With AI shaking up a lot of industries online, and likely more competition worldwide from other freelancers in developing countries coming online, what profession would you get into these days to become a digital nomad?
Ideally something you can build a portfolio independently while working a regular job and start making money from in less than 2-3 yrs.
Want to base myself in Thailand or the Phillipines before 2026-2027 ideally.
Already have a basic portfolio in web design and digital marketing, should I keep going and look for a job in this field or will it be too saturated in the future?
Software engineer or Ecom. Best of luck starting the latter until 2025 or so though.
Probably just stick with the web design. Identify a specific niche or two and then knock out the sites quickly for a low price.
Let’s say you’re from the US. I’m thinking something you can do over a video call with a client in the US, like a therapist, some type of coach etc. It’s personalized, has the potential to pay well, can’t as easily be replaced by AI, and you’ll have a leg up on the competition from other countries if clients are looking for someone who speaks native English and is also from the US.
Yeah this makes the most sense to me, I think being some type of “trainer” or “consultant” whether it be upskilling staff on a certain business function or software would be an easier sell than being just another generic software/marketer freelancer.
therapist
Check your licensing requirements before doing this!
don’t go into a career with the goal of working remotely. if you do that there’s a good chance you’ll hate your job. 40 hours of being miserable every week is going to suck, even if it’s in a place you love.
find a career that is fulfilling to you and then try to find remote work in that career.
You have to start with the end goal in mind.
Look at careers that are remote friendly, decide which ones appeal to you, and then move in that direction.
If you choose wrong up front, and there are definitely wrong choices, it will make it a lot harder on the backend.
yeah that makes sense, do you work remotely as a digital nomad?
I want to find something fulfilling, I like the entrepreneurial side of business strategy, building a website and marketing, just haven’t quite found the right niche yet which makes sense to work remotely.
Eh I went into software engineering because I wanted to work remotely, not because writing code is my dream. But I have no regrets.
I think this is short-sighted. The vast majority of careers are not WFH friendly. If travel is the goal, then OP needs to focus on travel friendly careers.
Sometimes us DNs hang out with tech people and we forget that the huge majority of the workforce is in retail, transportation, and manufacturing. If OP loves construction, that’s great, but they will never be traveling abroad to do it unless they immigrate.
Software Engineering still is a good choice.
Specializing in actual AI integration can be good as well (even as a non-engineer). Being good at seeing what the AI can do and what it can’t and adjusting systems and people around those.
It’s already been good for a long while. People that help companies (internal or external) automate away the tasks they can to focus humans on the tasks they can’t.
I would say try teaching something online and selling digital files related to it.
Anything sales related. Sales people will survive the AI revolution like cockroaches. And middle managers
Source: am a salesperson and do not fear for my job
Sales yes. But do middle managers really have the staying power?
Understandable we don’t see many sales people on here because it’s generally harder to work remotely there compared to things like SWE, but sales will always be around.
I started by DN journey (barf) as a BDR in late 2020 and now I’m an AE still working remote from anywhere.
i dont know if this counts, but i met a couple who bought a real estate and then just manage their local agent or staff to take care of it renting to tourists.
so you dont have to work like 8 hours per day, more like a couple of hrs per week maybe checking if everything is ok.
then they just travel around the world with the income from their real estate.
If the market crashes you’re done though, so building up a CV wouldn’t hurt.
AI All you need to focus on. Nothing else matters now.
As Sam says: we are creating God
As someone who transitioned into a digital nomad lifestyle, I can share a bit of my journey. I started with a background in web design and digital marketing, similar to you. Despite the competition, these skills are still in high demand, especially as more businesses go online. I built my portfolio while working a regular job, then gradually shifted to freelance projects. Now, I’m based in Thailand, and the flexibility is incredible.
One thing I’ve learned is to stay adaptable and keep learning new skills. And a small tip: while traveling, I’ve used Rebookify for hotel bookings. It’s been quite helpful in managing travel expenses. Web design and digital marketing are still viable, but always be ready to pivot or upgrade your skills to stay ahead in this dynamic fieldI’ve worked in digital marketing / social media for the last 10 years. The amount of work available is continuously growing as more and more businesses transfer from traditional marketing to online marketing
Would you recommend I approach local digital marketing agencies in my city to get some experience? I have worked freelance and built a portfolio in this area, but feel I still need to demonstrate I can get results for clients
Did you get results for your freelance clients? If so you can use this to get more clients
Yes I did, but its harder to prove ROI on paid ads and SEO over say web design, hence right now I’m stronger on the web design side of things.
I’m in IT. I work remotely from anywhere in the world and no one gives a fuck. Truly blessed.
which area of IT may I ask?
I’m a product manager and don’t see that being replaced anytime soon due to the inherent human nature of the job.
anything in tech. software engineer/developer is most common but anything for a software dev firm as long as it’s a remote company.
I was a QA engineer (manual and automation) and then got into business development for a software dev firm b/c i had a biz mgmt degree and communication skills and can talk to technical and non-technical folks.
Became a DN at 28 and from 22-28, was working for IT consulting firms & software dev firms (both big and small like start ups). You need to gain experience and seen as a high performer before any really trust you to work remotely.
For example, my company won’t hire junior engineers. You absolutely have to have some years under your belt b/c of nature of remote work
People won’t hire junior engineers because the lack of experience,
which results in junior engineers not having experience,
which in return means they wont get hired.