Photo by Alan Bajura on Unsplash
This post was written by Steve Cummings and originally appeared on Wealth of Geeks. Steve is the founder of the personal finance blog The Frugal Expat. As a traveller and expat, he has learned a lot about how to save money, live frugally, and invest for the future. His mission is to help people in saving, investing, and reaching financial independence.
Traveling is something that many of us would like to do, and getting paid while traveling is a dream come true. Now, obtaining traveling jobs is not as easy you would expect. If it were easy, then everyone would have a traveling job, but as we may see, there are many different jobs out there that you can travel to.
There could be even great jobs that can help you make money online as well. These jobs may require different skill sets that take time to develop, but if you want to get paid to travel, the skills are worth pursuing.
How to Work and Travel At the Same Time
The combination of working and traveling is the best of both worlds. First, you get to travel, and at the same time, you also get paid while traveling. Most of us will fall under one of these three categories of jobs. Either we are a Digital Nomad, Expat, or Backpacker.
Digital Nomad Jobs
A digital nomad works from their computer and must have some online connection to create products and services. These people are independent of their location, and it does not matter if they live in Portugal or even in Fiji. They need access to the internet, a working computer, and earn money as they travel. Being a digital nomad provides opportunities to many traveling jobs around the world.
Expat Travel Jobs
The term expat is a shortened version of the word expatriate. They are citizens of other countries that work and live in another country. For instance, I am an American expat living in the country of Taiwan. Expats can be anyone that is using their skills but living and working in other places. Google has offices worldwide and will send some of its engineers to these other countries to work. So that can be one example of an expat job. Another example is to work as an English teacher.
Backpacker Jobs
A backpacker is someone who is traveling with their backpack going from country to country. Now often, backpackers are looking for ways to obtain more cash to continue to travel. As these backpackers look, many opportunities are afforded to them, such as working at a hostel.
Other Jobs for Traveling the World
There is also the travel industry that supplies jobs to people. You can work on airplanes as a flight attendant, or a cruise ship, and in many other places within the travel industry, giving you a job to travel. There are plentiful jobs out there, and you must see what your skills are and see if you can make these jobs work.
The 27 Best Traveling Jobs
1. Blogger
Have you ever thought about being a blogger? Have you thought about writing about all of your adventures through the world? Blogging could be one of the best traveling jobs out there. Being a blogger is not an easy job. You cannot just hope to write a million posts and be paid for it. It takes work, patience, and commitment. In the process, you can become a great writer. The skills you develop can make blogging something more than a hobby on the side.
Blogging can be great lucrative employment for you. It allows you to live anywhere in the world. All you need is a word processor, internet connection, and the drive to continue to pursue blogging. You can create a successful blog that will continue to fund your travels and endeavors with all of that effort.
2. Writer
If blogging does not work out as much, you can always become a writer. Learning the skills to become a writer takes practice and learning along the way. As you hone these skills, you can become a freelance writer that can make money from writing 1500-2000 word articles. You can even write shorter ones. Many companies search for writers to write for them.
The great thing about being a freelance writer is that you can do it from anywhere in the world. You can use sites like Fiverr, Upwork, or even Textbroker to sell your skills on the internet. This job allows you the freedom to pick any location you would like to live in.
3. Travel Photographer
Having the skills to take pictures is special. Not every Joe and Jill can take amazing photos, but you can certainly make money from your skills if you know what you are doing. All it takes is practice, taking pictures, and learning the art of editing. You can take a million photos, but if you never learn how to take good photos, then they may not sell.
As a photographer, you can take many photos as you travel. People love to see many beautiful photos when they read blogs or even search for photos on the internet. As a travel photographer, you can sell these photos from various sites. You can also get hired as a contractor to take photos of particular locations.
As one of the best traveling jobs, this can be something you would love to do. You see the world and capture many different elements to show people the beauty you see from looking through your lens.
4. Work As a Virtual Assistant
As many people call it, a virtual assistant or VA is a great way to make money while traveling. You will get hired to do various jobs. That can be anything from gathering information, creating images on Pinterest, or even editing things for people. VAs can live anywhere globally and reap the benefits of having skills that they can hire out.
5. Remote Working
Do you like working with people? Are you good on the phone? Many companies around the world are looking for employees that can work with people. You can work remotely as a customer service rep. That may not seem like the ideal job, but being paid and living and working wherever you want sounds like not a bad job at all. That can allow you to save lots of money, travel, and enjoy your time in any way you like.
6. Online Translation Jobs
One of the most incredible things about learning a new language is using your skills to make yourself employable as a translator. If you are fluent in more than one language, you can translate documents, books, and other copies into different languages. There are many big companies out there looking for translators like Apple. These translation jobs allow you to work solely from your computer, and therefore you can be located wherever you are around the world.
