Once upon a time, getting a remote job with no experience seemed impossible.
What’s more, remote work seemed to be reserved for highly-skilled tech workers who had “earned the right” to work more flexibly after years in the field.
Today, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
An increasing number of employers are recognizing that important, creative, and highly technical roles can be performed from home, with just as much (if not more) productive output.
More autonomy over how and where you work means more and more employees can work how they work best, with the added benefit of an even better work-life balance. This rise of remote work means that there are more options for people who dream of the WFH life.
Getting a remote job with no experience
If you’re currently in a career that doesn’t lend itself to flexible working, you might see a remote job as a distant dream. Maybe you’re thinking you may need to go back to university or build years of experience in a new field before you land a comfortable WFH position.
Luckily, this doesn’t need to be the case. With any career change, you’ll need to actually have a desire to segue into this new field—and be prepared for hard work and dedication in order to make the switch. But it certainly doesn’t need a new degree or years of experience.
Here are three of the best ways to get a remote job with no experience:
Do free classes and workshops
Depending on the field you’re interested in, there are many great courses you can do to get to grips with the fundamentals of a new skillset without spending a dime.
Free online courses are widely available, for example, LinkedIn Learning, Hubspot Academy, and CareerFoundry’s short courses offer comprehensive learning experiences in the practical skills you need to switch to a remote-work industry.
You’ll still need to invest time and effort in learning, but these types of free learning opportunities give you an insight into the field you want to move into and if it’s a good fit for you!
Boost your tech literacy
No matter the field or discipline, any remote position requires a higher degree of tech literacy than in-person work.
If you peruse remote job boards, you might notice a lot of job descriptions that list familiarity with specific tools in their ‘nice to have’ sections. These often include project management, communication and CMS tools, such as:
Learning your way around some of these basic tools will result in a smoother transition into full-time remote work, and put you at an advantage in the remote job market.
Enroll in a bootcamp
One of the biggest problems with traditional university degrees is that they don’t prepare you for the reality of today’s flexible job market. Enter: Bootcamps.
Bootcamp courses are specifically designed to transform complete beginners with no experience into job-ready professionals and are offered for many different positions in the tech industry. From coding courses to data analytics, it’s a widely accepted approach to upskilling at a fraction of the cost and time of university programs.
If you opt for a remote, self-paced course, you’ll be even better prepared for the world of remote work. You’ll learn how to work autonomously, communicate effectively online, and get a real sense of what remote working will feel like day-to-day.
Committing to a shorter but more immersive course offers a great opportunity to transition into a remote industry. If it’s moving into UX design and landing a job with no experience or becoming an in-demand digital marketer, with the right approach, the world’s your oyster!
Top Remote Jobs
1. UX designer
User experience (UX) design is one of the world’s most popular tech roles—and, with the rise of remote working, the demand for flexible UX designers has skyrocketed.
A huge number of the world’s most successful UX designers are bootcamp graduates, having enrolled with no relevant previous experience. If you’re creative, analytical, and enjoy understanding user needs, you’ll find no shortage of remote jobs as a UX designer.
Although salaries vary depending on location and experience, becoming a UX designer is a well-paid and fulfilling career that allows for many remote work opportunities.
2. UI designer
User interface (UI) design refers to the discipline of designing beautiful, intuitive digital experiences. UI design is done primarily using virtual tools like Sketch and Figma, which can be learned during a UI design bootcamp.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, and built up a portfolio, you’ll find no shortage of well-paying remote UI designer roles at some of the world’s most innovative companies.
3. Digital marketing manager
Digital marketers have the important job of generating leads and building brand awareness with creative campaigns.
As remote career paths go, digital marketing is a good choice: It’s needed by almost every industry, and all you really need is your laptop. According to Glassdoor, marketing management is among the 50 best jobs in America for 2022 in terms of job satisfaction.
There is a wide choice of areas to specialize in and as with most jobs, the salary range is dependent on the field of digital marketing and your experience. It has become one of the most in-demand and popular remote job options around the world!
4. Web developer
Web developers were among the pioneering remote workforces, and remain one of the most popular remote positions to this day. Studying and working in web development entails building websites and applications using coding languages like CSS, Python, and JavaScript.
If you love problem-solving, web development is a future-proof career path—and can pave the way into other high-level tech specializations, like DevOps or cloud computing.
5. Data analyst
Data analytics, the process of drawing meaning from disordered information, is a role well-suited to remote working. If you’re a fan of problem-solving, working autonomously, and interpreting data and statistics, data analytics is a fulfilling (and lucrative) career path.
It might seem monotonous, but data analytics can be incredibly dynamic and innovative—there’s a reason Harvard Business Review named data analysts and data scientists as the sexiest job of the 21st century!
6. Copywriter
Copywriting and content writing are among the most popular remote positions; especially for freelancers.
The best thing about copywriting? You don’t need any specific tools or skills to get the job done; all you need is a knack for words, a topic you’re passionate about, and Google docs.
Like marketing, almost every industry needs a copywriter—and you can easily build up your portfolio by using freelancing gig sites like Upwork or Fiverr.
7. Social media manager
Social media, a notoriously “online” medium, is a great remote position for those who enjoy community engagement.
