Best Work-From-Home Jobs to Apply to in 2021
If you're like me, and freelance, task-oriented remote jobs like article writing, data entry, transcription, or professional survey taking (yep, that exists), aren't your thing - don't worry. There are more full-time remote opportunities than ever before that offer you the freedom to manage your own time, the security of consistent monthly income, the support of a team, and the promise of growth. In fact, we've got close to 300 on PowerToFly.
So, if you're looking for a remote opportunity in 2021 that will push you to develop professionally, look no further than our list of the 10 best work-from-home jobs. And by best, we mean fun, challenging roles that will help you grow, while making a respectable income.
All the jobs listed have average salaries between 45 and 119k, and have average or higher-than-average growth potential (based off of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' predictions for growth from 2018 to 2028 and/or LinkedIn's 2020 Emerging Jobs Report).
10 Best Work-From-Home (Remote) Jobs for 2021
Jobs sorted from highest to lowest average salary. (Salary data taken from ZipRecruiter, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and/or the U.S. BLS depending on availability and specificity to remote roles.)
1. Data Scientist
Who It's Good For: Detail oriented stats masters skilled at identifying and understanding trends.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Data Science Roles. Plus, watch this Chat & Learn with a data insights engineer to learn more about data-driven careers.
Why You Can Do It Remotely: With more data than ever before at our fingertips, companies know the value of hiring folks who know "big data" as more than just a buzzword. True stats buffs are hard to come by, so expertise often outweighs location.
Growth 2018-2028: 30.7%
Annual Growth: 37% (Data Scientist made LinkedIn's List of the top 15 emerging job for 2020)
Average Annual Salary: $119,000
2. Software Developer/Engineer
Who It's Good For: Self-directed (and disciplined) coding enthusiasts who love problem solving and having the freedom to work whenever they feel most focused.
Sound Like You? Check Out: 50+ Software Developer/Engineer jobs on PowerToFly and be sure to check out this Q&A with software engineer, Kasey Champion to learn about her experience working at a fully remote company and get her tips for acing technical interviews!)
Why It Can Be Done Remotely: Arguably, not only can programming be done remotely - it should be! Why? Writing code requires undisturbed blocks of time rarely found in traditional workplaces.
As computer scientist and entrepreneur Paul Graham observed in his essay on makers' vs. managers' schedules:
"Most powerful people are on the manager's schedule...But there's another way of using time that's common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can't write or program well in units of an hour. That's barely enough time to get started."
Office culture was designed with managers' schedules in mind, and thus makes adhering to a maker's schedule extremely difficult. Remote work, alternatively, is much more conducive to this. After all, it's a lot easier to snooze your Slack notifications than it is to ignore your boss literally hovering over your shoulder.
Growth for 2018-2028: 21%
Annual Growth: 35% for full stack engineers, 30% for backend developers, 25% for javascript developers (all three made LinkedIn's top 15 emerging jobs)
Average Annual Salary: $111,781
3. Designer (Web, Graphic, Product, or UI/UX)
Who It's Good For: Designers who do their best work independently or from the comfort of their own home.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Design Roles
Why You Can Do It Remotely: No doubt there's value in brainstorming with your team, but once you know the needs of a project, most design work can be done independently and then shared. With tools like Zoom, Jira, and Slack, it's easier than ever before to share your work, get feedback, and hit deadlines. (And, like programmers/developers, designers are also more likely to benefit from a maker's schedule!)
Growth for 2018-2028: The BLS predicts only 3% growth, but others predict significantly higher growth based on the length of time UI/UX roles stay open before being filled.
Average Annual Salary (for UX Design): $98,816 according to data from ZipRecruiters
Average Median Salary (for Graphic Design): $50,370 in 2018, according to the U.S. BLS (not specific to remote roles)
4. Product Manager
Who It's Good For: Anyone who loves big-picture strategy and building products that users will love.
(If you enjoy more nitty-gritty task oversight, consider project management instead — both roles can be done remotely! You can learn more about the differences between the two PM roles here.)
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Product Manager Jobs (Plus, practice these product manager interview questions to help you land the gig!)
Why You Can Do It Remotely: As more and more software engineers and other tech professionals work remotely, it only makes sense that the PMs coordinating with them work remotely. If you're a virtual communication wiz comfortable communicating online and using tools like Zoom, GitHub, Jyra, Slack, and Asana (the list goes on...), then you're all set!
