Argentine exports of the so-called “knowledge industry” also grew by more than 23%, according to INDEC data. In this context, from the Bitwage company -a pioneering platform for payment of fees in cryptocurrencies and digital dollars most chosen by workers, freelancers and service exporters-, during 2022 the record of new Argentine users was registered, doubling the great brand that they had already had during 2021.
FREELANCER, REMOTE WORKER AND SERVICE EXPORTER
Being a freelancer means being a worker who independently provides services to one or more clients. Most do it remotely, with a laptop from the comfort of their homes or from anywhere in the world.
The traditional format of the dependency relationship proposes a fixed salary at the end of the month, medical coverage, bonuses and equipment expenses (computer, office expenses, connectivity, electricity, water, gas), but this new labor trend It brings with it new benefits such as an employment relationship with greater freedom of conditions, flexible hours, no fixed office, no daily transfers, work by objective.
It also comes paired with new disadvantages such as time differences, and the difficulty of achieving a break and disconnecting. But these cons are appeased when the worker manages to export his services abroad where the income in foreign currency for an Argentine could mean tripling or quadrupling income.
“For a year I have been working as a freelancer from Argentina providing web programming services for different companies in the United States and Bali. This change allowed me to have a better quality of life because I can work from home and manage my time without suffering so much from the inflation that the country is going through where fixed salaries are far behind. My recommendation to all those who want to export services is that, in addition to a good command of English, they start small in order to understand the dynamics and thus add clients. Many wonder how to get paid for the work done later, ”explains Carol Franco, an Argentine programmer who provides services to the world from her home desk.
At present, exports of services constitute an extremely interesting source of value generation due to the creation of jobs and the income of foreign currency. The service industry -informatics and programming, professional services, design, etc.- exported from Argentina by June 2022 a total of USD 7,261 million per year according to official records, its main destinations being the USA and the European Union, with the second export complex in the country, only surpassed by the oilseed-cereal. In addition, according to INDEC data, in the last year Argentine exports of the so-called “knowledge industry” registered a growth of more than 23%.
EARNINGS IN DOLLARS
Being a freelancer and exporting services abroad gives you the freedom to choose the job, where to do it and its conditions. So salaries or fees may vary, but certainly the offers are much more tempting than in the local market.
According to Ramiro Raposo, Country Manager of Bitwage, “For us, Argentina is the country that grew the most in Latam in the last year with a 250% increase in new users and 350% in payment orders processed, being the 3rd country with the highest turnover in the world”. According to the report, the countries that hire Argentine professionals the most are the United States, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom. In addition, the increase in the number of women
This company that was a pioneer in payment of fees in cryptocurrencies -was born even before the creation of Ethereum-, gives other guidelines.
“The average remuneration of an Argentine service exporter is around USD3,000 reaching payments of up to USD 5,000 per month.”
WHAT JOBS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR ABROAD?
According to Ramposo, the majority are from the IT sector: programmers, systems engineers, developers, devs, project managers, coders, designers, etc. But other sectors are also growing, such as athletes, marketing consultants, translators, psychologists, and English teachers. And a fact that stands out is the increase in women who provide services abroad, while in 2019 transactions of 1 or 2 women were registered, today 1 out of 4 users is a woman.
Another interesting fact is that on the other side, there is also a trend of national companies looking for foreign professionals. “There is a growth in the rate of companies that contracted internationally and pay through our platform in Argentina. Undoubtedly, hiring talent is no longer limited to the country where a company’s headquarters are located. If a company wants to access the best talent, there should no longer be borders and the numbers of our growth demonstrate it”, says Raposo.
WHERE TO LOOK?
Some pages to apply for jobs abroad and earn dollars are LinkedIn, Freelancer, Upwork, Weremoto, Guru, Computrabajo, Bumeran and StreamIn.
In addition, in Argentina there is another marked trend, according to the Argenconomics report, which indicates the opening of job searches throughout the national territory. The popularization of the habit of teleworking accelerated the recruitment of remote employment. Several provincial governments launched intense plans to activate the local knowledge economy, seeking to establish digital employment in their territories.
This initiative for the growth of the sector is also promoted by the national government with various programs such as Argentina Program 4.0 presented in the second half of 2022, which sought to train 70,000 new professionals per year.
HOW TO COLLECT IN DOLLARS IN ARGENTINA WORKING ABROAD
In a country where the gap between the official dollar and the blue dollar does not stop growing, how to charge and how much to calculate what we agree in foreign currency with the employer brings a lot of uncertainty. Added to this is the government stocks on the purchase of foreign currency, withholdings for exports and the great doubt: the declaration of money. What should be done with the dollars earned from work?
“In my experience, the Bitwage platform was the best solution to be able to bring the money I earn in a simple and safe way”, explains Carol Franco, the 36-year-old freelancer.
Today there are specialist lawyers and accountants who can advise on the various collection modalities that are much simpler than most imagine, such as Luciano Pascual @loop142 who usually organizes Twitter Spaces talking about all these issues together with other “crypto accountants and lawyers”. who assures that cryptocurrencies are the great solution to this dilemma “We have to get rid of the fear of charging in cryptocurrencies or stablecoins. It is a global trend and in Argentina it is a great solution to safeguard the value of our work. And for this reason, each More and more accountants are trained to advise on the subject in order to do so,” encourages Pascual.
Source: Ambito
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