FlexJobs’ Survey Challenges Misconceptions About the Digital Nomad Lifestyle

USA - English

• USA - English

BOULDER, Colo. (PRWEB) October 23, 2018 -- Today FlexJobs released new insights from its Sept/Oct 2018 survey, which gathered responses from over 500 digital nomads about key topics related to their digital nomad career, lifestyle and workstyle. Based on this survey, the profile of the average digital nomad is a married female Gen Xer who is an experienced employee working at a company at least 40 hours a week in the writing, education and training, or administrative career fields. She has health insurance, is saving for retirement, and has a bachelor's degree or higher.

“There are a number of misconceptions about digital nomads, such as that only young millennials going through a phase are interested in the lifestyle, that they’re freelancers that don’t earn a decent living, or they can’t grow a great career while traveling, none of which is validated by this data,” said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “Practicing nomads can be found across demographics and career fields, and they’re hard-working professionals who for a variety of reasons like work-life balance, poor local job market, or a passion for travel, are committed to earning a living in a nonconventional way,” Sutton concluded.

Interesting highlights include: Visit https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexjobs-digital-nomad-survey-insights-remote-lifestyle/ for the full report.

• Only 27% of respondents identified as Gen Z or millennials, with 41% identifying as Gen Xers, and 32% as baby boomers or the silent generation.
• 61% of digital nomads are married and 39% are unmarried. 26% of digital nomads have children 18 and under.
• More digital nomads are employed by a company (35%) versus being freelancers (28%) or business owners (18%).
• 38% say they feel less stressed financially as a digital nomad and 34% say there is no difference in financial stress than when they worked a traditional job.
• Nearly one fifth (18%) report making six figures or more and 22% make between $50,000 and $99,999. The average U.S. worker today earns roughly $46,641 a year.
• 74% of digital nomads have health insurance and 55% are saving for retirement.
• The majority work from their hotel/hostel (46%), coffee shop or local dining establishment (45%). Less than one-fifth work in co-working spaces (19%).
• 31% of married digital nomads have spouses who travel with them full-time, 38% travel with them part-time, and 32% don’t travel with their digital nomad partner at all
• Only 6% have participated in travel programs for nomads, such as Remote Year or Hacker Paradise. Just 5% have used co-living spaces, such as Outsite or Nomad House

To help digital nomads and other job seekers interested in finding remote jobs that allow candidates to be based from anywhere in the world, FlexJobs has also compiled the Top 30 Companies Currently Hiring for Work-from-Anywhere Remote Jobs. This list is based on an analysis of remote job listings from over 50,000 companies in the FlexJobs database between Jan. 1, 2018 - Aug. 31, 2018. The companies on this list had the most job listings that met the following criteria:

• A “Work-from-Anywhere” remote job without location restrictions
• Fully remote jobs that don’t require any time in the office
• Offer either full-time or part-time schedules

Mental health counselor, full stack developer, sales operation specialist, and marketing designer are examples of work-from-anywhere jobs currently hiring.

And for a first-hand view of the digital nomad lifestyle, FlexJobs has partnered with Jason Byer who is currently traveling the U.S. with his family while maintaining his full-time job with crowdSPRING. With weekly videos and monthly blog posts, Jason provides a first-hand look at his digital nomad adventures, discussing various topics such as how to talk to your boss about becoming a nomad, how he structures his day, works from new locations, and finds time to explore.

For more information please contact Kathy Gardner at kgardner(at)flexjobs.com.

About FlexJobs
FlexJobs is committed to helping people find a better way to work. As the leading online service for professionals seeking remote, flexible schedule, part-time, and freelance jobs, FlexJobs offers opportunities in over 50 career categories, ranging from entry-level and executive to freelance and full-time. FlexJobs also sets itself apart by providing job seekers with a better, safer, and more efficient way to find professional and legitimate flexible jobs. Having helped over 3 million people in their job searches, FlexJobs has appeared in CNN, CNBC, Time, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and hundreds of other trusted media outlets. To further assist people in bettering their lives through flexible and remote work, FlexJobs' founder and CEO, Sara Sutton, has also launched two additional partner sites, Remote.co and 1 Million for Work Flexibility, to help provide education and awareness about the viability and benefits of remote working and work flexibility. Sutton is also the creator of The TRaD* Works Forum (*Telecommuting, Remote, & Distributed), dedicated to helping companies leverage the benefits of telecommuting, remote, and distributed teams.

Kathy Gardner, FlexJobs, https://www.flexjobs.com/, +1 (203)253-9531, [email protected]