A snapshot of remote gigs found that these workers, who know their way around a spreadsheet, earned about $132,000 on average. Next were business analysts, who brought in $100,000, and project managers, who earned $88,000.
The findings by Greenback Expat Tax Services, which provides tax services for expats, were based on a review of nearly 6,800 job listings posted on Indeed from around the world.
Greenback also surveyed about 1,000 Americans interested in becoming digital nomads. Among those polled, more than one-third said they weren’t happy with cubicle life — or their commutes. Two in five were preparing to hit the road within the next year.
The curiosity about working remotely comes as some of these jobs are getting harder to land following return-to-office mandates. Indeed, some people are having a harder time finding lucrative desk jobs generally in the US, even as overall unemployment remains low.
Just over half of those surveyed were weighing leaving the US. Gen Z workers were most interested in heading abroad, with six in 10 saying they were considering becoming expats.
How much do you need to earn to make the switch to a remote job comfortable? About $72,000, according to the survey.
That’s one reason staying stateside might make sense for some workers. In the US, the average pay for a remote data scientist role was $143,000. In fact, the US had the most remote work opportunities and the highest average pay for such roles at $100,000. France was next at $90,000, and Australia was at $79,000.
The review converted currencies to dollars.
Those Americans who want to get their passports stamped might consider Italy, Canada, and the UK. These were among the countries showing the most number of remote jobs, according to the study.
The primary jobs that Americans looking to ditch the office wanted to have were content creator and freelance writer. Close behind were virtual assistant and teacher.
The reasons survey respondents wanted to log on from somewhere else weren’t surprising. Seven in 10 said their chief aim was the ability to work from anywhere. Nearly six in 10 pointed to greater flexibility.
Just over half said it was to travel or have adventures. And half said it was to achieve a better work-life balance. Yet, only about one in four said they intended to work remotely forever.
For some people, the flexibility of remote work is essential. Erik Braund, founder and CEO of Katmai, which uses video feeds to create virtual offices, told Business Insider in late 2023 that he’d worked side-by-side with a colleague since 2020. Yet Braund is based in the US, and his coworker is based in the Netherlands.
The ability to work virtually — while still being together — was the next best option to being alongside each other IRL, Braund said. The approach lets him better balance work with the rest of his life.
“I missed the first two years of my first kid’s life. I didn’t miss the first two years of my second kid’s life,” Braund said.