Over the past few years, the popularity of remote work has grown significantly. At first, jobs moved to a remote model out of necessity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, recent trends show an increase in work-from-home opportunities, even when going into the office is more feasible. Today, remote positions represent 15% of high-paying jobs, a number up from 4% before the pandemic.
If you think the remote model is a good fit for you, start by preparing yourself with a degree that is likely to get you more work-from-home opportunities. These five fields of study are some of the best when it comes to remote job options:
Information Technology
If you love computer programming and algorithms, information technology is the career for you. Common responsibilities are providing customer support, ensuring network security, and managing digital information. Companies often allow IT experts to work remotely or in a hybrid role because you can easily access technology from home.
To advance your career, consider pursuing a master’s degree to prepare for a leadership role. As you gain experience, you can also become an independent consultant and set your own hours with private clients.
Business
A degree in business prepares you for opportunities in a wide variety of industries, including banking, human resources, healthcare, and non-profit – just to name a few. It also sets you up to advance your education with an MBA to increase your earning potential.
Hundreds of high-paying, nationally renowned companies post remote or hybrid jobs regularly, and that number will only increase as working from home grows more popular. To see an example of some of the careers you could pursue with your business degree, look at these Fortune 500 companies’ remote job postings.
Marketing
One common perk at marketing agencies is the ability to work in a remote or hybrid position. Many companies in the marketing industry pride themselves on forward-thinking, innovative policies – and working from home is the latest in that category. In fact, remote jobs in the marketing field have grown faster than remote jobs in other industries. Getting your bachelor’s degree in marketing is a great first step toward securing a remote position. To set yourself apart, you can also consider specializing in digital strategies. This will give you added experience in evolving technology, social media management, and digital branding and advertising tactics.
Accounting
A bachelor’s degree in accounting will prepare you to be an accountant for a firm or for broader private, government, or non-profit organizations. Most of the work associated with being an accountant is clerical, which means it can be done entirely offsite as long as you have access to the information you need. In a rapidly evolving financial industry, remote opportunities for accountants will continue to grow.
Communication
A communication degree sets you up for a career in almost any industry, whether you want to pursue politics, journalism, business, or even ministry. Many of these jobs have work-from-home opportunities. This degree is an especially appealing route to a remote career because people who have invested in developing effective communication skills can easily adapt to new forms of communication – including those required for working from home.
Working from home is linked to higher productivity and improved performance in employees – and with the right preparation, you can set yourself up to reap these benefits. Best of all, the degrees listed above (along with many others) can be earned entirely online, too. If you want to go from a remote degree to a remote career, check out our online programs.