Imagine you are sitting in a beautiful cafe with the smell of coffee and baked goods hanging sweetly in the air. People all around you speaking happily in different languages as you begin to write on your laptop. You are in paradise and quite at your leisure. The best part….you realize that you don’t need to pack up and go home after 1 week of vacation, you have plans to stay. You get to decide just how long you stay can stay because you have found a way to work and travel.

There aren’t many people out there who don’t have a desire to travel and see the world. The scale often adjusts with intensity, but the consensus generally is, travel is amazing. But having the aptitude for long-term work and travel is definitely not for everyone.

Working while you travel is for those who dare to be different, those who grab opportunity by the horns, those who jump in with both feet and seek a little adventure. Does this sound like you?

If you want to see the world, but can’t go a year without making money, then we have an ultimate work and travel guide for you!

Here’s a menu of what you can expect:

Why Work and Travel

Tips for Working Overseas

Travel Etiquette

Best Places to Work and Travel

Top 10 Physical Work Opportunities

Top 10 Creative Work Opportunities

Top 10 Online Travel Opportunities

Top 10 Unique Online Specialist Professions

What Gadgets You’ll Need to Work and Travel

Can I Work and Travel When I Don’t Have Money?

How to Save Money on Your Travels

Related Posts:

Work and Travel in the Middle East

How we made more than $100k doing Work and Travel

Write your own blog to Work and Travel

Why Work and Travel

Work and Travel is an excellent way to experience the world for more extended periods and with a depth that would be impossible to obtain through most tourism travel. Working in another country allows you to see the in’s and outs of their government, view the different levels of society and in some cases experience life in a very similar way to the citizens.

The other advantage to work and travel is, of course, the money. What better way to fund your travels than by taking up work while you traverse the great expanse. Traveling in this manner allows you to see and experience far more than you would otherwise.

 

Tips for Working Overseas

1. An employer will first need to agree to employ you before you can apply for a work visa. If you know someone who works in a country you’re interested in, then they may be able to put in a good word for you. If you have a skill or degree that they are in need of, then it will also be easier to gain employment. Be sure to read and understand the contract before signing… no contract, no job.
2. There are often processing fees associated with getting a visa. Be sure to know what those are before arriving.
3. If you’re under 30, then Work Abroad programs can assist you in finding jobs and helping you apply for the correct visas.
4. If you’re wanting to avoid the work visa, but want to spend extra time in Europe, then you could save a little money by volunteering at various locations. This will be discussed more below.
5. Another way to save yourself the difficulty of the work visa is to create your own location independent company. We have tips on how to get started on this below!

 

Travel Etiquette

When visiting or going to work in a country not your own it’s important to know about the general etiquette rules as not to insult anyone.

1. Leave stereotypes at home (or just get rid of them altogether). While we can think it’s funny to point out what you think is a stereotype, it can be bothersome or downright insulting to others. Keep your foot out of your mouth by never assuming. (As a Canadian I can tell you that we do say ‘eh’ a lot…I’m bad for it…have even gone to type it out in my blogs and stopped myself…but for some reason, I don’t like having it pointed out all the time)
2. As a general rule, you should take off your hat and, occasionally shoes, in religious places, schools, respected public institutions and when entering other people’s homes. This may not be a rule everywhere, but it’s in enough places that you can’t go wrong if you do it. There may be exceptions to this rule, so make sure to check out cultural norms when you go somewhere unfamiliar.
3. Tips are not always accepted and in many European countries, tips are given at a lower rate than typically accepted in North America (5% instead of 10-20%). Grossly overtipping can sometimes be just as insulting as not tipping at all.
4. While in North America, asking for substitutes or doggie-bags at restaurants is common, but it’s not in other places (like France). But, do ask for the bill as wait staff is often trained not to rush you by bringing it without it being asked.
5. Be generally pleasant and polite. This is just good advice for life, but while traveling remembers to: greet shop owners, thank and compliment a host, be respectful of the wait staff, etc. Preferably in their own language if you can manage (it’s not too difficult to learn the pleasantries…you can learn ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, ‘thank you’, ‘sorry or excuse me’ on a plane or train ride to your next destination and don’t forget Google translate).
6. Stay clear of politics. Again, decent general advice in life, but remember that you may not understand the full scope of their local/national politics and history.

 

Best Places to Work and Travel

Middle East

By far the most lucrative of work and travel destinations, the Middle East has many opportunities for people with various skills and passports. Careers in Oil, Engineering, Tourism, and Teaching can be financially rewarding. The best part is that many of the opportunities still have a low amount of competition due to people generally being scared of the Middle East.

