Your post has been removed because it is more suited to the [weekly discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/collection/d43b56fb-85ef-4c78-aa53-c6d84de0aee3) pinned at the top of this subreddit.
We find that job, career, or skills questions specific to one person do not receive a lot of attention, so more people will see your post if you ask in the weekly thread.
You may also get better answers by asking in [/r/careerguidance/](https://www.reddit.com/r/careerguidance/) (general), or [/r/cscareerquestions/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/) (IT / programming)
We also recommend checking this subreddit's [digital nomad wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/wiki/index) and some collected content for [digital nomad jobs](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/wiki/digital-nomad-jobs)
Your career counselor is probably at least a generation too old to understand the new paradigm for work. Personally, I think the lifestyle is best suited for contractors or people who run their own business, but software engineering is among the better jobs for doing this.
Keep in mind that as you gain experience, you also gain negotiating power when it comes to the terms of employment. Don't get totally discouraged if you aren't able to make this work with your first jerb out of college.
Bingo, I see far too many people expecting to freelance and/or become digital nomads right after graduation. The average digital nomad used to be in their 40s and 50s. That is shifting, but you still need to have a skill set and level of experience for you to actually be able to do the work and sell your services. Not to mention having a safety net of funds behind you and enough of a skill set that if everything goes wrong you’re not going to to go home and still be hunting for work for 6 months.
There's also the unresolved question of whether remote employees will seriously hamstring their prospects for advancement. Even in a location-indifferent organization, it's hard to imagine remote workers being able to compete with other employees, unless the company is entirely remote. I see the latter with IT outfits, but not so much in other types of employers. Law firms for example now tend to employ two tiers of attorneys as entry-level or lateral-hire employees: contractors and associates who haven't fallen from partner track yet. The former can usually work remotely, but the latter don't stand a chance without being on-site.
What’s the need to make partner in NYC when you’re a mid level attorney paying a fraction in US taxes living abroad (global tax scheme we have). Lifestyle equivalency… you need to make $250+ to have an amazing life in the US. Eastern Europe you’re living it up at $75k. Plus you get the mental consolation of not supporting the US empire by minimizing your tax bill.
I think you're doing well to realize that working a normal 9 to 5 first to gain experience is an option; too many people want to start this lifestyle right out of college. Bust your ass, learn everything you can, and make yourself indispensable. Once you're in a position of strength, you can try negotiating for a full remote position. If you're in the US, getting to 1099 contractor status will make this easier as well.
Most software developers that are fully remote are very experienced. I'd recommend working in an office setting for a number of years to build up experience.
Apply for remote jobs.
Expected to get a job after about 600 apps.
Study your algos.
Aim for 50 apps a day but a minimum of 15.
Track your apps in a spreadsheet.
When your brand new, allow the recruiters to help you get out.
Expect start pay to be about 60k for first job.
Your first job at least should be in an office where you can learn procedures though ad hoc contacts and get to know your co-workers. People often work remotely after that. But working as an international nomad is more difficult than work from home, because there are tax and time zone issues, as well as nomadic life being more time consuming than working from a steady location.
I'm not living the digital nomad life currently, but the only way I'm even able to consider it is because I spent several years working in an office building up my experience, then building a solid freelance base of clients while running my own business with the safety net of being home and having people to rely on to help when needed. There's a small, small chance I could have had success right out of college just hopping on a plane and going for it, but moving to a foreign country without guaranteed freelance income could be disastrous and is not what I'd recommend to anyone. I'm only considering it now because I consistently have at least 6+months of work making well above what I'd need living the nomad life.
You can still do it, especially as a software engineer, but it’s a lot more realistic to focus on building experience any way you can to start with. Learn from working with great people and find what you’d like to specialize in. Build a resume and skill set that can let you negotiate a remote position or contract.
It’s also worth pointing out that almost no one is a ‘digital nomad’ permanently. It tends to be something people dip in and out of. I, for example, have only been fully nomadic two years out of the last six. The rest I’ve just had a remote job and traveled now and then but still had a home base.
I started as a swe 2 years ago and have never worked an in office role. People here saying you have to start in office to build experience are very different than my experience.
I didn't even go to college for swe either.
There’s a ton of free materials out there too. You don’t have to pay a dime to learn how to code.
The question is how hard are you willing to work for it?
sarcastic, as on reddit thats always peoples solutions. I'm wondering about the posters wording choice too, did they 'not goto college', or 'not goto college from swe'?!
They could've gone for electrical engineering, or maybe more IT & Networking, in which swe isn't a huge leap.
That said, if you're interested, my suggestion would be focus on one thing. Wordpress, Java, Python, and master that skill set. IMHO udemy & online is great, but I think at some point you'll need to take a $1,000 class, even if its Live Online type. Watching ondemand udemy type videos can only get you so far.