Annual Growth: 24%*
*Based on expected growth for Product Owner from LinkedIn's emerging jobs report. The BLS doesn't currently track growth specifically for Product Manager positions.
Average Annual Salary: $81,149
5. P.A., Nurse, or Nurse Practitioner
Who It's Good For: An experienced medical practitioner ready to swap 12 hour shifts for a more flexible schedule.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Nurse Jobs and subscribe to job alerts from Flatiron Health for future remote roles!
Why You Can Do It Remotely: New technology is changing the way healthcare is delivered. You can provide wellness and medical education, patient-centered care, and treatment virtually, all while collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, physicians, and medical assistants.
Growth for 2018-2028 (Nurse Practitioner): 26%
Average Annual Salary (Remote Nurse): $73,374
6. Technical Writer
Who It's Good For: Top-notch communicators (writers) who can explain complex topics succinctly and clearly. (It's helpful if you have expertise in at least one technical subject.)
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Technical Writer JobsTechnical Writer Jobs
Why It Can Be Done Remotely: Like programmers, technical writers are makers - they need large, undisturbed blocks of time to create content. Technology and the nature of remote work can help ensure writers are able to communicate efficiently with their teams and organize meetings when they'll be constructive, not distracting.
Growth for 2018-2028: 8%
Average Annual Salary: $68,,454
7. Customer Success Manager
Who It's Good For: Good communicators who love helping others and problem solving.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Customer Success Roles
Why It Can Be Done Remotely: Most customer service needs can be met over the phone and online. With a computer and good internet connection (and enough patience), you can handle all your customers' needs from wherever you are.
Growth for 2020: 34% annual growth rate (The BLS doesn't share data specific to customer success, but thanks to the growth of SaaS, Customer Success Specialist made LinkedIn's 2020 list of the top 15 emerging jobs)
Average Annual Salary: $67,3718. Marketing Manager
Who It's Good For: Folks who are equal parts creative and analytical.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Marketing Manager Jobs on PowerToFly
Why You Can Do It Remotely: Analyzing industry trends and crafting strategy can be done from anywhere. And with teams becoming more and more spread out, you can coordinate cross-functionally with sales people, engineers, and more using Zoom, Slack, and other online tools.
Growth for 2018-2028: 8%
Average Annual Salary: $62,788 (according to data for remote professionals from ZipRecruiters)
Average Median Salary: $134,290 in 2018, according to the U.S. BLS (not specific to remote roles)
9. Recruiter
Who It's Good For: A people-person skilled in market research, project/time management, and negotiation.
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote Recruiting Roles
Why You Can Do It Remotely: As remote work takes off and fully remote teams become more common, it only makes sense that recruiters at these companies would be remote as well. Although recruiting saw a dip at the start of the pandemic, the number of remote recruiting roles is steadily increasing as companies ramp back up their hiring goals—we have hundreds of open remote recruiter roles on PowerToFly!
Growth for 2018-2028: 5%
Average Annual Salary: $59,474
10. Sales Development Representative
Who It's Good For: A self-starter with previous experience or an interest in Sales, or anyone who's just starting out and eager to prove themselves!
Sound Like You? Check Out: Remote SDR Roles
Why You Can Do It Remotely: You don't need to be in a particular location to make sales calls, deliver pitches, send follow-up emails, or manage your sales team. And if you have to fly from an office to meet a client, you can just as easily fly from your hometown.
Growth for 2018-2028: 5%
Annual Growth: 34% (LinkedIn lists SDR as one of its top 15 emerging roles for 2020)
Median Annual Salary (not specific to remote) for SDRs: $45,937
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Interested in one of the roles above? Check out these resources for landing your dream remote job and get ready to reap the full benefits of remote work in 2021 - doing what you like, where you like. Good luck!
[A version of this article was originally published on Dec. 19, 2018]
Best Work-From-Home Companies 2021
We hope that our list of best work-from-home companies for 2021 will put you one step closer to finding a job that affords you the flexibility you crave, while avoiding the common pitfalls of some remote jobs (such as limited support/resources/benefits, poor communication, etc.).
