So you love to travel. The trouble is, you also, you know, have to work most days. Thank goodness it is possible to get paid to travel—oh yes, it is. Travel jobs might not be the easiest to find, but they are out there. Figure out how to earn a salary while traveling the world by checking out a few of these choice job options.
1. Archeologist
For this, you need to have a passion both for traveling and ancient artifacts. It will require a good deal of schooling, but then you’ll be out in the field as much as you’ll be in a classroom or a lab. So get your Ph.D. or master’s, and start taking those long research trips to keep you going.
2. Athletic Recruiter
Find a job through a college or professional sports organization and travel the country—even the globe—scouting out talent. Being an avid sports fan is a requisite, as well thriving when you are living on the road and seeing the world.
3. English Teacher Abroad
You might take for granted that you speak English, but did it ever occur to you that your natural ability is actually an asset in foreign countries? Find somewhere you really want to go and then figure out how and where you can teach English there. Any required certification is easy to acquire. You can also consider becoming an au pair and caring for children while helping them to learn English.
4. Tour Guide
Especially if you’re an extrovert, you can get a job as a tour guide sharing your passion for a foreign place with other travelers. If your memory is good and you learn fast and chat well with people, you’ll be a natural.
5. WWOOF
Love traveling, the outdoors, and organic produce? Try WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). You’ll get paid and you’ll be doing something good for the planet and for small farms and your travel will be super ethical, rather than super frivolous or exploitative. Give back!
6. Flight Attendant
This seems like a pretty obvious travel-friendly career choice, but it’s also quite enjoyable and jobs are not that hard to come by. See the world, get paid rather well, and score discounted flights for life! You’ll have to be a people person and put up with some unorthodox hours, but it’s a great way to get around.
7. Cruise Employee
There are lots of these jobs out there in a wide variety of areas, but lots of people want them. If you do get one of these coveted gigs, you’ll be getting free room and board, and a chance to see some of the most beautiful places on earth.
8. Yachtie
Get paid a great amount of money to work insane hours in some of the most beautiful places in the world. Free room and board, though you’ll be slaving away for almost all of your waking hours. But for the right people, this job is a dream.
9. Travel Agent
If you love travel so much that you feel the need to share tips and help people plan their own travels, then why not get paid for it? Plus, you’ll enjoy deep discounts and perks when it comes time for your own vacations.
10. Travel Writer
It’s not as impossible as you might think to get paid to write about travel. Just remember you’ll have to start somewhere—likely small and unpaid, and work your way up to recognition and compensation. But the more interesting your travels, and the better your writing, the easier a time you’ll have setting up your audience and your career.
