Breaking Free: How to Become a Digital Nomad
A nomad stands for someone with a freelance job, but without a permanent place to live or stay. Digital nomads are people who instead of making money from home, combine traveling with working remotely. Most digital nomads do not believe in borders and certainly not during regular office hours.
Digital nomads believe that you can work anywhere you want. It is difficult for factory workers, but for other professions such as online content managers or helpdesk employees, the location where you work doesn’t matter much.
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Can you practice any profession as a digital nomad?
If you want to become a digital nomad, many popular freelance jobs are suitable, but not every profession has the freedom that a digital nomad likes.
The condition for combining travel and work is that you can do all your work via a computer or telephone. It also depends on whether you work as a team or whether you can do all your work independently.
Many digital nomads manage themselves by maintaining a blog or vlog. Their income comes from sponsored videos or blog posts, and the other content of their blog or vlog consists of stories about their travels or sites visited.
The 10 most common and best-paid freelance professions that make it possible to become a digital nomad are:
- Blogger/Vlogger
- Software Developer
- Online marketing specialist
- Social media specialist
- SEO/SEA specialist
- Writer/content manager
- Your own webshop
- Helpdesk employee
- Designer
- (Tutoring) teacher
Can you work together as a digital nomad?
Just because you work remotely doesn’t mean you can’t work together as a team. Thanks to video calls, you can hold meetings remotely. And thanks to various planning and collaboration tools such as Slack, you can easily keep track of the progress of other team members.
The only thing to take into account is the possible time difference. There may be a meeting late in the evening or very early in the morning. In good coordination with the client or your team members, this never has to be a problem.
What are the advantages of a digital nomad?
Combining work and travel and working as an online freelancer has many advantages. You meet new people who can inspire you, and you keep discovering new places. You also have the freedom to organize your own time.
But a digital nomad can also have advantages for clients and team members. Because of the time difference, the digital nomad can do something at times when others are already asleep. As a company with digital nomads all over the world, you can offer your services 24/7.
Does a digital nomad need a lot of discipline?
Many traditional managers are anxious that digital nomads do not have or will lose discipline or self-motivation because of the distractions of their environment. The opposite turns out to be true. Because of the freedom to allocate their own time and choose where they work, digital nomads appear to be more loyal and disciplined than employees who are in the office from 9 to 5.
Digital nomads experience less stress and work pressure and are therefore seldom or never overstressed or overworked. The relaxed working atmosphere makes it easier for them to be disciplined and even to work more hours for the same reward than they would during a regular job.
What is the difference between a freelancer and a digital nomad?
The difference between a freelancer and a digital nomad is that digital nomads like to travel a lot. Freelancers prefer to work from home and only travel when they take holidays.
Another difference is that freelancers can also rent themselves out to work at a company at fixed times in the office. Digital nomads divide their own time and want to work where, when, and how they want.
How do you find work as a digital nomad?
There are several platforms on which digital nomads can offer their services, paid or unpaid. For example Calltheone, Fiverr, and freelance.com. Signing up is free of charge on most platforms, and you pay a commission on the accepted assignment.
Another way is to offer your services locally to entrepreneurs at the location where you are. By contacting the locals, you will soon find out who might want to make use of your services.
Many digital nomads choose to become entrepreneurs. By maintaining your webshop or maintaining a blog or vlog, you can easily earn enough to make a living.