The 9 Best Digital Nomad Jobs In 2024

Being a “nomad” in 2024 no longer means joining a hunter-gatherer clan or wandering about a desert with all your possessions on your back. According to Statista, the number of digital nomads in the US reached 16.9 million in 2022 and is steadily increasing. People become digital nomads for various reasons, including the ability to be flexible, a passion for traveling, and the desire to break free from traditional jobs.

Though today’s nomads are still wandering, the term, along with the prefix “digital,” now refers to a growing group of people taking advantage of our world’s technological advances to pursue more location-independent careers. If you want to be a so-called “digital nomad,” keep reading to find out the essentials for being a digital nomad, and some of the best digital nomad jobs this year.

What Is A Digital Nomad?

Digital nomads work completely remotely, usually while traveling to different regions or countries of the world. 

Many people may decide to adopt the nomadic lifestyle instead of employment in the traditional workplace (office work, 9-5s, etc.) due to its many perks and benefits. These include:

• Uses time wisely: Digital nomads usually have a passion for appreciating the world to the fullest; they have more control over their working hours. As long as they complete their tasks for the day, they don’t have to stay in an office for a solid 8 hours.
• Fosters creativity: The incredibly diverse stimulation and inspiration that the digital nomad lifestyle brings can lead to increased idea flow and generation.
• Improves flexibility: Digital nomads are always adapting to new environments, cultures, and settings. This adaptability translates into their work styles, making them better suited to handle new challenges.
• Generates more free time: While digital nomads may be committed to their work, they also prioritize their freedom and personal lives.  They may work in an accelerated and flexible style and have more time to adventure, spend time with loved ones, and work on other personal projects.
• Establishes new relationships: If you long for new friendships, partners, or business connections, then the digital nomad life might be for you! The extensive travel and experiences that digital nomads enjoy inevitably lead to new encounters. These new relationships can yield value, both personal and professional. 

How Do You Work as a Digital Nomad?

Identify Your Skill Sets

To thrive as a digital nomad, honing three key digital nomad skills is imperative. Firstly, technical proficiency in your area of expertise, whether it’s web development, graphic design, or content creation, is fundamental for remote work success. Secondly, adaptability is crucial when navigating diverse time zones, ever-changing work environments, and unexpected challenges while on the go.

Lastly, excellent communication skills, encompassing both written and verbal abilities, are vital for maintaining client relationships and collaborating effectively with remote teams. These three skills form the foundation for a rewarding and sustainable digital nomad lifestyle, allowing you to balance work and travel seamlessly.

The Essentials Tools You Need for Digital Nomad Jobs

The life of a digital nomad is often minimalistic in more ways than one. As digital nomads tend to travel extensively, they pack light, avoiding the burden of too many possessions and relying on the bare necessities instead. However, digital nomads do need various tools, devices, and apps to ensure that they can travel, work, and live independently and sustainably. 

These are some of the most essential tools for the digital nomads’ toolkit:

• Backpack: A sizable and durable backpack can carry all of your possessions. A backpack is superior to a suitcase for digital nomads due to its versatility and resilience; you can take it just about anywhere.
• Smartphone: A well-working smartphone with a local and/or international SIM card is essential in our digital world today. With the number of online apps and tools available to us, many digital nomads are able to do work directly from their mobile devices.
• Laptop: A reliable laptop is arguably one of the most essential tools for a digital nomad. The Acer Swift, MacBook Air, and Asus ZenBook are popular choices for digital nomads.
• Global hotspot: A stable and decent internet connection is a must for any digital nomad, especially for business owners. Outside of co-working spaces and coffee shops, many popular digital nomad destinations have poor signal, so a global hotspot provider like Skyroam is recommended. 
• External drive: While it is advisable that digital nomads subscribe to a cloud storage service, a physical external drive is a handy and spacious way to keep professional and personal content, documents, and general files.
• Document Management Software: Being a remote worker, one of the most vital tools is software, especially document management software, to handle your invoices, taxes, contracts, and work documents. You won’t necessarily have access to printers; therefore, being able to edit and manage the documents safely on software like PDF Reader will be a huge time saver when you are traveling.

Popular Destinations & Visas for Digital Nomads

Digital nomads can reside anywhere in the world. As long as there is a stable internet connection, the world is their office.  Countries like Thailand, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Cambodia, India, Mexico, and Brazil, are popular choices among digital nomads. These locations are popular not only for their beauty but also due to their visa processes. 