Europe

Europe is perhaps the most competitive work and travel destinations due to the very high number of well educated, highly skilled polyglots which will make getting a job in Europe difficult indeed. Should you manage to have a sought-after skill or in demand trade then the location could not be better for travel with so many amazing world-class cities, varied cultures and historic sites nearby.

South Korea

South Korea is perhaps one of the most popular TESL destinations and wages can vary widely depending on education, with well-educated teachers being offered wages comparable to those in the Middle East. If your desire is to explore the Pacific Rim then the location can not be beaten. Despite the fact that it is such a popular destination the competition is still not overly difficult.

Cruise Ships

Cruise ships are a unique way to see the world and offer beautiful sites and locals. They are highly competitive and they have very demanding roles and exceptionally long hours. On the plus side your looking at about one week off for every month of work in your contract.

 

Top 10 Physical Work and Travel Opportunities

More and more people are looking for work and travel opportunities so that you can explore the world without going broke. Some of them just want to see amazing places that wouldn’t normally be within reach on their budget and others are hoping to live a nomadic lifestyle. Either way there are many opportunities to work and travel and we’re going to share the top ten.

Teaching

An amazing work and travel opportunity that can often pay well and give great vacation opportunities is teaching. Depending on your teaching location, education, passport, and language abilities you can make anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars a month. We’ve personally taught primary school in the Middle East with only a Bachelor’s in Christian Ministries. Yes, it was ironic that we were teaching grade school in an Islamic country, but with $100k+ in tax-free pay and benefits we certainly weren’t complaining

Check out more work and travel opportunities for teachers HERE

Cruise Ship

Working on a cruise ship is a unique and classy work and travel opportunity. If you have a needed skill and the right passport you can make decent money working on a cruise ship while enjoying the life on the high seas. Not to worry, safety standards have gone way up since the Titanic. Salaries vary widely on cruise ships, anywhere from $15k for a photographer to $110k for the chief accountant. Here’s a great start to getting onto a cruise ship.

Waterslide Tester

So, this is a real job that can have you traveling all over sliding down water slides. As a waterslide tester, you will travel to different water parks and rate your experience using various metrics to help the parks improve the customer experience. The only downside is that slides are typically tested in off seasons when it can be cold or generally unpleasant out, but hey, you’re still getting paid to go down slides. According to Payscale.com, they make an average of $34,000 a year.

Cowboy… Yup we said, Cowboy

Australia is in dire need of ranch hands/cowboys and is willing to teach able-bodied people the tricks of the trade in return for their work. The pay ranges quite a bit and you must be able to ride a horse. But for the right person, this could be the experience of a lifetime. Depending on your experience you could make anything from $25,000 – $60,000.

Ski Chalet

Ski Chalets are located basically anywhere with mountains and if you have the experience and skill you could work on nearly any continent teaching tourists how to ski. Generally, this is seasonal employment which means you can complete a contract before your visa runs out in most countries. Depending on your experience and passport you could earn anything from $34,000 – $68,000 on the slopes.

Camp Worker

Camps need workers and often they will hire expats due to laws that make it easier for seasonal employers to hire foreign workers. America, in particular, has an abundance of well-funded camps, but Europe also has its fair share of exciting campgrounds. With some landscaping or educational experience, you can likely stand out as an ideal candidate and spend the season working outdoors. Depending on your experience you could earn $20,000 – $60,000 working at camps.

Book Scout

Now, this sounds like the perfect job for avid readers. Seeking out new literary talent for book companies means lots of reading. You get to visit conventions and other events where writers may be selling their wares and you can buy all the books! If you love reading and have an undergraduate in English or some proven writing or editing experience this might be an incredible job for you. Glassdoor.com tells us the average salary for this career is $48,000 which is slightly more than some people would like to spend on books.

Marketing

Marketing is a job that remains the same the world over. Especially if you are selling a product to North Americans. Whether you’re an expert in SEO, social media, design, or copy you could work anywhere in the world. You could arrange private contracts or take a job with a company. The average salary is almost $49,000.

Nursing

Nursing can be a rewarding job and is in demand the world over. If you have a respected degree, work should be available to you on every continent. Nursing can be lucrative as well with salaries ranging from $45,000 – $94,000.

Engineer

Math is the universal language. Engineering is used everywhere in the world and whether you are building, assembling or inspecting you can find work somewhere. Engineering is very well paid work with salaries ranging from $78,000 – $186,000.

