10 Best Digital Nomad Jobs for Beginners
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Looking for the best digital nomad jobs for beginners? Jobs you can do remotely so you can be location-independent? I feel ya!
I was in the same boat a few years back, before I decided to become a digital nomad and start officially “identifying” as such.
The digital nomad movement is growing and with it comes loads of online job opportunities that allow you to live abroad and travel full-time. I have been enjoying the nomadic lifestyle now for the past 7 years and counting!
So in today’s post, I’m going to list what I consider to be the easiest digital nomad jobs for beginners. Jobs that you could ideally start even if you have zero experience. Also, 9/10 of these jobs can be done online, but all of them can afford you a nomadic lifestyle of work and travel.
Here are 10 of the best remote jobs to finance your digital nomad lifestyle!
10 Best Digital Nomad Jobs for Beginners
1. Freelance Writing
I may be biased here, but freelance writing is definitely one of the best jobs for digital nomads. That is if you enjoy writing!
There are many types of digital nomad jobs within the writing industry.
But the two types of freelance writing that I personally feel are ideal for the nomadic lifestyle are copywriting and content writing. (And yes, the two are very different!)
In short, copywriting is a form of writing that has the purpose to sell something (i.e. product, brand, service, idea, etc). For example, a copywriter might write content for an Amazon product listing.
Then there’s content writing, which is what I do as a freelancer.
Content writing is a form of writing article-style content for blog or website owners – similar to the one I’m writing for you all right now! The purpose of content writing isn’t necessarily to sell, more than it is to inform, educate, inspire, or offer value.
So, why is writing a good job for digital nomads?
For one, it pays well. As a freelance writer, I started out earning $15/hour and worked my way up to an average of $65/hour. And two, I can write for my clients from anywhere in the world as long as I have a decent internet connection.
If you want to learn more about how to become a freelance content writer, read my guide!
2. Teaching English
Teaching English online to Chinese students is one of the easiest entry jobs for digital nomads. This is actually one of the most popular jobs that permit digital nomads to work and live abroad.
I personally know about a dozen people who teach English online to finance their digital nomad lifestyle – whether they’re living in a van, beaching it up in Mexico, or exploring the island of Bali.
With companies like VIPKid, you will need a 4-year Bachelor’s degree and two years of teaching experience. But with some companies, like the app-only company PalFish, you only need a TESOL / TEFL certificate to become a Teacher or Course Instructor.
Online English Teacher with either one of these companies can earn you up to $20-$25/hour or more.
3. Blogging
Of course, I couldn’t talk about the best digital nomad jobs without mentioning blogging. Blogging is one of the most lucrative jobs not just for digital nomads but for any person working online. That’s because there’s virtually no limit to how much you can make blogging.
Some of the top bloggers today are earning more than $100,000 per month. It’s reasonable to say that within 3-5 years of blogging, you could be earning well over $10,000/month just from affiliates, display ads, and sponsorships. There are bloggers who reach those numbers even faster, but I don’t want to paint blogging as such an easy job for digital nomads because realistically it takes a while to grow one and monetize it.
Nonetheless, blogging is still one of the best jobs to have as a digital nomad. You write. You publish. You create content for social. You get to have fun. Maybe even travel (if that’s the type of blogging you want to do). You get paid well. And growth can be exponential!
If you want to start a blog, but don’t want to do it alone – shoot me an email to inquire about blog coaching or learn more about my Bootstrap Blogging masterclass.
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4. Virtual Assistant
Another job that is ideal for beginner digital nomads is becoming a Virtual Assistant (VA).
As a VA, your role is to basically assist someone (i.e. a blogger or entrepreneur) by doing tasks related to their business. This could mean doing administration tasks, scheduling appointments, making phone calls, managing the person’s personal/work schedule and email, scheduling social media content, etc.
Chances are, you already have half of these skills from working a past job or doing an internship. VA jobs vary in pay, but it’s reasonable to be paid upward of $20/hour.
You can find numerous VA jobs for digital nomads posted on freelancing marketplaces such as Upwork.com, Freelancer.com, etc.
5. Social Media Manager
Similar to a VA, a Social Media Manager is another great job that allows digital nomads to work while traveling since all you need is an internet connection. As a Social Media Manager, your job is to fully manage someone’s social media platforms.
The people hiring SMM’s are usually bloggers because once they grow, they no longer have time to do all the minuscule tasks of managing each handle.
That’s where you would come in to help create and plan content for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. You might also help design graphics and media to be used across each platform (especially Pinterest and Instagram).
If you have lots of experience with social media, know how to multitask, can work closely with the blogger/employer, then you could easily land a job as a social media manager and start making anywhere from $10-25 as a beginner and $30-70+/hour for bigger contracts requiring more experience and time commitment.
You can find such jobs posted on Upwork.com as well, but make sure to join Facebook groups with lots of bloggers and digital nomads. The Digital Nomad Girls Community currently has 32K members and the Female Digital Nomads group has 67K members. A quick post in those groups asking anyone if they need extra help with their social media might prove fruitful!
6. Selling Products
Ever thought about owning your own online store? But one that still allows you to be a digital nomad and travel?
Well, not all online shops require you to have physical inventory that you have to manage. Case in point, you could sell e-products on your own website, social media, or Shopify store, dropship products, or do Amazon FBA. Now, what are all those?
