5 industries well-suited to the remote working lifestyle

If the time is right in your personal life to consider a career change – and one that promotes convenient and flexible remote working to fit around your lifestyle – you’ve come to the right place. Mississauga is a city with such an active cultural heartbeat. There is always something to see and do with family or friends, be it art galleries, theatrical productions, live music gigs or sport and much more.

For those who have prioritized their careers over their work-life balance for many years, this article helps to shine a spotlight on five potential career paths that can be maintained by working from home – or indeed anywhere you like, so long as you have a stable internet connection.

1. Web and software development
If you are someone that’s always been fascinated by the infrastructure behind the workings of websites or software, a career in development could float your boat. Development is an incredibly broad field and, more importantly, it’s possible to work remotely with ease so long as you have sufficient hardware at home. Whether you decide to work freelance or for an agency, if you can teach yourself Python, Java, JavaScript or PHP, the chances are you will be in-demand from the word go, capable of earning upwards of $100,000 per year.

2. Social media management

In today’s always-on, 24/7 business world, it’s more important than ever for brands of all shapes and sizes to connect with their customers online. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give even the smallest local brands a chance to build trust and authority with consumers and solve challenges for prospects too. That’s where employing a switched-on social media manager is increasingly important for businesses to help them remain a part of the conversation. Think of social media as the 21st-century customer service. It’s a demanding yet rewarding role in equal measure and can be carried out remotely, providing your employer uses social media tools from their arsenal such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social.

3. Copywriting
Life as a copywriter can be extremely varied. One morning you might be writing an email newsletter for an e-commerce site, later that afternoon you may be required to pen a corporate-style blog post for an accounting firm. The key to being a good copywriter is your ability to write in a tone that your clients’ target customers resonate with. In layman’s terms, copywriters make things sound pretty, helping to improve conversion rates online and can even be employed to improve offline copy in brochures and catalogues too. Providing you have a laptop or computer wherever you are, copywriting is certainly a popular option for creative digital nomads.

4. Forex trading
Another industry that’s readily accessible providing you have a suitable desktop computer or laptop setup is forex trading. There is a growing generation of millennial "retail traders" or day traders as they are more commonly known, scalping the forex markets based on economic and political news events unfolding around the world. The forex industry is increasingly well regulated in Canada, with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) overseeing the operations of all the most reputable forex brokers approved to operate in Canada. Trading forex does require sizeable start-up capital, but with risk management, it’s possible to grow your trading bank sustainably over time.

5. Accountancy
Accounting is certainly an industry whose duties can be carried out fully at home. Whether it’s filing tax returns, crunching data or preparing year-end accounts, these activities don’t require you to be strapped to your chair in a city center office block. If you have an accounting or relevant degree or, better still, CPA certification, you could go it alone and start your own freelance accountancy business. Local and self-employed professionals will often depend on accountants to manage their books and support them in the event of investigations from the Revenue Agency.

There can be no better feeling than owning your own time and feeling in control of your work-life balance. These six top tips from a regular remote worker should also ensure you make the most of your new lifestyle. Hopefully, these five career paths may just have given you food for thought in your remote working quest.