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For a lot of travel lovers there is no bigger dream that ditching your office job and having the freedom to travel whenever and wherever you want. It certainly was mine!
The jobs for digital nomads on this list will take you from dreaming of having the freedom to travel to living that dream.
These jobs for digital nomads don’t make you an overnight success. You have to work hard to replace your full-time office salary.
But the hard work is worth the effort.
The best part about a number of the digital nomad jobs on this list is that after you get started making money, it is pretty passive.
You work less to earn more and spend even more of your time travelling and exploring the world.
That’s truly the ultimate goal in life if you ask me!
You’ll be living the digital nomad dream sooner than you think if you take one of the jobs for digital nomads on this list and work hard at it.
It is honestly easier than you think to be a digital nomad.
As long as you’re willing to put in the effort to build you online income.
If some of these jobs intimidate you, check out the best digital nomad jobs for beginners
1. Blogging
Blogging is without a doubt one of the best jobs for digital nomads.
There is a reason why it is one of the most popular ways to earn money in the digital nomad community!
I’m not going to sugar coat it.
Blogging is a lot of work. It is not a great rich quick scheme, and you have to put in a lot of effort up front before you’re successful.
But the rewards are so, so worth it!
Once you have articles written and an affiliate marketing strategy in place, your blog makes you money in your sleep.
You can start a blog in anything and everything you’re passionate about.
Travel, finances, pets, food, woodworking. The possibilities are endless.
Blogging is also one of the most flexible digital nomad jobs out there.
You choose when you work and how much you work.
There are also tons of opportunities for you to delegate the tasks you don’t like to an assistant.
Again, it takes a long time to become a successful blogger.
Please, please, please don’t fall into the trap of believing the rare success story you hear about where someone makes $100,000 their first year of blogging.
That’s absolutely amazing for them, but you probably won’t have the same results.
Be patient, and the rewards will come.
It isn’t unheard of for the top bloggers to make seven figures a year. Of course, not everybody is at the top of the herd, but even a mediocre blogger can replace their full-time income with blogging within a few years!
There are three main things you need to know about to be a successful blogger.
Follow these three tips, and you’re on your way to success.
Travel blogging mistakes to avoid at all costs
Hosting is More Important than You Think
A lot of people don’t realize how critical it is to choose the right hosting platform before you start blogging.
Choosing the right hosting platform sets you up for success and helps your blog thrive and earn you money.
You want to choose a hosting provider that is quick, is reliable, and allows you to customize your blog the way you want.
Honestly, if you choose a slow hosting provider or an unreliable one where your blog is down due to their issues frequently, it will be difficult to be a successful blogger.
You most likely will go through the pain of migrating your blog and switching hosting providers before your first term is even up!
I love Green Geeks and recommend them as the best hosting provider for bloggers.
They are one of the fastest hosting platforms out there, and each website comes with a free caching plugin to help speed up your blog even more.
I paid $50 per year for a caching plugin in the past, so it is a huge win that Green Geeks includes one for free!
They also have the most impressive up times out there, so you can be confident your site will never be down when you don’t want it to be.
Plus they’re the most environmentally-friendly hosting platform on the market, which is a nice win for the planet.
Green Geeks will even plant a tree in your honour when you purchase your hosting with them through my link.
There is no additional cost to you to use the link, but I do receive a small commission if you purchase your hosting with it. Plus a tree gets planted! It is a win-win-win!
Learn how to start your website on Green Geeks in just 30 seconds
If Green Geeks isn’t doing it for you, my next recommendation is Bluehost.
It is the most popular hosting platform for new bloggers and is the platform I started Travels with Erica on!
The people at Bluehost are amazing and have an amazing customer service team. Their product is easy to use and very beginner friendly.
You can’t go wrong with either Green Geeks or Bluehost.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is Your Best Friend
If there is one thing you need to focus on and not ignore when you start your blog it is SEO.
It will make or break your success!
SEO essentially means formatting your blog post in a way that makes the Google gods happy and convinces them to rank your post high in the search results.
Of course, you want to make sure your blog is written first and foremost for your human readers.
But there are small things you need to do with every post to make Google happy.
If Google doesn’t like you, you’re not going to get any traffic to your website, and that’s no good for your wallet!
