What is a Digital Nomad?
Remote working has been in the limelight due to the consequences of the 2020 pandemic which had seen a major huge of workers working remotely commonly known as remote workers. However, there is another way of life called Digital Nomad. Digital Nomads move from location to location and stay connected digitally. Digital Nomads use technology communication tools to work remotely to travel the country or the world. Digital Nomads would often stay in one location for a few weeks or a few months before moving. Others would change cities or countries more often but they work in coffee shops, hotel rooms, planes, and coworking spaces. Digital Nomads rely on remote jobs to fund their travels.
How to Become a Digital Nomad?
Although the idea of working while travelling may sound like a romantic dream, the idea of combining career and global travel may not be for everyone. To be fully invested you have to accept a life of living light without many items that you may enjoy daily if you lived a standard lifestyle.
You will need to plan your finances, such as whether you still have rent or a mortgage to pay while travelling. You will also need to consider how much you will need for hotels, hostels, food, transportation, and internet. Whether you have a full-time job or a freelance job you will need to figure out how being a digital nomad will add expenses to your budget and if the money you are bringing in is enough.
Being a digital nomad enables you to travel the world, you could travel around Asia or go down to South America. The world is your oyster. It will be best to figure out your priorities of which countries to visit and research the best locations for your needs and goals.
As you will be travelling around the world you will need to refine several skills such as managing workloads, meeting deadlines, and communicating with colleagues that are thousands of miles away. You will need top-notch communications skills will be important as you won’t be working with your boss or colleagues in the same office. Another important skill you will need is your understanding of technology as it will be a vital tool for your work and communication with colleagues. Being able to solve technical problems will be essential to being a digital nomad. Your job will be funding your travel so you need to make sure there is a two-way commitment between the worker and employer. The employer will need to be fully committed that they are employing someone that is working remotely.
Benefits of Being a Digital Nomad
There are many benefits to living a digital nomad lifestyle. You can save a lot of money in a low-cost-of-living area and you can be flexible about where you want to live. You will experience a new culture and make new friends on the go while picking up new skills or languages. Through travelling, you will be able to broaden your mind and ditch the toxic environment of office politics. Being a digital nomad, you can set your schedule and take time off when you want to.
Drawbacks of Being a Digital Nomad
Working from anywhere can be a dream for many people but there are some downsides to being a digital nomad. You will be moving constantly which can be exhausting especially when you maintain a job as well to fund your travels. Loneliness and stability will be difficult and productivity levels can suffer as you travel from one location to another.
Common Jobs for Digital Nomads
Writer/Editor – Perfect role to do on the road as they can be done freelance, part-time or full-time. Many digital nomads run their blogs detailing their travelling adventures.
Project Manager
Project managers that work remotely will need to stay on top of communication with clients and co-workers as well as keep on project deadlines while catering for time zone differences.
Social Media Manager
Digital nomads normally have a robust social media presence to document their travels which opens up a role as a social media manager. Working in a different time zone could be a benefit if the employer wants posting scheduled to happen in the evenings.
Web Designer
Moving to new environments can spark creativity when working as a web designer. Web designers can create web design mock-ups or working prototypes using JavaScript, HTML and CSS.
Summary
There are many positives and negatives when living a digital nomad life. A digital nomad can gain a lot of life experiences and learn about new cultures on their travels. A lot of planning is needed before pursuing a digital nomad life. Organising your finances and planning how you can afford accommodation, food, transportation, and internet access will make your digital nomad life easier.