Freedom to work from anywhere in the world, travel anywhere you feel like, set your own hours and create a work-life balance that suits your lifestyle. If the digital nomad lifestyle sounds like the lifestyle you’re looking for but you’re not sure where to start, you might be on the search for digital nomad jobs for beginners.
Learning how to become a digital nomad can seem daunting at first, but the beauty of this lifestyle is the ability to make it your own and design a lifestyle that works for you.
So if you’re looking for entry level digital nomad jobs or the easiest digital nomad jobs without degree requirements, read on for my recommendations of the top digital nomad jobs for beginners.
Digital Nomad cafe work
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The easiest digital nomad job is… the job you already have
Firstly I’d like to address a big misconception about getting started as a digital nomad.
Most people think you need to quit your 9-to-5, sell your belongings and leave the country to pursue your new digital nomad lifestyle.
But more companies than ever are embracing remote working and location independence for their employees.
So if you are hoping to transition into digital nomadism, it’s worth checking with your current employer to see if they have any flexible working schemes, remote work options, sabbatical programmes or schemes that allow a certain number of months or weeks outside your country.
Some companies are unable to offer more than 3-months per year for you to work from another country due to tax purposes, but even 3 months could be a great chance for you to decide if the Digital Nomad lifestyle is right for you!
How to get started as a digital nomad
I have other articles dedicated to this so I won’t go into too much detail, however it’s a lot easier to become a digital nomad than you think.
Here are 3 things to consider:
Is your priority to travel? Is it remote work from home? Is it the flexibility to spend more time with family?
What transferable skills do you have? Can your existing role be done remotely?
What will your living costs be for where you want to be based? Do you have savings to back you up?
Many people find that their current job is something they can transfer to digital nomadism. That could be soft skills like team building, communication, diary management, and administration. Or it could be transferable skills like writing, translation, graphic design, social media management, which could be done in a variety of industries and locations.
Look at others in your job vertical or industry, are their jobs out there that are similar and done remotely?
Could you become a contractor with your existing company?
Could you freelance with your transferable skills?
Could you take your niche knowledge and become a consultant?
Once you start thinking outside the 9-to-5 box, the answers to these questions will open up a whole new world of possibilities.
6 of the easiest digital nomad jobs for beginners
If you don’t feel like you have any niche skills or knowledge to freelance or consult and you can’t take your job remote, there are plenty of digital nomad jobs with no experience necessary.
When I started as a digital nomad, I thought I had nothing that could make me a digital nomad. I started off doing some of these jobs below, until I realised that customer service skills, admin skills, organisation skills and communication were all things I could leverage just as much in the digital world!
So if you’re looking for digital nomad jobs for beginners, keep an open mind, try out some of these entry level digital nomad jobs and you never know where they could lead!
1. Transcription
The first job I started to do as a digital nomad (before I even realised what being a digital nomad was!), was doing transcription work as a side hustle.
This is a great option for digital nomad jobs without a degree, all you need is:
Fast and accurate typing skills
A laptop and headset
Many people these days already have strong typing skills from using digital devices, growing up with more technology and often having had office jobs or admin jobs of some sort.
I recommend signing up with Rev Transcription Services to start working as a transcription digital nomad.
You can accept as many or as few jobs as you want, most are videos or audio that need an accompanying transcription. Pay can vary but the more jobs you take and the more proficient you get, the higher the platform pays.
If you become very proficient at transcription, you can offer it as a freelance service directly, so you can earn more money.
Do this by joining transcription job Facebook groups, signing up to offer your services on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, or become an in-house transcriptionist for companies such as medical or legal companies who require frequent transcription.
2. Become a Virtual Assistant (VA)
A virtual assistant is an umbrella term for many different roles and a lot of these are ones you need no experience in.
I started as a general admin VA, managing calendars and inboxes for business coaches and small business owners.
I also did some Instagram content creation and podcast editing as they are both things I do for myself but had no actual real-world job experience in.
