Viable Professions While At Sea

[NPCampbell]

Lots of software development related jobs can be done remotely. You can routinely work offline as long as you are able to check in/out code every few days and you can create a local test environment.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by laika

I do web development with a small network of US-based clients. An unlocked phone with a local SIM card and cellular booster onboard helps extend the range where a data signal can be picked up from anchor. It's surprising how ubiquitous connectivity is in this day and age.

That work can be done offline and the changes uploaded in bulk. HTML, XML, etc are fairly small and compressible. This allows for limited access and bandwidth.

Even development (programming) and graphics design can be done offline. Graphic design will require more bandwidth to download/upload files.

Some traditional means of income are residual income streams from rental property and returns on investments.

[Davy J]

...someone has stolen his other 8 posts

He has them, they're here in this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...at-212647.html


As a reoccurring theme to these dreamer threads, the OP has no sailing experience, no boat, no source of income other than their land based job.....

Wants us to tell them how to get the boat and sail around the world and make a living while doing it.............

[Scaramanga F25]

Why would you want to become an illegal alien and take a local's job.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by Davy J

He has them, they're here in this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...at-212647.html

Yep, as i said weird as they are no longer in his profile.....

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Davy J

As a reoccurring theme to these dreamer threads, the OP has no sailing experience, no boat, no source of income other than their land based job.....

Agree...


Just let us do your homework, please.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Davy J

He has them, they're here in this thread:

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...at-212647.html


As a reoccurring theme to these dreamer threads, the OP has no sailing experience, no boat, no source of income other than their land based job.....

Wants us to tell them how to get the boat and sail around the world and make a living while doing it.............

Originally Posted by hzcruiser

Agree...


Just let us do your homework, please.

I spent some time on his other thread coming up with these suggestions which worked for us. We're presently living his dream life and have been for the past seven years and he wants to know how to do it, yet..... ignores the advice because it probably isn't what he wants to hear. I'm not surprised.

"1. Develop or be born with a good work ethic. When not on the boat, I work 70-80 hours per week at something I enjoy and can always come back to if I needed some extra money. I’ve always been like this.

2. You (the OP) set a 5-8 year timeline. My timeline was and is always looking 20-30 years ahead in order to achieve goals all along the way, I don’t have singular goals. I’m now 61, the planning started in my early 20’s and the voyage into boating in my mid 50’s.

3. Surround youself with other ambitious, self-starters and don’t let the “takers” drag you down and talk you into lowering your expectations or goals.

4. Always aim high, because if you miss.... you’re still likely to hit someplace on the target.

5. Only hang around with positive people, life’s too short to waste time with negative people.

6. Buy a starter boat like the 11ft Kite we learned on back in our early 20’s.

7. Do something good each day for someone without expecting anything in return, it’ll teach you compasion and humility. Think of it as a “good karma” savings account that will pay dividends someday.

8. Good luck and don’t let setbacks stop you from moving forward.

9. Don’t buy a house and drive cheap basic transportation cars.

10. Develop rental income."

[thunderhoof]

I will let you in on my plan because I think I will have trouble executing it. My original idea was to do it from a comfortable apartment overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice but I believe you could do it from a cruising boat. All you need is a reliable internet connection (could be satellite).
My idea is to be a supertanker broker. These ships move around the world and need to be scheduled / coordinated regularly.
My guess is that your fees could be in the order of $30,000 US for each completed connection. That would mean in 2-3 days you could collect enough for a year's cruising.
My own personal issue that prevents me from entering this profession is that I am not a close relative of a middle-Eastern shipping magnate.
Good luck with whatever you do. The sky's the limit.

[gonesail]

Originally Posted by NPCampbell

Lots of software development related jobs can be done remotely. You can routinely work offline as long as you are able to check in/out code every few days and you can create a local test environment.

i have never seen anything like this as a software developer. all of my work was done in a local secure network not open to the internet. creating a local test environment would have been almost impossible. also the warm body in the cubicle syndrome is still alive and well from what i have experienced.