 

Top 10 Creative Work and Travel Opportunities

Sell Art

Selling art is one way to make a living while traveling. You would be hard-pressed to find an artist who has never imagined themselves sketching tourists in front of the Eiffel tower. But your not limited to sketching caricatures, you can also sell your art online. The salary ranges widely from $21,000 to $48,000 depending on your art skills and people skills.

Street Entertainer

Entertaining people as a busker with instruments, a performance, or some other performance art can be lucrative so long as you don’t break any bylaws with your performance. Many cities limit who and when you can do street performances. On average busy street performers can make $44,000 a year.

Graphic Design

Graphic Design can be done from anywhere in the world so long as you have great access to the internet, design skills and the appropriate computer you could be making money from clients around the world. Graphic Designers can make between $44,000 – $74,000 a year.

Sell Crafts & Merchandise

Selling at events is a great way to see amazing places while only working on weekends. If you choose the right events you could make a good deal of money so long as you have the ability to bring around the abundance of craft or merchandise you need to sell. It’s difficult to track the number of money vendors earn but Smartasset.com estimates that vendors earn an average of $45,000.

Face & Body Painter

Face and Body painters can earn a good deal of money at any event with children our college-aged women in attendance. It is vital to choose quick designs, stencils and decrease options to get through lines as fast as possible. Expert face painters can get through a face every 5 minutes and charge $5 per face. That translates into about $600 a day spent face painting, or $62,400. Or make it a bit easier and simply do arm dipping. A new artistic craze that festival-goers love to partake in. Check out this video.

Photographer

Photographers can make a good deal of money assuming they can find buyers for their work. This can be done by reaching out to events, businesses and other organizations to let them know what you can do and what your rates are. We are in the era of stock photography but people still need great quality pictures of their own services that they can use for social media and websites. According to payscale.com full time, photographers can generally make an average of $41,000 a year.

Instagrammer

Companies need professional Instagrammers and if you can manage it, you can get a personal following and make money as a social influencer. With a good phone and decent copywriting skills, you can produce lots of great content and bring attention to products, events, and services. Some professional influencers can make hundreds of thousands a year, but don’t expect to make that sort of money overnight.

Videographer

Professional videographers can make a few thousand dollars per gig, which is good because camera equipment can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You can also rent equipment which may be the best way to go as a traveler. Drone camera work can earn good money right now as well. A busy videographer can make $50,000 – $150,000 a year before expenses.

Writer

Writers are needed for all sorts of reasons. Blog posts, copywriting, articles, professional documents, book writing and even doing other people’s homework. Writers make an average of $40,000 a year unless you’re George R R Martin, then you can make $250,000 per event, 10 million a year in book rights and 15 million in HBO royalties. You can even make up to $8,000 per month writing romance novels and selling them on Amazon.

Voice Talent

People need voice talent to read scripts and for transcribing documents or websites. If you have a pleasant voice and decent audio recording equipment you could earn good money by reading aloud. The trick, of course, is getting business and making good recordings. Voice over actors makes an average of about $40,000 a year.  

 

Top 10 Online Work and Travel Opportunities

Freelancing

If you have a talent that can be accomplished by a computer you can offer your services on freelancing sites such as Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer. If you can bring in steady work and your talented enough you could earn between $28,000 and 68,000 a year.

Virtual Assistant

Working as a virtual assistant may not be glamorous, but it can often be steady work for someone who is just starting out or hasn’t yet honed the skills necessary to do your own business. It’s great for those who are organized and effective office administrators and social media experts/enthusiasts. Virtual assistants can make anywhere from $30,000 – $40,000 a year if they can find a steady client or more if they can juggle multiple clients.

Blogging

The #1 and easily the most flexible work and travel opportunity is blogging. It allows you to work from literally anywhere in the world so long as there is an internet. With some extensive research (or help from us!), a decent computer, and a small investment in web services (starting at $3.95.month) you can start your own blog and monetize it. If you want to know how to do that we’ve written a ton of posts on that very subject. We even set up a free email course on the things you need to know about blogging.

Vlogging

If you have a dynamic personality or just great cheekbones with a passable personality you can go far with vlogging. Spinning interesting stories, doing interesting things or even just reviewing popular products are all things that attract viewers and if properly channeled can earn vloggers money. A commonly used ratio for knowing how much you can make is $1000 earned for every one million views of your video. This is strictly advertising earnings which could be changed by the nature of your content and whether you can find additional methods of monetization (using a blog to sell products and affiliate market).  