As always, our list includes a mixture of totally remote and hybrid work-from-home companies. The 20 companies below were selected because:
- They offer flexible work-from-home roles (and plan to continue to do so in 2021)
- They know how to make remote workers feel like they're part of the team
- They offer competitive compensation & benefits
- They're committed to fostering diverse and inclusive workspaces
PowerToFly's Best Work-From-Home Companies 2021:
Zapier (100% distributed team)
What They Do
- Zapier is on a mission to democratize automation by making it incredibly easy and universal. They do that by connecting the apps you already use at work - apps like Trello, the GSuite, Hubspot, and 2000+ more - to automate your workflows and move data between them.
Why We Like Them
Their team is the essence of remote work - living and working across 30+ countries. They meet as a team during annual retreats and discuss everything from their hiring process to team dynamics to combatting unintentional bias. You can read more about their diversity and inclusion efforts here. Plus, they offer:
- Competitive salary (they don't use remote as an excuse to pay less!)
- Profit sharing
- 2 annual company retreats to awesome places
- 14 weeks paid leave for new parents
- Unlimited vacation policy (2 weeks REQUIRED!)
Who They're Looking For
Elastic (distributed by design)
What They Do
- "We're the company behind the Elastic Stack — that's Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash. From stock quotes to Twitter streams, Apache logs to WordPress blogs, we help people explore and analyze their data differently using the power of search."
Why We Like Them
Elastic is driven by diversity, and understands that "life happens in the background while we have meetings and catch up on email. This might mean a kid on your lap as you give a demo from the couch, a dog playing fetch beside your desk, or a partner banging the pots and pans in the background while making dinner." You can learn more about their approach to managing distributed teams here.
They also offer great benefits like:
- Toast to your health - Health coverage for you and your family in many locations.
- Craft your calendar - Flexible location and schedule for many roles.
- Embrace parenthood - Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave.
- Savo(u)r time for you - Generous number of vacation days each year.
- Amplify your impact - Double your charitable giving — we match up to $1500 (or local currency equivalent).
- Give back your time - Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects you love.
Who They're Looking For
Hopin (fully remote)
What They Do
- Hopin is the first all-in-one live online events platform where attendees can learn, interact, and connect with people from anywhere in the world.
Why We Like Them
"We are a remote team of passionate individuals committed to improving the way people connect online. Just as Hopin events are creative, diverse, and empowering, so too is our company — we believe collaboration is the key to success, no matter how many hats we have to wear.
Each team member has a huge opportunity to make a big impact, and together, as a distributed and connected team, we support each other in every area of the company to achieve it."
Who They're Looking For
DigitalOcean (remote reliant)
What They Do
- DigitalOcean is a dynamic, high-growth technology company that serves a robust and passionate community of developers, teams, and businesses around the world. They're on a mission to simplify cloud computing so developers and their teams can spend more time building software that changes the world.
Why We Like Them
They have a "no jerks" rule and take it very seriously. They're also committed to being a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone: "we are intentional about making sure people feel respected, supported, and connected at work—regardless of who you are or where you live. Diversity fosters innovation and helps us provide the best experience possible to our community." They also offer:
- Competitive compensation
- 401K with employer match
- Remote employees have the opportunity to take an all-expense-paid trip to our office to get quality in-person time with the team at least once a year
Who They're Looking For
Guru (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Guru is a dynamic, fast growing start-up committed to reinventing the way people connect with meaningful information at work.
Why We Like Them
Guru is committed to creating a positive, inclusive, and knowledge-driven culture. They also offer:
- Competitive salary
- Employee Stock Option Plan
- 401k Program
Who They're Looking For
Contrast Security (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Contrast Security is the world's leading provider of security technology that enables software applications to protect themselves against cyberattacks, heralding the new era of self-protecting software.
Why We Like Them
With a global team of 100+, Contrast understands how to work flexibly and efficiently across timezones. They empower team members to solve complex challenges and shape company culture.
Who They're Looking For
Pluralsight (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Pluralsight is the technology skills platform organizations and individuals in 150+ countries count on to innovate faster and create progress for the world.