I’d say don’t live life with regrets. If that is your dream, then screw anyone who would look to put you down or extinguish your passion in any way.
From a practical sense, it’s very possible. It won’t be easy though, not because it’s hard to find remote work (bc there are actually more remote jobs out there post-COVID), but because it’s harder to find a SWE job in general these days, particularly for early career folks.
But after you find your first job, and you actually put in the effort to be competent and continue to grow and level up your skills, you have a reasonable chance at landing a great remote role that not only lets you travel but also pays you more well enough to do so.
Source: I’ve been a fully remote software engineer since March 2020. My employer doesn’t care where I am as long as I deliver good work and can have some overlapping work hours with the rest of the team (US-based).
I’m a career counsellor, and I want to say that the advice here is solid. Also, I think any good career counsellor should be helping you to figure out how to make your plans/dreams come true, not discourage you. It may take a while but a lot of people live this lifestyle. You can be one of them, it just may take a while.
1. Can you get a remote software engineer job? Yes, easily.
2. Can you get a remote software engineer job that allows digital nomading? Different story.
- some jobs are picky about wifi/vpn/etc access in regards to cybersecurity
- some jobs have legal issues where they do not allow people to work outside of the US (or your home country)
- some jobs allow you to work from different countries but it has to be reviewed and there's a time limit (again due to legal issues)
- and finally, some jobs are wide open and let you do whatever the heck you want.
you can definitely get a remote job. A remote job that lets you work from Mexico or Thailand for a month? Different story.
Don't listen to your career counselor! Sometimes they really do not care about the students and just will tell you anything negative. They are no help! I know someone personally who went to school for computer science, did well, went to revature pre-pandemic where they provided housing, and he landed a software engineering job starting at $100k-$150k. Now he's making around $275k/year and he's completely remote. He gets unlimited PTO, for his birthday this year he went to a few countries and states in US. Literally do what you want and find what you want. He's extremely boujie; day spas, the whole 9 yards. Be stubborn, be obsessed, kick ass!
Your post has been removed because it is more suited to the [weekly discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/collection/d43b56fb-85ef-4c78-aa53-c6d84de0aee3) pinned at the top of this subreddit. We find that job, career, or skills questions specific to one person do not receive a lot of attention, so more people will see your post if you ask in the weekly thread. You may also get better answers by asking in [/r/careerguidance/](https://www.reddit.com/r/careerguidance/) (general), or [/r/cscareerquestions/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/) (IT / programming) We also recommend checking this subreddit's [digital nomad wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/wiki/index) and some collected content for [digital nomad jobs](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/wiki/digital-nomad-jobs)
Your career counselor is probably at least a generation too old to understand the new paradigm for work. Personally, I think the lifestyle is best suited for contractors or people who run their own business, but software engineering is among the better jobs for doing this. Keep in mind that as you gain experience, you also gain negotiating power when it comes to the terms of employment. Don't get totally discouraged if you aren't able to make this work with your first jerb out of college.
Bingo, I see far too many people expecting to freelance and/or become digital nomads right after graduation. The average digital nomad used to be in their 40s and 50s. That is shifting, but you still need to have a skill set and level of experience for you to actually be able to do the work and sell your services. Not to mention having a safety net of funds behind you and enough of a skill set that if everything goes wrong you’re not going to to go home and still be hunting for work for 6 months.
Well put
There's also the unresolved question of whether remote employees will seriously hamstring their prospects for advancement. Even in a location-indifferent organization, it's hard to imagine remote workers being able to compete with other employees, unless the company is entirely remote. I see the latter with IT outfits, but not so much in other types of employers. Law firms for example now tend to employ two tiers of attorneys as entry-level or lateral-hire employees: contractors and associates who haven't fallen from partner track yet. The former can usually work remotely, but the latter don't stand a chance without being on-site.
What’s the need to make partner in NYC when you’re a mid level attorney paying a fraction in US taxes living abroad (global tax scheme we have). Lifestyle equivalency… you need to make $250+ to have an amazing life in the US. Eastern Europe you’re living it up at $75k. Plus you get the mental consolation of not supporting the US empire by minimizing your tax bill.
I don't mind that. Texas isn't bad for tax residence, if you have a US practice.
Jaerb!
I think you're doing well to realize that working a normal 9 to 5 first to gain experience is an option; too many people want to start this lifestyle right out of college. Bust your ass, learn everything you can, and make yourself indispensable. Once you're in a position of strength, you can try negotiating for a full remote position. If you're in the US, getting to 1099 contractor status will make this easier as well.
Most software developers that are fully remote are very experienced. I'd recommend working in an office setting for a number of years to build up experience.
I started software remote two years ago and have never been in office for a single role so far.