Website Flipping

If you’re talented at website design, can spot a profitable online market, and enjoy the process of imagining/starting successful websites, then you might be destined to be a website flipper. You can build websites you think would be popular and sell them to people interested in building them up. People have claimed to make great money doing this and report upwards of six-figure salaries.

Website Developer

Website developers make websites for other people and you can generally take two approaches. Make simple websites for small businesses or make complicated websites for medium to large businesses. Whichever road you choose you will have to make sure your customer is happy because they are your reference and an ongoing relationship will be needed to keep up their website so it stays fresh and relevant. According to glassdoor.com the average salary for this career is $59,000 a year.

App designer/developer

If you can design or develop apps there is money to be made. Either by making and selling apps yourself or by making apps for other people this is a career that you can make tons of money doing no matter where you are in the world. $84,000 is the average salary of an app developer but if you invent a popular app you could earn much more than that.

eCommerce

Maybe you would love making simple websites and driving traffic to them but hate the idea of writing lengthy blog posts all the time. eCommerce sites are the best option for you. They simply are a store that people can browse online instead of in person. Your job will be to create a website with niche products, a clear brand, effective marketing and customer service. You have a choice of personally stocking your materials and mailing them out or dropshipping/affiliate links them (connecting with a company that stores the goods and mails them out for you). Assuming you’ve chosen the affiliate link option or have employees doing the mailing you can do this from anywhere in the world. As a project manager for an eCommerce website, you would make an average salary of $68,000 and many eCommerce sites can make insane money given enough time and if they’ve picked the right niche.

Domain Flipping

(Don’t actually do this, this drives me unbelievably nuts.) How it works is that you look for domain names that will be wanted by future companies. Whether it’s something simple like Simple.com or something specific like finding a domain that would work for a soon to be a huge brand. Either way, the hope is that a potential buyer will come along and offer you a great deal more than you originally paid for the domain name. Some domains have sold for tens of millions but usually, it’s more like getting $12 when you’ve paid $1.99 for it. You have to buy tons of these names to make it worth your while and you will have to sit on them (all the while paying for them) until they are sold.

Sponsorship Marketing

Events need marketing experts to sell their event to sponsors for marketing opportunities. It’s a growing business field and a lot of people do it rather poorly. If you can get familiar with the system, learn what businesses and events are looking for and play the matchmaker you can make serious dough from anywhere in the world. Working for a company you can make an average of $38,000 a year but as a successful independent contractor, you can make an average $104,000 a year.

 

Top 10 Unique Work and Travel Online Professions

Conversion Rate Optimizer (CRO) –  

Don’t let the name fool you. Conversion Rate Optimizers are not androids. CROs use various tools and strategies to increase the percentage of visitors to a website in order to get them to take the desired action on a webpage. CRO’s make anywhere from $57,000 – $106,000 a year.

Hubspot Marketing Specialist:

Hubspot is an inbound marketing company and being a specialist with this platform will put you ahead of the game. Learn to ‘attract’, ‘convert’, ‘close’, and ‘delight’ your customers. This means that a Hubspot specialist will be able to optimize every step that a potential customer will take from their first interest to their first purchase and beyond (to keep them coming back). Hubspot Marketing Specialist make an average of $57,000

Performance Marketer:

Performance Marketers specialize in creating, strategizing and testing Google ads for best Return On Investment. It’s time-consuming work that can be done much faster by experts which is why people are willing to pay them so much money to do it. Performance Marketers make an average of $76,000 year.

Strategic Consultant:

Provide advice to companies on their goals and future direction. They help increase revenue quicker and add value to their company. This is a very specialized career and you need to have a very successful past as a CEO or President. Strategic Consultants make an average of 88,000 yearly but consultants with a truly successful past could earn much more.  

UX/UI Designer:

User Experience (UX) Designers improve the usability, accessibility, and pleasure of a product for users. User Interface (UI) Designers create industrial human-computer interaction: the space in which humans and computers interact. UX/UI Designers can expect to earn an average of $58,000 a year although they can earn six figures working for large tech companies.

Operations Research Scientist:

Operations Research Scientists identify and analyze behavioral data and patterns to offer suggestions to improve productivity and profitability. Large companies will fly you all over the world to do this job assuming you have the education and the experience. Operations Research Scientists can expect an average salary of $83,000.

