Remote work is a huge conversation starter right now in career development and education circles. There are thousands of blog posts, forum threads, and YouTube videos about entry-level jobs, freelancing opportunities, and small businesses that are friendly to remote work. But what about skilled trades, jobs that require significant training but that can be the basis for a decades-long career? The very idea of a career has become something of a dirty word with some millennials who have been burned by the shifting (and in many cases, weakening) economy. But there are many opportunities out there for those willing to put in the time to train in an in-demand area.

Legal Assistant

Legal assistants are in ever-greater demand as lawyers try to focus on their core duties and outsource more of their busy work to capable assistants. Legal assistants file paperwork, manage emails and schedules for the lawyers they work with, prepare research for cases, draft letters, take phone calls, manage client billing, and more. It is a less hands-on job than paralegal, a job where you may be more involved with individual cases, and may even interview witnesses or write reports. A legal assistant’s work is more administrative in nature. A legal assistant can get started with their career with just an associates degree in paralegal studies (full paralegals may need a bachelors degree in paralegal studies). Legal assistants can expect to start by making around $32,000 a year, scaling up to an average salary of about $42,000 a year. Legal assistants with lots of experience or working in a high-demand area of specialization (cybersecurity, mergers & acquisitions, taxes, and employment law) may earn more.

Civil Engineer

A civil engineer oversees the design of complex public works, including highways, bridges, tunnels, dams, airports, and water systems. Civil Engineer jobs are growing in demand at the moment, and their salary is growing to show that demand. A civil engineer might make over $60,000 to start, and more than $70,000 after several years of experience. Despite this high salary and the technical nature of their work, a civil engineer only needs a Bachelor’s Degree to start in their career. Only about 20% of civil engineers have a master’s degree, which can help you specialize in a particular area and get hired for larger projects (that come with a larger salary, of course). Be aware that engineering in general has a well known problem with career satisfaction, with a fairly high percentage of engineers in all areas reporting dissatisfaction with their day to day work life. It remains to be seen if this changes as more engineering jobs move to a work from home format.

Landscape Architect

A landscape architect designs parks, gardens, gold courses, and other outdoor spaces, and often oversees the execution of their work, which is generally done by landscapers and other contractors. A landscape architect may wish to see their work area first hand, but the vast majority of their work can be done remotely. Landscape architecture is experiencing moderate growth, and generally keeps pace with the construction industry. They can expect to earn between $50,000 and $75,000 a year, depending on experience, education, and specialty. Most landscape architects have a Bachelor’s degree, but some also have a Master’s degree. Similar to civil engineering, a Master’s degree can help you specialize and get bigger projects. Unlike civil engineering, landscape architects report decently high rates of job satisfaction.

Transcriber

Transcription is in demand as digital content has swamped the industry. Court sessions, corporate meetings, television programs and more are frequently submitted to transcription services to be typed up from audio files. You can get started with transcription with just some vocational training and can expect to be paid upwards of $13/hr starting. Be aware that this is an approximation of your rate, which is generally paid per minute of recording that you must transcribe. Fast typers make more per hour of work, slow typers make less. If you get further training (a certificate or associates degree) as a medical transcriptionist you might make $35,000 a year or more, with some experience. These jobs have been easy to bring online, as the formats have been digital for years.

Translator

A translator might require almost no training or extensive college education, depending on their language background. Those who already possess a second language with a reasonable degree of fluency are way ahead of the game here, and can often get started with minimal additional work, only needing to pass some language tests. This can include sign language, which continues to be in demand. Some higher paid jobs, including those in the federal government, may require a bachelor’s degree to show a mastery of the academic intricacies of a language, or that you be a native speaker of both languages you are being hired to translate in. In some roles you may translate in real time between a multiple parties, or translate written work for publishers or other international businesses. Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, German, Arabic, and French are some of the highest paying and most in-demand language specializations, but work can be found in all but the most obscure languages. Translators generally start around $13-$15 per hour, depending on the nature of the work and your language specialty, with most translators earning $16-$18 with some experience. Translators with experience who get a job with a big company or government can make more than $40,000 per year, plus benefits.

Help Desk Professional

Most technical products, be they apps, operating systems, smart TVs, or phones will need a tech support line. This is commonly called ‘the help desk’, or IT support. People can text or call this service to get help with whatever product they are trying to work with. Many services like banks, internet service providers, and more will also have help desks. This is a huge industry, and one with lots of room for growth. There are typically three sorts of Help Desk Professionals, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Almost anyone with a high school diploma and a decent working knowledge of computer operations can become a level 1 help desk professional, which starts around $35,000 a year,and maxes out around $55,000 a year, depending on your employer. A level 2 help desk professional requires a certification course, which can give you a modest pay increase that reflects your more specific technical knowledge. Level 3 help desk professionals are deeply familiar with the product or service, and often have a bachelors degree or an extensive history with the company that makes them qualified to help customers with the most unusual and difficult sorts of problems. They are generally paid between $50,000 and $70,000 a year for their expert work.

Statistician

Statisticians help to resolve real-world problems using statistical methods and models. They can work in almost any field where data is readily available, from agriculture to meteorology to sales and marketing. They analyze and interpret data for the decision-makers in organizations ranging from non-profits to international corporations. As data becomes more and more available, highly paid decision makers become ever-hungrier for more statistical models to help them make informed decisions. Many jobs call for Master’s degrees, but related fields including actuarial analyst, data analyst, and investment analyst can often be found at the entry level with only a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics (or a related field like computer science, mathematics, etc.). The pay rates on these careers vary significantly, but generally start at more than $50,000 and can scale to nearly $100,000 in some fields.