I ignored SEO the first year of my blogging career, and it was the biggest mistake I’ve made.
Please learn from my mistakes and focus on SEO from day one.
Everybody tells you it is important, and they’re not lying!
Everything you need to know about SEO for travel bloggers
You Need an Affiliate Marketing Strategy
Affiliate marketing is one of the top ways bloggers make money. Even small bloggers who don’t get a lot of traffic.
Heck! I could have put affiliate marketing itself as one of the top jobs for digital nomads it is such a great money maker!
I’m sure you’re heard your favourite influencer talk about it, but in case you don’t know affiliate marketing is where you promote a product and make a small commission when somebody purchases a product through your link.
For example, this is my affiliate link to the presets I use for my Instagram photos. If you purchase that product (which I highly recommend for anybody who uses Instagram), I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
That’s affiliate marketing in a nut shell.
A lot of bloggers ignore affiliate marketing because they thing they don’t have enough of an audience to make sales or that affiliate marketing isn’t worth the time and effort.
Both of those things are false!
Affiliate marketing is one of the most powerful ways to make money online.
Once you have one or two thousand people per month visiting your blog, you need to start adding affiliate links and making sales!
Seriously. Affiliate marketing is life changing!
Don’t ignore it.
If you want to learn how to start affiliate marketing the right way and make a consistent income, investing in the Passive Income Superstars course is 100% worth the investment.
I took the course almost two years into my blogging journey.
I hadn’t made a single penny before I purchased the course and had no clue how to start affiliate marketing.
Just two months after I finished the course and implemented Leanne’s strategies, the course had already paid for itself, and I started making money every month.
Affiliate marketing isn’t as scary as it seems, and it is an essential part of being a successful blogger.
2. Social Media Manager
This digital nomad jobs was made for Millennials and Gen Zers.
I mean we grew up with social media, so we understands the ins and outs of it!
Basically every business that is going to succeed needs social media accounts.
And needs social media accounts that are managed properly and make the algorithms happy.
That’s where you come in!
You can either manage all the social media accounts of a brand or you can specialize in a single social media platform.
Pinterest is a very popular and lucrative social media account to manage. It makes content creators a lot of money, so they are willing to pay you a lot of money to run it properly.
This is one of the best jobs for digital nomads because you already have the skills to succeed.
It isn’t passive income, but it should at least be a fun way to earn money!
I highly recommend that you run your own social media accounts and outreach through them.
This allows you to show your work on your first introduction and gives you a sense of credibility.
If you run your account professionally and properly, the brand immediately trusts you!
Just be sure you set boundaries!
This is the type of digital job where you could easily have clients intruding on your personal time.
So set the standard up front and stick to it!
And if brands have an emergency need beyond your agreed upon hours, be sure you have an overtime clause in the contract you sign with the brand!
3. Travel Consultant
You love travel right?!
Well, I’m assuming you do since your dream is to become a digital nomad!
So, why not put your travel knowledge to work in making your dream come true?!
There are a few different ways you can be a travel consultant as a digital nomad:
- Join a travel agency and be a travel agent who works remotely
- Create an online presence and sell your travel consultant services as an entrepreneur
Both have their pros and cons, and different personalities suit each method differently.
Choosing the Right Path
If you work for a travel agency, it will be easier to make money right out of the gate. You have the name and reputation of the agency you work for attached to you, and it builds immediate trust.
The downside to this is there is most likely a cap to what you can earn.
Yes you probably earn commissions on of your base salary, but you know the agency is pocketing the majority of the money they make and only paying you a small portion.
That’s fine and well! Working for a travel agency means a guaranteed salary, and it is easier to find work.
On the other hand, if you set out on your own, it will take longer to find a stable income, but the sky is the limit in terms of money.
You can either book trips for people or do one-on-one consultations to answer their travel questions.
You could even write an ebook to answer the most common questions and make passive income that way.
It is 100% more work, and it won’t be a reliable income.
What you earn in a month will fluctuate. Especially when you’re new to the business.
But the upside potential is work the hustle at the beginning of your journey.
The most important thing you need to be successful if you’re starting your own online travel consultation business is you need an online presence.
You need to get your name out there.
Be on every social media you can, have a website, be featured in local news articles.
Do everything and anything (ethically) possible to get your business off the ground.