Information Security Specialist: ISS’s design, test, implement and monitor security measures for company systems. Staying up to date and continuous learning is key to this role. The salary range varies widely for these specialists but the average is an impressive $88,000.

Quality Assurance Engineer: QAE’s oversee the entire software engineering process from start to finish. A QAE can expect to earn $62,000 a year but could earn triple digit salaries working for large tech companies.

Email & Marketing Automation Specialist: There are many areas in business that need automated marketing including, email, social media, and various website actions. This is where the email and marketing automation comes in. Familiarity with email automation systems is all you need for this role and it will pay an average of $49,000/

Product Manager: Oversees various teams and is responsible for the overall process of a product from market research to production timetables to developing marketing strategies and everything in between. At $82,000 this could be a sweet gig for someone with a bachelors in business.

 

What Gadgets You’ll Need to Work and Travel

 

Window Mounted Solar Charger 

Working while you travel means working in cafes, on trains, and in airports. There are going to be times when you need a working electronic device and this gadget will keep you rocking. With a 1 watt solar panel and quick charge pack, you won’t have to wait long either.

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HooToo Wireless Travel Router 

With this gadget, you can turn landlines into wireless networks and most importantly you can turn public wifi into your own personal secure network so you can keep your files safe while working on free wifi. It also has 1GB of storage which could be handy for those who take lots of photos.

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Pacsafe Travelsafe 12L Anti-Theft Portable Safe

Think of this portable safe as a bike lock for your laptop and other valuables. It can be locked to anything you can wrap the aircraft grade cable around and its steel wire mesh embedded poly canvas fabric stops prevent would-be thieves from cutting into the safe.

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TYLT Energi Pro Power Backpack w/ Charging Station

This is an amazing addition to your work station. It can hold all your portable electronics and is ready to charge your gadgets from anywhere. If your planning to be out for a long day, then this is a must to get through all your work.

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BAGSMART Universal Travel Cable Organizer 

You can easily fit a 9.7 inch tablet, lots of cords, adapters and USB drives in this great little travel case which will keep your cords organized and tangle free.

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KobraTech Cell Phone Tripod Stand 

You can take this mini tripod anywhere you go, take great shots with the tripod and use the USB remote shutter to take pictures from up to 30 feet away.

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reMarkable – E-Paper Tablet 

Replace your notebooks, printouts, and documents with the reMarkable. This groundbreaking device changes how people work. It is good for sketching, drawing, taking notes on their own, on PDFs or in books.

 

Can I Work and Travel When I Don’t Have Money?

 

To be perfectly honest, no, not safely. When traveling to work in another country be sure to have at least enough money or credit to return home if you have to. That doesn’t mean you need to have a lot of money though. Typically you just need a few thousand dollars to carry you until your first paycheck and not have to dip into your emergency fund.

Depending on the way in which you want to work and travel, you will have to prepare appropriately.

If you plan to work for someone else:

1. Remember our safety lessons above (research the legitimacy of the company, get a solid contract in place, never hand over your passport, etc).
2. Have your emergency fund and a way for family/friends back home to contact you and know where you are supposed to be.
3. Save enough for your first month’s expenses.

If you’re working for yourself and building a business:

1. It may be best practice to have something started before you venture off into the world. Building up an online business is tough, hard work and can take a bit of time. So, start prepared.
2. Have an emergency fund and let family know approx. where you are hoping to be and when (and keep them informed both for your safety and their sanity).
3. Begin with at least what you project you will need for 3-4 months (and know that it may go quicker than you think)
4. Use our tips to reduce your expenses and start with a plan to know how much you can expect to spend.

 

How to Save Money on Your Travels

Saving money on your travels can be done in a number of ways. You could write a whole blog post on just that topic alone, actually, we already have and you can read it HERE. Some good general rules include renting for longer periods to get cheaper rates. Cooking instead of eating out will save you tons of cash, especially if you prefer to eat western food. You can also share resources by getting roommates, car shares and by borrowing stuff you don’t use very often from friends.

 

Phew! As we creep up on 6000 words, I think that we’ve given you one honkin’ post on how to work and travel overseas.

If you want to travel, if you have that deep down desire in your bones to see this amazing world, then you have the tools to accomplish this. From those with fewer skills to those with specialized degrees, you are capable of achieving great things, including your world traveling goals.

No excuses. Get started on planning your future and your adventure.

Want the ultimate freedom to travel? Check out our ‘How to Start a Blog’ article to get you started. Where would you like to work and travel? Leave a comment or question below.