If you’ve ever worked in customer service, an office, a call centre or corporate jobs, you can easily adapt your skills to become a virtual assistant in one of these areas:
General admin virtual assistant
Sales virtual assistant
Calendar and inbox management virtual assistant
Outreach virtual assistant
Social Media virtual assistant
Meeting booking virtual assistant
If you’re someone who can follow instructions, work independently and is highly organised and efficient, being a virtual assistant is an incredibly easy digital nomad job to get started in, even if you don’t have any direct experience.
There are also a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for 5-10 hours of support a week, so you can have multiple clients at the same time.
Many small business owners are also looking for support but with a small budget, while I don’t suggest doing this often, it can be beneficial to provide a month or two of support at a lower pay rate in exchange for experience and your first testimonial which will all help you get higher paying clients in the future.
3. Social Media engagement services
You absolutely do not need to be a social media manager or content creator to work in social media. There are many small businesses, creators, influencers, coaches and online personalities who are looking for support with their social media engagement and outreach.
Social media engagement and outreach can include:
Liking, commenting and interacting with followers and audience on the client’s social media platforms
Responding to DMs
Doing outreach in DM’s
Interacting with ideal audience or potential clients for your client
Engagement across multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and more
4. Cold Calling
If you’re someone with a confident phone manner and you’re comfortable cold calling or doing sales outreach, cold calling is one of the digital nomad jobs with the lowest barriers to entry.
Many of these outreach jobs follow a specific script that you follow on each call and you’re supplied with a list of contacts to reach out to.
Not everyone is confident on the phone or doing cold outreach so you often see a lot of these jobs available online on Facebook groups for remote jobs and on gig platforms like Upwork or Fiver.
5. User Generated Content creation (UGC)
User Generated Content or UGC has taken the world of content by storm in 2022 and 2023.
You no longer need to be an influencer with thousands of followers to get paid by brands. Instead, you can create content for the brands and then sell it to them directly for them to licence and use in their own content.
The benefit of this is that you don’t need a lot to get started:
A smartphone with a decent camera
A nice area or place you can set up appropriately to take content
Use items or products you already own
Most UGC content creators got started by photographing or filming themselves using products they already had, this means there’s little to no cost to you and the brand is happy because the content is more authentic from a “normal” person rather than paying an influencer to create it.
If you have an eye for taking good photos and videos (doesn’t need to be polished, brands want authenticity) then getting started with UGC is as easy as:
Create the content - make it informative or aesthetic
Post it online to create a “portfolio” this could be on TikTok, Instagram or Twitter and you don’t need followers
Start tagging the brand and reaching out to them to get attention
Look out on Twitter for brands requesting UGC
Follow other UGC creators to see how they do it
6. Create content around what you’re passionate about
Now this is one I’m hesitant to recommend as there’s no quick cash here. But if you have a lot of knowledge on a specific topic or perhaps a niche or industry that you’re passionate about, then creating your own content around it is a great long-term income strategy.
If you’re a writer - start a blog.
If you’re a video editor or enthusiast - start a YouTube channel.
If you’ve got a captivating angle, big personality or fresh take - start a TikTok.
Whatever you do, this is not a quick route to cash. However the earning potential is endless depending on how well you monetise and what your niche is.
I’m a travel blogger primarily and I make around £1-2,000 per month from blogging by using affiliate links, ad placement and sponsored posts.
However there are travel bloggers earning £10K+. There are lifestyle bloggers, finance bloggers, tech reviewers, affiliate blogs, gardening blogs, food blogs, health and wellbeing blogs - the opportunities are endless and you can make money on them all.
Generally the more niche you are (and the less competition there is) the more likely you are to make money - as long as there’s an audience for your niche.
Summary: digital nomad jobs: no experience necessary!
If you’re worried that the digital nomad lifestyle is out of your reach because you don’t have experience, think again!
There are more digital nomad jobs for beginners than there’s ever been before and with an increasing need for remote workers and more businesses looking to keep costs low with freelancers rather than employees - now is the perfect time to get those digital nomad entry-level jobs.
Once your foot is in the door, you become more and more aware of platforms, forums, resources and information from other digital nomads which will help you carve the way for getting started in your own digital nomad career.