Why We Like Them
They've pledged to drive significant, lasting social impact by equipping people and nonprofits with essential technology skills, and they don't let fear, egos, or drama distract them from their mission. They also offer:
- 100% premiums paid medical coverage
- Unlimited paid time off
- Remote Workspace Reimbursement program
- Tuition reimbursement
Who They're Looking For
Chainalysis (globally distributed)
What They Do
- Chainalysis offers cryptocurrency investigation and compliance solutions to global law enforcement agencies, regulators, and businesses as they work together to fight illicit cryptocurrency activity.
Why We Like Them
A globally distributed team, they understand the ins and outs of remote and asynchronous work. They also offer great benefits like:
- Health insurance coverage for you and your family
- 15 vacation days
- 14 holidays including International Women's Day, Juneteenth, Harvey Milk Day, and International Migrant's Day
Who They're Looking For
ActZero.ai (remote friendly)
What They Do
- ActZero's mission is simple: stop cyber threats, protect the world.
Why We Like Them
They understand work-life balance ("We know that all people need time away to recharge and focus on their personal lives. As such, we request that you utilize Do Not Disturb features when you are off for the day, and we maintain core business hours for scheduling meetings and working sessions so you can keep your personal time your own"), and their culture and benefits help to make it a reality:
- "Unlimited Vacation: We want our employees to take as much vacation as they need to maintain their physical and mental well-being. You will receive unlimited vacation, and are actively encouraged to utilize it.
- Monthly Wellness Stipend: We believe that wellness encompasses physical and mental health. Therefore, we offer a monthly stipend usable toward a host of things to make your life less stressful outside of the office, like child care expenses, dog walking or even our Corporate Class Pass plan.
- Health/Vision/Dental: We want you to know that your insurance is available when you need it most. As such, we offer three generous and comprehensive health care plans to fit your needs. We pay up to 90% of the plan cost for both you and your family.
- Flexible Scheduling: In line with our focus on Work/Life Balance, we offer flexible hours to allow for you to take care of tasks and yourself or your family as necessary. Being an in-office culture does not mean "everyone works 9-5" and we expect some variation as life demands. Schedules are discussed and approved with your manager, and we are happy to work with you when adjustments need to be made."
Who They're Looking For
Equinix Metal (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Equinix Metal™ is the result of a unique combination. In 2020, Equinix acquired Packet, a bare metal leader and champion of cloud native, open-source, and developer ecosystems. Equinix was on its own journey, investing in metal internally to help digital leaders more easily participate in its unique ecosystem. Packet and Equinix joined together with a vision for foundational infrastructure. The result is Equinix Metal, a globally-available bare metal "as-a-service" that can be deployed and interconnected in minutes. Underpinning our product is a deep passion for building ecosystems, a strong set of core values, and an amazing team.
Why We Like Them
Equinix is committed to building an inclusive culture in which our LGBTQ+ employees and all who support equality in sexual orientation and gender identity feel that they are safe, they belong, and they matter. They also support their global team with great health and financial benefits.
Who They're Looking For
Gainsight (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Gainsight is a venture-backed, fast-growing tech company revolutionizing Customer Success for businesses.
Why We Like Them
Gainsight believes that diversity breeds creativity and that "your job should never be a barrier to your happiness—it should be an avenue to achieve it." On review site Comparably, women gave Gainsight's culture an A+ (it also got an A+ for diversity). Plus, Gainsight offers:
- Medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, and life insurance
- Paid maternity and paternity leave
- 401k after first quarter of employment
- Flexible PTO
Who They're Looking For
Stack Overflow (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Stack's mission is to help developers and technologists write the script of the future. They are an open community for anyone that codes.
Why We Like Them
40% remote pre-pandemic and wholly remote until at least July 2021, Stack Overflow is committed to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all employees feel valued and respected. (Learn more about their commitment here.)
They also empower their team members to do their best work by offering benefits like:
- Home office reimbursements and internet stipends
- Paid parental leave
- An annual professional development budget of up to $2,500 for continuing education, conferences, and memberships
- Full health coverage for you and your family. That means that Stack Overflow pays 100% of your premiums.
Who They're Looking For
Mural (remote friendly)
What They Do
- MURAL is a digital workspace for visual collaboration.
Why We Like Them
As the designers of a collaboration software that enables modern teams to solve challenges together visually, MURAL understands how to help their own team collaborate virtually, as well! They're growing quickly (in 2018, Inc. Magazine named MURAL one of America's top 500 fastest growing private companies) and are looking for more collaborative folks to join their team!
