a huge Instagram following. This allows you to monetize your traffic via paid partnerships and affiliate links. What’s even better, travelling is a great way to increase your audience, and as you grow your number of followers, your income will see a major boost. Many social media influencers have a niche, and some of them also try their hand at monetized YouTube channels.
With so many people working on a computer, tablet, or phone these days, being tied to an office looks like an outdated concept. By pursuing one of these common digital nomad careers, you can explore the world while building or strengthening your online profession.
