Pursuing a degree?
There are two ways you can earn online college credits while travelling with us.
Option 1:
Enquire at your current university about the availability of online classes. They may well have their own classes to offer you, in which case you can enrol in a semester of online classes through them. You will need to make sure that it's viable for you to be taking these classes while you're traveling / living abroad. A couple of things to consider:
- Are they synchronous or asynchronous? If the classes require you to attend live lectures online then it will be difficult to take them from locations that aren't in the same time zone as your university.
- Are they self-paced or on a fixed schedule? When you're traveling, the more flexible a class the better. Having to complete assignments by strict deadlines and take exams at specific times might restrict your life abroad more than you'd like!
- Are they very demanding? If you have a full course load of difficult classes that have you tied to your laptop 10 hours a day, then you might not be able to make the most of your time abroad.
- Are they good value? There's many ways to earn credit of the same value online at a much cheaper price than your university might be charging. Maybe you want to consider some of those options.
Option 2:
If your college doesn’t offer suitable online classes, or you aren’t currently enrolled anywhere, we’ve got you covered! We've collected the best online courses for college credit that you can find on the internet. All the courses listed in our catalog are:
- Widely transferable: Which means you will be able to apply the credits you earn through these courses to your degree.
- Flexible / suitable for traveling: This means they are at a minimum asynchronous, requiring no live online class attendance. No Zoomversity here! Most are also entirely self-paced, so you can take them whenever suits your schedule.
- Affordable: All these providers offer college credit at a fraction of the cost of most universities. They range between $40 and $225 per credit.
Even if your college does have online classes, we would encourage you to explore the courses in our catalog. They're much better suited to taking while traveling than courses delivered by almost every university!
Want to become a Digital Nomad?
The world is changing. The 9 to 5 office job is dying. More and more jobs can be completed entirely online.
Ditch the commute, ditch the arbitrary office hours, and choose the freedom of the Digital Nomad lifestyle.
A Digital Nomad is someone who works online and as a result, can work from anywhere in the world. They're usually either:
- A full time employee that is permitted to work remotely
- A freelancer serving clients all over the world through the internet
- An entrepreneur that is able to run their business online
If you want to join their ranks, you'll need to know practical digital skills such as those listed below. They can be learned for much less than the cost of a college degree, and if you master them, you'll be able to earn money online in no time!
In each section we've recommended some courses. We either have direct experience with these courses ourselves or they have come with a strong recommendation from our network. We do suggest that you do your own research into courses in the space that interests you as there is a whole universe of courses that all offer something slightly different.
Software Developer
Software developers, also known as coders or programmers, are responsible for designing the computer programmes and operating systems that we use in everyday life. This website wouldn't exist without the work of software developers, neither would Facebook, Netflix, your iphone. They all rely on the work of Software developers to function.
It's a fantastic career to get into at the moment. The demand for software developers far outweighs the supply and will continue to for many years to come. It's also a very well paid career, with median incomes around $100,000 per annum.
There's a lot to learn in this domain, and it's not for everyone. But learning the fundamentals of software development is going to serve you no matter what career you pursue.
Recommended courses:
Digital Marketer
Digital Marketers are defined as people who can use the Internet to find new leads and get customers...aka money. It's probably the most valuable skill that's needed by businesses in the digital age. All the below are created and managed by Digital Marketers:
- Facebook & Instagram ads
- Google ads
- Social media content
- Blog posts
- Affiliate marketing
Almost every business on the planet needs the expertise of a digital marketer so it's an excellent area to learn, and you'll never be short of opportunities to apply your skills either for your own ventures, or somebody else's.
It's a good idea to get familiar with all aspects of digital marketing first and then start applying what you've learnt to your own business ideas or other people's as a freelancer.
Recommended courses:
IG Ivy League
FB Marketing School
Graphic Designer
If you’re a creative person, then being a graphic designer is great way to monetise your artistic talents. Companies of all kinds will always need designs for logos, promotional materials, websites, merchandise, and more, meaning there are lots of opportunities.