Who They're Looking For
Karat (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Karat is on a mission to engineer a better technical interview and assess the world's talent.
Why We Like Them
Part of their mission is to remove bias from the hiring process. Plus, they want you to work from wherever you work best and will pay for the equipment you need to make that a reality. They also offer:
- Meaningful equity
- 100% coverage for health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited time off
Who They're Looking For
Help Scout (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Help Scout is the messaging platform designed to keep your customers happy and your team in sync.
Why We Like Them
Help Scout is a remote-first company with about 105 people in 74 cities all over the world. "We come from diverse backgrounds and are united by an enthusiasm for great products and delightful customer experiences." Plus, they offer great benefits like:
- Paid parental leave, including adoption
- Flexible vacation
- Personal development stipend
- International benefit stipend
Who They're Looking For
Smartsheet (remote friendly)
What They Do
- Smartsheet delivers a leading cloud-based platform for work execution, empowering organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale, resulting in more efficient processes and better business outcomes.
Why We Like Them
Smartsheet doesn't just talk about diversity and inclusion — Comparably named Smartsheet one of its best companies for diversity and its CEO one of the best CEOs for women in 2019. Smartsheet also offers:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision with fully paid premiums
- 15 vacation days per year to start (with unlimited rollover), flexible sick time, 10 paid holidays, and paid parental leave
- Competitive pay, an Employee Stock Purchase Program with an option to purchase Smartsheet (SMAR) stock at a 15% discount, and a 401k with traditional and Roth options.
Who They're Looking For
Avaaz (fully remote)
What They Do
- Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change.
Why We Like Them
Our cofounder Milena Berry used to be Avaaz's CTO -- she can vouch first-hand for how inclusive and multi-lingual (17 languages and counting!) they are. Plus, they offer:
- Sustainable salaries
- Excellent work-life balance
Who They're Looking For
RebelMouse (fully remote)
What They Do
- RebelMouse is a revolutionary new all-in-one platform for supercharging content, growing audiences and building loyal and lasting communities.
Why We Like Them
RebelMouse's leadership takes flexibility and diversity seriously. Their founder and CEO, Andrea Breanna, is trans and sets the tone to provide a safe, positive, and loving environment.
Who They're Looking For
Wikimedia Foundation (fully remote)
What They Do
- Wikimedia builds technology to help people everywhere access Wikipedia, across devices and in nearly 300 languages.
Why We Like Them
They look to offer an optimal remote experience by providing equipment including a laptop, monitor, plus a one-time stipend to cover any additional needs to make sure you have the best work from home experience. Wikimedia also offers great benefits to their U.S. employees, including:
- Fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for employees and their eligible families.
- Family-friendly policies: Includes 100% paid new parent leave for seven weeks, plus an additional five weeks for pregnancy.
- Wellness program: $1800 annually for fitness memberships, babysitting, continuing education, student loans, and more.
- Professional development: We offer course reimbursements, in-house sharing sessions, language program reimbursements, and other opportunities.
- Retirement: 401(k) retirement plan with matched contributions up to 4% of annual salary.
- Time off: Includes vacation days, sick leave, and volunteer time. To make sure there is shared time off every month, we offer 19 holidays per year.
Who They're Looking For
MoveOn (fully remote)
What They Do
- MoveOn is a diverse and vibrant community of millions of people working together to create progressive change in America.
Why We Like Them
MoveOn takes care of your home office, providing a cell phone and internet stipend, a monthly home office subsidy, and everything you need to set up your home office. MoveOn also understands the value of putting its team first, and to do that, they offer:
- Competitive salary
- Full medical, dental and vision care costs for employees and their children, as well as partial coverage for spouses and domestic partners.
- 401(k) retirement benefits with employer contribution, for when you're done changing the world (for a living, at least).
- "We want you to take time off! We work hard and fight for important causes, but we also realize the need to take time to recharge. That's why we offer four weeks of paid vacation per year, 10 sick days, 6 flexible holidays, and 4 all-staff holidays, on top of the flexible schedule that comes with working in a virtual office."
- 18 weeks paid full-time off (for birth, adoption, and foster care placement) plus 4 weeks of 4-day weeks upon return.
- And more!
Who They're Looking For:
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Don't see what you're looking for? Check out a fill list of 500+ open remote roles here!