[JC Reefer]

Originally Posted by thunderhoof

My idea is to be a supertanker broker. These ships move around the world and need to be scheduled / coordinated regularly.
My guess is that your fees could be in the order of $30,000 US for each completed connection. That would mean in 2-3 days you could collect enough for a year's cruising.

^^^ [emoji857][emoji108][emoji1417]

OP stated he was into finance. I’m sure there is some kind of software he or perhaps his wife used in their jobs.

Maybe something inline with handling trouble shooting tickets regarding the work they are currently involved in.

Think of a virtual assistant but for finance. They must be out there.

[LF4]

I think I am as confused as you are.

Originally Posted by IslandHopper

Yep, as i said weird as they are no longer in his profile.....

[tp12]

Originally Posted by gonesail

i have never seen anything like this as a software developer. all of my work was done in a local secure network not open to the internet. creating a local test environment would have been almost impossible. also the warm body in the cubicle syndrome is still alive and well from what i have experienced.

Bitbucket, Sourceforge ... plenty of online code repositories and plenty of ways to create local test environments with virtual machines etc. I find a good mix of companies who allow remote working or have 24 hour (follow the sun or offshore) dev teams and, as you say, would rather a warm body at a desk.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by gonesail

i have never seen anything like this as a software developer. all of my work was done in a local secure network not open to the internet. creating a local test environment would have been almost impossible. also the warm body in the cubicle syndrome is still alive and well from what i have experienced.

Ancient work experience.

GitHub. Toptal, Upwork, etc.

There are lots and lots of opportunities for making money remotely in software development.

Those places even have work for non tech people in marketing, design, consulting, assistant stuff

[LF4]

Thanks everyone.

I think I have a pretty good idea of what I could do...and probably make more money that I currently make in my current land based profession when we make the transition.

Remote consulting in my field is certainly a thing and I have worked with professionals that do it.

Originally Posted by Chotu

Ancient work experience.

GitHub. Toptal, Upwork, etc.

There are lots and lots of opportunities for making money remotely in software development.

Those places even have work for non tech people in marketing, design, consulting, assistant stuff

[DreadPirateRob]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

9. Don’t buy a house and drive cheap basic transportation cars.

Your post is excellent and I agree with almost everything you have to say.

But as an alternative perspective - SMART home ownership can be a path to some financial independence that is otherwise hard for people to come by.

Living somewhere with cheapish property values and focusing on a livable fixer upper has been the best financial decision I've ever made, and it's put me a lot closer to long term cruising.

For some numbers, I'm 37. 7 years ago, we bought a fixer upper for 90k on a 15 year note, put 20k down on it (every penny we could scrape together), and now owe about 40k.


Comparable homes in our neighborhood are going for 180k-200k at the moment, so... we could sell today and after payoff and closing costs, have 120K or so in cash. If I were renting an apartment, I wouldn't have, speaking personally, had the financial discipline (or income!) to bank 17-18K a year, but by buying smart and doing sweat equity... that's essentially what we've accomplished. And the experience at sanding, staining, painting, plumbing, wiring, and carpentry seems like it might be handy afloat too...

We could sell the house and all of our stuff and cruise for at least a handful of years without more income... or we could go ahead and work a few more years, pay off the house and then have $1500 per month or so in rental income forever to cruise on. Those are two paths to cruising life that I just wouldn't have developed without investing wisely in my home.

But I know what you mean. A LOT of people get talked into buying the biggest nicest home they can afford (or, often, CAN'T really afford) spending years upside down on home equity, then once you have the fancy house... you want to finance a similarly impressive suite of furniture... and televisions... and now it's too big to maintain (and all those bills are too big to take time off work to do maintenance yourself) so you have to pay for repairs... and lawn care.... and cleaning... Then you lose your job... but the bills don't go away... and that's how people end up paying for years on a home and still ending up broke and homeless.

Instead of Algebra 2 and Calculus, schools ought to teach kids how to read an amortization table and consider the ACTUAL cost of things, rather than what's printed on the sticker. If you have that skill, loans become a tool instead of a trap.