Amazing jobs for Travel Lovers: Work & Explore the World!

Spend Your Life Doing Something You Love

jobs for travel lovers

If you’re a travel lover or looking for a digital nomad career, there are several jobs for travel lovers that can allow you to earn an income while exploring new destinations. When I ask people what sort of job they are planning to do when they tell me they want to travel, they often say teaching English. Not because they have any interest in teaching, but because they have an interest in travel. Well, you don’t have to do something you don’t love! There are so many career opportunities that might interest you.

What you will find here:

What if I told you there are many different avenues that you can consider when looking at a slow travel lifestyle (for more on slow travel, you can read my Slow Travel Guide here) that doesn’t involve compromising on your career? Well, jobs for travel lovers is what I’m going to share with you! I have lived in four different countries and lived as an expat for over a decade. After meeting people from many different backgrounds and people with many different values and priorities in life, I’ve put together a list to share with you featuring the jobs that I’ve seen take people all over the world.

Things to consider when choosing your Digital Nomad career

If you’re looking to change your career to indulge in more travel or stepping in or out of  university and wondering what options you have, it can be overwhelming trying to decide how to nail down what sort of career is right for you. Here are some questions that might help you choose a job that aligns with the lifestyle you want to live:

• Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? I like to imagine my ideal life. How many hours do I work? What new skills do I learn? That may help you set yourself goals.
• What are the most important things to you in life? Some international companies will allow you to transfer to their other locations and some companies may offer tenure or long term service leave.
• What are you willing to compromise on and what are you not willing to compromise on? Some jobs may require you to spend long hours in the first few years and some remote jobs may not allow international travel.
• What responsibilities do you have? Some jobs and some countries offer visa sponsorships for families and other career paths are great for those without dependents.

Once you know the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to make decisions about whether or not careers are right for you. Keep reading for my full list of jobs for travel lovers.

JOB OPTIONS FOR TRAVEL LOVERS:

Travel Writer

Let’s start with the idealistic career that we would all love! A travel writer is responsible for writing articles, guidebooks, and other content about destinations around the world. This job requires strong writing skills, a passion for travel, and the ability to capture the essence of a place in words. It is the one of the ideal jobs for travel lovers.

Pros of being a travel writer:

• You can work anywhere. 
• You can work your own hours.

Cons of being a travel writer: 

• Difficult to get into this industry.
• You would need to run your own business which can be time-consuming.
• You would have to organise your own taxes.
• Unsteady pay and low pay until you build up a portfolio if you work as a freelancer.

Tour Guide

A tour guide leads groups of travellers on tours of various destinations, sharing their knowledge of the local history, culture, and customs. This job requires good communication skills, knowledge of the local area, and the ability to handle unexpected situations.

Pros of being a tour guide: 

• Good hours.
• Get to meet new people.
• Get to talk about something you love and are passionate about.

Cons of being a tour guide: 

• Difficult to organise visas.
• Low pay.
• You have to be a people person (this is in the con section because this sounds hard).

Travel Photographer

A travel photographer captures images of destinations, landscapes, and cultures around the world. This job requires a keen eye for composition, technical skills, and the ability to tell a story through images.

Pros of being a travel photographer: 

• You can shoot all over the world.
• You get to do something that you love.
• You can use your photography to share a message you are passionate about.

Cons of being a travel photographer: 

• A lot of work would be freelance, which could be difficult to maintain.
• Unsteady pay until you build up a list of clients.
• Difficult to get a visa.
• You would have to manage your own taxes.

Flight Attendant

A flight attendant is responsible for the safety and comfort of passengers on board an airplane. This job requires excellent customer service skills, the ability to work under pressure, and a willingness to travel frequently.

Pros of being a flight attendant: 

• If you do not have dependents, it is a great way to travel solo and meet new people that have similar lifestyles to you. 
• You often get consistency in routes, so you’ll get to visit the same place every now again and learn about the country more.

Cons of being a flight attendant: 

• Flight attendant positions are essentially a glamorous customer service job. Unfortunately customer service jobs means that you have to deal with people, and Karen’s can be very unpleasant.
• Low pay and little career progression.

