Two decades ago, the idea of working from home was relegated to data entry clerks and medical transcriptionists, and even then, they often did their work in cramped and dusty offices. Today, with high-speed internet and powerful computers accessible to almost everyone, remote work is becoming more common than office jobs, even in industries where you might not think of telecommuting as an option.
What are the most unexpected industries to offer remote work options, and what’s making this kind of transition possible?
STEM Careers
While you might expect to find careers like data entry available as remote options in today’s economy, there are more STEM careers showing up in this field than you might expect. Depending on your specialty and what kind of degree you hold, you might find plenty of work from home.
Registered nurses, for example, can work from home answering hotlines or working in telemedicine, while those with teaching degrees can instruct future generations in mathematics, science or other STEM fields from the comfort of their own abode. Virtual teachers can earn upwards of $35,000 a year, while RNs working from home can earn a median income of more than $60,000 annually.
Engineering
Engineering is a broad field that can encompass anything from the software engineer building the next big operating system to the aerospace engineer creating the rocket that will carry the human race to Mars.
While many engineering jobs still need to be done in person, several of them can be completed from home — as long as you’ve got a powerful computer and a good internet connection. You may even find a company willing to provide you with the internet and computer based on your skills or degrees.
IT and software engineers often thrive while working remotely because they’re able to work at their own pace with little to no oversight — just the way they like it.
Construction
Construction is one industry where you’d expect everyone to be hands-on and on-site, but with new technological advances, that just isn’t the case. Many of the jobs in the construction industry can be done remotely, from accounting and engineering to management.
One reason for this shift is the growth of software and monitoring solutions. Tools like GPS, GNSS antennas and other networked Industrial Internet of Things devices can provide remote workers with all the information they need to complete their jobs without ever having to set foot on the jobsite. Project managers can gather information and make informed decisions from a remote location.
Security
This field might seem like one in which you have to show up at the office to be effective, but in a growing number of security fields, you won’t even need to leave your home. Information and cybersecurity are becoming more important every year as more jobs and tasks are moved to remote locations.
This increases demand across nearly every industry for people who specialize in keeping these networks safe and secure. If you’ve always had a talent for keeping systems safe — or for breaking into systems that could be safer — a career in cybersecurity or information security could be the choice for you.
Finance
Marketing is the business career that pops to mind for most remote workers, but increasingly, finance professionals are heading online, too. It’s easier to find clients, you don’t have to travel all over the world to do your job and you can keep all the data you need to be successful in your position at your fingertips.
Bookkeeping and ecommerce are among the fastest-growing remote fields in the world, and while the change does present some challenges — specifically, how things like taxes and laws vary from state to state and country to country — it’s becoming easier than ever to work in economics and other finance-related fields from the comfort of home.
Education
You don’t have to get a job at your local brick-and-mortar school to become a teacher anymore. In the United States, close to 30% of students are enrolled in some sort of distance education, including 26.5% of students between the ages of 15 and 23.
Online schools are becoming more popular, and many international schools are hiring online instructors to teach English to children around the globe. With a bachelor’s degree — regardless of your field of study — you can apply to teach the basics of the English language in China if you’re a native English speaker.
Creative Fields
Creative fields have always found a home on the internet, but they’re currently the fastest growing remote field in the world. Writing, graphic design, website creation, illustration, photography and many more fields are all emerging as remote options.
Remote work for creatives gives them the flexibility they often crave in stark office settings, and it even gives them the option to work as freelancers for a variety of different companies instead of staying with a single client or business.
Trending Industries for Home-Based Workers
While some fields will never be replaced by remote workers, this form of work is emerging as a valuable tool in a surprising number of industries that we thought would never accommodate telecommuting, from construction and STEM to education and just about everything in between.
The world is becoming digital, and businesses will need to change their work models to keep up. We probably won’t see surgeons doing their work from home, but it’s entirely possible that they’ll be able to carry out surgeries remotely from across the country or around the globe.