To make it as a digital nomad designer, you’ll want to be familiar with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. If you want to design websites, you’ll also need to know HTML & CSS. There are many types of graphic design including brand design, website design, and product design. If you're starting out you'll want to learn a little bit about all types and then choose a niche to specialise in.
It's a perfect skill to learn if you want to be a Digital Nomad as your value is in the designs you create, which can be done anywhere, typically using design software.
Recommended courses:
Virtual Assistant
Virtual assisting is an amazing way to kick start an online career and income without a ton of experience or tech skills. It's essentially the same as an executive assistant/secretary, but online! They complete all manner of administrative tasks for business like bookkeeping, social media management, customer service support, light graphic design work, the list is endless!
Recommended courses:
.png)
90 Day VA
Copywriter
Copywriting is the process of writing advertising promotional materials. Copywriters are responsible for the text on brochures, billboards, websites, emails, advertisements, catalogs, and more.
This text is known as “copy.” Copy is everywhere, it’s part of a $2.3 trillion industry worldwide. Unlike news or editorial writing, copywriting is all about getting the reader to take action. That action might be to make a purchase, sign up to an email list, or engage with a product, service, or company.
Copywriting requires zero qualifications, it's all about results! There are successful copywriters with college degrees and some who didn't finish high school. Some copywriters are only 18 and some are retired. Some copywriters are stay-at-home moms and some left six-figure corporate jobs.
The only thing you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Everything else can be learned., you have all the qualifications you need to get start
Copywriting can be an extremely lucrative career. If you're highly effective and you pick the right niche to focus on you can earn more than 6 figures a year!
Recommended courses:
E-Commerce
E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services using the internet, although it's most often understood as the selling of physical products online.
There are a few clearly defined types of E-commerce:
Retail and Wholesale
The standard form of E-commerce is when a seller manufactures their own products and sells them online to either a consumer or another business. They handle everything from design of the product to handling inventory, and finally shipping the product to the consumer. They may sell them on Amazon, or through their own web store that might be hosted on a ecommerce platform like Shopify, specifically designed to build websites to sell products online through.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is selling products that you as the seller never come into contact with. The customer orders the product online through your store and then the product gets shipped directly from the manufacturer or an intermediary. The most common method of dropshipping is Amazon FBA (fullfillment by Amazon). The intermediary in this case is Amazon. All you have to do is drive the customer to your product and Amazon handles the rest!
Subscription
Subscription E-commerce is when the customer signs up to receive a physical product on a regular basis, typically monthly, until they choose to cancel. Successful examples of this are Blue Apron, Mentorbox, and Birchbox.
Digital Products
E-commerce doesn't have to be physical! Technically digital products fall into the category of E-commerce too. The most obvious form of digital product sold online is an info-product, typically a book or an online course.
recommended courses:
Amazing Seller Machine
The Amazon Method
Ecom Elites
Teaching English Online
For a native English speaker, teaching english online is probably the easiest way to earn an online / remote income. the barriers to entry are very low. You usually need a bachelors degree (the subject is unimportant) and a TEFL, and that's it!
TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. It's a standard course that teaches you the fundamentals of teaching. There are many levels that you can qualify at but often employers don't specify which you need so the cheapest shortest course can work!
There are many companies that hire teachers. For many you'll be teaching Chinese students (both adults and children) through an online video connection. Don't worry, you don't need to know their language! The best employers even provide you with lesson plans, so you don't even have to prepare for each class.
recommended courses:
Premier TEFL
i to i
VIP Kid
Create your own curriculum
There are courses in anything and everything on the web from knitting to neuroscience. And there a number of education platform that amalgamate these courses into searchable databases.
We've seen many Edumads pick courses from these platforms, to learn topics they're interested in without the incentive of becoming a digital nomad, or obtaining a degree. Purely learning for the sake of learning. What a wonderful concept!
All their classes have been created in collaboration with corporations related to that field, ensuring that content is relevant to the real world. Payment is on a per-class basis.
A monthly membership fee gives you access to the whole catalogue of classes.
These courses are as close as you’ll come to attending university, with structured class time and verified certificates on completion for a fee.
It follows a subscription model, with your monthly membership giving your access to the whole catalogue of courses.