How Do Digital Nomads Find Work?

Remote working is more popular than ever.  When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, businesses and companies were left with remote work as the only option, leaving many of us meeting in virtual spaces and working online.  As we continue transitioning into a post-pandemic world, many companies such as Airbnb, are sticking with remote work for their employees, in part due to its many benefits.

While working from home is a big trend, maintaining an office job (remotely) and being a digital nomad is pretty different. A mostly remote employee can even transition to the digital nomad lifestyle while keeping their job if they can prove to higher-ups that embracing this lifestyle would not affect their output and quality of work.

Many digital nomads, however, choose to quit their full-time jobs and become freelancers, working on their own time from anywhere. With digital nomadism and freelance jobs, you can turn any coffee shop into an office. There are even digital nomad hubs located around the globe that provide great working spaces for those who don’t have an office to go to.

However, since a career shift is a big decision to make, consider your skills, talents, and ambitions when starting to think:

• What are my strengths and weaknesses?
• Which professional pursuit would make me happy?
• How much demand is there for the skill I intend to sell?
• Are the positions I’m considering fully online and remote?

Now that you know a bit about what a digital nomad is and what to consider before moving into a digital nomad career, we have also written a comprehensive post about “How To Find One Remote Work Opportunities” for you to kick off your remote digital career.

How Much Money Do Digital Nomads Make?

Digital nomads often find plenty of opportunities to earn a substantial income while traveling. According to a March 2023 study, a significant 36 percent of surveyed digital nomads worldwide reported annual incomes ranging from $100 to $250 thousand (USD). This data highlights the potential for lucrative earnings within the digital nomad lifestyle. Even beginners in this space can secure entry-level remote positions that provide a steady source of income while allowing them to explore new destinations. 

For some, the allure of generating passive income streams further contributes to their financial success. It’s important to note that actual income can vary widely based on factors like the cost of living in different locations, the availability of job opportunities, and an individual’s previous experience. 

Top 9 Common Jobs for Digital Nomads

Let’s get into our list of the best digital nomad jobs for 2024. These positions have been chosen based on salary, flexibility, and enjoyment. Most importantly, some of these jobs are easier for people to transition into based on their current roles. 

1. Blogger

A blogger is a digital entrepreneur and content writer with specific skills. Bloggers sell content that they write rather than a physical product or service for another company. Bloggers build websites around a topic that interests them or they are knowledgeable about. A typical blog post includes written content, videos, and graphics and is SEO-optimized. 

Bloggers often make money through affiliate marketing trends, sponsored posts, and paid advertising. They might also sell quality content like e-books, seminars, and courses. Different types of blogs may make profits differently; for example, a travel blog could be sponsored by a specific tour company to create content and establish an online presence.

Blogging is one of the easiest ways to begin a digital nomad career, but it can be tough to master as a profession. However, those who manage to secure their places as successful bloggers can find it incredibly rewarding.

2. Digital Marketing

Digital marketing-related jobs are also highly–demanded by many industries, and can be easily managed remotely since many digital marketing tools are online. 

However, a freelancer in digital marketing often needs to wear many different hats. One might have to also be the social media manager for a  brand and have some knowledge in search engine optimization to handle clients’ websites or content, or can navigate Google Analytics effortlessly to provide data reports.

It might sound difficult, but it doesn’t mean you have to know everything. There are many freelance gigs that focus solely on social media marketing,

3. Digital Entrepreneur

Digital entrepreneurs are one of the most common types of digital nomads. They are often business owners who have constructed a Software as a Service (SaaS), website, or online service that brings value to a digital community. 

Many digital entrepreneurs build their careers entirely online instead of in physical office space. Instead of initially hiring full-time employees, it is common for digital entrepreneurs to operate on an utterly freelance basis by working for themselves.

Digital nomad business owners may often perform many skills beyond leadership and management, such as content creation and digital marketing. These nomads are highly adept at their craft and work well on the go.

4. Online Teacher / Mentor

Though an English teacher is one of the most common digital nomad teachers, there are plenty of online teaching positions beyond teaching languages.

Various skills teachers can educate students on different in-demand subjects, such as programming, digital marketing, copywriting, or UI/UX design. Many platforms, such as MentorCruise, allow skilled and experienced professionals to register as a mentor and receive students quickly. In addition, those with digital marketing and social media skills can create and market their own online classes with various course-building tools.

