Remote work has grown exponentially over the past few years. Not only was remote work booming before the pandemic, but the last two years of working from home have shown that remote work is productive and cost-effective.
With the increase in technology and desire to work remotely, it’s estimated that 22% of Americans will be working remotely by 2025, which is an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels.
Whether you’re looking to live in a lower cost of living area, travel the world, or simply skip the daily commute, there are many great opportunities for virtual jobs.
One type of remote work that is becoming increasingly popular is the digital nomad, which takes things a step further by including regular travel to the job. While becoming a digital nomad sounds idealistic, it takes a particular skill-set to manage this lifestyle successfully. There are certain jobs more suited to it than others.
The following will discuss the in-demand skills you need to succeed in digital nomad jobs. Some of these skills are universal to all remote work, while others are specific to digital nomad jobs.
Let’s explore the skills you need to embrace the nomad life!
What is a Digital Nomad?
Historically, the word “nomadic” has been used to describe people without a fixed habitation who instead moved from place to place throughout the year. Nomad could describe individuals (like tradespeople) or a group of people (like hunter-gatherer cultures).
Today, technology has allowed the nomadic lifestyle to move into the digital realm. Thus, a digital nomad is a person who lives and works wherever they choose and is free to change locations frequently due to their remote work. As mentioned, digital nomadism takes remote work a step further because the nomad takes advantage of their ability to work anywhere by often changing locations.
Whereas a regular remote worker typically has a home base, a digital nomad may not. Their primary motivation for having a remote job is pursuing frequent travel.
Universal Skills Needed for Digital Nomad Jobs
These are the skills that every digital nomad will need to be successful.
Writing Skills
Writing skills will be essential as a digital nomad. Not only will you need above-average writing skills to communicate with your team remotely, but many great digital nomad jobs feature writing as the primary skill of the job.
For instance, many remote workers are bloggers, academic writers, copywriters, journalists, or other professions where the main task is to communicate through writing. You could freelance write and offer your services through platforms like Fiverr or build up a clientele. Many larger organizations and websites are also looking for different types of writers.
Where to Learn Writing Skills:
- Bestseller: Writing With Flair: How To Become An Exceptional Writer
- Highest Rated: Start A Profitable Freelance Writing Business In 5 Weeks
- Free Course: Secret Sauce of Great Writing
Communication Skills
Just because you’re not in an office or working face-to-face with clients and co-workers doesn’t mean that communication skills aren’t crucial for digital nomad jobs. They are even more critical because you will need to coordinate and communicate from afar effectively. Clear and professional communication through verbal and written forms will be necessary for working with clients, co-workers, and others. Plus, you’ll likely still need to attend meetings and other events virtually, so being able to communicate via a conversation is still an important skill to have.
Where to Learn Communication Skills:
- The Complete Communication Skills Master Class for Life
- Bestseller: 2022 Complete Public Speaking Masterclass For Every Occasion
- Free Course: Presentation Skills Secrets: Delivering the Talk of Your Life
Organizational Skills
Many digital nomad jobs involve freelancing for multiple clients or having numerous gigs. As a result, organizational skills are essential for nomads. You must keep track of all your clients, tasks, invoicing, and other work-related items and keep track of things related to your travel and living situations.
Those without good organizational skills will likely find the digital nomad lifestyle overwhelming and challenging to manage.
Where to Learn Organizational Skills:
Time Management Skills
Along with organizational skills, successful digital nomads are also proficient at managing their time. Time is your most precious asset, and you’ll need to be good at scheduling yourself to balance working and making the most of your nomadic life.
Without a designated workplace and clock in/out times, it can be difficult for some to schedule their time well. Even though you have flexibility, it’s still important to give yourself a regular “work” schedule to make sure you complete any necessary tasks.
For instance, designate 8 am to 2 pm as your working hours and reserve the rest of the time for exploring or relaxing. Alternatively, if you’re a night owl, you could make your working hours in the evening.
Where to Learn Time Management Skills:
- Bestseller: Time Management and Productivity for the Overwhelmed
- Free: A Mini Course on Time Management
Social Skills
Even though you’re working behind a screen, having good social skills is important for both your work and your nomad life. Virtual work can make it harder to connect and build rapport with clients and co-workers alike, so displaying good social skills when you have opportunities to interact is critical to your long-term success.
Furthermore, regular traveling will mean you’re away from family, friends, and the things familiar to you. Humans are naturally social beings, and you’ll need to muster all your social skills to make new friends and navigate your new environment regularly.
Where to Learn Social Skills:
- Bestseller: Develop Amazing Social Skills & Connect With People
- Free: Social Skills Beginner Course Connect with People
Self-Management Skills
As a digital nomad, you’re likely on your own most of the time. As a result, it’s vital to have good self-management skills when working digital nomad jobs. You must take responsibility for yourself and make sure you budget your time, money, and resources efficiently.