E-Products: One of the best ways to make money online with an audience is by selling e-products – aka ebooks, courses, printables, presets, etc. I’m sure you’ve noticed how many Instagrammers sell their own presets! Well, that is an e-product and it requires zero upfront investment, apart from the time it takes for you to create it. You could even write and self-publish ebooks on Amazon.
Dropshipping: Dropshipping is a way to sell products online without ever touching the product. How it works is you create a Shopify store, do product research, find a wholesaler/supplier online who makes the product, and then sell the product through your store. The supplier will ship the product directly to the customer. You’re simply the middleman.
Amazon FBA: Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is another popular job for business-savvy digital nomads – like my boyfriend Paul! He started doing Amazon FBA a couple of years ago and it’s what has allowed him to keep being a nomad and live abroad. Amazon FBA requires you to also do product research (to find a quality product to sell), but instead of housing the inventory yourself, your supplier can ship it directly to Amazons’ Warehouses. Amazon takes a 20-30% commission, but basically, you don’t have to touch the product if you don’t want to. Create a brand around the product and Amazon ships, packs, and takes care of the customer service.
7. Photographer
Photography is a great digital nomad job for beginners since you are essentially self-employed and can go anywhere you choose. There are many photographers who travel to find the next best location, shoot, and destination. You will find many of these creators on Instagram.
Some industry examples are Bree from @eyeofshe and her boyfriend Jose behind @josemostajo. Those guys travel around scouting out the best locations to shoot. They are not sponsored by anyone, but rather get hired as photographers for brands and businesses and feature products/gear in their posts in exchange for compensation. I know that Bree licenses her photos for no less than $4,000 and earns around $3000+ for just one sponsored post (which grows with the number of followers she has).
Whether you’re starting at zero or are already an advanced camera user, you could consider starting a photography business and using tools such as Instagram, TikTok, etc., to grow your remote business.
8. Vlogging
If you can’t imagine yourself writing and publishing a lot of blog posts as a blogger, and you prefer visual media, then you could consider becoming a vlogger as a digital nomad. So many YouTubers are digital nomads – just traveling to exciting new places and filming it all as they go along.
Although I do think vlogging isn’t as potentially lucrative as blogging, it is still a great way to make money if you are able to grow and scale within the first 1-2 years. Vlogging success isn’t going to happen overnight, though, which is why many digital nomads don’t naturally start out their journey as nomads by vlogging.
Instead, vlogging is a part of the business that comes later after growing a successful Instagram or blog.
Don’t think that you only have to be travel vlogging either – you could also do vlogging in other niches (lifestyle, food, college, fashion, etc) while still living and traveling in diverse countries as a digital nomad.
9. Graphic Design
Graphic design is one of the most popular jobs for digital nomads. When on the road traveling, you’ll hear “I’m a graphic designer” A LOT. It’s definitely one of the best jobs to have if you are skilled at design since you can work on small to large projects from anywhere in the world.
I wouldn’t say this is one of the easiest jobs for digital nomads, though, since the competition is quite high. To earn your living, you need to have a system already churning before quitting your day job and becoming a digital nomad.
If graphic design is something that you love to do and can see yourself doing full-time, then you can start with little experience and slowly build up your portfolio. You can do this all while living in a country that has a cheaper cost of living, so you can save some money while you build your business.
A great way to start gaining experience in this field is by working on freelance jobs that you can find easily on Fiverr.com and Upwork.com. Just from this, you could earn up to $50/hour as a beginner and upward of $100/hour as an advanced designer. In fact, if you didn’t want to build your own graphic design studio/business online, you could do freelancing full-time and still earn great money.
RELATED: 11 Best Digital Nomad Cities Around the World
10. Online Coaching
Last but not least on this list of best jobs for digital nomads is online coaching. This job, in particular, is growing in popularity as a lucrative career. Online coaching allows you to solve a problem for people, which is the basis of any great business.
You could be a fitness coach, a blogging coach, a Pinterest coach, a social media coach, a marketing coach… Even a coach for other digital nomads. Plus, you set your own rates and schedule (like most of these other digital nomad jobs) so you can spend more time doing what you love instead of working.
Especially now that the world is forced to stay home and spend more time online, online coaching is becoming one of the best jobs for digital nomads.
Final Thoughts
The reason why jobs for digital nomads are so amazing is that they can be done online from nearly anywhere in the world. Just as long as you have a stable internet connection – you’re good to go! Want to be a digital nomad in Mexico? Why not! That’s what we did for 2.5 – 3 years. You can do it, too!
That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to have a constant flow of work, or that the working conditions are always drool-worthy. (And no, most of us digital nomads don’t work poolside lol).
But it does mean that you can find work (aka money!) by outsourcing your skills online no matter where you live.
And what’s great about skills is that they are learned – they are not given (that’s called talent).
That also means you can do these digital nomad jobs with zero experience and build up your portfolio as you take on freelance jobs and gain experience.
So yes, there are many pros and cons of the digital nomad lifestyle. Even though these jobs may seem like your ticket to paradise, know that it’s not that easy and not that glorious, either. But it’s worth it for freeing yourself from a society that says you need to work a 9-5 job even if loathe it.
I hope this guide to the best digital nomad jobs for beginners helps you get started on your journey! If you are a digital nomad or know someone with a different online job than the ones mentioned above, feel free to add it to this list by dropping a comment below!
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