How I Transitioned From Being an Office-Based Employee To a Fully Remote World Traveler

Without being a software engineer, programmer or having any particular hard skill

Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash

In 2021, I was working at a prestigious intergovernmental organization, and I was on the verge of becoming a full-time employee.

To secure permanent employment in public sector organizations, individuals who are already working within the organization, often selected as trainees from a large pool of candidates, are typically required to undergo an additional challenging test (which is invitation-only) and mandatory interviews.

Like many of my young, ambitious colleagues, I too thought that getting that permanent, coveted position was the direction I was aspiring to.

This commitment meant that for over a year:

• I networked (apprehensively), hoping to be considered among the candidates invited to take the test;

• I struggled with social comparison anxiety whenever one of my young colleagues received an invitation to take the test while I did not;

• When my turn finally came, I dedicated myself to rigorous study to ensure I passed the test.

Everything eventually fell into place, and I was ready to take the final step—the interview—to secure the position.

I was about to sign up for years of work in an enviable, stable job in a shiny skyscraper, complete with Christmas parties and a closet full of elegant office attire.

After all, ‘that was my goal, right?’ I questioned myself, thinking about the destination I had worked hard to reach for over a year.

On a deeper look though, there was a catch:

• I thought my job was dead-boring;

• I couldn’t envision myself living in Poland (my assignment location at the time) for the years to come;

• I daydreamed about traveling the world with my partner, who was location-independent for many months of the year.

Being true to myself and taking the decision to quit was the most difficult thing I had to undergo up until that moment

When you have barely a year of experience after grad school and come from Southern Europe, where youth unemployment hovers around 24%, the societal pressure to land a job and hold onto it—with tears and sweat—is enormous.

If it’s a public sector job?

Then you are literally living the dream of half of your country.

Yet, I was slowly realizing that the social status of my job wasn’t enough to keep me going when I was disliking almost everything else.

While the fancy semi-corporate lifestyle had been a fascinating experience, I was craving more location freedom and the ability to travel beyond the limits of my PTO.

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What I was left to do was roll-up my sleeves (again) and work toward a new goal: securing a Fully-Remote job

After breaking the news to my superior, serving my notice period, and booking my first flight of freedom, I had to act swiftly in securing a new position.

My savings were limited, given my relatively few years of work experience up to that point.

The situation looked more than complex:

1. I needed to find a fully-remote job that allowed me to travel the world for at least a few months each year, with no geographical restrictions;

2. I had to achieve this without relying on many years of expertise or a solid career history, as I had graduated only two years prior, one of which was “lost” due to a world pandemic;

3. I had no background in any of the most sought-after fields, such as software engineering, data science, or software development. I was simply someone who had worked in HR for most of her brief career;

In the weeks leading up to my resignation and after, I went into a focused application mode…

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If this topic is interesting to you, stay tuned for part 2 on this How I Transitioned From Being an Office-Based To a Fully Remote Employee series for tips on how to find a remote job, the mindset to adopt in such transitions, and the challenges people rarely tell you about.

Until then, you might want to check my latest article:

🏘️ The Incomparable Comfort of American Suburbs—Reflections of an Italian After a Two-Week Visit to the South of the US

Link here.