Work and Wanderlust: 9 Careers That Involve Travel
If you’re ready to see the world but you want to continue developing in your existing line of work, then harnessing careers that involve travel is the best way to go.
Not only will you get extra experience which counts towards your future path, but you’ll have the opportunity to spend your downtime somewhere new doing something you love. You can trade the morning commute for a morning beach walk, or your evening Netflix can become an evening swim. You can not only find the perfect work-life balance but live it, too.
What’s more, is that these careers that involve travel are achievable, too. There’s no ‘be an astronaut’ or ‘learn to become a professional footballer’. Although nice, those careers are for a tiny few and very hard to achieve. In the list below, there are careers to suit every background, expertise and passion, so here’s our list of nine careers that involve travel.
Activity specialist
If you’ve a passion for a particular activity, then there’s a good chance it can take you worldwide.
There are so many activities that can take you worldwide that it’s hard to name them all. Wakeboarding, football, sailing, being a lifeguard, outdoor cooking specialist, arts and crafts expert, golf. The list of job roles goes on.
Whether you work at a summer camp, cruise ship, or tourist destination, you’ll undoubtedly be in demand as an activity specialist.
Tour guide
The most obvious “see the world and get paid for it” career.
Tour guides live and breathe a particular country or area. By showing off their chosen country to tourists worldwide, they utilise their passion and local knowledge to make visitors love it just as much.
Tour guides can span whole countries to particular cities and even small towns, so being a tour guide really does allow you to experience it all as part of your day job.
Photographer/videographer
If you know how to tell a story through a creative medium such as photography or videography, then the world is literally your oyster to do so.
Event companies, activity providers, hotel chains, destination management companies and even local businesses all need talented people to capture the very best of their services. (In fact, summer camps in America have job roles for photographers, so there’s an option for you straight away).
If you know how to do so, then your passion for it will allow you to capture incredible moments in your own time and get paid for it as well.
Flight attendant
Being a flight attendant has long been a career for those who love to explore.
With never-ending destination opportunities based on the airline you work for, flight attendants often see new world cities daily.
It’s long, demanding hours as a flight attendant. But if you can handle the jet lag, you’ll likely see more In two years than most will in ten.
Teacher
Teachers are in high demand around the world, and for those who are happy to up sticks and move, there are opportunities globally to educate.
Whether you decide to take a placement through the likes of TEFL (in which you can cover numerous countries), or if you take up a longer-term sponsored role in the likes of Australia, your talents are well sought after.
Not only will you continue to impact children’s education, but you can do so in some of the world’s favourite destinations.
Nurse
Being a nurse is a calling, yet one which requires an educated, experienced background to carry out.
The need for talented nurses is worldwide, and in almost every country, nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals are in huge demand. Nothing is stopping you from taking up placements in each continent around the world.
There’ll be many appealing opportunities for nurses, which may provide a much better work-life balance than what you currently have.
Writers/journalists
Similar to photographers and videographers, writers who can use their creativity to construct the written word will always have an opportunity to do so abroad.
From local media houses in far-flung locations to global publishers in the world’s major creative hubs, writers and journalists have numerous potential stops. Considering travel bloggers are all the rage currently, you could directly write about travelling, let alone just live it.
Better yet, for some with a particular passion, sport, for example, there’s an excellent chance to traverse the planet covering something you love.
Event planner
With how connected the modern world is now, event companies can span the globe for a series of events, so being an event planner is certainly one of the careers that involve travel.
Global tours, such as music performers or conferences, commonly tag off the world’s major cities, taking the acts and the staff on a whirlwind tour.
If you’re passionate about live performances and are ready for a few massively intense months each year, working in global events could be a great career to see more of the world.
Freelancer
In the age of remote working, a freelancer within nearly any industry can up sticks and become a digital nomad.
Working remotely provides a level of professional freedom never seen before. The quality of the internet has also improved incredibly, so most of the time to complete freelance work, all you need is electricity and solid WiFi.
You can find that in most countries in the world these days, so you can simply pick your destination and you’ve found your new workplace.
Careers that involve travel aren’t unobtainable.
They’re out there, and if you’re currently in an industry where you’re building experience, then there’s a good chance it’ll allow you to see the world at one point.
Focus on yourself, keep building quietly, and when the time is right, take the opportunity to go wherever you want to in the world.
