7 most popular remote careers in 2020

Gallup’s polls showed that by April 2020, 62% of Americans were still working from home. The growing demand for remote career opportunities indicates that they have become an important part of our new normal, allowing businesses to operate while adhering to social distancing rules. As a result, more job seekers are seeking out remote career opportunities. 

Fueled by COVID-19 and in light of the new normal, more and more businesses are making changes to existing job positions that allow roles to be carried out remotely.

This shift to remote work is led by many tech companies with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg saying that as many as 50% of Facebook employees could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years and Twitter which has announced that it will allow some of its workforce to work from home indefinitely.

Companies such as Shopify and Slack have also made similar announcements, enabling workplace agility by allowing their workforce to work in an environment that suits them.

According to Gallup’s polls, three out of five Americans have expressed that they would prefer to continue working remotely if given the chance post-COVID with some of these roles growing increasingly popular this year:

1. Customer Support Specialists

Customer support roles are generally suited to remote work since the tasks involved can be accomplished with a phone, computer, and an internet connection.

2. Developers 

Remote IT roles were already trending before COVID-19. Web, software, and mobile developers are expected to have hands-on experience with coding, design, and application development. The most common languages to know are HTML, CSS, C++, Java, Python, and Ruby.

3. Online Educators

From pre-K to Ph.D. levels, classes have been carried out online now more than ever. The duties and responsibilities of an online educator include the development of lesson plans and assignments, facilitating student discussions, assessment of student performance, and tracking of attendance. 

4. Sales Representatives

Result-driven sales representatives are needed to sell services and products to prospective customers. They are expected to seek out and engage customers via phone or email, perform cost-benefit analyses of existing and potential customers, to maintain positive business relationships to ensure future sales and to boost revenue growth.

5. Writers

From blogging to producing copy for large corporations, writers are needed to provide written content that is industry-related, marketing copy that promotes products and services, to prepare drafts using Content Management Systems, to proofread and edit content, to meet SEO requirements, and to research and pitch relevant topics.

6. Graphic Designers

Remote graphic designers are expected to conceptualise and produce engaging and on-brand visuals based on requirements, to be familiar with current and frequently-used design software, to test graphics across media platforms, and to most importantly capture the attention of viewers and deliver the right message.

7. Virtual Assistants

A virtual assistant specialises in providing administrative services to clients from a remote location. The schedule and arrange appointments, manage schedules, make necessary phone calls, respond to emails, and basically take care of any task that can be done independently with a computer. Some even specialise in providing support in areas such as copywriting, design, social media, and even bookkeeping.