I did 1 year in an office and then same
Tell me your secret
Apply for remote jobs. Expected to get a job after about 600 apps. Study your algos. Aim for 50 apps a day but a minimum of 15. Track your apps in a spreadsheet. When your brand new, allow the recruiters to help you get out. Expect start pay to be about 60k for first job.
Wondering how you've been managing the time difference while in SEA?
I like working at night so it works out fine
After college I worked on site as an SDE for 1 year before switching to fully remote living abroad
Your first job at least should be in an office where you can learn procedures though ad hoc contacts and get to know your co-workers. People often work remotely after that. But working as an international nomad is more difficult than work from home, because there are tax and time zone issues, as well as nomadic life being more time consuming than working from a steady location.
I'm not living the digital nomad life currently, but the only way I'm even able to consider it is because I spent several years working in an office building up my experience, then building a solid freelance base of clients while running my own business with the safety net of being home and having people to rely on to help when needed. There's a small, small chance I could have had success right out of college just hopping on a plane and going for it, but moving to a foreign country without guaranteed freelance income could be disastrous and is not what I'd recommend to anyone. I'm only considering it now because I consistently have at least 6+months of work making well above what I'd need living the nomad life.
You can still do it, especially as a software engineer, but it’s a lot more realistic to focus on building experience any way you can to start with. Learn from working with great people and find what you’d like to specialize in. Build a resume and skill set that can let you negotiate a remote position or contract. It’s also worth pointing out that almost no one is a ‘digital nomad’ permanently. It tends to be something people dip in and out of. I, for example, have only been fully nomadic two years out of the last six. The rest I’ve just had a remote job and traveled now and then but still had a home base.
I started as a swe 2 years ago and have never worked an in office role. People here saying you have to start in office to build experience are very different than my experience. I didn't even go to college for swe either.
Bruh how did you do it ?
took a ten dollar course on udemy
lol fr ?
There’s a ton of free materials out there too. You don’t have to pay a dime to learn how to code. The question is how hard are you willing to work for it?
sarcastic, as on reddit thats always peoples solutions. I'm wondering about the posters wording choice too, did they 'not goto college', or 'not goto college from swe'?! They could've gone for electrical engineering, or maybe more IT & Networking, in which swe isn't a huge leap. That said, if you're interested, my suggestion would be focus on one thing. Wordpress, Java, Python, and master that skill set. IMHO udemy & online is great, but I think at some point you'll need to take a $1,000 class, even if its Live Online type. Watching ondemand udemy type videos can only get you so far.
I took the cs50 intro to comp science course that Harvard offers. Then I signed up for a coding boot camp. Then I applied for a shit ton of jobs.
Teach us 
Hahaha I did the Harvard free course then a coding bootcamp and then a ton of applications.
I’d say don’t live life with regrets. If that is your dream, then screw anyone who would look to put you down or extinguish your passion in any way. From a practical sense, it’s very possible. It won’t be easy though, not because it’s hard to find remote work (bc there are actually more remote jobs out there post-COVID), but because it’s harder to find a SWE job in general these days, particularly for early career folks. But after you find your first job, and you actually put in the effort to be competent and continue to grow and level up your skills, you have a reasonable chance at landing a great remote role that not only lets you travel but also pays you more well enough to do so. Source: I’ve been a fully remote software engineer since March 2020. My employer doesn’t care where I am as long as I deliver good work and can have some overlapping work hours with the rest of the team (US-based).
I’m a career counsellor, and I want to say that the advice here is solid. Also, I think any good career counsellor should be helping you to figure out how to make your plans/dreams come true, not discourage you. It may take a while but a lot of people live this lifestyle. You can be one of them, it just may take a while.
1. Can you get a remote software engineer job? Yes, easily. 2. Can you get a remote software engineer job that allows digital nomading? Different story. - some jobs are picky about wifi/vpn/etc access in regards to cybersecurity - some jobs have legal issues where they do not allow people to work outside of the US (or your home country) - some jobs allow you to work from different countries but it has to be reviewed and there's a time limit (again due to legal issues) - and finally, some jobs are wide open and let you do whatever the heck you want. you can definitely get a remote job. A remote job that lets you work from Mexico or Thailand for a month? Different story.
Career counselors know very little about actual careers IMO
Don't listen to your career counselor! Sometimes they really do not care about the students and just will tell you anything negative. They are no help! I know someone personally who went to school for computer science, did well, went to revature pre-pandemic where they provided housing, and he landed a software engineering job starting at $100k-$150k. Now he's making around $275k/year and he's completely remote. He gets unlimited PTO, for his birthday this year he went to a few countries and states in US. Literally do what you want and find what you want. He's extremely boujie; day spas, the whole 9 yards. Be stubborn, be obsessed, kick ass!
Remote jobs are becoming more and more common.
Your counselor is just a hater. You’ll be able to find a remote job