Teaching English

Whenever the topic of travel jobs come up in conversation, the subject of teaching English as a foreign language is usually not too far behind.  TEFL is sometimes, unfairly perhaps, labelled as the “last hope for the young and directionless.” But, putting that massive generalisation to one side, teaching English as a foreign language is a great way to live virtually anywhere in the world.

Au Pair

Being an Au Pair is a great way to experience a new country, from the perspective of the people who live there. It will give you a real opportunity to learn a new language, and provide you with plenty of free time to explore the place you’re living in.  You won’t get rich being an Au Pair, but you’ll get a roof over your head and be well-fed.

Of course, getting a job as an Au Pair will be easier if you have previous experience of childcare. That being said, a positive can-do attitude and a personality match with the family will often be the biggest factor in them choosing you.

Some Useful Websites:

greataupair.com – Where care providers and families click

aupairworld.com – The world’s leading au pair agency

Cocktail Mixer

Most students have done some bar work, at sometime or other. Failing that, most students have at least spent a lot of time in bars and therefore have some concept of how they work. Bar work is a great way to pay for travelling, although it does help if you’re fluent in the language of the locals (especially as they can start to slur their words after a few drinks).

If you’re an English speaker, with only a basic understanding of other languages, you should still be able to get some bar work in Australia, New Zealand, Canada or the USA. The British accent in the States, especially, usually goes down well and you might be able to pick-up a decent take-home bonus in the form of tips.

Of course, you might prefer to work in swankier establishments and improve your salary as result. Your chances of working somewhere good will be massively improved if you take a City and Guilds UK-based course in professional bartending (other courses are available, should you choose to take one while travelling). Learning transferable cocktail-making skills will make getting a nice job that much easier.

Some Useful Websites:

City & Guilds – Professional Bartending Course (60-hour course)

The New York Bartending School (40-hour course)

BarMax Sydney – Australia (40-hour course)

Travel Writer

What could be better than travelling the world, and getting paid to write about it? Not much…not much. Of course, making money from travel writing isn’t exactly the easiest path to go down but it’s definitely one of the most rewarding.

Brooke Saward, who set up the World of Wanderlust website and now works as a travel blogger full-time, has this to say:

“I get tonnes of emails about where to start as a travel blogger and the best piece of advice I can give is to just start! We all have to start somewhere. When I first began travel blogging I knew I wanted to make it my full time career, but I had no idea how.”

“So I just started writing, editing, adjusting my approach, and over time improving the way I write, what I write about, and how I connect with my readers around the world.”

“Someone once told me that it was worth more in the long run to work for free at something you love until you get paid to do it, rather than to do something until you love it. Those words stuck with me and after a few months writing for free, I was starting to make (small amounts) of money from travel blogging. Over time I have been fortunate enough to make this my full time career!”

Some Useful Websites:

Five Expert Tips For Getting Started In Travel Writing

So You Want To Be A Travel Writer?

Flight Attendant

If you love travelling, and want to be paid to do it, being a flight attendant is one of the most obvious jobs out there. It’s a chaotic way to live, and you definitely have to be a real people-person, but it’s also a great way to visit countries all over the world.

You’ll get on a plane, put in a shift, stay a night or two in foreign cities, and do it all again. The constant timezone shifts will be strange, especially if you’re working the long-haul flights, but it might just be the travel job for you.

Anyone who’s sat next to a troublesome, overly-fussy, passenger will know that flight attendants don’t always have it easy. But when you weigh this up against all the benefits the job offers you (included heavily discounted flights for you and your family), patiently dealing with that annoying passenger might just be a price worth paying.

Some Useful Websites:

Flight Attendant Lobby

Emirates Cabin Crew Jobs 

Ski Instructor

If you’re a big-time snow-sport obsessive, and want to live abroad, becoming a ski instructor might just be the ultimate travel job. After all, what could be better than getting paid to shred powder?

Spend half a year in Whistler (Canada), before heading on down to Wanaka (New Zealand) for the other half of the year. Teach people how to ski and/or snowboard, and make all your friends back home jealous with your mountain-based existence.

If you want to make this dream a reality, you’ll need a Level 2 qualification from the British Association of Snowsport Instructors. The course is made up of 15 days of coursework, and 70 hours practical experience.

Some Useful Websites:

British Association of Snowsport Instructors – BASI

Season Workers – Ski Jobs

Cruise Ship Crew

Much like being a flight attendant, working on a cruise ship means you literally get paid for travelling from one place to another. Not an ideal job if you suffer from intense bouts of seasickness and/or have a general hate for working in hospitality, but if you’d like to spend your winter in the Caribbean and your summer in Scandinavia then this could be just the employment opportunity you’ve been searching for.

Cruise ships, especially luxurious ones, have every kind of job opportunity imaginable. Cooks, cleaners, musicians, fitness instructors, art sellers, beauty therapists and nursery staff; it’s all happening on these oversized boats.

If you’ve got experience in customer service, and a recognised qualification in the profession of your choosing, you’re all set to make money on a cruise ship.

Some Useful Websites:

cruiseshipjob.com – Live On A Luxury Cruise Ship

allcruisejobs.com – The Global Cruise Job Board

Photographer

Photography, much like travel writing, isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to make money from initially. That being said, if you’ve got a passion for cameras and an eye for a shot there’s no reason whatsoever you can’t travel the globe and make taking snaps your full-time profession.

Being a photographer, you’ll be able to work on a freelance basis; travelling the world as and when you please. If you want to take professional standard photos, and thus increase the likelihood of you getting paid for the moments you capture, you might want to take a photography course (a university course is highly recommended).

Some Useful Websites:

Photojournalism Career

University Of Central Lancashire – Travel Photography