Job requires DSL/Cable

[Mom2PB]

I was planning on starting out on the road by October 1 this year. I currently have a job where I can work from anywhere in the world. However, I found out yesterday that my job requires DSL/Cable and that cellular or satellite connections are not acceptable (so obviously not ANYWHERE in the world!)  I am a nurse practitioner who provides telemedicine services through video connections. 

I know that living the van life will decrease my needs for a very high salary so I was willing to make much less money possibly working as a registered nurse doing online chart reviews, however, every job I have looked at says DSL/Cable is required! Unfortunately, I can't leave the medical field completely because my student loan debt is just too much. It is my only debt but not going away anytime soon. 

Currently I only work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so I have considered that I could boondock 4 days a week and then could drive into a town, get a motel room with DSL/cable internet, and work on weekends. But that really defeats the purpose of moving to the van life!

 

[Uncle Todo]

You can always jump on free WiFi hotspots.
There's plenty around as long as your not boondocking.

 

[DLTooley]

Rv parks might be an option. Also on site work where living in an RV would work. This could include shorter duration gigs and traveling on breaks.

Hotels could work also if the budget allows for it.

 

[maki2]

I suppose if you were boondocking not too far out of a town then you could look into a shaed office s pace arrangement. Surprsingly lots of small towns have them as well as cities. plus there are maker spaces around as well where you buy memberships.  if you are mostly working on weekends it should notbbe too hard to rent a desk in an office. or you vould even figure out a labor trade for the  space.

 

[crofter]

RV park is pretty cheap for long term rates, has internet, showers, mail, and a swimming pool among other things. You would have to check out their connection speed to see if it would work for you. 

Parks usually require that your rig can use hookups for water, sewer, and electric. Some parks have a dry camping area also (cheaper).
-crofter

 

[mpruet]

Is this a result of Covid-19?  Would your job always be done over the internet?  I know of traveling nurses who will work at a hospital.  Some of these are in vans/RVs and live in the parking lot of the hospital that they are currently working at.  

If it is a long term condition that you must have a wired connection because of security issues, then you might have to make a choice between staying in a sticks & bricks residence for a while, or changing jobs just a bit so that you can work as a traveling nurse/practitioner who doesn’t have to have a wired internet connection.

 

[eDJ_]

Most of the medical professionals I know tell me that they have to have a "hard wired AP" (access point like DSL)   This is largely for security. 

As mentioned above,  some places have business incubators with such internet connections in small offices.  You are issued a key and have 24/7 access, a kitchen, restrooms, even in some cases a gym.  There are also meeting rooms.

Otherwise and  a lot trickier would be to find a small parcel of land or a garage where you could get the DSL wired into it and a patch cord into the rig for your modem.

You will have to make sure the service/speed will meet the requirement of the employer.

Understand the limits of your service and evaluate it by it's performance and not by the "bars" they
like to promote as an assurance of the service's performance.

And last you should have a back up plan if your service should fail on you.  Some other place you can get the same quality of performance...like a business office incubator.