7. Website or Graphic Designer
If you have website design or graphic design skills, these can be very popular with many different people. Website designers can live anywhere in the world, and they need to have the skills, the know-how, and a good internet connection, and they can set up websites at any time.
Being a graphic designer is the same thing. Having a good working computer with an internet connection allows you to be location independent. You will create graphics for clients and sell designs from various websites such as Upwork or Fiverr.
8. Investing in Stocks
Investing in stocks doesn’t sound like much of a job for traveling and sounds too simple. Many people do day trading, and the significant part of it is that you do not need to live and work in the U.S. to make these things happen. You can live anywhere in the world and do trading or investing.
Investing with stocks can take little money to get started. As you create a high enough portfolio, you can live and work anywhere in the world. The money almost becomes passive as the dividends roll in.
9. Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a business in which you ship products to customers from somewhere that is cheap, like China. You can use Amazon for dropshipping through their FBA program. You advertise your product on Amazon. Then when it is purchased, the factory in the country that produces it will ship it to the customer.
That is a great job to have as you can set up the process and work as a digital nomad by living abroad or anywhere in the world. The position will allow you to travel and live a cheaper life on a reasonable budget.
10. Vlogging or YouTube
Do you like to film things or even do some acting? YouTube and even vlogging are some of the best traveling jobs out there. You can film the places you go to, make videos of products or even of a specific niche, and the great thing is you get paid.
As a YouTuber, you can create videos anywhere in the world. That is great because you can work as a digital nomad traveling from place to place, and all you need is a computer, camera, and internet to upload the videos.
It sounds too exciting not to jump in and start creating. You need a good niche, market, can keep producing good helpful content. This can be one of the most lucrative traveling jobs, as the more videos you create, the better the chance of them getting noticed and paid.
11. Computer Programmer
Computer programmers can work from their computers. If your main job is working from your computer, you can work from anywhere in the world. All you need is access to a computer and the internet. Working from home has become a new thing for many people. Being a digital nomad has made everything easier.
You can now work from the same company making programs from anywhere with connections. All you need to do is ask your boss, find a company with the freedom to allow you to do this, and plan a trip. How exciting is it to use the current job you have to travel the world? Technology has allowed us to create many opportunities.
12. Teach English Abroad
Teaching English abroad may not sound like much of a traveling job, but it does include traveling. First of all, as you live as an expat, you can travel around the country where you teach English. You will have opportunities to visit other countries as well. Living in Taiwan, I have saved money plus seen so many different countries in Asia. There are many opportunities to travel while also getting paid as a teacher.
Related: How Much Does it Cost to Live the FIRE Life in Taipei, Taiwan?
13. Teach English Online
If teaching in the classroom is not for you, then you can always teach online. The benefit of teaching English online is the opportunities are endless, and all you need is a computer and internet connection. Once you have a TEFL certification, you can teach online and get paid a reasonable rate. Many countries and companies offer jobs with good rates to teach English online. These companies are like VIP Kid and many more. Once you have a job teaching online, you can be anywhere in the world and teach online.
14. Work on a Cruise Ship
Have you ever imagined traveling around the world on a ship? That seems like a dream come true to so many people. You hop onto a cruise ship and see the world.
One of the best traveling jobs around is working on a cruise ship. Working on a cruise ship gives you opportunities to visit many different countries around the world. As the cruise goes from destination to destination, you can visit these other places. There will be opportunities to work on your skills, get paid, and see the world.
15. Be a Scuba Instructor
If you ever dreamed of living in a tropical paradise and always living near the ocean, then working as a scuba instructor may be the perfect job for you. First of all, you need to become certified. There are plenty of places to learn, work, and enjoy life as a scuba instructor. You can live in Southeast Asia like the Philippines, Indonesia, or even Malaysia to work, live, and travel. The experiences will be fun, and you will forever enjoy being able to see the most remarkable things under the water.
16. Work at a Backpacker Hostel
As a backpacker, you will have opportunities to work at hostels. Many hostels look for people to work. These can be temporary jobs or even seasonal in which you help clean, work the desk, or help take care of the guests. You will be able to work, live, and save some money for your next travels. The significant part is exploring where the hotel is located, which would be a fun travel experience.
17. Become a Tour Guide
Many people may have grown to enjoy an area or even have skills in creating itineraries or showing people around places. You can use these skills to become a local tour guide. Several companies will hire people to become local tour guides. You need to have some expertise in the local area and know some things to show hidden places that most people do not talk about. That really will help you earn some money as you enjoy your travels.
