How to Work and Travel

Do you want to travel but still earn money while you're on the road? This dream is becoming a reality for many people, especially as the Internet makes it possible to work from anywhere and has increased our awareness of job opportunities abroad. There are two main types of jobs you can get to help you travel and work at the same time – travel-based jobs, meaning you have to travel to get to or to do the job; and travel freedom jobs, meaning you can do the job from anywhere. With a little effort and hard work you can get the kind of job that lets you travel and work at the same time.

Method 1

Getting a Travel-Based Job

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   Get a travel industry job. What skills do you have that you could use while traveling? Some employers have seasonal work that you may be able to train for or do easily. Research online and you will find travel-based jobs for every kind of skill.
2. 
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   Become an adventure guide. Adventure outfitters and summer camps recruit guides in the off season. If you want to be a rafting guide in the USA, start looking for summer work in the autumn or winter.^[1]

   • Surf instructors in Costa Rica work during the winters.
   • Make a travel plan and network with other guides who can provide job information.
   • Resorts need staff for every activity they offer, so find out things you can do at your skill level.
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   Get a job as a nurse. Traveling nurses are in high demand. Many agencies will hire nurses from three months to a year to work at hospitals around the USA. Some even offer housing. Search online for traveling nursing positions and contact the recruiters. Most websites list location, pay rate, and benefits up front.^[2]
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   Become a travel professional. Airline pilots, flight attendants, cruise ship staff, and transportation employees such as truck drivers travel as part of their work. While some of these jobs don't allow for much time to explore tourist areas, travel professionals can find ways to get out and enjoy, too. Research the industry to see what kind of skills and training are required.^[3]
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   Try teaching English abroad. There are many opportunities to teach English abroad. Most places require that you take their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) training class before you can sign on.^[4] This may expensive, but once you have the TOEFL certification, you can teach in many countries. Agencies often help with job placement.^[5][6]
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   Get a service industry job. Many tourist destinations have resorts, theme parks, and restaurants looking for waiters, housekeepers, and attendants. The highest seasons for family tourist destinations are when children are not in school. For other places, high season may be during the best weather or centered around holidays. Check around for vacation high season in the area where you want to travel.^[7]

Method 2

Earning Income with the Freedom to Travel

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   Get a freelance job. Many writers, photographers, web designers, and graphic designers can do their work from anywhere in the world as long as they have an Internet connection. There are online companies recruiting people with these types of skills. Be wary of anyone asking for money. There are plenty of legitimate companies hiring freelancers. Be prepared to bid for freelance work or possibly get paid a bit less than if you worked in the same job at an office.^[8]
2. 
   2
   Start working from home. Ask your current employer if you might be able to start working from home (if that’s possible for your type of work). If they say yes, then you may be able to start traveling and completing your work while you’re on the road. Most work-from-home jobs allow employees to complete the bulk of their work online or to submit their work from another location. You don’t have to stay home to work from home.^[9]
3. 
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   Figure out how to earn passive income. If you have web design and writing skills, you may start blogs or content-based websites that generate passive income through advertising and referral programs. This takes a bit of a time investment upfront, but once the site is established and active, it may generate returns. Start these sites while traveling or better yet, get them up and running before you go. Sites that are generating money will need maintenance and content updates once you are on the road.^[10]

   • Advertisers usually make direct deposits into your bank account. Depending on your home country, there may be restrictions or limitations to getting paid, so be sure you have access to the money you earn before you begin your travels.
4. 
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   Start your own business. Become a travel consultant, importer, or zip-line installer. Find a need for your specific services and skills, then market them in a way that makes sense for you and gives you the freedom you desire from your work.^[11]

   • For example, engineers might start a business building zip-lines or obstacle courses for resorts around the world. Travel buffs can offer their services to corporations sending employees on international travel. If you love to shop, set up an importing business and next time you travel get inventory for resale.

Method 3

Learning to Live with Less

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   Get rid of the material excess in your life. This includes things that take up space and cost money. People who successfully work and travel are usually comfortable with living light rather than being loaded down with possessions. If you have an expensive car that requires expensive insurance, you will be required to always make money to pay for that car. Having less possessions means you have more freedom to make enough to live and travel as you like.^[12]
2. 
   2
   Downsize your home. Living in a large home was a huge part of the American Dream for so long, but now more and more people are realizing the benefits of inhabiting smaller spaces. The smaller the space is, the less room you have for excessive material possessions too, so it will aid you in the whole process of downsizing your life.^[13]

   • Living in a smaller home means less maintenance for you, less stress about the upkeep of your home, and probably less money each month in rent or mortgage.
3. 
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   Eliminate your debt. Having the freedom to travel because of learning to live with less often means getting rid of your financial ties to your current home location. It is much easier to travel freely when you don’t have a mortgage, credit card debt, or a car payment weighing you down and always pulling you back home.^[14]

   • Try to limit your spending on frivolous luxuries so that you can put some extra money toward your debt each month. This will help you pay it off sooner so you can have more freedom to travel.
   • If you plan on traveling for extended periods of time, it might even make sense to sell some of your possessions in order to pay your debts down. For example, if you wanted to move abroad for a while, you might sell your car (since you won’t be using it anyways) to help you get your debt to a manageable level.
4. 
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   Change your expectations. We live in a consumer culture that is obsessed with always looking for the next big thing – the newest car, the biggest house, the nicest clothes, etc. If you maintain these kinds of expectations and desires for your life, it will be hard for you to be satisfied by living with less.^[15]

   • Work on realizing that happiness isn’t achieved through material possessions and that living with less might help you create a more sustainable, more enjoyable life.
   • But to make this work, you’ll need to let go of those old expectations.

Warnings

• Be sure you have any and all legal documentation giving you the right to work or do business in a country before you begin. If you're not sure, contact an attorney in your home country and in the country where you intend to work.