20 Best Remote Jobs and Where to Find Them:
What Is a Remote Job?
A remote job is any job that can be done from a location outside the business’s main or satellite offices. The big appeal for a lot of these jobs is that you can do them from home (and maybe never wear pants again). Remote jobs require a certain level of competence and comfort with technology—even if you work for yourself, you’re probably going to need to use a platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to conduct client meetings. As with anything, there are advantages and disadvantages to remote jobs. Not needing to commute to anywhere except your sofa or home office is a huge perk of remote work. Plus, many remote jobs offer flexible schedules so you can adjust your schedule to maximize work-life balance. On the downside, remote jobs can be lonely for the extroverts among us and communication can sometimes be a challenge. Plus, you’re not likely to have as much oversight as you would in an on-site job, so if you lack internal motivation to keep yourself on task remote work probably isn’t the greatest fit for you.
20 Best Remote Jobs for 2021
Ready to take on a remote job and work in your pajamas? Here are 20 of the best remote jobs (not side hustles, but legit remote jobs) we’ve found this year.
1. Developer
Developer jobs can mean anything from apps, games, being a full-stack developer—pretty much anything to do with coding. If you’re particularly techy and know how to code, you can find remote developer jobs in abundance. And, generally speaking, the remote jobs available for developers can be with top companies and pay pretty well. Not a developer? Try signing up for something like LaunchCode or taking some coding classes to learn. Once you have some knowledge under your belt, you can get connected with an internship or junior developer role.
2. Graphic Designer
Graphic designers are visual creators, creating everything from logos to fonts to infographics, and everything in between. Since not everyone is artistic but everyone needs their content—digital and print—to look artistic and professional, graphic designers are in demand across industries.
3. Customer Service
Are you great with people? Customer service might be right up your alley. Many online retailers and businesses hire customer service staff to handle work remotely—you just need a phone and internet access. If this sounds like fun to you, look for virtual call center jobs, or even remote positions for email-based or live chat customer service.
4. Translator
Borders are coming down in our world and that means the demand for translators will continue to increase. If you’re fluent in more than one language, you can find work translating documents, proofreading, testing websites, and more. Fluent in more than two languages? Even better!
5. Travel Agent
While COVID-19 seriously limited the travel industry in 2020, it’s a new year and vaccines are here! As 2021 continues, and more and more people get vaccinated, travel is going to explode—probably to a level we haven’t seen in a while as people can finally leave their homes. Travel agents make travel arrangements, create itineraries, and give advice about both business trips and vacations for a diverse group of clients. And, it’s a job you can do from anywhere you have phone and internet service.
6. Outbound Sales
If you’re persuasive, trustworthy, and love talking to strangers, you might just be the perfect fit for an outbound sales position. It’s just like it sounds: you reach out to new people to tell them about how your employer’s products or services will change their lives.
7. Web Designer
Web designers create websites for brands of all sizes and industries. As more and more businesses get online and eCommerce continues to expand, the need for qualified web designers is going to continue to increase. Web designers are creative professionals who use their technical and artistic skills to build eye-catching and functional websites or online storefronts. Some designers choose to specialize in a specific content management system or eCommerce platform, like WordPress or Shopify.
8. Tutor
Remote tutoring is definitely one of the best remote jobs if you’re interested in teaching others. You can find students in just about any subject and any age range. Tutors typically work video chatting software or proprietary software specific to the tutoring company they’re working with. Tutoring can happen one-on-one or with groups and you might even have the freedom to create your own lesson plans.
9. Transcriptionist
Most people think of the medical field when they hear about transcription jobs, but there’s a need for information processing professionals across industries. Transcriptionists convert audio files created by businesses into written text. Since transcriptionists typically work with a lot of confidential information, you’ll likely be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement for this remote job.
10. ESL Teacher
Yes, we already talked about tutors, but ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers and tutors are a very popular side gig. If you have a college degree and are a native speaker of North American English, you have everything you need to be an ESL teacher. You don’t need to learn the native language of those you’re teaching.
11. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants provide remote support to their employers. There’s also a growing number of freelance virtual assistants who take on multiple clients and define the scope of their jobs for themselves. The role of a virtual assistant can be incredibly varied, but typically includes things like answering emails, calendar and schedule management, travel arrangements, light bookkeeping, organizing files, and other administrative tasks.
12. Digital Marketer
Digital marketers typically handle the online presence for their employers—websites, SEO, blog strategy, email marketing, social media, etc. The goal of a digital marketer is to bring in customers for their employer or clients (for freelance digital marketers). There’s a lot of growth potential for digital marketers since they can always learn additional marketing skills that make them more attractive to larger businesses.
13. Writer
There are so many different ways to work remotely as a writer: content marketing, social media, email marketing, branded content, copywriting, technical writing, and a whole lot more. While there are many companies hiring full-time writers, writing is also another great freelancing opportunity if you have the desire to be your own boss and the motivation to find your own clients. A successful remote writer will be a skilled writer (of course), as well as possessing strong organizational skills and be able to work with subject-matter experts in multiple industries.
14. Bookkeeper
Bookkeeping is a popular remote job these days. You can either go into business for yourself as a freelance bookkeeper or find a business hiring bookkeepers to work remotely (there are a lot of them) and work for someone else. If you have a love of numbers, are organized, and have some knowledge of accounting principles, you can be a bookkeeper—it doesn’t require a degree.
15. Social Media Manager
Social media manager positions are the best remote jobs for people who understand what works on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and others. To be successful in this role, you’ll need to have some familiarity with what each platform does and doesn’t do, and the type of content that works best for each. If you also have a mind for analytics, that will give you a leg up as businesses want to know that the person handling their social media is able to understand the data and apply it to keep improving their social media strategy.
16. Influencer
We might be a little biased, but we think that being an influencer is one of the best remote jobs, period. If you understand social media and can create engaging and entertaining content, you can be successful as an influencer. It starts with building a following and then reaching out to brands you want to partner with (eventually, the brands might reach out to you). And, don’t worry about having too few followers. There are many different types of influencers out there and brands are increasingly understanding the benefit of nano- and micro-influencers (those with 1,000+ followers).
17. Marketing Manager
To land a remote job as a marketing manager, you’ll probably need a BA degree, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be in marketing if you’ve got some experience. Marketing managers run the marketing department or a specific team to not only craft but implement a successful marketing strategy. With advances in technology that keep us connected, more and more businesses are open to hiring marketing managers to work remotely.
18. Product Manager
Product managers fill that spot between a business’s development team and its marketing team. They typically work alongside the marketing team, gathering consumer information that can be built into the product as new features as well as helping the marketing department understand the product and new features as they come out so they can be promoted.
19. Project Manager
Project managers are in demand no matter the industry. These are the people who keep things moving. They’re typically responsible for planning out deadlines, ensuring that resources and people are allocated appropriately to keep the project pushing ahead, and just generally make sure people stay on task. These days, it’s important for project managers to be well-versed in agile systems, even if they’re managing marketing projects.
20. Content Uploader
Content uploaders are the people who add copy and content to websites. This could be anything from uploading videos and images to adding product descriptions to importing blog posts or anything in between. What’s really great about this remote job opportunity is that it doesn’t require much more than the ability to navigate the backend of various content management systems.
Where to Find Remote Jobs
Now that you’ve seen the range of remote jobs available, you’re probably wondering how to find one of your very own that matches your skills and goals. There are actually several job websites dedicated to remote jobs. Plus, many traditional career sites have a “work from home” or “remote” option in their location filters. This option has become increasingly available since COVID-19 sent the world indoors in 2020. Here are a few sites you can check out to find remote jobs or freelance jobs if you’re a proud member of the gig economy:
Wrapping Up
There you have it—20 of our picks for the best remote jobs and where you can find them. The jobs we’ve included on this list can easily become remote careers, allowing you to earn a full-time income from the comfort of your own home, or wherever you want to travel.