4. English Teacher
Teaching English is one of the most popular jobs for digital nomads.
Partly because it is super accessible and most native English speakers can easily find a teaching job. And partly because it pays decently and often comes with incentives.
There are three different ways you can teach English as a digital nomad:
- Go to a foreign country through an English teaching program and work there for a year
- Join an online English teaching platform like VIPKID
- Create your own English teaching business
Each has their pros and cons, and you need to consider them before making your final choice.
Teaching Abroad
Teaching in a foreign country for a year allows you to get a deep understanding of that country. Most placements like this give you free room and board, free flights to start your position, and many people are tax exempt.
You can earn and save a fair amount of money in a single year and use it to fund your travels the next year.
This type of teaching does mean you don’t have much freedom to move around though.
You’re required to adhere to a schedule, and it is quite similar to a standard 9 to 5 job.
Teaching Online
Teaching English online is quickly becoming more and more popular with digital nomads.
Using a platform like VIPKID allows you to easily and quickly find work because you’re attached to their reputation and pull from their client base.
The downside to teaching English online is you have to be awake when your students are awake.
Most of your students live in China, so it is convenient if you’re travelling through Asia. Not so much if you’re in Europe.
The pay also leaves a little bit to be desired.
The starting hourly rate is quite low, and you need to work up the ranks before you start making a good income.
That being said, it is one of the easiest ways to quickly earn money as a digital nomad without putting much time and work into building your own business.
Starting Your Own Tutoring Business
The final option you have is to start your own English teaching business.
It has the most income potential, but it also requires the most upfront work with no guarantee of success.
You need to create an online presence and get your business name out into the world.
The good thing about teaching English online is you can share your services with your friends and family.
Chances are they know someone who needs to brush up on their English or knows a child struggling in school.
Networking is the name of the game!
Once you have a number of clients, you can consider hiring other English teachers and grow your business even faster.
There is a lot of upside potential in starting your own English tutoring business, but you need to be willing to put in the hard work required to get it off the ground.
If you’re more interested in travelling than building your own business, the first two options are definitely more suited for you.
No matter what teaching route you go, it is one of the best digital nomad jobs out there.
It is great for beginners, great for entrepreneurs, and great for people focussed on seeing the world and wanting a solid job that earns decent money.
5. Virtual Assistant
This is one of the best jobs for digital nomads because pretty much anybody and everybody already has the skills necessary to become a virtual assistant!
A virtual assistant does a number of different things ranging from managing an email inbox to writing blog posts.
The range of work is quite wide, and the best way to become a successful virtual assistant is to narrow down your skills and offer specialized services in one area.
For example, you can be a virtual assistant that focuses on SEO. Or one that manages social media.
Run with whatever your top skills are (and the tasks you enjoy the most)!
You can find a lot of work on sites like Fiverr and Upwrok.
They are a great place to start finding clients, but you probably don’t want to stay on those sites forever.
They tend to pay less than you deserve, and the company (Fiverr or Upwork) takes a large percentage of the money you earn through their platform.
I personally think the best way to make a living as a virtual assistant is to find your own clients. This allows you to keep all the money you earn, and you can typically charge more for your work.
It does take a little more effort to find clients yourself, but it is worth the effort!
One of the best places to find clients is in Facebook groups.
There are tons of Facebook groups out there that allow members to promote their services.
Just be sure you read the group’s rules carefully and follow them!
Be on the lookout for groups that are geared towards content creators.
Bloggers, YouTubers, and content creators are always looking for help.
6. Etsy Seller
This may sound like one of the oddest jobs for digital nomads but hear me out!
Most people think of arts and crafts and physical products when they think of Etsy.
But there is a whole different world of Etsy selling digital products, and this is what you should be looking into as a digital nomad.
Selling digital products on Etsy is one of the most underrated jobs for digital nomads.
It is relatively easy to learn the skills necessary to be successful, it is passive once you get it going, and you don’t need to be super techy to figure it out.
It is by far one the best digital nomad jobs for beginners and people who want to make money online but don’t necessarily want to do a lot of marketing or start their own website.
Some of the top selling digital products on Etsy include:
- Social media templates for content creators
- Wedding invitations
- Digital art (like graphics to hang in baby rooms)
- Digital journals
There isn’t a ton of competition on Etsy in the digital products sphere.
