For generations, a typical adult life involved receiving an education, finding a job, and settling down in a single location. In recent years, however, the internet has allowed many people to buck this trend and pursue an alternative lifestyle. From video bloggers to teachers, countless individuals who work online have taken their devices and hit the road. Now, there’s a new name for these intrepid mobile careerists: digital nomads.
If you think a life on the road might be right for you, then you should consider aspiring to become a digital nomad. There’s a lot to like about the digital nomad lifestyle. You get to see new places, meet new people, and grow as a person, all while making the money you need to keep yourself afloat. For many folks, the combination of constant travel and financial security amounts to near-total freedom.
If your heart is set on traveling while you work, you should plan your education accordingly. There are certain degrees that give you the skills and credentials you’ll need to pursue remote work in the future. By majoring in one of the fields highlighted below, you’ll set yourself up for the excitement and freedom of life as a digital nomad.
1. Education
Teaching is one of the best occupations for anyone hoping to travel the world. Not only are schools across the globe on the constant lookout for new instructors, but you can also find online gigs that free you up to travel as you choose. What’s more, teaching is an honorable, socially beneficent profession that allows you to feel great about your place in society. Life’s good when you can go to bed each night knowing you’ve helped people learn and grow throughout the day.
What’s the Degree Like?
Most education majors focus on a particular branch of studies. Options include early childhood education, elementary education, and secondary education. Classes focus on a wide range of education-related topics, from child psychology to curriculum development. Most programs also provide opportunities for student teaching, giving you the chance to develop your skills and put your newfound knowledge to the test. By the time you graduate, you should have all the tools you need to teach students around the world.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
There are a number of ways to live a nomadic lifestyle with a teaching degree. Military schools, language institutes, and private schools around the globe are often looking for new teachers. By working on short contracts and moving from one school to another, you could match your profession with the lifestyle of a world traveler. Alternatively, you can become a true digital nomad by teaching or tutoring online. Remote education programs are always eager to hire qualified teachers, and you can pad your income by tutoring private students on the side. From English as a second language, a particularly popular option for teaching abroad, to more traditional subjects, there are plenty of options for a motivated teacher to choose from. You should have no trouble finding a job that suits you.
2. Linguistics
Language is an inherent concern for most people traveling abroad. After all, you have to find a way to communicate with the people around you. Linguistics, or the academic study of the structures behind language, is a great tool for anyone hoping to speak multiple languages. Studying linguistics also opens all sorts of doors that can make it easier to become a digital nomad. From teaching English to working as an interpreter, there are several international occupations that require an in-depth understanding of language. If you’re a self-professed nerd for words and you’re eager to travel the world, linguistics might be the major for you.
What’s the Degree Like?
To receive your linguistics degree, you’ll have to study the basic components of language. Essentially, you’ll learn the hidden set of laws that give languages structure and meaning. Courses will focus on specific subfields within linguistics, inducing phonetics, syntax, and semantics. You’ll also learn about the history of linguistics and the overarching theories that exist within the field. You should emerge from all this rigorous study with a fundamental knowledge of how languages operate.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
There are many jobs available to someone with a linguistics degree, and many of them allow for a nomadic lifestyle. Some linguistics majors pursue careers as interpreters, a job that often takes them around the world. Others become translators, and modern technology allows them to work from anywhere with an internet connection. An understanding of linguistics can also make it easier to become an online teacher of English as a second language. When a degree concerns something as general and fundamental as language, you can expect it to provide a wide range of opportunities.
3. Journalism
Writing is an important skill that makes it easier to support yourself as a digital nomad. There’s a market available for online content, news articles, and travel-related blog posts. It’ll be easier to pursue any of these opportunities if you’ve received the intense training that a journalism degree provides. Whether you’re interested in reporting for an actual publication or working as a freelancer, the degree will make it easier to find work and maintain a steady income.
What’s the Degree Like?
As a journalism major, you’ll study the myriad ways to report on what’s happening in the world around you. Courses will focus on reporting techniques, interviewing skills, and editing. You’ll likely do a ton of writing, and you’ll practice creating high-quality work that’s both readable and engaging. You’ll learn the skills you need to help others make sense of society. Upon graduation, you should be adept at producing sound, professional work that maintains consistently high standards.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
In general, a journalism degree prepares students for working in print or broadcast media. As a digital nomad, you’ll be able to draw on your degree for all sorts of freelance projects. Many travelers fund their adventures by writing blogs, managing social media accounts, or producing videos, all of which should be easier with a journalism background. There’s also a large market for ghostwritten blog posts, articles, and internet content. In a world where information is invaluable and content is king, journalism majors will always find ways to monetize their writing ability.
