5 Questions for every aspiring remote worker from India.
I’m a product designer who went fully remote in January 2018. This post tries to answer questions that I sought answers of during last year.
What is remote work?
Remote working or telecommuting (or simply put working from home) is an old and popular work model. The core idea is very simple, you work from home (or anywhere you want to) instead of going to an office every day.
Thanks to the advancements in the technology and penetration of internet, remote work is not just possible but thriving across the globe. Remote work is gaining popularity steadily over the past years, so much that in 2015, 23% of US employee did parts of their work remotely.
Why go remote?
Working remotely gives the workers a very high degree of freedom. Avoiding long commute, freedom from geographic constraints and freedom of choosing working hours are a few examples. Remote work has also proven to increase productivity, motivation levels and even the efforts (work hours) put in work.
But these stats are from the US and remote work seems more meaningful to our competitive and developing country. Like me and most of my friends, we have to move out and away from home to a metro city to find suitable jobs. While all the major companies are in the metro cities, the quality of life is very low and the cost of living is sky-high.
While popular house rental platform Housing says that you should not spend more than 30% of your income on rent, any beginner ends up paying way more than that just to afford to just live in metro cities.
Remote working makes a lot of sense for the startups in our country as well. In addition to all the above reasons, finding remote talent is a better option for both the startup and the employees.
Who is remote work for?
Though there are great benefits, remote work doesn’t come with some drawbacks. It’s simply not for everyone. There are a few factors that determine if the remote work works for you and your current profession —
- Not all jobs can be done remotely.
- It requires a high degree of self-discipline and motivation to perform remotely.
- You need to have access to a good internet connection.
- A lot of people are fighting with loneliness while working remotely.
- You need to manage yourself and be accountable.
The list can go even longer if we account for individual job-roles that require collaboration, frequent communication, and higher responsibilities.
A regular office provides us with our social needs and has a higher tolerance for mistakes due to the hierarchy and human interaction. Remote jobs require you to constantly expand your comfort zone which is great but can be very challenging for some at the same time.
How to go remote?
Once you’ve decided to pursue a remote career there are multiple ways to achieve them:
Converting your current job into a remote one
There is a high likelihood of converting your existing job into a remote job. You will have to establish yourself as a reliable worker first and you can start with converting a regular off-day into a remote working day. Slowly extending the period and consistently performing better while working remotely. I personally started with this way and it is easier than it seems at first.
Freelancing or working as a contractor
It’s one of the most popular ways of working remotely. You work as an independent resource with a company or client and provide your services for a cost. The main barrier to entry to freelancing is finding a sustainable stream of clients. Freelancing also means you are essentially carrying all the risks and have to be responsible for all the growth/failures you achieve.
Finding a full-time remote job in your domain
There are several companies which operate completely remotely (companies with Remote DNA) and have distributed teams. One of the more sustainable methods of working remotely is securing a full-time position at one of such company. Finding a good remote job takes time as the number of such companies is limited, employee retaining rate is very high (no company wants to let go an effective remote worker) and you’ll be competing at a global level. As Basecamp founder Jason Fried states in his great book about remote work:
Companies don’t hire remote workers, they hire remote experts.
Building products/services
Building a self-sustaining, internet product which generates money is considered the ultimate form of financial and location independence. However, it’s easier said than done. It takes technical skills to a whole spectrum of technologies and a solid understanding of internet businesses just to create a product. Building a successful business and monetizing is a different magnitude of a challenge.
Despite being a challenging goal, the number of such independent entrepreneurs (or as Twitter calls them, Makers) is rapidly growing in numbers. Thanks to growth in technology and automation, it's now easier than ever to build a company of one.
Where to go after going remote?
There’s a very good chance that you’ve heard the term “Digital Nomad”. A lot of folks link remote working with traveling indefinitely while working. Honestly, these are two different things. Think of it this way — Working remotely facilitates your travel dreams which you won’t be able to pursue otherwise.
I don’t have anything against traveling, it’s one of the biggest advantages of working remotely. However, the first thing that I did after going remote was moving back home. Most remote workers face a burnout just after their transition to remote working. The main reason — overambitious travel planning without realizing the kind of management and load it takes to travel while working full-time.
Don’t fall into the trap of dogma, set your feets firm with remote working first, build a routine and outperform yourself. Once you’re habitual with this lifestyle, slowly include location independence into your routine. This will help you scale your travels and manage your finances in a much, much better way.
Don’t see your questions listed here?
Feel free to ping me (I am @himvais on twitter) with your questions and I’ll try my best to help you find the answers you’re looking for. Working remotely is helping me spend more time with my family, work on my hobbies and design a lifestyle I always wanted for me. I personally believe that it is the future of work.