You shouldn’t have too much trouble making sales as long as your learn Etsy SEO and sell beautiful products.
And don’t worry if you’re thinking to yourself right now that you lack the skills to create digital products.
It is way easier than you think!
Basically, you need to watch a few YouTube tutorials on how to use Canva and then get to work creating your digital products.
You also need to learn how to use Etsy, so you’ll have to watch a few tutorials on that as well.
All in all though, selling digital products on Etsy is one of the easiest jobs for digital nomads to start and see pretty quick results with.
It still takes effort and hard work, but it doesn’t take the same amount of time as effort as starting a blog does.
7. Video Editor
Video editing is quickly becoming one of the most lucrative jobs for digital nomads.
More and more people are joining YouTube and more and more companies are realizing the power video content has.
With the influx of new people creating video content, the demand for video editors is increasing at a rapid pace.
Before you start thinking you don’t know how to edit videos, it is a skill that isn’t too difficult to learn.
You can watch YouTube videos or pay for a course to learn how to edit videos.
I recommend a combination of both. There are some technical things you can learn from free videos, but I think paying for a course is the best way to go.
I paid for the Flying the Nest Video Editing Masterclass and found it was worth every penny and more.
Which is saying a lot since a lot of online classes are complete crap.
No matter how you choose to learn to edit videos, it just takes some time, effort, and practice.
Pretty much anybody can learn how to edit videos.
Especially talking head videos that don’t require a lot of fancy editing skills!
The best part about video editing is that the going rate per YouTube video starts at $100!
You can edit a talking head video in about an hour once you get a feel for editing and how to use the editing platform.
That’s a pretty good chunk of change!
Once you start building up a client base, you’ll start to receive referrals, and you will replace your full-time income in no time.
Goodbye desk job. Hello freedom!
Flying the Nest Video Editing Masterclass Review
8. Translator
This is one of the only digital nomad jobs on this list that not everybody can do.
I mean you have to know more than one language in order to be a translator!
But, the fact that not everybody can do it makes it an extremely profitable digital nomad job!
There are quite a few ways you can go about being a translator, but I think the best option for digital nomads is translating text.
This gives you the flexibility to work on your own time.
You don’t have to be somewhere at a specific time to translate in person, which is a huge plus for people wanting to travel and have their freedom.
Translators are in high demand, and you can make top dollar for your work.
Especially if you translate between some of the most in demand language.
For example, translating from Finnish to English or Arabic to English (or vice versa) will make you a lot more money than translating between English and Spanish.
Once you make a name for yourself and have a positive reputation, it will be super easy for you to find clients.
In fact, I have a feeling you won’t have to look for clients. They will come to you by word of mouth.
I love the idea of being a translator as a digital nomad.
It is a rare skill that many people don’t have, gives you the flexibility to make your own schedule, and you can make a pretty penny.
You can even make a full-time income working part-time hours once you’ve built your reputation up and have a client base.
9. Freelance Writer
This is one of my all-time favourite jobs for digital nomads.
If you’re like me and dreamt of being a writer as a little kid, this is the way to make your dreams come true!
There are tons of different types of content you can write as a freelance writer.
Anything from blog posts to social media posts. Emails to website copy. The possibilities are endless.
You can tailor your career as a freelance writer to fit what you want to write about and what style you want to write in.
Basically every business in the world needs some sort of content written, and they’re always on the lookout for good writers to hire.
Make sure you’re the person they hire!
The key to being a successful freelance writer (as with most of the jobs on this list) is to narrow down your niche.
You will make a lot more money if you specialize in one area rather than being a general freelance writer.
For example, you want to be a freelance writer who write finance blog posts. Not a freelance writer who writes finance blog posts, lifestyle copy, and travel social media posts.
Pick a topic and focus on that!
Once you have a niche picked out, the most efficient way to get clients is to create a website, write some samples, and reach out to businesses in your local area.
You can also create a profile on sites like Fiverr or Upwork, but they don’t tend to pay as much as you deserve.
A lot of freelance writers makes $200 USD per blog post.
Don’t sell yourself short and charge what you’re worth!
10. Online Course Creator
Okay. I know this sounds super intimidating and like it will only work if you have a large audience but hear me out!