In addition, you must ensure you meet deadlines and can take care of yourself without someone checking up on you. Those who are not self-starters and don’t have experience living or working on their own should consider a trial run before embarking on a full-time digital nomad lifestyle.
Where to Learn Self-Management Skills:
Research Skills
Having good research skills is another area that lends itself to digital nomad jobs and the lifestyle. Knowing where to get information and discern which information is accurate is especially useful for writing or marketing jobs. Additionally, you’ll need research skills to find all the information you need to plan your adventures. You won’t be able to make money if you don’t have a reliable internet connection.
Where to Learn Research Skills:
- Bestseller: Research Methodology: Complete Research Project Blueprint
- Free: Market Research for Decision Making
Adaptability
Adaptability is the last universal skill required for all digital nomad jobs and the nomadic lifestyle. It means you can adjust to new conditions and environments, which is the crux of the digital nomad lifestyle.
To be successful, you must be able to embrace change, adapt to new environments and situations, and be able to adjust on the fly.
Where to Learn Adaptability Skills:
Specific In-Demand Skills for Digital Nomad Jobs
These are the in-demand skills related to specific types of popular digital nomad jobs.
Photography
If you have a good camera and an eye for the perfect shot, many digital nomad jobs require photography skills. For example, you could use your own photos as a blogger or social media influencer or freelance and sell your photos on sites like Shutterstock. You could even find work creating content for brands.
Where to Learn Photography Skills:
- Bestseller: Photography Masterclass: A Complete Guide to Photography
- Free: Introductory Photography Course
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is product and service advertising done through digital channels. These channels include social media, search engines, apps, email, and websites.
If you’re a digital marketer, you help brands design engaging ads and other campaigns that help promote and sell their products or services, build brand awareness, and generate leads. You’ll utilize technology, design, marketing, and a host of other skills to create campaigns and help the brand grow. With so much advertising done through digital means, this skill is in high demand and perfect for digital nomads.
Where to Learn Digital Marketing Skills:
- Bestseller: The Complete Digital Marketing Course – 12 Courses in 1
- Free: SMstudy® Digital Marketing Associate Certification Course
Graphic Design
Graphic designers use computer software or by-hand methods to create visual products based on the needs and intent of their clients. Graphic designers conceive the layout and design for advertisements, magazines, reports, brochures, and many other products.
Since graphic design uses computer software, it is perfect for digital nomads. If you are proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, or other software or are fluent in coding and other site design skills, graphic design is a highly marketable skill. You can either freelance your skills, work for a specific brand, or run your own online business.
Where to Learn Graphic Design Skills:
- Bestseller: Graphic Design Masterclass – Learn GREAT Design
- Bestseller: The Complete Graphic Design Theory for Beginners Course
- Free: Canva Master Course: Use Canva to Grow your Business
- Free Tool: Canva: Design for Everyone
Editing
If you’re a good writer, then chances are you also have potential as an editor or proofreader. Editors review various written works and check for organization, grammar, and accuracy. There is plenty of demand for editors for blogs, websites, books, reports, and other writing.
Where to Learn Editing Skills:
- Bestseller: Editing Mastery: How To Edit Writing To Perfection
- Free Tool: Grammarly: Free Online Writing Assistant
Language
Do you speak multiple languages? Or are you learning a second language? As businesses expand globally, there is a continual demand for translation, teaching, and other tasks that require proficiency in multiple languages.
Where to Learn Language Skills for Free:
Translating
Building on the language skills discussed above, translation is an in-demand career perfect for a digital nomad. As our world becomes more globally integrated, jobs for interpreters and translators are projected to grow 24% over the next eight years. Moreover, translation work lends itself particularly well to nomad life because it can be done entirely independently and from anywhere.
Where to Learn Translating Skills:
- Bestseller: How to Become a Translator without a Degree
- Free: Translation As A Career: A Guide To Be Self-Independent
Virtual Assistant
Having an assistant is not new, but the move into the digital realm means that instead of assisting in office management, more and more people are looking for virtual assistants. Most virtual assistants are independent contractors who assist clients remotely. These tasks could be related to social media, content, marketing, writing, or design. If you are proficient in any of the above skills, you’ll likely be able to find virtual assistance work.
Where to Learn Virtual Assistant Skills:
Social Media Assistant
The average person now spends multiple hours a day on social media platforms, and brands have followed suit to connect better with customers. As a result, companies must have a full-time social media presence, and social media marketers are the people who make it happen. These individuals are proficient in social media marketing and help oversee the social media presence of a company. You might work for a specific company, a marketing firm that serves multiple clients, or manage social media for businesses as a freelancer.
Where to Learn Social Media Skills:
- Bestseller: The Social Media Marketing & Management Masterclass 2024
- Free: Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients
Transcribing
Transcribing is taking speech or sounds and putting them into written form. Anything you see on television or video streaming is transcribed so that the audio can be closed-captioned for those with hearing impairments or who need to see the written form for complete comprehension. Movies, TV shows, commercials, training, YouTube videos, and many other video content need to be transcribed. Rev and TranscribeMe are two platforms where you can get started with transcribing.
