If you have a natural-born wanderlust, you’ll want to spend as much time traveling as possible. At the same time, you need some way to make money. Thanks to the abundance of diverse career options available, and the technology that makes remote work a possibility, there’s a way to resolve these two seemingly incompatible drives.
With the right career, you can make a sustainable income while still traveling all over the world. But what types of careers allow for this lifestyle?
Career Ideas for Travelers
These are some of your best options:
1. Property investment. You may think of property investing as a landlord as something you need to be present for, but this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, many landlords intentionally enlist the help of property management firms to save time and generate income without having to put in much effort. If you can get a small portfolio of rental properties up and running, you can let them generate passive income while you travel and see the world. The catch is, this path requires significant upfront work.
2. Flight attendance. If you become a flight attendant, you’ll be able to work as you travel from one place to another—and see different cities around the world in the process. You’ll need to provide food and drinks to passengers, assist them to the right seats, and most importantly, become familiar with safety procedures to ensure the flight goes smoothly for everyone.
3. Blogging. Blogging can be a difficult career to pull off, but if you can get thousands of visitors to your blog every month, consistently, you can generate a livable salary. More importantly, you can write on the go, or even write about your travels directly, so you can keep your blog running from anywhere in the world.
4. Photography. Similarly, you can take photos and sell them as a form of income generation. Depending on your skillset and interests, you could sell photos of your travel destinations as stock photography, or become a freelancer, taking photos for clients in each new area.
5. English teaching. If you’re reading this article, you already have a decent understanding of the English language. Why not share that knowledge with others and make money in the process? English is one of the most in-demand languages in the world, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding a place as an English teacher abroad. In some cases, you may only need a minimal understanding of the native language to teach English effectively.
6. Consulting. Consulting is a broad field, but almost any type of consulting can take you around the world. This is especially true if you work as a consultant for a major company or organization with dozens of international locations; in this case, you’ll be responsible for overseeing or making changes to institutions in many different countries.
7. Programming. The need for programmers is constantly growing, with no real end in sight. If you know how to code, you’ll be able to pull a decent salary no matter where or how you’re working. And in most cases, you’ll be able to do all your work remotely—so you can travel from place to place while staying busy with your work.
8. Reselling/eCommerce. If you sell products online, you’ll have a wide variety of options to keep generating a passive stream of income. Depending on your goals, you could buy products wholesale, store them, and ship them as people order them for a markup on your site. You could also dropship directly to cut out the storage step. Either way, you can manage operations remotely and collect the money while traveling.
9. Graphic design. If you have an education or background in graphic design, you can put your skills to good use almost anywhere. Design logos, branding, or even full-fledged websites no matter where you’re working, and bounce from place to place without losing your core clients.
10. Virtual assistance. Virtual assistants are becoming more popular, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding a job for yourself. The idea is to provide multiple forms of assistance, like scheduling, note taking, and organization, all remotely—so you can sustain a part-time or full-time career anywhere in the world.
Finding Your Place
Of course, there’s no guarantee that a specific career path will be open to you, and once you start, there’s no guarantee you’ll fall in love with the profession. If you’re like most people, you’re going to need to spend some time experimenting and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. As long as you keep adapting and learning more about yourself in the process, you’ll eventually settle into something you enjoy, that makes you money, and also allows you to travel.