The digital nomad community is full of teachers and mentors of all types; the one thing they all have in common is their ability to work on a freelance basis.

5. Customer Support Representative

Customer support representatives or customer service are usually employed by companies, customer support agencies, and social media platforms to handle the issues and complaints of customers or users. 

This position is ideal for those passionate about helping others, be it with product-related queries as part of a digital marketing team or in more urgent or intense situations. Additionally, the role of a customer support representative often blends with that of a social media marketer or manager when the need arises to consult other companies or organizations.

6. Video Creators

Made by Animation Desk

Video is an increasingly popular medium for content creators and consumers alike, and a video creator position can be incredibly profitable. A 2017 statistic showed that 55% of humans consumed online videos daily, while video took up 74% of all online traffic.

Making a career and becoming wealthy through YouTube is currently one of the most desirable positions globally. Video creators can work in digital marketing, for social media marketers, or on any popular platforms.

7. Writer

Copywriters and content writing services are in demand internationally and form a vital sector of most digital businesses. Writers can work in various mediums, including email and digital marketing, eBooks, video scripts, social media posts, blogs, and travel guides.

As most writing can often be performed offline, writing could be a good pick for digital nomads who spend much of their time commuting or in areas without good signals.

Building a writing portfolio is a must to be hired as a freelance writer. So if you aim for a remote writing job, start working and building your portfolio. And don’t miss out on our detailed explanation of “Types Of Remote Editing Jobs And How To Find One.”

8. Software Developer

Programmers make up a significant part of the digital nomad space and write the code for apps, websites, social media platforms, stock trading platforms, and software. 

Since programming is a highly technical skill, digital nomads who would like to consider this profession should know at least a few coding languages such as HTML/CSS, SQL, Python, and Java.

Though learning coding languages also has a steep learning curve, software developers grow in an increasingly digitized space. 

However, parts of Thailand, South America, and other popular digital nomad countries often experience poor signals, so programmers must consider co-working spaces.

9. Designer

Made by NoteLedge

Being a remote designer is also a smart option for digital nomads. Due to the individual nature of designing jobs, almost all tasks can be done remotely (possibly except the in-person meetings or onboarding). 

Many designers and projects may use project management tools such as Cage or Visme. These are built specifically for design teams and help to keep a remote team together. 

Typical remote design jobs include UI/UX design, graphic design, animation design, or illustrator jobs. 

Popular Destinations & Visas for Digital Nomad Jobs

Digital nomads can reside anywhere in the world. As long as there is a stable internet connection, the world is their office. Countries like Thailand, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Cambodia, India, Mexico, and Brazil, are popular choices among digital nomads. These locations are popular not only for their beauty but also due to their visa processes. 

What’s the Visa Process Like for a Digital Nomad?

Tourist visas usually expire after 30-90 days; to renew a tourist visa, you will need to leave the country for a certain period of time. However, visas for digital nomads can grant a longer period of stay in the country.

Common Requirements for Digital Nomad Visa

Though every country is different, there are some common requirements for a “digital nomad” visa. These include:

• Income Requirements: Mexico, Dubai, Estonia, and many other countries require a minimum income for a visa. Some countries will require applicants to provide a bank statement to prove that the applicants can be self–sustaining. 
• Employment: You may need to show proof of employment for several countries. Unfortunately, a digital nomad visa is not a job-seeking visa, so you must prove that you have a stable source of income in your application.
• Insurance: Some countries require prior health or travel insurance, so it’s a nice opportunity to start an insurance mobile app development business.

Since a digital nomad visa is not a job-seeking or working holiday visa, all applicants must already have a job or a stable source of income. So if you are looking to be hired by local businesses, this is not the visa type you should apply for.

Start Your Digital Nomad Journey

Are you intrigued by the digital nomad lifestyle? Does the idea of working while traveling spark your curiosity? Embrace the opportunity to explore this nomadic way of life! Whether your interests lie in digital marketing, video editing, online teaching, or programming, our digital age has made it feasible to work from virtually anywhere, whether it’s the vibrant streets of Thailand or the pristine landscapes of Antarctica.

To enhance your document management and digital workflow on your nomadic journey, consider PDF Reader. It’s a robust tool for staying organized and productive while you chase your dreams around the world. Seize the opportunity to combine work and travel, and embark on your digital nomad adventure today!