Gone are the days when companies expect their employees to work in an office environment. With the cost of renting office space increasing and technology advancing, more of us are working remotely at home or while traveling the world.

Remote jobs can come in different forms: you could be a contractor, working on short-term contracts for a specific company, either part-time or full-time.

You could be a full-time employee working for a company, but your work location is remote. Both options give you less freedom and flexibility than freelancing, but more important to many is a regular income over not knowing when freelance clients will process your invoice.

A question often asked by readers is, what is a remote job?

Definition: What is a Remote Job?

A remote job is done away from the office in a remote location. This could be your home or while on the road.

You might be surprised at the various jobs you can now do remotely. Software companies are moving away from desktop-installed applications to being hosted on the internet (also called the cloud).

As an employee, the benefits of having a remote job are: saving time on the daily commute to the office and saving money by not having to pay to get to the office daily. The downsides of having a remote job are isolation and a lack of face-to-face interaction with your work colleagues.

The growth of remote jobs is being supported by several factors: technology, such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets, alongside the increased availability of high-speed broadband, which means instant and secure access to work data.

Types of Remote Jobs

Think about your skills and experience and how that work might be completed online. Popular remote jobs include digital marketing, social media, training, virtual assistant, writer or copywriter, video creator, web or graphic designer, translator, and customer service.

Think about the tasks that you complete, and do not be put off asking your employer if you feel that they can be completed in a remote location.

We’ve focused on working for an employer in a remote role. Still, you could be self-employed as a contractor or freelancer and sell your skills to other businesses, and then you have much more flexibility on your work hours and the type of work you undertake.

Discuss Expectations

Some employers might take advantage by asking you to work outside of regular hours since you’re working remotely, and you must have a good work/life balance; this is why many of us work remotely at home or while traveling.

When applying for remote jobs, you must read the job descriptions carefully and ask questions about the working schedule and the employer’s expectations.

The last thing you want is for your employer to call you at 10 pm when you’re relaxing to work due to a work-related issue.

Hopefully, this has helped answer the question, what is a remote job?