Jobs you can have while travelling

What’s your dream? Walking along the unspoiled beaches in Thailand? Extreme bungee jumping in Costa Rica? Visiting the majestic Angkor Wat in Cambodia? Observing animals in the wild? Whatever your dream, chances are that it involves travelling.

There’s no doubt that travelling has become a lot cheaper and more accessible in the last few decades but, unlike a typical two-week holiday, it requires more planning and more funds. This is because travelling is a way of life that takes you away from your familiar environment and lets you immerse yourself in the unknown for a longer period of time. 

If you wish to earn while pursuing your passion for travel, here is a list of some of the jobs you can do while travelling. 

1. Professional trainer

Whatever the field, like marketing, education or fitness, a professional trainer develops the skills of their clients, in order to help them succeed in their careers. Through activities like team building and specific education sessions, these professionals collaborate with organisations that are looking to upgrade their workforce’s skills. Professional trainers are often freelancers who specialise on specific topics or industries. They travel a lot to provide local or even international clients with their services.

2. Au pair

This is ideal if you love working with children. It requires you to live abroad with a host family to look after their children. You might need to take them to (and pick them up from) school and after-school activities. As you will be living with the family, you won’t spend a penny for accommodation and food. On top of that, you will be given a salary that will allow you to explore your host country. What’s more, host families often take their au pair on holiday with them to help them look after the children. In your spare time you might be visiting yet another foreign country!

3. Content writer

Writing can be done pretty much anywhere, as long as you have a laptop! Working for websites, blogs, social media and other platforms as a content writer requires you to write copy in a creative and professional manner. You do not need any specific qualification for this job, but your language skills should be outstanding. 

4. Flight attendant

If you are serious about following a path that involves constant flying, then this is for you. It does require training beforehand, but there are many advantages to this job. While it is difficult to truly experience a new destination during your stay-overs, you can always take advantage of the cheap (or free) flights available to you as a member of staff for your time off. 

5. Blogger

There is a lot more to do than just ‘writing’ if you want to make a living as a blogger. Of course, engaging posts and useful information are what attracts readers to your blog, but to make money you need to consider other aspects, such as selling products and different types of marketing – e.g. social media, affiliate, and email marketing. Nowadays, there are many blogs around and the market has become more competitive. One way to stand out from the crowd is to specialise in one subject, or one area of a subject. Yes, there’s such a thing as a ‘blog niche’!

6. Seasonal jobs

If you like the idea of ‘slow travelling’, seasonal jobs are worth considering. You could be a ski instructor in the Alps in winter and a lifeguard in the summer. This option would give you plenty of time to explore the area while earning money. Other options are: working on farms/ranches, picking fruit and vegetables, diving instructor etc. These jobs won’t make you rich, but you’ll be able to travel and have an income to support your dream life.

7. Teaching English as a foreign language

While teaching abroad would give you the perfect opportunity to spend some time in one country and explore it well, teaching online would be a much more flexible option for the ‘digital nomads’. The easiest and quickest way to set yourself up as an online English teacher is to work with online platforms.

Most of these companies provide you with the students and ready-made lesson plans and materials. You just need to show up for your lessons. This is probably the most flexible way of teaching available at the moment – and pretty much hassle-free!

Of course, different companies have different requirements. Some are very specific about the technical equipment you should have, others need you to guarantee a certain number of teaching hours every week, but you would have a lot of freedom of choice with regard to the days and time of day you would like to teach. Depending on the company, you could even set your own hourly fee! 

A few of our recent reports have found that most English teaching online platforms do not require their teachers to have previous teaching experience. This is fantastic news if you are new to the industry. However, if online teaching isn’t for you and you want to have a more direct experience with the people you work with, there are many countries across the globe that hire newly qualified teachers of English as a foreign language (TEFL). Remember that whether you choose to teach online or in-person, you will increase your chances of being hired by completing an accredited TEFL course from a reputable provider.

What’s your next move?

You will have hopefully found some inspiration from the suggestions in this article, and you might feel ready to make your next move towards a more fulfilling and enjoyable lifestyle. Whether you choose to travel to work or work to travel, the right career path for you is definitely out there. Changing your life upside down is a massive decision, and it’s understandable if you are still unsure. Perhaps starting with a seasonal job would be a good way to test the waters.