If you’ve been yearning for more freedom in your job and wondering how to become a digital nomad, this post is for you!
Here’s 51 digital nomad jobs that can be done anywhere in the world. They’re jobs to consider if you’re just starting out, ways to make your current job location-independent, and fields you could make the switch to with some education or channeling of your expertise.
Keep in mind that being a digital nomad often means being a freelancer. So “freelance” is an implied prefix to many of these jobs.
These digital nomad jobs are arranged in no particular order. Where possible, we’ve linked to educational resources and more info to get you started.
Travel Photographer
Competitive? Yep. But if you’re passionate about it, you should still give travel photography a go, at least as another income stream.
The key is diversifying and promoting yourself. Maintain a website and social media presence, and think beyond glossy magazines. Pitch your services to local travel and tourism agencies, consider offering destination photography workshops and tours, even selling your prints. It’s one of those digital nomad jobs that fits so well with your travels that it’s worth approaching even as a side gig.
Educational Suggestions: Nomadic Matt’s Travel Photography Course
Graphic Designer
Since we probably don’t need to explain what graphic design is, or why it’s easy for digital nomads to do, we’ll just point you in the direction an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. Current graphic designers can check out remote job listings here.
Web Developer
Another one that doesn’t need a lot of explanation, so we’re just going to say whyyyy chain yourself to a desk for work that you could do on the balcony of your Airbnb in Spain? There’s quite a bit of remote work available for developers–it’s actually one of the most common digital nomad jobs.
Affiliate Marketer
Affiliate marketing is really just promoting other people’s products in exchange for a cut of the sale price. You probably come across affiliate links regularly on the internet without noticing. From big magazines to that quirky blog you follow (and yes, us too), it’s a common way to make money from your content.
There are a lot of ways to do affiliate marketing online, and you’ll find quite a few books and online articles and courses on the subject. Just steer clear of anyone hyping “get rich quick” results –as with any business, it will take time to build. A huge part of affiliate marketing (and even blogging in general) is SEO. Find more helpful links in the resources section at the bottom of this post to get started.
Translator or Interpreter
If you’re fluent in a second language, consider offering translation services remotely. From document translation, to working as a remote video interpreter (also an option for those fluent in ASL), there’s plenty of avenues to explore. Find out about Medical Interpreter certification, and Sign Language Interpreter certification.
SEO Specialist
Search Engine Optimization is vital to many online businesses, so no surprise that there’s plenty of money to be made in it. If you’ve already mastered SEO for your own website, or do SEO as your day job, think about marketing your skills to others as a freelancer or starting your own SEO firm.
Faculty for online classes
Most universities now offer online courses, and many are asynchronous, meaning that instructors don’t have to be online at a certain time to “teach” students, instead posting assignments and communicating via e-mail.
Take a look at online adjunct jobs and narrow them down by your field of expertise. Required qualifications vary, but you’ll generally need a minimum of a bachelors degree, and your previous work experience in the field can be an asset.
Copywriter
Copywriting is writing for the purpose of marketing or advertising, but this can take forms beyond traditional ads, including website and blog content. It may not be the highest paying job starting out, but you can charge more if you’ve mastered writing for SEO. Like other support positions in this list, copywriting can also be a great way to get a peek inside the business model of successful entrepreneurs. Take a look at some copywriting jobs on Upwork.
Online Tutor
Many nomads support their travel by teaching English, but if you’re looking for more freedom and flexibility, try tutoring online. There’s demand for tutoring in a range of subjects, like math, English, music, and more. Tutor.com and Skooli are just a couple other tutoring websites worth looking into.
Travel Blogger
Yes, there been a recent boom in travel blogging, however, the truth is most don’t put the effort into creating unique content or take it seriously as a business. There is room to succeed if you put the work in! We have a comprehensive resource post for aspiring travel bloggers that’s a great place to start.
Educational Suggestions: Hugely successful travel blogger Nomadic Matt has a travel blog course that comes highly recommended.
Any other kind of Blogger
As long as the topic of your blog isn’t tied to the city you’re in, you’re free to take to the road and become a digital nomad!
