High-paying remote jobs have decreased by 60% within the last year, but some industries are still … [+]
Finding a remote job is difficult enough. But locating a fully remote job that pays more than $200,000? The chances are slimmer than ever before.
A new Ladders study uncovered some startling data about salaries in 2024, their buying power, and how the pendulum is shifting from fully remote and hybrid work to RTO (return-to-office) for the highest-paid earners.
To have the buying power of a job that paid $100,000 a year in 1994, you would need to be making more than $200,000 today in 2024, the analysis revealed. And although in early 2023, there were at least 10% of jobs paying upwards of $200,000 available as remote, today that figure has plummeted by 60%, making it even harder to secure a high-paying job that is fully remote or even hybrid.
However all is not lost. While employers may be clamping down on their work-from-home policies for their high-earning, white-collar employees, there are some industries that typically tend to favor remote work, at least slightly more than others.
One such industry is fintech, which means financial technology. Fintech firms provide software and financial services such as banking, enabled by technology to make these services more secure or easier for their users.
However you must bear in mind that due to the fact that the highest-paying fully remote (and hybrid) jobs are a rare find, the competition for these roles (and the companies that hire them) will be fierce. You would need to seriously stand out as an exceptional candidate with extensive experience under your belt, and specializations and certifications. You would also need to be able to sell yourself with strong results that speak to your career achievements within your resume, LinkedIn profile, and application.
The financial services careers website and job board, eFinancialCareers, recently created a list of the highest-paying fintech employers that are remote-first or hire remote roles that pay upwards of $200,000.
The top 10 in their list include household names and recognizable companies such as Coinbase, Stripe, and Instacart. Others included Plaid, Opensea, and Brex (who are remote-first companies). Robinhood, Brex, Gusto, Carta, and Chime are also know for currently hiring or having recent listings for the highest-paying remote jobs.
Here are three of the most popular remote jobs that you can expect to pay more than $200,000 in 2024, based on the current listings from these employers:
1. Software Engineer
Software engineers are the backbone of fintechs, and plays a crucial role in developing software for financial solutions, being the brains behind innovative financial products including emerging spaces such as blockchain and AI, and developing and integrating APIs while ensuring the products are compliant with financial regulations and are optimized for security.
Average salary range:
2. GTM Manager
GTM means “go to market,” and GTM managers are responsible for achieving just that: they launch fintech products to the market with a solid GTM strategy that involves recruiting the right team, researching the market, collaborating with stakeholders, and creating a roadmap for marketing and sales.
Average salary range: $157,690 to $218,657
3. Product Design Lead
A product design lead focuses on aspects of a fintech product such as user experience, design, and quality assurance, and collaborates with stakeholders and users to obtain feedback and ensure the product meets requirements. They also ensure consistent application of design principles across products, and may collaborate with product managers and even the marketing team.
Average salary range: $163,000 to $259,000
Fintechs tend to favour remote work and pay eye-watering salaries
To position yourself effectively for these types of roles, you will need to ensure that you have a combination of creative vision, technical skills, leadership and communication skills, and strategic thinking. These, highlighted on your resume and in your job application, alongside any prior remote working experience, help to boost your chances of success in securing such roles.