Travelling has always been part of my identity. Because of my mum’s work and her adventurous spirit, I had the privilege of living abroad since I was a young kid.
From spontaneous weekends away to 6-12 months-long experiences, travelling was never about staying in a resort but rather being out and about experiencing life through different lenses.
Fast forward to today and the desire to explore the world never went away. In fact, it got stronger! I was able to fully support myself since I turned 18, working and travelling abroad while collecting incredible memories and life experiences.
If you’re an adventure junkie like myself wanting to make money while exploring, look no further! Here are my best tips that will help you to continue your adventures without sacrificing your income.
Teaching English as a second language
This is one of the most common travel jobs! You get to live in incredible places while dedicating anywhere between 10-40 hours a week with a decent salary and exploring the area on your days off.
South-East Asia is perfect for this and countries like Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia are always looking for teachers. Latin America is another good hotspot.
The requirements for teaching English as a foreign language are a TESOL/TEFL certificate and a native or fluent level of English. Other than that, virtually anyone could become a teacher!
Working in hospitality
If you’re a very social person, love to hang out and don’t mind having a drink (or 5), working in hospitality while travelling will probably be the best way to make money.
Depending on where you’re travelling to and your background, you could find casual jobs in hostels, cruise ships, yachts or ski resorts, just make sure you have the right work visa!
I’ve seen a lot of event promoters or bartenders travelling through Southeast Asia, often working for their accommodation and having food and drinks catered for (a great deal if you ask me!).
Cruise ships are another very popular choice because of the variety of jobs on board. From housekeeping and waitressing to performer and manager, working on cruises will take you literally everywhere in the world, usually for a 3-6 months period of consistent, full-time work.
Working in the tourism industry
From tour guide to scuba diving instructor, working in the tourism industry means you will never be out of work.
You don’t need to have a specific certification to be a tour guide (but definitely brush up your history knowledge of the country you intend to work/travel to), while you’d definitely need one to become a scuba dive instructor.
I met many people who, because of tourism jobs now live in dreamy places where it always feels like a holiday! If you’re the adventurous type, this is for you.
Freelancing or starting your own business
These are the options I choose for myself. Partly because I didn’t want to be tied to a location to make money, but mostly because I wanted to create a job for myself that could travel and grow with me (rather than starting from scratch every time).
You could freelance in virtually any field, as long as you have some transferable skills people would pay for.
In my case, I had started a travel blog to document my travels in 2018, and by 2019 I had enough knowledge to support other business owners with their tasks as a virtual assistant and then social media manager. That expanded into web design, graphic design and eventually consulting, allowing me to take clients from anywhere in the world while I continued travelling.
Most people would recommend freelancing on platforms such as Upwork or Fiverr. Unfortunately, they are both oversaturated and incredibly hard to find jobs. I personally was never able to get any of the opportunities there.
Instead, find brands you’d like to support and approach them directly. You’ll be more likely to get work (or a future connection) without sacrificing your hourly rate or competing with 1000s of service providers.
Keep your job and work remotely!
Lastly – why not ask your current boss to take your work remotely?
Chances are that, after COVID, everyone will be more open to online work, especially if you don’t have to physically be in the office.
This will obviously depend on your position, responsibilities… and timezone! The bottom line is that if you can work from home, you can probably do so from Thailand too.
Best of luck on your travels! 🤞🏾
What job will you do while working?