If you’re just getting started with blogging, there’s no shortage of online guides; try narrowing down the guides by searching specifically for advice on the niche you want to blog about. Also, DO start with a personalized domain to professionally build your brand from the get-go (rather than “davesblog.blogspot.com”). Open source WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms, and we love WP Engine’s fast managed hosting.
With blogging, or really any of these jobs, the biggest mistake people make is flailing for months or years because they don’t have the insider knowledge necessary to really make it work as a business. Be cautious and do your research, but absolutely invest in a reputable blogging course specific to your niche.
Transcription
If you have a good ear and are a fast typist, then it’s not difficult to become a transcriber! There are a vast number of institutions to work with, from production companies to fortune 500 corporations, even medical transcription. Qualifications can vary from unskilled to requiring a bachelor’s degree, so there are positions to match a range of experience.
Medical Coding
Unshackle yourself from the office with a remote medical coding job. The job involves assigning special medical codes to healthcare diagnoses, so you’ll need some knowledge of medicine. In order to get a medical coding position, you’ll generally need a 2 year degree and certification. See some remote medical coding jobs here.
Financial Planner
Put your money smarts to use helping others plan for the future! In order to become a Certified Financial Planner, you’ll need to pass a test, as well as holding a bachelor’s degree, and three years of work experience in the field. You don’t have to have certification, but it will help to create trust and attract clients. Think about specializing in services for other digital nomads; you’ll be in a unique position to understand their needs.
Travel Writer
Yes, it can feel like a unicorn job, but it’s not impossible to succeed if you have a passion for travel writing!
Due to crunched magazine budgets, expect to be pitching ideas and applying on a freelance basis. Offer additional value by learning photography (see our list of the best cameras for travel). Right now you see a mix of pro and more filtered Instagram level photos in travel magazines–this might be trendy, but I bet it’s saving them money too! Also think about specializing in a corner of the world, and maintaining a travel blog and social media for additional exposure.
Educational Suggestions: Check out travel writer Tim Leffel’s book on the subject, as well as How to Sell Travel Stories.
Virtual Assistant
Busy people and small businesses often use the services of a virtual assistant to outsource small tasks. These can be anything from standard secretarial duties like handling appointments, to more technical tasks like keeping a website updated.
You can find potential jobs online, but also think about about people you know who could use your services. If you don’t know any other digital nomads or busy professionals, start networking! In The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss recommends that entrepreneurs outsource to cheap overseas virtual assistants, but think about who you’re more likely to trust with your personal info: someone you already know and trust, or a stranger? Networking and recommendations from satisfied clients can go a long way.
Honeymoon and Vacation Photographer
This is a neat, and relatively new niche. If you live in a popular tourist destination, you could make money taking on-location photos of couples on their honeymoon, or just tourists who want some professionally captured memories of their vacation. There’s multiple ways to promote yourself in this niche travel photography field, but Flytographer is by far the largest site right now.
It also wouldn’t hurt to check with tour companies like El Camino that offer clients a group photographer– maybe that photographer could be you on their next trip!
Animator
You know those blockbuster animated movies beloved by kids and adults alike? Yeah, you probably won’t be working on any of those. But there are many businesses, large and small, who need animation for advertising, training, and more. Depending on the project, animation comprises a range of skills and software proficiencies, so it’s not something you can transition to overnight. However, if you have the aptitude, it can be worth investing some time in, as the average salary for animators is upwards of 50k a year.
Technical Writer
Technical writers create documents like manuals, online help, training, and reports. Their job is to make technical content clear to the average reader, or to readers who work in that field (for example, one of my college writing instructors did technical writing for NASA!). It’s not sexy, but it does pay well, particularly if you have specialized technical knowledge.
Peruse some remote technical writing job listings here.
Consultant
Built up expertise in a particular field over the years? Think about starting an online consulting business. You can use e-mail and Skype to communicate with clients, helping them achieve their business goals. It’s an ideal job for digital nomads, and the potential niches are many, it just comes down to what you’re qualified to advise on.
