If you were offered a job that pays between $2000 – $5000 per month and working from home 24-7, would you still pursue your Japa dreams or decide to stay in Naija?
We all know relocating, as much as we all want to, is not cheap! Also, it is practically impossible for everyone to Japa and for those who already have, they still get sleepless nights from fear of what the fate of the families they have left behind is.
It is not totally a hopeless situation though. It’s still very much possible to earn forex from Nigeria here. In fact, one good thing that has come out of this covid pandemic is the WFH (Work From Home) phenomenon. A lot companies home and abroad have had to adopt this method because of the pandemic. Most of these foreign companies are also beginning to engage workers outside their domain for work as they see it as cheaper alternative.
A lot of Nigerian Millennials are beginning to get some of these jobs right from here and earning in dollars! As technology improves and global internet access becomes more and more reliable, companies are beginning to realize the potential of remote employees. Additionally, this also means that a variety of industries are hiring, for every skill level and career stage.
There are at least top 10 currently hot skills that are in demand and if you can grab any of these skills quickly, you may just be able to put your japa dreams on hold for a while and earn some serious forex in the mean time. Some of these skills are…
1. Developer
Being a “developer” is a blanket term for a huge variety of tech-friendly jobs. This category can include anything from software engineering, to app development, to website design, systems administration, testing, and ops infrastructure.
t’s one of the most popular categories for a reason—there’s demand, and it pays. The tech industry is the future of how we work, so it’s no surprise that many location-free jobs fall within this category. It’s a great option for those who love to travel, too, because it’s often self-paced work that is low-client facing.
If you don’t have experience with web development, don’t worry. There are many resources out there to help you get started at any skill level. It may go without saying, but this career is best suited for the tech-savvy.
2. Designer
For the more creative digital nomads, web-based design may be a viable option. Graphic design, WordPress theme design, UX and UI design all fall within this category and all require different skill sets.
With tons of free and paid resources out there, it’s not impossible to break into the web-design field. Though many stable jobs require experience, freelance is a reliable place to start. Additionally, this is another job with high demand and a bright future—everybody with a product to sell, business to maintain, or presence to grow needs design help. Check here for remote job stats.
3. Writer/Editor
Blog writing is a popular way to start, especially for those who love to travel and write about their experiences. Beyond blogging, though, is a whole world of writing and editing opportunities.
Technical writing is a well-paid niche for those who have knowledge in a specific field—manuals, online help articles, training, and reports all fall within this category.
Copywriting is a type of persuasive writing, great for those with a marketing mindset.
For those who love to write, eBook self-publishing is a good way to earn passive income once the work is put in. With sites like Amazon and E-junkie, it’s never been easier to get your writing out there.
4. Digital Marketing
Within this category are jobs related to SEO and PPC, traffic generation, affiliated marketing, and inbound marketing.
With a low barrier to entry and high demand, these jobs are great for generalist nomads. Almost every company has a website that needs marketing, every successful blog has well-planned SEO strategies, and inbound marketing, which is increasing in popularity, requires thoughtful content creation. These jobs aren’t hard to come by, and it doesn’t take too long to master the skills.
There are many resources out there to help you learn the basics of any of these types of marketing, many of which are free. It’s also important to start a blog and ramp up your social media presence to show employers your skills. Check here to see how fast our tech ecosystem is growing.
5. Data Entry
Why it’s great: Data entry is in high-demand and can pretty much be done anywhere, anytime, which is great news for nomads! Data is integral to business– it’s used to help the tracking of inventory and shipments, used to aid in business plan creation, and can assist businesses in measuring performance and output.
Although it’s beneficial to have some previous experience, this is reflected in the relatively stable compensation. There are freelance, one-time gig, opportunities out there, too, though, so if you need to brush up on your data entry skills, it’s not impossible to get started while already on the road.
6. Virtual Assistant
These days many small businesses outsource tedious tasks to virtual assistants. There’s a lot that goes into running a business, much of which can be done remotely from anywhere with internet access! The type of work ranges anywhere from secretarial duties, like handling appointments, to more technical work, like updating websites.
Depending on your skill set or niche, there’s a huge market for virtual assistants. These jobs can range anywhere from short-term contracts, one-time gigs, to long-term partnerships or permanent employment.
7. Social Media Manager
This is a newer job that has been seeing huge growth within the last couple of years, and is great for those who love social media. Being a Social Media Manager means looking after the various social media accounts that most companies seem to have today. Duties could include making posts, answering inquiries, planning out strategies for user involvement, and so on. These days a great number of companies have this position, or one like it, or even hire freelance managers to help them out.
Although it’s a relatively new job, there are thousands of listings on sites like careerbuilder.com, simplyhired.com, and upwork.com. Often some experience is required, but this experience can be gained by building your own social media presence, or helping out those in your network. Often times Social Media Managers are paid by the hour, or with a monthly or retainer fee.
8. Accountant
Accounting jobs may seem like pretty boring desk jobs to some, but in reality much of the work of an accountant can be done remotely from just about anywhere on a computer in the right industries. This is especially true for niche areas, like international tax preparation, small business accounting, and so on.
More and more opportunities are likely to open up as businesses continue to adapt to new technologies. Additionally, it’s also possible to market yourself to fellow digital nomads who are looking to get their own businesses, or personal, finances in order! Check here for V.A jobs in Nigeria.
9. Teacher
With the ever-increasing presence of the internet, a whole new world of remote teaching has opened up. No longer are you confined to the classroom, or even one location! Online tutoring, teaching, curriculum building, and course building are all options for digital nomads.
This is another job with great flexibility and numerous opportunities. Teaching and tutoring are not just confined to English. Chemistry, music, math, literature… if you had a favourite subject in school, odds are you can teach or tutor it online! Many teachers and tutors find work through agencies that match them and it just takes a quick Google search to find hundreds.
Another viable career path is in curriculum or course creation. The type of work can range anywhere from freelance writing a college curriculum, to learning how to and building your own courses online. For example, many people build courses on, essentially, how to do whatever it is you do! And once all the work is done and you’ve hosted your course on a site like Wyzant or Skooli, it’s a way to earn passive income.
10. Customer Support
Customer support remote jobs require little contact with the rest of the team, and many companies know this and are willing to hire distance-based employees. Usually companies look for impeccable English skills, the ability to work autonomously, and mastery of simple admin tasks like tracking data on Excel.
This job is great for remote workers because of the flexibility. There are a huge number of industries that need customer support, and sometimes being in a different timezone from the customers is a benefit (hello would-be night shift turned day shift!). Plus, the pay is surprisingly reasonable with Glassdoor quoting most earning somewhere around $30,000 annually.