4. English
For digital nomads who work as freelance writers, life generally revolves around two main occupations: producing written texts and learning about the world as they travel. There’s nothing like an English degree for preparing you for these twin pursuits. Not only will you become an excellent, well-practiced writer, but you’ll also engage with timeless works of literature that cast light on the human condition. As an English major, you’ll be able to pay for your trips while maximizing your intellectual potential.
What’s the Degree Like?
An English major’s life is based on reading and writing. You’ll spend a lot of time reading books, essays, and poems that you’ll later discuss in class. You’ll also have to write lengthy compositions to reflect on all you’ve read. This heavy load of reading and writing will train your mind in the subtleties of human thought and the English language. By the time you’re done, you should have mastered the difficult art of expressing the complexities of human experience on the page.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
An English degree will prepare you well for all the freelance opportunities available to a digital nomad. Your in-depth knowledge of English syntax and grammar should allow you to teach English as a second language. Your writing skills, meanwhile, should set you apart from the pack when it comes to internet content writing. You’ll also have a leg up on the competition if you opt to do some travel writing or monetize a blog. Coupled with the intangible benefits of having read wonderful works of literature, these financial advantages make an English degree a great asset to a digital nomad.
5. Graphic Design
If you’re a creative person with a hankering for virtual work, graphic design is a degree worth considering. You’ll learn a unique set of skills that will allow you to create aesthetically pleasing designs with digital tools. Thanks to its technological nature, graphic design is perfectly suited to the life of a digital nomad. With your degree in your back pocket, you’ll be able to travel the world while creating original designs on your computer. Maximizing both personal freedom and creative output, such a lifestyle is infinitely appealing.
What’s the Degree Like?
While studying graphic design, you’ll have the chance to focus on both the visual and technological aspects of your career. You’ll learn the basic tenets of aesthetics that visual artists have been utilizing for centuries. You’ll also master the computer programs and software that help you produce art in the digital sphere. Alongside internships and lessons on the business side of the profession, your artistic education will prepare you to sell yourself as a freelancer after graduation.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
Businesses and organizations across industries need graphic designers to help them optimize the aesthetics of their digital material. If you choose to work as a freelancer, which is often most conducive to the plans of a digital nomad, you’ll pitch your talents to publicists and advertisers. As you land gigs, you’ll enhance your profile and improve your prospects for receiving future work. Eventually, you should assemble a formidable list of clients that will provide financial security for your travels.
6. Web Development
You can’t go wrong with a career in web development if you’re hoping to combine technical and creative skills. You’ll also have no trouble finding clients in a world where more and more businesses are moving online. Web developers are generally able to work remotely, so you’ll manage to collect a paycheck while traveling the world. Your technical capabilities will also increase your potential earnings, giving you the chance to really travel and live in style.
What’s the Degree Like?
A college web development program will provide you with all the technical, psychological, and mathematical tools you need to optimize web pages. You’ll learn to do the type of coding necessary to construct and operate a functioning site. You’ll also develop a basic understanding of how the layout of a page can affect a viewer’s response. Finally, you’ll learn to monitor and assess a site’s performance by observing a number of key metrics. All of these skills will make you a potential asset to companies around the world.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
With a web development degree, you’ll be able to market your services to companies, nonprofit organizations, and other clients. In this day and age, practically any entity with a public profile must create and maintain a website. You can provide the web development services these companies need while collecting a pretty sum and enjoying the life of a digital nomad.
7. Computer Science
By definition, living as a digital nomad requires the regular use of technology. To make the most of your life on the road, it pays to have a solid understanding of computers. There’s no better way to become a computer whiz than by completing a computer science program. You’ll learn everything there is to know about programming, software, and networks, and this knowledge will provide you with all sorts of remote job opportunities. When you can work wonders on a computer, you can count on someone paying for your services.
What’s the Degree Like?
