The “COVID-19 pandemic,” with its compulsory sit-at-home phase, forced many organisations to figure out new ways for their employees to work outside the office. This period also challenged people to become more creative with their roles especially for product and service delivery using technology and well coordinated logistics. For folks like me, who are lucky to be techy, transitioning was automatic: unlike many others who had to go through a lot of learning and adjustments.
Despite the seamless transition for some of us, the lockdown period also created new opportunities and afforded us some learning experience. Being able to do more collaborative work was very intriguing, because we had the opportunity to maximise the potentials of tools like Zoom, Asana, Google Meet etc. for online project planning, strategic meetings and engaging with people very far from us. Business opportunities became closer. Closing of deals were faster because you didn’t have to look at which day a particular client will be physically available for a sit-in meeting. Projecting ideas on screens and getting people’s buy-in became a lot more convenient for entrepreneurs, sales people and business developers.
One of the things that has come to stay after the pandemic period is the different types of job models, which are “Remote Jobs,” “Hybrid Jobs” and “On-site Jobs”. All job websites and ads now state clearly the job model for the openings posted. Our discussion here, especially for sealords, is the turning tides of human resources and employment due to the emergence of remote jobs.
What is a Remote Job?
A remote job refers to a type of employment in which an individual works outside a traditional office setting. Instead of commuting to a physical workplace, remote employees can perform their tasks and responsibilities from a location of their choice, such as their home, a co-working space, a cafe, or any other suitable environment. Remote jobs are made possible by advances in technology, particularly the internet, which allows for communication, collaboration and delivery online.
Simply put; you can work for anybody, from anywhere, in any currency.
Remote jobs encompass a wide range of industries and roles, including but not limited to: Software Development, Content Creation, Customer Service, Marketing and Social Media, Design and Creative, Data Entry and Administrative Tasks, Project Management etc. Remote work has indeed brought about significant changes in HR practices and strategies: hiring and employee engagement, recruitment and onboarding, use of technological tools, flexibility of work policies, performance management, communication and collaboration, compliance and legal considerations, training and development and lots of other areas have undergone shifts..
How about you seeking employment?
My particular interest here is the high rate of unemployed and underemployed Nigerians who are stuck in our bad economy. The current economic situation has caused hardships for even those who have average-paying jobs, how much more the unemployed and underemployed. The good news is that it is not too late for anyone to pick up a remote job. You just have to quickly grow your skills and experience in the required areas. There are some jobs that are relatively easy for the average literate individual to pick up and begin to grow competence.
Personally, I know a few friends who spent about a year learning through online courses, taking exams and positioning themselves for remote jobs. Some had the opportunity to leave the country for greener pastures and these personal developments really helped them to get a head start as soon as they left the country. The skills some of them acquired are not as high up on the difficulty scale as coding or cloud computing or any of the more popularly advertised remote jobs on the internet which demand advance tech skills. These are subtler roles and I will be speaking about two in this article.
One of them requires growing your skills and competence based on your creativity and knack for designing. From my experience, people see designs and art differently, and each person mostly has an idea of how they want their things designed. From how they arrange their home or pick the style for an attire to how they match their outfits or choose one product over another, individuals have preferences. Understanding this is important for the first role I want to discuss, which is a Product designer.
A product designer also referred to as a User Experience (UX) Designer is somebody who oversees the design process of a tech product from start to finish or the improvement of an existing product. The average product designer salary in the United States is US$102,033. Product designer earnings typically range between US$68,000 and US$152,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for product designers is US$49.
The Product Design course is something you can study within 2-3 months. After this, you can get an internship (work for free if possible to gain experience) so you can practice for about 6-12 months. This is an opportunity to build a strong portfolio that can be used as work experience for freelancing jobs or remote work from any part of the world. You probably will start earning something around NGN120,000-NGN150,000 per month in Nigeria. It is up to you to develop yourself to the point where you can compete with UX designers globally and earn as much as them.
The second role requires the ability to plan and follow through with work and that’s the role of a Project Manager. A project manager is a professional who organizes, plans, and executes projects while working within restraints like budgets and schedules. Project managers lead entire teams, define project goals, communicate with stakeholders, and see a project through to its closure.
Google offers a very robust course on Project Management, which covers the different types of methods and technologies used to manage projects, especially when you have to work remotely. This includes the Waterfall, Agile and SCRUM approaches to project management. You will also have free access to the necessary tools to give you a head start in project management. This course is so practical you can start applying the skills not only in your profession but also, in your personal life, at your associations, clubs etc. It is a skill used in a wide range of industries.
I took my project management course on Cousera two years ago. It is a six modular course broken down into a module per month. It took me about 8-9 months to complete it because I had work to do. I am certain those who are not as busy can do this in less than 6 months. An entry-level project manager in the US with less than 2 years of experience typically earns an annual salary within the range of $50,000 to $70,000. These project management jobs can be done remotely.
I believe we all know that nothing comes easy. However, this is a clear pathway that was taken by some people close to me and it worked. About 2 years ago, some of the staff in my office acquired these skills on their own and picked up small jobs in no time. One of them currently works in a field completely out of her area of study in school and she had no prior experience in that field. This happened simply because she took courses online, devoted her time to them and paved a way for herself. She started with some remote jobs and today she is engaged by a multinational. This all happened within a span of 2-3 years.
There are at least four sealords I know, who are currently on this path and I believe they will definitely achieve their goals because the vision and pathway is clear. They are gathering the work experience that these job roles require and would soon be reaping the benefits.
My thought to share this is born out of the fact that I believe in the principle of empowering one person at a time and gradually we will have more strength in the community to do more, help more and reduce the number of unemployed young people in the country. This is also to encourage sealords to have a broader view of employment and not to think only of the traditional on-site model. Rather, they should roll with the tides and adjust their sails to the changing winds of employment.
Please note that I am in no way saying these two roles are the only ones you can build yourself on. I have only stated these two as the ones I have seen more than 20 people (at least 5 are very close to me) pick up and have been able to make successful switches in their careers. I believe this piece would be an eye-opener for you.
If you have more information or better insight you can please share in the comments section.
