A lot of front-end developers want to work from home. Some of them work while traveling. Instead of spending large amounts of money on renting in the US, they go to remote islands, and earn the same money while spending only a small portion of living costs.

This all sounds great, but is it realistic? How do you, as a programmer, achieve the same result?

Companies do permit their front-end developers remotely. But this mostly applies to senior and middle front-end developers, who have a lot of leverage in the job market. Employers were initially reluctant to allow remote work and there was a very slow growth. However, with the pandemic, the entire industry switched to remote work, and now employees don’t really want to go back. And as long as they show decent enough results while working remotely, employers don’t want to force the issue, either.

You wouldn’t think that large companies also allow for remote work, but they do. This is because there’s a shortage of experienced developers, so large employers are forced to accommodate front-end developers and allow them to work from any location in the world. The demand for freelance work is pretty significant as well.

Also it helps that programming doesn’t require you to show up at the office. You can do it from anywhere in the world. Front-end developers have worked remotely for a long time. Whether it is to build small projects for small to medium sized businesses, or as a freelance help to startups or bigger tech companies. It has always happened, but after the pandemic it’s entering a new era of growth.

Also, tools for communication between team leaders and developers have also improved. There are a lot of ways to establish synchronous, asynchronous communication, as well as tools that ensure synchronization of code.

Some employers have not embraced remote work, but it’s an uphill battle. Their main argument is that developers work better when they meet and bond in the office. I think that factor is overrated and these employers will find out the hard way. There is no reason to not give developers freedom of movement and location.

If you’re looking to work as a front-end developer from distance, you still need to prepare. If you’ve never had a remote or freelance job before, you’re in for a rude awakening. It’s quite difficult to stay focused and get the work done when you’re at comfort of your home.

Programmers with enough discipline and organization to pull this off can definitely go this route. But remember that employers will actually look at your results to rate your performance. If you can’t demonstrate solid work ethic, you may be out of job soon. Or at the very least, forced back to office.