Computer science programs are usually quite general, meaning you’ll study a wide variety of tech-related subfields. You can expect plenty of courses on programming languages, software development, and network management. These topics will be supplemented with general math and science courses, giving you the intellectual nous to navigate the world of technology. If you’re especially interested in a particular aspect of contemporary computing, you might be able to take specialized courses on themes like robotics, artificial intelligence, and game development.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
A degree in computer science will set you up for a wide variety of potential jobs. What’s important for aspiring digital nomads is that many of them allow you to work remotely. Whether you work as a data scientist, network architect, or software engineer, you should find a job that grants you a decent amount of geographical flexibility. You could also work as a freelancer, signing up for short-term projects while hopping from one city to the next. Whichever route you opt for, your computer science degree will increase the number of available opportunities.
8. Business
If you want to travel the world while being your own boss, you might want to consider a future as an entrepreneur. Starting a new business can be risky, but it can also bring serious profits. Navigating the business world is always complicated, and it’s helpful to enter the arena with some basic knowledge at your disposal. That’s where a business degree comes in handy. By studying the general principles of operating a business, you’ll prepare yourself for launching your own globetrotting endeavor.
What’s the Degree Like?
Business courses give students the general information they need to operate effectively in the business world. You’ll learn about many different facets of private enterprise, including sales, marketing, funding, and accounting. You’ll also accrue a set of strategies for launching, managing, and expanding a business. The best business owners are experts in subfields as disparate as finance and consumer psychology. Once you’ve received your business degree, you’ll be ready to put your own expertise to the test.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
As an aspiring digital nomad, you’ll likely use the knowledge you gained from your business degree to launch a new business. Once you’ve come up with an idea and secured the funds for the venture, you should be able to manage the company remotely while traveling. Your business education will give you the necessary insights into every part of the process. If you lack the funds or gumption for entrepreneurship, your business degree could also help you land a more typical job that allows you to work remotely.
9. Marketing
In a competitive business environment, every brand is desperate to attract attention from consumers. You can take advantage of this universal need by becoming an expert in marketing. In today’s technology-laden business climate, marketing is largely a digital concern. A nomadic marketing specialist can contribute to advertising campaigns and create internet content without ever meeting their boss in person. If you’re a creative thinker with a pragmatic edge, a marketing degree could be your ticket to a nomadic lifestyle.
What’s the Degree Like?
Influencing consumers so they’ll buy a product or service is a complicated endeavor. It requires an in-depth understanding of human psychology and an encyclopedic knowledge of the best marketing practices. You’ll learn all this and more during your time in a marketing program. Some courses will focus on general notions of how to appeal to certain demographics. Other classes will present specific marketing strategies, from the conscientious use of social media to old-fashioned advertising campaigns. All this specialized knowledge will make you highly useful to companies that need to expand the power of their brands.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
Most large companies employ full-time marketers who focus on brand expansion, and even smaller businesses may hire freelance experts. In the post-pandemic world, many institutions will allow you to work remotely and live as a digital nomad. Freelancers, meanwhile, have the complete freedom to live as they see fit. With a marketing degree and a bit of experience, you should have no trouble finding a position that allows you to live the nomadic lifestyle you’re after.
10. Communications
A degree in communications is a great option for anyone who’s still unsure of exactly what they want to do in the future. The field is broad enough to apply to a wide range of careers, and the skills it imparts are useful in almost any situation. Knowing how to effectively communicate with others is an important factor when it comes to teaching, writing, and managing an online business. All these tasks are compatible with the lifestyle of a digital nomad.
What’s the Degree Like?
Communicating might seem like a straightforward concept since we do it on a daily basis. In reality, however, there are countless things to learn that can make you a more effective communicator. From the proper way to explain a difficult situation to the best methods for making use of modern technology, you’ll pick up all sorts of vital skills during your time as a communications major. With general education courses supplementing your degree-specific classes, you should emerge from college with the type of well-rounded skill set that’s highly valued by the market.
What Does the Degree Prepare You For?
The main advantage of a communications degree is its remarkable versatility. Pretty much any job you could perform as a digital nomad will be easier if you’re a master of effective communication. Whether you’re helping companies manage their social media accounts or creating online content for business, your understanding of essential human dynamics will make it easier to turn a profit. If, like many digital nomads, you end up cobbling several gigs together to make a consistent living, you can count on your communications degree to help across the board.
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