Social Media Manager
Many companies have dedicated social media managers, and smaller businesses often hire freelancers to handle their social media. Job listings usually ask for multiple years of social media management experience, including with industry analytics programs. However, even being able to point to social media success with your personal blog could be enough to get started with a couple clients and move towards cushier corporate jobs.
Cruise Ship Employee
Alright, we admit that this one isn’t so heavy on the “digital” part of digital nomad. However, it is a great way to get paid to travel the world, and an option to support yourself while building a travel blog or other digital business.
Medical Review Nurse
If you’re an RN or LPN, you don’t have to be tied to a 9-5 job. How about working remotely reviewing medical records? Many employers require that you have a nursing license from, and be a resident in the state they do business in, but there’s not much keeping you from doing your work from the road.
Interior Designer
Online interior design services have boomed, and it’s a great way to make money from your impeccable taste!
It works like this: clients will send photos and a description of their space, along with goals and budget. Designers work with them, communicating over e-mail or Skype, to create the perfect room. Once the client settles on a design, they either purchase from the provided list of items, or the designer handles the purchasing for them, but both options provide opportunity for additional revenue from merchant commissions of affiliate links. Because all the work is done online, it’s an ideal digital nomad job!
You’ll probably want to become certified, but once you are, start your own interior design business, or consider applying to one of many online firms.
Data Entry
A wide range of businesses need data entry services, and since the work is computer based, and doesn’t need to be done at any particular time of the day, it’s perfect for remote workers. Job listings generally require some experience, but the work isn’t difficult. You may already have relevant experience from prior jobs, but if not, think about obtaining data entry experience locally before you try to transition to remote work.
Stock Photographer
Pro photographers can supplement their income, and even make a good living selling stock photography. Obviously, the more skilled you are, the better your earning potential, but as more companies look to appear relatable on social media and shy away from staged stock photos, there’s even opportunity to sell your “real-life” amateur photos on sites like EyeEm.
eBook Author
If you’ve ever dreamed of being an author, but thought it was out of reach, consider self publishing. Your eBook topic is limited only by your knowledge and imagination, from that novel you always wanted to write (erm, how about Bigfoot erotic fiction?!), to city guidebooks, even a guide on how to become a digital nomad.
Amazon Self Publishing is an obvious choice because of their wide audience, and we’ve seen many eBook publishers using E-junkie to sell their books and other digital download items lately.
App Developer
Do you dream of developing the next big app to conquer America? Or the world? Your dreams are much more within reach than you realize. If you know a programming language for Android or Apple devices, you can develop an app.
You can even make a boatload of money if you don’t have an app idea for yourself. Lots of companies are looking for people like you to develop apps for them, and many are willing to hire remote workers.
eCommerce Entrepreneur
You don’t need a warehouse full of products to start selling online! Think about starting starting a business using drop shipping, where you manage the storefront, and outsource shipping to the manufacturer or a middleman. Because of the flexibility, it’s one of the digital nomad jobs we really love. You don’t even necessarily need your own website; drop shipping is a common business model for 3rd party Amazon sellers.
Read more about how The Professional Vagabond became a digital nomad through a drop shipping business.
When it comes to setting up an ecommerce website, Shopify is by far the most popular platform, and one that you’ll see even some of the big sites using (they offer a free 14 day trial if you’d like to poke around and see how it works).
Etsy Shop Owner
The drop shipping method mentioned above is also a possibility for shipping your creative work, like art prints sold through Etsy. There are quite a few art printing services like Art of Where, who will ship directly to your customers. Shipping physical items from the country you’re currently visiting may be subject to additional regulations, but it’s something to think about for small handmade items or local vintage finds.
UX/ UI Designer
User Experience and User Interface Designers aren’t quite the same job, but they’re often grouped together. The former is responsible for the broad spectrum of customer experience, and the latter, the visual elements of a website, device or software. It’s likely not something you’ll be able to switch to overnight, but demand for UX designers is high right now, and the pay can be excellent (I have a friend in UX who makes 100k a year, and works partially remotely). See some remote jobs here.
Online Course Creator
This one is easiest to do if you already have an online platform and audience. Many bloggers or online personalities make a large portion of their income selling online classes that teach readers how to do what they do — things like affiliate marketing, blogging skills, SEO, and more.
