Hi all,
I’m an American living in Brazil. I work in AI at a Brazilian firm on a Brazilian contract.
So here’s the thing: Before I accepted this current work contract it was a real struggle for me. I was thinking to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if I was earning in US Dollars down here, that would surely give me an advantage.” I tried applying for US jobs but there simply not a lot of firms that want to hire an employee living in Brazil. I tried following a bunch of digital nomads on Instagram and they keep talking about how easy it is to make passive income digital marketing or on PInterest, or some other site, I just can’t understand how I could get involved with something like that. I tried freelancing on Upwork in my area and couldn’t find many opportunities. I tried looking on remoteok and other digital nomad sites where programmers could get hired. There were barely any postings that went to AI. And most of them went to very senior front end developers with LOTS of years if experience. Finally I applied to local jobs down here and got an offer.
Which brings me to my question, how exactly do you guys make money as digital nomads? It seems like everyone but me has a get rich quick scheme going on or some digitial marketing thing and I just can’t get it. Are people lying and just getting some money on the side from their parents or something?
Just develop in demand skills and be very good at what you do. I’ve worked remotely since 2017 and have remote positions I’m hiring for that require specific niche skillets. I’ve got team members in Europe and the US, but I hire a lot from the Philippines as the wages are ALOT cheaper and I can train them up. Their churn rate and retention is also extremely high if you pay above average local wages and treat them like humans (allt of companies treat them like robot VAs)
Don’t pull the wagon before the horse. Get the skills and experience first then take it abroad. You need to have leverage. Why would a company hire you abroad for more money if they can hire cheaper abroad or hire someone locally instead? You need to solve that value proposition first. Do that first locally and then go abroad or fund a “remote first” company with a remote culture.
In the meantime, the other method to go is build your own location independent business so that you set the rules. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme. There are no magic bullets or short cuts. Put in the work and build a proper business. I always recommend people do both at the same time.
Work a job > become valuable > contractor Work a job > become valuable > hire into remote first company Work a job > become valuable > build business with that skillset on the side