Creating and selling online courses is one of the best jobs for digital nomads out there.
Once you create the course, it earns you passive income. No more work required!
Except for the odd update that is.
And while, yeah, it helps to have an audience, you don’t need one!
If you don’t have an audience that will buy your online course if you sell it directly, you can publish it on a platform like Skillshare and make money from your course!
You make money for every minute students watch your classes, and classes you published months or years ago can still make you money!
The trick is making sure your course is good and people want to watch it!
Skillshare is the best place to launch your online course if you don’t have an audience. If you have an audience, you want to launch your course by yourself.
Launching your course yourself allows you to make so much more money than launching it on Skillshare.
It also requires more work though!
But you have the resources and audience, launching a course yourself is the way to go.
Oh, and if you’re scratching your head trying to figure out what skills you have to share, I guarantee you have a lot of knowledge that people are willing to pay you for!
Everybody does!
You can create a course on travel, gardening, cooking, photography, proof reading.
The sky is the limit!
Don’t limit yourself because you don’t value your skills as much as someone else will!
The Importance of Internet Safety as a Digital Nomad
One thing all digital nomads have in common is that they rely on the internet a lot.
In most cases, that means you’re connected to public wifi networks at cafés and hotels while you work.
This puts you at risk of having your personal online data stolen. Not only does that cause a headache for you, but it could also potentially prevent you from being able to do your work and miss deadlines.
That is not an ideal situation.
The only way to protect yourself when you’re connected to public wifi networks is to install a VPN on your devices.
And, yes, wifi networks that has a password are still considered public wifi networks because pretty much anybody can access them and then proceed to steal your online information.
Installing a VPN on your devices essentially puts up a forcefield around your devices that prevents prying eyes from being able to see and access your data.
A VPN makes using public wifi networks just as safe as using your home wifi network where you’re the only person who knows the password.
In my eyes, installing a VPN on all your devices is an essential part of being a digital nomad.
It is just the responsible thing to do!
My Favourite VPN
I’ve used a lot of different VPNs in my time and hated them all.
VPNs are notorious for slowing down your internet speed and make using the internet very frustrating.
You don’t need that when you’re a digital nomad and rely on the internet to make money!
My frustrations disappeared when I discovered NordVPN and started using their product.
They are the fastest VPN on the market, and you can really notice the difference when you have it turned on.
It doesn’t slow down your devices, and you hardly notice you have the VPN protecting your online data.
And your client’s online data!
The other awesome thing about NordVPN is that you can cloak your location.
This allows you to change your country and make it appear like you’re somewhere else in the world.
That might not sound like the coolest feature, but it really is!
Cloaking your location allows you to access Netflix libraries from other parts of the world.
And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be watching a fair bit of Netflix in the evenings when your’e travelling the world.
You’ll never run out of content to watch and can discover shows you’ve never heard of with a VPN on your devices.
I highly recommend checking out South Korea’s Netflix library. It is one of the best in the world in my opinion!
My philosophy is that if you can afford to travel and be a digital nomad, you can afford to protect your online information by installing a VPN on your devices.
It costs less than the price of a single latte per month, so you have no excuses not to be safe when you travel!
Conclusion
So, did any of those digital nomad jobs peak your interest and inspire you to finally take the leap of faith and follow your dreams of travelling full-time?
I truly believe the jobs for digital nomads on this list are accessible and pretty much anybody can do at least one of the jobs on this list!
Becoming a digital nomad sounds impossible, but I promise it is easier than you think.
It is scary to take the leap of faith, but it is 100% worth it if it is your dream.
It is easier than ever to make money online and these jobs for digital nomads prove it.
There seems to be new internet jobs popping up all the time. Who would have thought ten years ago that you could make a good living creating and pinning pins for other people?!
I sure didn’t!
But now managing Pinterest accounts can lead to your dream life and beef up your wallet more than you would imagine.
The possibilities are endless!
There is 100% a way for you to make money online with the skills you already have or skills you can easily learn.
Don’t let fear hold you back from living your dreams.
I dreamt of being a digital nomad for five years before I took the plunge. I let fear hold me back and regret the years I spent wilting away at a desk job when I didn’t have to.
Don’t be like me.
Have confidence in yourself to follow your dreams.
You got this!