There are a wealth of course design and hosting apps that will make the process easy. And once the course is finished and selling, it a great source of passive income, making it an ideal digital nomad job.
Importer/ Exporter
If you have an eye for trends, are comfortable learning the regulations, and possibly doing business in another language, think about starting an import/ export business. Even in this era of globalization, there’s still profitable niches to be found.
Try to identify in-demand products before you leave, and pay close attention as you travel. Make sure to educate yourself, do your market research, and identify possible distribution channels before you purchase a boatload of product!
House Sitting
This one is cheating a little bit, since you probably won’t get paid for house sitting. House sitting can, however, significantly reduce your costs, allowing you to stretch your dollars while you travel. It’s a fantastic job for digital nomads that allows plenty of free time for other work. Many homeowners are looking for someone to care for their pets while they’re gone, so it helps if you’re an animal lover and have experience taking care of animals.
Here’s some resources to get you started: International House Sitting, Trusted Housesitters, Nomador.
Web Designer
Web designers craft all visual components of a website, such as concept, layout, structure and design. Creativity and a grasp of design principles is important, as well as the flexibility to work with clients even if you don’t see eye to eye artistically. You can also specialize in WordPress design, creating individual designs, or themes to sell on sites like ThemeForest and Creative Market. See some job listings here.
Coach
Do you enjoy helping others succeed? How about being an online life or career coach? From a general focus like life coaching, to niches like executive coaching, there’s plenty of opportunities to put your knowledge and skills to use, and Skype makes it easy to meet with clients no matter where you are. Many coaches have a background in psychology, though it’s not a requirement.
Tour Guide
Have the insider’s scoop on your new city? Think about offering local walking tours for tourists. If you’re marketing to tourists from your home country, you have the advantage of being a native speaker of their language, as well as being more cognizant of their cultural preferences and current trends that might interest them.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing describes the marketing you do online, like SEO efforts, display advertising, influencer partnerships and more. We’re willing to bet many of you have already developed some of these skills, so why not put them to use assisting other businesses with their marketing? You don’t need to start a huge firm to be successful; popular travel bloggers Hecktic Travels leverage their skills and connections to create custom campaigns for the travel industry (and travel to some very drool worthy spots while they work).
Public Relations
With so much of their audience online, the public relations needs of many businesses have shifted as well. PR jobs can encompass social media, writing press releases, e-mail outreach and more. It helps to have experience in PR, but you can start small with PR freelance work and build skills.
Vlogging
If you don’t spend much time on YouTube, it might come as a surprise, but many vloggers (video bloggers) make a great living off of advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate links. One obvious vlogging subject would be your travel adventures, but there are plenty of niche topics (language lessons, local beauty product reviews) to explore, and a charismatic on screen presence can go a long way.
Rachel & Jun’s YouTube account is a fantastic example of fun hybrid travel vlogging, done without a big budget. (they’re also utilizing Patreon to supplement their income, another one of our suggestions you can see below)
Videography
While you’re building your YouTube empire, how about putting those videography skills to use elsewhere? Stock video is a growing field, and Shutterstock says that travel footage is one of their most popular categories. You can also sell your services creating ads for local tourism, make money simply editing other’s videos, or dream big and film your own documentary. There’s quite a few potential digital nomad jobs in this field.
Resume Writer
A great resume can be the difference between your dream job or none at all, so it’s not difficult to understand why people will pay for assistance crafting their resume and cover letter. If you’ve mastered the art of resume writing, consider offering your services on a freelance basis.
Online Customer Service
In an era of terrible outsourced customer service, there are still companies who want to hire smart native speakers to handle their customer service. The pay isn’t amazing, but qualifications are generally minimal, and you can easily live well in a country with low cost of living. If you’re friendly and patient, consider becoming an e-mail or chat customer service agent.
Accountant
You don’t need an office and a 9-5 schedule to be an accountant! Market your accounting and bookkeeping skills to small businesses and digital nomads and help them get their personal and business finances and taxes in order. This is another field where specializing in services for digital nomads can give you an edge, since you’ll be in a position to understand their unique tax situation.
