Becoming a remote developer

Becoming a remote developer is not for everyone. But for a lot of us, it is the ideal way to live the life of which we have dreamed.

It can offer freedom from the office and commute as well as potentially being able to make your own schedule in regards to the hours you work.

However, it is also highly competitive as you are not competing with other developers in your current location, but with developers from all around the globe.

Also, you must be very organized and self-motivated, an excellent communicator both verbally and in writing. You must be comfortable and flexible in conducting meetings and resolving issues via telephone and using tools such as Slack, Skype and Google Hangouts.

Generally, most of these opportunities are with startup companies so if you prefer a nice safe job in the enterprise environment, remote development is probably not for you.

Startup companies in general are looking for a certain personality and skills profile with particular skills being dependent on the company and product which they are developing.

One of the common qualities almost all software companies and in particular startups are looking for these days include contributions to open source software. This shows that you don't only work for the love of money as well as showing how you work remotely on a project in which you have minimal contact with other developers.

A Github account with contributions to other's projects is a great start. If you have your own project on Github that may be even a better way to show your stuff.

Other ways to get noticed include building your own personal site, perhaps using technologies new to you, to show who you are and a portfolio of your work. Answering questions on StackOverflow and completing a code boot camp to upgrade your language skills are also excellent ways to show you mean business.

Once again, these things show you are invested in software development and have the desire to continue learning even when you aren't being paid.

Although being an expert in a particular technology is highly desirable, knowing various languages is also valued so don't limit or box yourself into a single tech stack.

There are many articles and research out there that deal with the most popular languages currently, including what are expected to be the hottest going forward but that is beyond the scope of this article.

I will leave you with what I believe is the most important language you can learn right now: JavaScript.