Where to Learn Transcribing Skills:
- Bestseller: Transcription Skills – Learn Beginning to Advanced Skills
- Free: How to Transcribe and Excel In General Transcription
Blogging
Blogging is the ultimate digital nomad job. Bloggers can work from anywhere, and your travels can even form the basis of your content. However, blogging involves much more than taking good pictures and writing decent content. You’ll need marketing, social media, and SEO skills to build a successful blogging business. You can also use your blogging skills as a foundation for helping other sites grow.
Where to Learn Blogging Skills:
- Join the Money Mix Insiders Blogging Mastermind Group (3 month trial for $3)
- Bestseller: Blogging Masterclass: How To Build A Successful Blog In 2024
Teaching and Training
Online instruction has been growing over the past decade, but the pandemic shoved teaching and training fully into the digital world. Much of the training and teaching previously done in person can now be done online. If you have teaching skills and something you can teach, there’s an online job for you. Teaching English online is one of the easier routes to take, but you could tutor or teach almost any subject to either children or adults. You could also provide online training for businesses or other organizations.
Where to Learn Online Teaching Skills:
- Bestseller: Teach Anybody Anything: Reach Any Learner Anywhere
- Free: Online Teaching Course: Basics of Teaching Online
Data Entry
Data entry involves adding, verifying, and editing electronic data. The data you enter can either be from paper to electronic or from one digital format to another. While data entry is typically an entry-level position requiring little formal training or education, it requires accuracy and attention to detail and can be done virtually anywhere.
Where to Learn Data Entry Skills:
- Bestseller: Data Entry Course for Beginners
E-Commerce
E-commerce has become increasingly popular over the past few years and involves buying and selling goods and services over the internet. While many of the digital nomad skills on this list fall under the category of e-commerce, you could also utilize this skill by buying and selling on platforms like Amazon or eBay. In addition, Dropshipping and selling your own products on sites like Etsy are also becoming increasingly popular.
Where to Learn E-commerce Skills:
SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization and is the process of increasing the visibility of a site in search engines such as Google. Every blog, news site, or brand site out there wants to increase its visibility to draw in more customers. If you know how to improve the SEO of a website, there is a massive opportunity to freelance this skill as a digital nomad.
Where to Learn SEO Skills:
Programming
Programmers use programming languages like JavaScript and HTML to design and build websites and apps. As the world goes increasingly digital, programming will only increase in demand. Not only is programming a tremendous digital nomad job, but it’s also very accessible because it’s relatively easy and inexpensive to learn. There are many great online resources for learning this in-demand skill.
Where to Learn Programming Skills:
- Bestseller: Java Programming Masterclass covering Java 11 & Java 17
- Beginning C++ Programming – From Beginner to Beyond
- Free: Programming 101
Mobile App Development
One specific type of programming work is mobile app development. With the explosion of smartphones and tablets, the need for brands and other businesses to translate their services into app form has similarly grown. While many apps are developed for brands or specific products/services, you could also design your own game or create an app that provides a new solution. Who knows, maybe you’ll develop the next viral app game!
Where to Learn Mobile App Development Skills:
- Bestseller: iOS 12 Swift 4.2 – The Complete iOS App Development Bootcamp
- Free: Mobile App Development in 27 Minutes: Android
- Free: Mobile App Development in 27 Minutes: iOS App
Accounting
Accounting can be simply described as keeping track of financial records and information for a business or organization. While accounting is a skill that requires education, the digital realm has meant more accounting work has moved online or into freelance form. In addition, many accountants are now hired on a contract basis and can complete their work anywhere.
Where to Learn Accounting Skills:
- Bestseller: Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis: Complete Training
- Accounting – Financial Accounting Total-Beginners to Advanced
- Free: Introduction to Financial Accounting
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been bitten by the travel bug but still need a way to fund your adventures, digital nomad jobs might be your ticket.
Digital nomad jobs allow you to work remotely from anywhere in the world so you can travel wherever your fancy and funds can take you.
However, it’s important to note that digital nomad jobs require specific skills to help ensure you’re successful. While some are universal to all digital nomad jobs, many are in-demand skills in particular fields or types of work.
Now that you’ve seen the possibilities, where will the winds take you?
Amanda Kay, the founder of My Life, I Guess, provides valuable career advice and support for anyone striving to make a living and, more importantly, make a life. Whether it's navigating job searches, learning new skills, overcoming unemployment, or dealing with debt, My Life, I Guess has been a go-to resource for career guidance and financial stability since 2013. Amanda's expertise and relatable approach have been featured in trusted publications such as MSN, Credit.com, Yahoo! Finance, the Ladders and Fairygodboss.
Thanks… i just discovered I might have more skills than I tought.