What is digital nomad?
Digital nomad is when a person works remotely by using technologies and different platforms with the help of internet without tied to a fixed location and fixed clients. They are not worried about their workplace and work time as long as the internet supply is good. They have careers in different fields like web development, SEO, digital marketing , content creating etc. and currently it is in emerging stage various more fields are coming day by day. For this you need to learn some skills and build your networking to bring clients. Now days there are various platforms to find remote work are LinkedIn, Flex jobs, upwork, fiverr etc. . They often work as freelancer and consultant to companies .
The demand for this grows up in 21st century due to technological innovations, growth of gig economy and ability to work remotely with efficiency.
They are not necessarily only young people according to a recent report 47% of them fall into 30 -39 age category, 14% are in 20s and rest are over 40.
Understand digital nomads
The term “digital nomad ” was popularized by Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners in 1997 by their book “digital nomads“.
In 21st century they are upskilling themselves to grab more chances. The freedom to choose their destination to live and work is part of the benefit of being a nomad, the only issues are visa rules of some countries are strict.
There are some disadvantages like the available works may not always use your skills to the fullest or the payment is not sufficient. So to maintain a good lifestyle you need to work harder for less pay as compared to traditional office job.
As a nomads you should spend your income in travel, insurances, and softwares . Digital nomads need to learn financial management skills , so that they can have proper future planning to work for long period.
Pros and cons of digital nomads:
Pros
1. As a digital nomad you have freedom to work anywhere in the world and freedom to work in every field. You can explore various fields wherever you have interests.
2. You need not to work for fixed time with fixed number of days. So that you can spend time to learn new skill and personal development.
3. It gives the chance to explore other cultures and traditions. And also you can meet different people worldwide , you can make strong your networking by connect with like minded professionals from every part of globe.
4. Freedom from traditional office settings.
Cons
1. They must have access of reliable internet and meet deadlines. They might face time zone issues.
2. Some of them feels loneliness or isolation from family and peer groups.
3. Another important problem is they don’t have any fixed income they were paid as per their service , so there are some black periods in their journey. To mitigate this they need to a proper financial plan and find some other income sources.
4. They have to prefer locations and time period according to visa rules of different countries.
Examples
In early 2020 during covid crisis this new concept of Digital Nomads was created. After that the population of digital nomads growing quickly.
Bottom line
As more jobs can be done through remotely the digital nomadic lifestyle continues to grow. It gives you a freedom to work in various field. you can prefer to be a full time employee or part time.
Digital nomad FAQs
1. How much money can a digital nomad make?
Look there is no fixed limitation on your income , your income should based on your skill, service and how many clients you have?. According to statistics of 2023 the average digital nomads earned between $50,000 and $123,000 a year and the average hourly rate is between $10 and $30.
2. Which digital nomad jobs pay highest? Software programmers who work remotely have highest salary with this the newly emerging field which pays you more are graphics designer, content writer, SEO specialist and video editor. But in this field your income varies according to your service and the clients you have, so you can’t compare properly the salary between traditional office job and work as a freelancer.
3. How many digital nomads are there in the world? According to Gartner survey 82% companies plan to incorporating remote work. According to recent MBO partners report the number of digital nomads in 2024 is project to reach 40 million globally. The WYSETC report projected the digital nomads growth to 60 million by 2030.
Most of them are American.