18. Work As an Au Pair
For those that do not know an Au Pair, it is like a live-in babysitter. They are like a nanny who will take care of kids, teach them a new language, or be with the kids.
That is one of the best traveling jobs that allow people to go to another country, work, have food and board taken care of, and on time off; they can explore the various parts of the country they live in.
19. Be a Flight Attendant
The freedom to see the world from the skies can be so uplifting. Being a flight attendant can have some negatives as in you are taking care of people’s needs, working long hours, but if you want the thrill of seeing new places from the sky, then this could be the job for you.
As you fly from destination to destination, you will have time off to go and explore. There will be discounts on airplane tickets, cheap places to live, adventures with crews, and much much more. This job is almost too exciting to turn down. Then you will be back taking care of the needs of others while also learning about different people.
20. Foreign Service Job (Diplomat)
Thinking about traveling can be as easy as working for the government like a Foreign Service Job. Working as a Foreign Service job is not for everyone, and you are working as a diplomat or in some position that is helping out with those people. These positions are usually open to those that have a degree in the field and are often more competitive to get into.
The great thing about this position is that you will be able to travel to various countries. There are considerable benefits to seeing the world, having many things paid for by the government, and having pretty good pay. That sounds like a winner to me. Getting paid well and having the ability to travel, what more could you ask for?
21. Join the Peace Corps or Another NGO
Have you ever thought about helping others as a job? There are plenty of NGOs that will take volunteers to go out and move to another place to help people. The Peace Corps is a very famous organization that helps place people worldwide to help people.
There are plenty of people taking advantage of working with others in charities, mission organizations, and other NGOs to go from country to country helping people.
22. Do a Working Holiday
Have you ever wanted to travel down to Australia or New Zealand? These places seem so exotic and full of life. They have a working holiday visa for many people under the age of 30 to come and work. You can travel the country working from city to city on farms, cafes, and other industries. This will give you the experience of a lifetime that you will never forget. As far as some traveling jobs go, this one will allow you to live in another country doing various jobs. It is like a gap year traveling.
23. Work on a Yacht
Have you ever thought how cool it would be to live on a yacht? Those rich people can sail around the world living in luxury, and we as ordinary folks cannot even dream of doing that, but you’re mistaken. There are opportunities to work on a yacht. Many yachts hire people to work as a deckhand, and it may be as easy as taking a course, applying for the job, and setting sails to see the world. How cool would that be?
24. Work as a Traveling Yoga Instructor
Some people enjoy practicing yoga. Using your skills, you can become a yoga instructor and travel around teaching yoga. You can even learn how to teach Pilates, Zumba, and other types of classes.
Using these skills, you can travel from place to place and be a freelance yoga instructor. This is an excellent way to make some extra income as you are traveling around.
25. Work as an Airbnb Host
If you own a place or have a place you live, you could rent it out to people via Airbnb. That is a great way to make some extra money. The cool thing is that you can use that extra money to travel. You just become a host, automate some cleaning and scheduling, and now you can take off for an adventure. This is one of the best passive traveling jobs I can think of.
26. Becoming a Camp Counselor
Have you ever thought about traveling to a new country and working with kids? Most people think about working as a teacher, but what about a more fun job.
Being a camp counselor can be a lot of fun. You have the opportunities to have fun with kids, get free room and board, plus you get paid. There are many opportunities to go to other countries and work at a summer camp as a camp counselor. You don’t even have to go to another country; you can also visit various states and have the opportunities to explore those as well.
A summer of fun is waiting for you to join. Have some fun and look at being a camp counselor.
27. Work on an Expedition Cruise
Have you ever thought about traveling the North Pole or even visiting Antarctica? Those are places that people may dream about. Companies like Quark Expedition Cruises hire people to be tour guides on an expedition to these different places. You will have great food and board. The best part is that you will get paid to see some of the most incredible places in the world while living an adventurous life. Working on an expedition cruise could be one of the best traveling jobs for you.
Final Thoughts
Traveling jobs can be almost anything you can think of. It takes time and patience, but you can create skills and interests that lead you to many opportunities. These various opportunities allow you to discover new places, see different sights, and create memories of unforgettable experiences.
We must all work to earn income, but we also need to remember that money isn’t everything. Why not make your work enjoyable while seeing the world? The beauty of the world is that it is open to many of us. All we need is a computer at our fingertips and the internet to allow us to work from anywhere.
If you are ever looking for places to go and things to see, check this list out. There are endless traveling jobs out there to discover, and maybe there is one you have thought of that is not on this like, but I hope that these 27 traveling jobs can help you find a great place to work and allow you to enjoy the adventure.
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