If you’re often using popular social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, you’ve likely got the transferable skills to make it as a remote social media manager.
There’s a lot more to social media management than simply posting—which is another reason why there’s a lot of money to be made for skilled social media professionals.
8. Translator
With the internet connecting us all, the demand for translators has only increased, with businesses eager to bridge the communication gap. A translator can work in a variety of different roles, such as testing websites, translating documents, or proofreading.
This remote job requires you to be very proficient in at least two languages. If you speak multiple languages, this will give you even more scope.
9. Journalist/writer
Working as a journalist in the internet age isn’t as easy as it once was. With that said, it is still a popular work-from-home job.
Most remote jobs pertaining to journalism require you to have exceptional research skills and be a well-developed writer. But if you’re not quite at that stage, you could also start writing content for different types of online websites.
Doing that would help you improve your writing and enable you to create a portfolio of your work.
10. Career coaching
This is a slightly different remote job, as it requires you to work for yourself rather than a company. But if you’ve been searching for remote jobs and nothing seems to fit, perhaps the answer is to start something yourself.
Career coaching is not for the faint of heart. But if done well, it can be massively rewarding. Career coaches are driven to succeed by believing they can positively impact the professional lives of other people.
Starting your own career coaching business will teach you various skills you don’t yet have—and sharpen the ones you do.
11. Customer service representative
If you are comfortable using computers and good at communication, consider working remotely as a customer service rep.
Typical duties in this role include answering customer queries and referring people to higher-level support or self-help resources. Both large and small companies require customer service reps to assist their customers.
One tip for standing out is creating an example demonstrating your ability to serve customers effectively. You can take screenshots of your chats with customers where you turned a complaint into an opportunity—or create other demos.
12. Online marketer
Could you sell ice to a polar bear? If you answered yes, perhaps an online marketer role is the one for you.
Online marketing is a catch-all term for many different skills that fall under the marketing umbrella. Some of the different areas of expertise include working in search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), affiliate marketing, content marketing, or email marketing.
Remote marketing jobs are becoming easier to come by, especially as marketing roles generally require very little specialist equipment.
Because there are so many different areas of marketing, there are plenty of opportunities for you to refine your skills in one area and look for remote jobs in that space.
13. Virtual assistant
Ready to help entrepreneurs and businesses get organized? Becoming a virtual assistant is a role that does just that. This is one of those remote jobs that helps alleviate some of the pressures on others by taking on simple but time-consuming tasks.
A virtual assistant may perform customer service duties or fulfill orders for online stores. They might also make small updates and changes to websites, or handle calendars. To be a virtual assistant, you need to be responsible and organized and have excellent communication skills.
Virtual assistant roles aren’t necessarily full time, which leaves a lot of flexibility. If you have time constraints, being a virtual assistant is one of the best part-time remote jobs.
14. Transcriber
If you’re considering part-time remote jobs and have fantastic attention to detail and listening skills, add the transcriber position to your list. A transcriber works to convert audio files into written text. It’s a service used by many professionals—from medical personnel to podcasters.
Transcription work requires you to master the ability to listen and type at the same time. Although it sounds straightforward, that doesn’t mean transcription is the easiest of all work-from-home jobs. However, there is a lot of demand for it.
15. Website content uploader
This part-time remote job can be done by anyone. It requires you to upload product descriptions, videos, images, and more. Without you, an employer’s website is just vacant land with a foundation.
Help companies establish their online presence by uploading the materials they’ve published about their business. Becoming a website content uploader doesn’t require much except familiarity with different content management systems.
Essentially, you need to know how to navigate the back end of a content platform to upload text, images, and other media there.
16. English teacher
Teaching English overseas is already a very common job for travelers, but you may not know that teaching also makes the list of remote jobs. With the help of a stable internet connection and a headset, you can easily start online teaching and help students with their language skills.
English teachers are always in demand, but there’s also a need for many different languages. To be a great teacher, you need to have excellent communication skills, be organized enough to put together lesson plans, and have a genuine interest in your students’ development.
Also, you need to have a bachelor’s degree in English, which is typically considered the minimum educational requirement for teaching positions.
Where to find remote jobs?
FlexJobs
FlexJobs covers remote jobs, work-from-home gigs, and all manner of flexible work.
Dave’s ESL Cafe
This is a site specifically for English teachers. Here, you’ll find remote job opportunities for teaching pupils in China, Korea, and other countries.
We Work Remotely
This is a great one for those looking for design or development remote jobs, but you can find all types of work here too.
Scribie
One of many transcription services, Scribie is frequently on the search for more home-based freelancers.
Remote OK
A colossal job board with postings looking for a range of skill sets. It also has some interesting statistics about its trending jobs and top remote companies.
Arc
A great place for developers to find a project or team. Arc will suit whether you’re looking for full-time or part-time work and permanent or limited contracts.
Working Nomads
Working Nomads is primarily a place to find digital nomad jobs. Here, you may find some great employers who are more interested in how you work rather than where you work.
Toptal
If you’re established in your field, consider joining Toptal. This site connects companies with freelancers who have been vetted through a screening process.