You’ll generally need experience and certification to be a bookkeeper, and a bachelor’s degree to become an accountant.
Travel Agent
Are you already a travel pro, or well versed in a particular corner of the world? Offer your travel planning services to travelers looking for tailor made itineraries and insider knowledge. Earn money by charging clients to create personalized itineraries and/or earn commissions from hotels and airlines when you book travel on behalf of clients. Travel agent is really an ultimate digital nomad job, because you get to put everything you learn while traveling to use.
If you search for “bespoke travel planning” you’ll find a mix of luxury travel agencies, and individuals offering their services. Take a look and learn from what others are doing!
Online Tech Support
Put your knowledge to use helping others with their tech problems via chat, e-mail or phone! We’ve all come across terrible outsourced tech support, but there are still companies that care about their customers and want to hire smart people like you.
You’ll get the security that comes with working for someone else, and the need for 24/7 support means you’re less likely to have conflicts with your work schedule and new time zone in paradise. As long as you have reliable internet, you can do this digital nomad job just about anywhere!
Podcasting
Like blogging, podcasting can take time to build before you make money. But you can do it with minimal, compact equipment, and there’s so many opportunities to capitalize on your travel. Think about how you can utilize your new city (or series of cities) to create unique, engaging content for a podcast.
Patreon
If you already have a fan base for your creative work, but have struggled to make money from it, or devote enough time to it, consider Patreon. Once you create your profile, ask fans to consider being patrons. They can donate money monthly, or per “thing” you create–anything creative, like music, comics, education, and more.
Instructional Designer
One of our writers actually does instructional design part-time. If you have a background in education, and are willing to learn some new software (Adobe Captivate and Articulate Storyline are the big ones), it’s not that difficult. You’ll need to build a good portfolio, but corporations will pay well for freelancers who can turn internal training materials into computer based educational modules.
Voiceover Artist / Voice Actor
Have a pleasant, expressive voice? How about becoming a freelance voiceover artist?
You don’t need a lot of gear for voiceovers (the same basic gear as podcasting), and while you might not be voicing major commercials or cartoons, there’s plenty of jobs for corporate projects, as well as demand for voiceovers in languages other than English.
Your current job, just not here!
If you’ve ever dragged yourself into the office and thought “I could do this from my sofa,” there’s a good chance you could.
It doesn’t hurt to try to negotiate with your employer for remote work. Before you meet with your boss, make sure that you’ve made yourself enough of an asset that they’ll want to accommodate you. Does your supervisor trust you enough to provide a recommendation for remote work?
Plan out your case for remote work, including responses to their possible concerns. Suggest a trial period, so they can see that your productivity doesn’t drop.
If that’s a no-go, think about making the transition to working for yourself. Do some googling for your job position + freelance, and see if anyone is hiring or advertising their services.
Digital Nomad Resources:
Nomad List: See the top cities for digital nomads, with affordability and safety rankings.
Fiverr: You may not know that you can actually charge up to $995 when selling your services on Fiverr! But it’s also a good place to look when you need a little assistance with your new business. Commission a logo, website copywriting, SEO help, and more.
Creating a Blog or Website:
WP Engine: Fast, affordable hosting for your WordPress blog or website (we use WP Engine, and can vouch for their fantastic customer service, as well as the speed boost we saw after switching over from GoDaddy).
Bluehost: Another popular web host. We can’t speak to their speed, but their bottom tier plan is cheaper than WP Engine. However, if you want to host multiple domains, WP Engine is a better value.
ThemeForest: As a freelancer, you should have a professional website advertising your services and displaying your portfolio, but you don’t have to build it yourself. Get a pre-built WordPress website design for under $50. It’s easy to search for a theme tailored to your needs, i.e. portfolio, blog, even podcasts.
Shopify: Easy, popular e-commerce platform. Set up your online store, and even sync products to Amazon.
Finding Remote Jobs:
We Work Remotely: A small job listing site for remote work.
Upwork: Browse and apply for a wide variety of freelance jobs. If a company hires you, Upwork continues to act as an intermediary, charging the company, then paying you (minus their cut).
