Remote work is here to stay, and web developers are leading the charge. What’s better than a digital nomad lifestyle where you must complete a couple of tasks in a day while sipping on a margarita on a sunny beach in the Bahamas?
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The IT world embraced remote work like no other sector. And the opportunities keep piling up:
– Average salaries for seniors are over $100k a year.
– Remote work will continue rising.
– A combination of tech and soft skills is the key to success.
– Massive 2024 job growth incoming for developers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States projected close to 35,000 new positions through 2032, which is four times the national job growth rate and represents a 16 percent increase.
All you need is to capitalize on the opportunity.
Pros and Cons Of Remote Work For Web Developers
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There are many benefits to going out of the confines of a traditional IT office. As a remote web developer, you’ll have more control over your work-life balance. And a slew of benefits that include:
– More opportunities. With a solid portfolio, you can access jobs at companies worldwide. Many on-site employees don’t have that privilege.
– Saving money. More of the money you earn will end up in your pockets. You won’t have to travel to the office and back. You can also cook at home or relocate to a cheaper place.
– Flexibility. The only thing you need as a remote developer is an internet connection. You can work whenever and wherever.
– More productivity. Without the office chatter distracting you (as well as the office drama), you can sit down and do the work.
All of these pros sound like a dream. But there are still a few cons that you need to be aware of before you ditch the office:
– You take the work home. If you work a 9 to 5, work stops at 5. But when you’re remote, it can extend into the night or even on weekends. You need to set work limits.
– It’s lonely. Without anyone to talk to face to face, you might get lonely quickly. That might negatively impact your performance and affect your social life.
– Distractions exist. When you’re at home, your pet might want to play with you. The TV is on, and a cool new show catches your attention. You have to be strict with yourself to complete the work.
– Communication. Chat apps are not the same as talking to a colleague over the water dispenser. You need to schedule virtual calls instead of tapping them on the shoulder and going over a problem.
– Technical issues. If your internet starts lagging during an important presentation, you’ll need to reschedule and waste everyone’s time. You need to have hardware backups and ensure a stable internet connection.
With all that covered, it’s time to explore how this career will grow over the next few years.
Web Development Future Trends
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The elephant in the room is AI. Do you really need to learn to code if AI can do it for you? The answer is yes. Just like AI cannot replace a human writer, it cannot replace a human developer. AI is a tool you need to learn to use and not a magic wand that will make your remote work a 5-minute ChatGPT prompt session.
Businesses are heavily relying on web apps, and there will be massive demand for web developers who specialize in:
– Web3 and blockchain integrations.
– Cybersecurity.
– Artificial intelligence.
– Augmented reality.
– Data Science.
– Machine learning.
– UI/UX design.
– DevOps tooling for cloud and serverless infrastructure.
– Fullstack and backend programmers who know Ruby, PHP, Python, and Node.js.
– Frontend JavaScript programmers who work with Vue, Angular, and React.
You only need to pick one of these niches and specialize in it. One thing that many developers forget about is focusing on soft skills. Mixing your technical expertise with soft skills will skyrocket your remote work opportunities.
Essential Issues Of Remote Work
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The biggest issue with remote work is cybersecurity. Breaches have been on a parabolic rise ever since the pandemic because the whole world shifted to remote work. That still is a problem for many remote workers.
Imagine this scenario. You’re coding on a beach in the Bahamas in the only café with a stable internet connection within a five-mile radius. There’s a high chance that someone else will be in the café to use that internet connection too. The Wi-Fi is accessible to everyone, so you just connect and don’t give it a second thought. And that’s where the problems begin.
Anyone can launch a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack on an unsecured public network and see what you’re browsing. It’s like asking a cybercriminal to hack you. Your IP address will be fully visible, and they can do whatever they want.
But what does my IP have to do with getting hacked?
Everything. If a cybercriminal gets a hold of your IP address, they can track your web activity, launch a DDoS attack, hack your device, share files, sell it to someone else, impersonate you, track your location, send spam, and the list goes on.
Every remote worker has a target on their back. If you’re out of the office, a cybercriminal looks at you as a way to get to your organization and start wreaking havoc. So, you need to equip yourself with the best cybersecurity practices and tools to ensure your organization’s safety and protection.
It all starts with a virtual private network (VPN), which masks your IP address and encrypts all your data. That hacker in the café in the Bahamas won’t be able to do anything to you, and they’ll be forced to wait for another victim. After the VPN, you need to ensure you have an updated firewall and anti-malware software. You might click on a malicious link or start downloading a corrupted file.
Last but not least, there is password security. You need to have a different password for every account, change it every three months, and ensure it is 15+ upper- and lower-case characters.
