[americanInEurope]

After years of quitting good jobs because of the unending need to travel and bang, I finally wised up and got a 100% online job. I start at the end of the month. Can anybody else working from home tell me the unique challenges they face? Also, when it comes to traveling, what's your regimen usually in regards to making sure your new temporary home has internet access, TV and all that? Do you guys go AirBnB or get hotels?

The countries on my immediate list to have a "working vacation" at are Romania, Croatia and Hungary. How's the internet connection in those places? Specifically Cluj, Zagreb and Budapest.

Also if there's anybody in IT that has any questions about telecommute or remote jobs, feel free to ask. I just went through a 3 month process of finding the right gig.

[Glaucon]

I got a 30mbit connection for 13 usd a month in Budapest.

[YardDog]

Congratulations on making the leap! I’ve been working online for years and can’t imagine a life without it. For me the biggest challenge is probably discipline. It wasn't the first couple years, but I'll admit it's become harder. It can be easy to get sidetracked with no one else around. There are some other challenges that come to mind:

- At times I miss a team work environment. (I have a team where I am but only work with them 1-2 times a week)
- It gets a little ‘cagey’ being in one place for such a long period of time. I try to mix - it up with coffee shops and short walks every couple hours.
- When you’re constantly traveling or living in short term rentals it’s can be hard to find condos/apts that are both comfortable and productive places to work.
- Internet can be terrible if you travel to developing countries.

Here’s a quick list of things that are work related (cooking and living is another list) that I look for when moving to a new spot:

- A good verified internet connection. Have the owners do a speedtest.net and screenshot you the results. Do a quick bit of research on the ISP as well.
- I like to stand and sit in different places when working. Think about what works best for you and look for rentals that have it. Spots to stand while working, a nice desk, table and chairs, couch, etc., all can make a huge difference in your comfort and productivity.
- Watch out for rentals that have construction going on nearby or inside the buildings, kids/babies as neighbors and thin walls. Having a meeting with a crying baby in the hallway sucks.
- Rentals that are located in good walking areas and have places nearby that allow you to work outside the house.
- A place to work with a view. It’s nice to look outside and take in the view here and there since you’ll be indoors so much.

[dark_g]

WHat are some good internet jobs that are fun and exciting? It doesn't have to have the greatest pay, but no minimum wage shit either. I'm also willing to take courses, if needed.

[Phoenix]

I would love to see a breakdown of what 'working online' typically is

I.e:
- The proportions of each type of work, in a pie chart
- An basic explanation of each type of work
- How the work is bidded for, or asked for
- What the pay ranges of the work is
- What the pay profile is (i.e. variability, does it flood and drought?, or can it be kept smooth?)

[americanInEurope]

Thanks for the info dudes. YardDog your advice is gold. Good idea about getting a speed test, never would have thought of that. Are you also in IT?

I'm also curious about residency/taxes. Do you have any hassles with that? If you're a resident of the US, you can't stay somewhere forever. But if you become a resident of a foreign country, does your online job find out (or your new foreign job)?

Here's a typical indeed.com search with the parameters "work from home." http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=%22work+from+home%22&l=

Something like this can gauge what kind of jobs you can get and for how much. I'm working a permanent job now for stability, but there's work from home contracts for the ultimate work/life ratio. I just like that I can get my life back. I'm not wasting away hours of my life at a fucking office, or commuting to an office.

[YardDog]

delete

[YardDog]

Working online is a big world. I know people that work online for Fortune 500s and I know people that work freelance or small business.

Some of the big ones are:

- Design
- Software/App/Database Development
- Writing/Editing/Copy Writing/Story Creation/Script Writing
- Video Production/Editing
- Business Processing
- Internet Marketing/Ad words
- Sales
- IT/System Admin
- Technical Support
- Business/Legal Consulting
- Teaching/Education/eLearning
- Blogging
- Day Trading/Stocks/Money Managers/Financial Adviser

There are tons more. The money depends on you. For example, if you're a top 5% designer or writer you can kill it. If you're a natural sales guy you can kiill it too.

Or better yet start your own gig and control your destiny.

(12-08-2014 11:34 AM)dark_g Wrote:  

WHat are some good internet jobs that are fun and exciting? It doesn't have to have the greatest pay, but no minimum wage shit either. I'm also willing to take courses, if needed.

[kr4t0s]

(12-08-2014 10:46 PM)YardDog Wrote:  

Working online is a big world. I know people that work online for Fortune 500s and I know people that work freelance or small business.

Some of the big ones are:

- Design
- Software/App/Database Development
- Writing/Editing/Copy Writing/Story Creation/Script Writing
- Video Production/Editing
- Business Processing
- Internet Marketing/Ad words
- Sales
- IT/System Admin
- Technical Support
- Business/Legal Consulting
- Teaching/Education/eLearning
- Blogging
- Day Trading/Stocks/Money Managers/Financial Adviser

There are tons more. The money depends on you. For example, if you're a top 5% designer or writer you can kill it. If you're a natural sales guy you can kiill it too.

Or better yet start your own gig and control your destiny.

(12-08-2014 11:34 AM)dark_g Wrote:  

WHat are some good internet jobs that are fun and exciting? It doesn't have to have the greatest pay, but no minimum wage shit either. I'm also willing to take courses, if needed.

Hi

Since 2013 i have been working online as a freelancer 100% full time. I work as a sysadmin for some clients around the world, mainly linux systems administration, amazon aws, virtualization and of course some scripting and hacking. I only need to speak english, a laptop and a good internet connection.
I started in 2009 but it was part time, in 2013 i did the leap of faith to full time and im still working! This gigs have allowed me to travel to several countries and i earn good money for crazy south america standards.
When i travel abroad i try to verify the internet connection, thats essential! and i have always used airbnb ( although it could be expensive). Next year i will travel to europe again and my plan is to stay at least 90 days as a tourist and then go back to south america where i live or to england (that will be harder because its toooooo expensive but still worth it).
Anyway good luck!!

[dark_g]

I can retire from my current job and get a decent pension. I'm looking for something that can supplement(game money) that pension. Something easy and part time.

[americanInEurope]

Thanks again for all the info. So, a few weeks into things. I'm currently in Croatia doing my online job based in Dallas. A few things I've learned so far:

- I basically work night shift here, even on Friday's. Factor that in when you think you can go on evening dates. That just won't happen, unless you can squeeze them into your lunch breaks.
- Have a GOOD SOLID backup plan for when Internet craps out. Here in Zagreb it seems like the Internet is spotty sometimes. Have a local SIM card on hand with lots of GB's just in case your bnb or hotel Internet doesn't work.
- For peace of mind, make sure you put your job FIRST. There's nothing like going on dates and not being able to concentrate because you've neglected your work, the one thing that keeps you here in this lifestyle. I'm so much more fun to be around when I know that my job isn't trying to contact me over some work shit. Again, put work first. Girls will always be around eager to reschedule...this isn't the US.

Besides that, everything else is going according to plan. This is definitely doable here guys. I would say it's best to stay in one place with a comfortable work space and not move around too much. I'm still trying to decide where in Central/Eastern Europe I want to spend the year, so I'm bouncing around right now. Croatia is awesome, even if it is January. Everybody speaks English and the girls are stunning. I'll do up a data sheet after I've spent more time here (and also after my Berlin datasheet...no time, seems like lately I've been doing more living than writing). I'm going to Budapest this weekend and got invited to Serbia for Serbian New Years so we'll see.

[Krusyos]

Seems like it should be pretty easy to find an online job as a Management Information Systems major.