If you would love to travel or live abroad for an extended period of time, but you’re not independently wealthy, don’t have a tonne of savings or a job lined up overseas, you still have options.
Here are ten portable jobs you can do remotely that require skills you probably already have.
10 portable careers you can do from anywhere in the world
Thanks to the internet, video conferencing software and other modern technologies, more and more companies are becoming open to the idea of hiring remote workers.
Remote jobs not only benefit moms and dads who need to stay home with the kids but also people who want to live abroad or travel and need to keep working to support themselves.
Even if you’ve never considered it, you may already partially or wholly possess the skills necessary for certain remote jobs that you can do from anywhere in the world. Here are 10 remote jobs to get you started. Do you have any of these skills?
You might be interested in reading Creative Ways You Can Afford To Spend A Year Abroad Later!
1) Do you speak English? -Teach English Online
If you’re an English teacher or if English is your native language, then you already have the skill set necessary to teach English.
People around the world are clamouring to learn English. Fortunately for you and for those wanting to learn English, video conferencing software like Skype makes it extremely easy for teachers and students to connect at a distance – to see, hear and interact with each other.
Getting clients on your own can be a bit tricky. You can set up your own website to attract potential students or search classifieds for people looking for English teachers.
If setting up your own website is not your cup of tea, you could teach at an online language school where teachers and students from all over the world come together to teach and learn through virtual classrooms using Skype.- like in a traditional language school, just online. Here are two online language schools where you can apply to become a language teacher.
Lingoda = 8.50 € / hour or about 8 USD depending on the exchange rate.
Premier TEFL = Charge your own rate. Most teachers charge about $16 to $20 USD / hour.
You probably need to get certified to teach English
If you don’t have a teaching or education degree, you will most likely need to get TEFL certified, which stands for “Teaching English as a foreign language.” It’s recognized around the world and can open the door to thousands of English-speaking jobs worldwide.
Do you speak English? Teach it! Online or Abroad.
Get TEFL certified & qualify for 1000’s of jobs. TEFL courses are English Government-regulated, Internationally recognized, and employer approved. Lower priced than most.
2) Do you play a musical instrument? – Teach Music Online
If you know an instrument well enough to teach it, then you can join the ranks of other musicians who are teaching music online. Learning and teaching music online has really taken off in the past few years and is still in its early years. My friend’s daughter learned to play the fiddle through online lessons. I am learning guitar through Marty Schwartz Guitar lessons.
Getting clients is again going to require you to use the Internet. Many musicians put videos on YouTube by offering free lessons with the goal of attracting students to sign up for either private lessons or an online music course.
Another option is to join or apply to an online music school. For instance, Guitar Tricks is somewhere you could apply to teach music online.
Creating a sustainable career teaching music remotely is going to take time. It’s something that you will need to start building now so you can reap the rewards later.
3) Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant (VA) usually provides professional administrative, technical, creative or social assistance to clients remotely.
For example, you can become a real estate virtual assistant and perform various duties for real estate brokers, such as updating their listings, responding to email inquiries or managing their calendars.
Many virtual assistants have their own website, but many people find work on freelancing sites such as Freelancer.com, Upwork and Golance.
4) Can you write? -Copywriter, freelance writer
Like teaching English, freelancing as a writer or copywriter is not the best-paying job, but if you enjoy writing, you can earn around $15 to $20 / hour, depending on how fast you can write. A growing number of businesses are hiring
5) Can you write, and do you know a specific industry? Technical writer
Similar to a copywriter, you can become a technical writer. You have to be somewhat technical in a specific field and be able to write clearly about it. Whether it be the software industry, medical industry or some other domain.
6) Can you type fast? Transcriber
A transcriber listens to dictated recordings and transcribes them into written reports, correspondence and other materials. Many professional transcribers use a special foot pedal to pause and play the recordings, but many do not. You’ll need a computer and word processor to transcribe and be able to type fast since you are usually paid either by word or by the length of the recording in terms of minutes.
You can look for online transcription services and apply online at this site: www.rev.com/freelancers
If you’re familiar with medical terminology, you can specialize in a certain type of transcription, such as a medical transcriber. You’ll need to comprehend and accurately transcribe medical recordings and may need to know about anatomy, physiology or legal issues related to healthcare.
Although Medical transcriptionists are not required to have a university degree, many employers prefer to hire those who do. There are vocational schools and community colleges that offer degrees or certifications. There are also online schools that offer medical transcription training.
Here are two certifications that you might want to look into- (RMT) Registered medical transcriber and (CMT) Certified Medical transcriber, which can take you anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to complete. Career-step is a good place to start your search for online medical transcriber certification and will cost about $3,000 USD.
7) Do you have good phone skills? Call-Center Representative
A growing number of businesses are going the route of hiring customer service workers who work remotely from home. This eliminates the need for office space and the need to purchase equipment for workers.
You will be responsible for answering phones- possibly at all hours, assisting customers, processing orders or dealing with returns.
You’ll also need your own computer and may need specific software or equipment in addition to a pleasant phone voice.
There are dozens of sites that list job openings for call-center representatives, including Upwork.com and Freelancer.com however, you should also look at traditional job sites, including monster.com and even
8) Do you know your way around a 10 keypad? Data Entry
If you’re fast a data entry, then you could try your hand at turning that skill into a job. There is a wide range of businesses that need workers to enter data into their systems.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median salary for a data entry clerk is about 30k / year, topping out at 44k per year. You can find many data entry jobs on Upwork.com, Freelancer.com, and SimplyHired.com, as well as dozens of other traditional job boards.
9) Can you speak another language?
Translator
If you’re bilingual or proficient in English or some other language, you could work as a translator. Many translating jobs are done remotely and also on a
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median income for a translator is about $44K per year. If you work for the government, it could be even higher.
10) Do you have a nursing degree?
Telephone Nurse
Health insurers and other health management companies such as Aetna, United Health Group and Humana hire registered nurses remotely to perform duties such as case management, patient education and treatment authorization. Check out Indeed.com for telephone nurse jobs.
Tips on finding and choosing telecommuting and remote jobs more easily
There are so many other jobs that you can do remotely. However, there are also some pretty scammy “work-from-home jobs” that just don’t pay a livable wage – remember envelope stuffers? They would get paid pennies for stuffing hundreds of envelopes?
Always use reputable job sites for your searches, or go directly to a company’s website and search for the jobs they offer remotely, if any. Check Glassdoor to get feedback about the company’s work environment from other current and past employees.
Lastly, if you don’t have time to sift through all the job posting sites and just want to see jobs you can do remotely aggregated in one place, then you should try FlexJobs. It does cost $50 per year, but it’s worth it if you value your time. All the jobs are added manually, so you won’t see any scammy jobs on their site. Just the quality jobs.
The #1 job site to remote work from home jobs & flexible jobs. All their listings are hand screen and added to their database with quality jobs.