RemoteOK: Remote job listings powered by Nomad List.
Working Nomads: Curated remote job listings.
Guru: Freelance job posting site with a wide variety of fields.
ProBlogger: Job listings for blogging/ freelance writing gigs.
FlexJobs: A job listing website for telecommuting and freelance jobs. For some reason, they also include in-person part time jobs, and they charge a subscription fee if you want access to all their listings.
PeoplePerHour: A freelance job site with a vibe similar to Fiverr. They take a cut of your earnings.
Freelancer: Post your qualifications and bid on freelance jobs. Freelancer also takes a cut of your pay.
For Travel Bloggers:
Super Star Blogging: Online travel blogging courses from successful travel blogger Nomadic Matt.
How to Become a Travel Blogger: Our compilation of the best resources for aspiring travel bloggers.
Learn New Skills:
edX: Professional certificate and even Master’s Degree programs completely online. A wide range of topics, but they lean towards tech and science.
Simplilearn: Master’s programs and courses in tech and business.
Udemy: A huge selection of expert created courses, on nearly every topic you can think of. Also a great place to sell your own courses.
Time & Project Management:
Solo: A paid project management app for freelancers that includes invoicing, timesheets, expense tracking, to-do lists, analytics and more.
Slack: Popular project management app for teams, focused on file sharing and communication.
Trello: Project management app with a nice visual interface and communication features.
Accounting:
Wave Apps: Online accounting software for small businesses. Free for basic services, you only pay for payment processing and payroll services.
Quickbooks: Online or desktop based accounting software for small to large businesses. There’s a monthly fee, but more available features.
Marketing Yourself:
SEMRUSH: SEO is a huge part of your marketing that is often overlooked. Everyone from bloggers to e-commerce websites need to optimize their sites for search engines.
Viraltag: Affordable and easy to use social media scheduling and analytics. Give them a try for free; they’re one of the few sites that don’t ask for a credit card for their free trial.
Hootsuite: Social media management app. Not quite as user friendly, but they offer a free limited plan.
Buffer: Social media management app similar to Viraltag. They offer a free plan, but you don’t get analytics until a mid tier plan.
Canva: Easy blog, Pinterest and logo graphic creation for non graphic designers. They charge for some features and graphics, but you can generally accomplish what you want without paying.
LinkedIn: Good for networking, and it may be worth trying out their paid options to promote your business and services.
Aweber: E-mail marketing with tons of features, including WordPress integration, free stock photos and templates.
ConvertKit: E-mail marketing designed specifically for bloggers, with WordPress integration, templates and more.
Constant Contact: Another popular e-mail marketing service, offering plenty of features including templates, analytics, and a generous 60 day free trial.
Affiliate Marketing
Amazon Associates: Earn commissions for referring purchases to Amazon.com. Because Amazon is so huge, some people make a living from Amazon’s affiliate program alone.
Affiliate Window: Affiliate network with a large number of merchants, including Etsy.
Commission Junction: Another large affiliate network with a good variety of travel related merchants.
ShareASale: Large affiliate network with more fashion and home merchants.
Travel Programs:
There are a growing number of programs that arrange accommodations and activities for digital nomads.
They simplify travel for less experienced travelers, make sure you have essentials like access to fast internet, and offer the chance to try out the digital nomad lifestyle with less commitment.
Remote Year: Travel to 12 cities in 12 months with a group of other digital nomads.
Hacker Paradise: 3 month trips with other digital nomads. Despite the name, you don’t need to be in tech to participate.
Roam: Rent shared living spaces in a handful of major cities. You’ll get a private bedroom and bath, with shared work and kitchen space.
We Roam: Pricey curated trips for professionals that focus on networking and professional development.
Nomad Cruise: 2 week networking cruises for digital nomads.
Reading List:
The Digital Nomad Survival Guide: How to Successfully Travel the World While Working Remotely
The End of Jobs: Money, Meaning and Freedom Without the 9-to-5
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Street Smarts: An All-Purpose Tool Kit for Entrepreneurs
Digital Nomads: How to Live, Work and Play Around the World
The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work
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