International School Teacher

I taught art in international schools, which is one of my personal favourite jobs for travel lovers. It helped me travel the world. International schools are schools for expat’s children, and are often in English. This is a great option to experience expat life.

Pros of being an international school teacher: 

• Schools usually arrange your contracts and visas for at least 2 years so you have some stability. 
• Teachers are always sought after so it is a skill that you can easily transfer to your home country should you wish to return home. 
• All those paid school holidays!
• Regular pay and they might pay better than your home country (in my experience the top-tier schools pay on-par with places like Australia and much better than places like the USA).
• Your work will help with your visa and accomodation.

Cons of being an international school teacher: 

• Teaching is a high stress job.
• Some schools can be poorly run so you have to be careful and vet the schools before you fly over and commit to a contract.

2024 update: the world is screaming out for teachers right now, especially those with a bachelors in Education and a current teaching license in an English-speaking country.

Critical Skill Worker

If you’re looking for the expat lifestyle, this is a good one. Countries usually have jobs that they urgently need filled, and this is a great way to get your foot in the door to a country that may be otherwise quite difficult to travel to long-term. You can find Australia’s list of critical skills here.

Pros of being a critical skill worker: 

• Critically skilled jobs will give you an advantage for many different countries.
• They’re usually jobs that also have long-term growth as they’re careers that many countries are desperately seeking to fill. This includes childcare workers, chefs, and psychologists.
• Regular pay and usually competitive pay as they’re in-demand jobs.
• Your work will help with your visa and accomodation.

Cons of being critical skill worker: 

• A majority of these jobs require you to study or hold a registration.
• You will usually have to find the position yourself and ask them to sponsor you.

Employee at a global company

Lots of multinational global companies have offices all over the world, including headquarters in different regions. If you are already working at a global company, I recommend having a look at their internal job board for positions in different countries. You can also talk to your boss about your long-term goals within the company. This is one of the ways in which we were able to move abroad. This is another great opportunity to experience the expat lifestyle.

Pros of being an employee at a global company: 

• You do not have to compromise your career
• You can develop skills that are in high demand.
• There are great opportunities within these countries for secondments or internal transfers so you can keep your position/get promoted.
• You will have stability and regular pay.
• There is no limit to what you could get paid!
• Your work may help with your visa and accomodation.

Cons of being an employee at a global company:

• You don’t get that ‘run-away’ feeling.

Travel Blogger

A travel blogger or influencer are perfect jobs for travel lovers. You will get to create content related to travel, including blog posts, social media updates, and videos. This job requires excellent writing and photography skills, and the ability to create engaging content that resonates with your audience. You’re also going to have to provide an insightful and unique voice as it is a saturated market.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog, I have a few reasons why blogging is better than social media.

Pros of being a travel blogger: 

• Major bragging rights.
• Freedom!

Cons of being a travel blogger: 

• Unsteady pay and low pay until your blog starts to bring in readers.
• You will be on your phone or computer a lot.
• You are at the mercy of the Google Gods so you will constantly need to keep up-skilling in SEO and other skills.

Influencer/UCG creator

This job requires a strong social media presence and/or a knowledge of marketing. Personally, I see this as the modern day used car salesman and I don’t think this job is going to age well. If you don’t know what this job is it is basically TV shopping channel but for the internet.

Pros of being an influencer: 

• Major bragging rights (for now).
• Brands will send you PR for free!

Cons of being an influencer: 

• Unsteady pay and low pay until you build up a portfolio and following.
• You may have to sell a part of your soul to get those followers/make $$$.
• You will be on your phone a lot.
• A lot of the pay relies on commission payments, which means you will need to be good at sales.

Travel Agent 

A travel agent helps clients plan their travel itineraries, including flights, hotels, and activities. This job requires excellent organisational skills, knowledge of the travel industry, and the ability to provide exceptional customer service.

Pros of being a travel agent: 

• You get to scroll the internet for flights for a living (my favourite hobby!)
• You will get to travel to cute hotels and places, especially if there is something new opening up!

Cons of being a travel agent: 

• A lot of the pay relies on commission payments, which means you will need to be good at sales.
• It is a super competitive industry.