What Digital Nomads Really Do for Work And How to Find a Job You Love

What Do Digital Nomads Really Do for Work?

It’s the question almost everyone asks when they hear about our lifestyle, and for many, it’s also the moment the dream quietly stops.

Not everyone works in tech. Not every company allows remote work. Not every profession can be done over Zoom. And everyone has their own “yes, but…”.

I had my own “yes, but…” too. When we first decided to leave and live as digital nomads, I had a clear plan: I’d freelance in my previous line of work. It felt safe, familiar, and realistic. But just a month after moving to the boat, market changes made the opportunity vanish. I was terrified. I had no backup. I had counted on other people telling me what to do instead of owning the process myself.

That’s when I opened an UpWork account. It wasn’t perfect, and it didn’t happen overnight, but it got me started. It created opportunities, and most importantly, it built my confidence. It showed me that work is the enabler of a location-independent lifestyle, not the purpose of it.

Nomad living is about the life you’re creating, not just the work you’re doing. But if you don’t love your work, it will feel like punishment, and you’ll resent every second you “have” to do it.

One of the hardest parts of becoming a digital nomad is finding your work rhythm when everything else around you is constantly changing. If your work isn’t something you enjoy, you’ll keep finding excuses to avoid it. Before long, you’ll be living in a dream destination but feeling like you can’t fully enjoy it. When your work is something that excites you, the opposite happens, you want to carve out time for it, even in the middle of a busy travel day. It becomes a natural part of your lifestyle instead of a constant struggle.

So I started asking myself better questions. What do I love doing? What am I good at? What will people pay me for? And most importantly, what do I do that makes me lose track of time because I enjoy it so much? Once you have some answers, you can start researching. Search online for remote job opportunities in your field. Use AI tools to brainstorm career options. Look for people in your profession or with similar skills who have already built a work-from-anywhere life. And remember, the work should fit the life, not the other way around.

Over our three years of sailing, we’ve met people from every background you can imagine who have found creative ways to work remotely.

Nurses who work part of the year and travel the rest.

Doctors who take short contracts between sailing trips.

Pilots who hop between countries, fly when needed, and return to their families.

Builders who became boat renovation consultants.

Technicians providing online support from anywhere in the world.

Interior designers managing projects remotely.

Photographers and video editors creating content for clients worldwide.

Fitness trainers teaching online classes.

Therapists and coaches working over Zoom.

The possibilities for digital nomad jobs are much bigger than most people think, and the secret is to keep your mind open. It can be a combination of two or three income streams that together create the freedom you want, or adapting your timeline to enable another type of nomadic lifestyle, or any other creative solution.

When we first set off, we aimed for two years at sea. We didn’t want to burn through all our savings, and I honestly didn’t know if we’d make enough to keep going. However, having remote work made the difference and allowed us to prolong the journey. It gave us room for little “out of budget” treats, the kind of experiences that make you smile for years later. And it taught me something important: if the first idea doesn’t work, don’t dwell on it or feel sorry for yourself. Learn from it, adjust, try again.

The trick is to find something you love doing, otherwise you’ll never want to make time for work.

No one is going to hand you the perfect remote job.

No one will map it all out for you.

Start with something small.

Test it. If it doesn’t work, try something else.

I can’t promise it will work.

But I can promise that if you never try, you’ll always wonder what if.