Digital nomads earn up to P5M

As a workforce defined by technology and enhanced by the pandemic digital nomads make good money while enjoying traveling.

KYLE C. is a digital nomad. A Fil-Am who was born in Cold Springs, NY, since 2018 works from almost anywhere in the world. He finished fine arts course at the Cooper Union College and decided that he wanted a job free from the “shackles of the office desk.”

According to The 2023 State of Digital Nomads survey, 36 percent of digital nomads make between $100,000 and $250,000 a year. Another 8 percent earn up to one million dollars, while 2 percent of respondents said they made more than a million annually. The rest earn less than $100,000 yearly.

For 2022, Kyle decided to be based in the Philippines for most of the year to be close to his terminally-ill father. The pandemic prevented annual visits. And while here, he is doing freelance graphics design and colorizing work. His office, is composed of a 16-inch Macbook Pro, a 15-inch espresso display and a 13-inch XPPen drawing tablet. Combined weight is nearly 15 pounds and it all goes into $500 Pelican hard case that is always hand carried on a plane. He recently added a Starlink dish to his equipment so he can get a stable access from his father’s place somewhere in South Luzon.

The equipment alone is nearly P500,000 ($10K), but that is just what he earns in a two months (or less). His freelance work brings in up to $90,000 annually for him.

A digital nomad is a person who uses technology to earn a living and is not tied down to a specific location. There are the two most distinct parts of the definition—location independence and a technology-based occupation or hobby that becomes a source of income. Other definitions may include working remotely regularly (like a call center agent) and working while traveling while exploring new destinations. The difference between using technology to work such as a digital artist, is that the work is based on a deadline and a performance of a task. Finish early and there is more time to explore, versus reporting for work remotely, relying on a laptop and an internet connection to carry out work which usually means considering timezones.

But no matter what the definition used is, OnlyAccount.io says that the digital nomad lifestyle is one that is desired by many millennials, Gen-Y and Zers. In the US and Europe, where the pay conditions are completely different than in Asian countries, one in three digital nomads make between $100,000 (P5.6M) and $250,000 (P14M) a year.

However, an average digital nomad makes only $90,000 (P5.4M) a year. This includes graphic designers, virtual assistants, software developers, social media managers and content creators. Most digital nomads combine remote work to make fulfill their desire for travel while making their living. They make the most of new technologies and can work from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection, which is why Kyle purchased a Starlink kit.

Statistics show 34 percent of surveyed digital nomads make between $50,000 (P2.8M) and $100,000 (P5.6M) a year, while only 6 percent reported earning less than $25,000 (P1.4M) a year. These numbers are still much higher than even what fastfood chain or BPO manager in the Philippines makes in a year.

Analyzed by their education, nine in ten surveyed digital nomads have a higher education, with 54 percent holding a Bachelor’s degree. One-third of respondents said they have a Master’s degree, and only 3 percent a Ph.D. Almost half of all digital nomads in the survey are from the United States. While 7 percent are from the United Kingdom, 5 percent from Russia, and 4 percent from Canada.

Forty-four percent of digital nomads are regular employees of a company that allows working remotely. Another 17 percent work as freelancers, 16 percent as startup founders, and 8 percent as full-time contractors. Then 60 percent of respondents, said they work from the home office, while coworking was the second most-used option with a 15 percent share.

Digital nomads choose their travel location depending on specific factors, including accommodation price, internet speed, safety, and available coworking spaces. The profiles of these digital nomads are the similar. Mostly single or living as a single, between 25 to 40 years old, travels locally at least once a month, abroad, at least 4 times a year.

According to the Nomad List survey, they usually stay for two months in one city and around six to nine months in a country. Kyle is on the fourth month of his six month visa. He does not plan to extend but hop on to Thailand after. However, three times since he arrived he has traveled back to the US, visited friends in Singapore and met a client in Korea.

The Digital Nomad survey also revealed that the United States was the most visited country. Spain and Thailand share second place, with 5 percent of this community staying there. London, Bangkok, and New York City were the top three most visited cities.