Jobs You Can Do While Traveling The World

With so many jobs being done online and so many companies willing to let people work remotely, the possibility of traveling abroad while still working is becoming more plausible. The issue is that it can be hard to know where to get started or what your career choices are when moving to a new country.

You might want to have a plan before you pack everything you own into two suitcases and jump on a flight, so here's a view of jobs you can consider that will help you feed your love of travel.

Yacht Crew

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Photo Credit: Unsplash / Michael Held
Photo Credit: Unsplash / Michael Held

You'll have to know the basics of sailing before you're able to spend your days working on a yacht, but if you already know that, then it's an easy option. Popular jumping-off points are cities such as Darwin, Australia; Phuket, Thailand; or San Diego, California.

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Drop Shipper/Private Labeler

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Photo Credit: Unsplash
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There are a few different names for it, but the concept of buying or manufacturing products overseas and selling them through Amazon under your own brand is becoming increasingly popular. Through private labeling, you could earn anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to thousands a month depending on how committed you are.

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Tour Guide

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Photo Credit: THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images
Photo Credit: THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images
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Rather than being a tourist in whatever city you want to visit, you could get a job as a tour guide. You could apply to major travel companies ahead of time and let that decide where you go, or you can pick the place you want to live then apply to be a guide with all sorts of companies, providing services like walking tours or acting as a museum guide once you get there.

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Web Development Or Graphic Design

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Photo Credit: Pexels / Andrea Piacquadio
Photo Credit: Pexels / Andrea Piacquadio
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Web development, computer programming, or graphic design are a few of the jobs you could do remotely, either full-time for a company or in a freelance capacity. As long as you've got the skills and a good internet connection, you can take your skills with you wherever you go, so you don't need to be in an office.

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Working At A Hostel

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Photo Credit: INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images
Photo Credit: INTI OCON/AFP via Getty Images
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It might not be the most glamorous job, but many hostels have positions set aside for backpackers who are looking to work in exchange for free room and board. If you're looking to stay longer in one particular place, you could apply for a regular paid position at a hostel, too, like a front desk attendant

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Festival Staff

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Photo Credit: Simone Joyner/Getty Images
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You could try your hand at being an international DJ, or you could apply to be the staff who run the festivals. As a young person, you would get to meet other people your age, get free tickets to all the shows (plus an actual wage), and you can do it year-round by timing your festivals in the northern vs. southern hemisphere of the world. Winters in Australia and summers in Europe sounds pretty good, right?

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Volunteering Abroad

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Photo Credit: Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
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While you want to earn money, the other option is to find a way to travel and not spend any. Volunteering with an NGO or organization like the Peace Corps or WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms) gives you the chance to travel while making a positive contribution to the world, and you don't have to pay for food or rent.

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Virtual Assistant

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Photo Credit: Pexels / Daria Shevtsova
Photo Credit: Pexels / Daria Shevtsova
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With the amount of work that can be done online nowadays, having an assistant that's virtual is something more companies are exploring. Getting hired as an assistant means you could be scheduling social media posts, responding to customers, or managing someone's calendar, but you get to be sitting in your own cabana on the beach somewhere.

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Teaching English Abroad

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Photo Credit: Pexels / Alex Azabache
Photo Credit: Pexels / Alex Azabache
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Teaching English abroad in countries like Korea or Japan is a trendy option for young people who want to live somewhere for a few years while gaining teaching experience. The qualifications vary depending on the country you're going to, but there are plenty of organizations or sites like Teachaway that break it all down for you.

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Teaching Online

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Photo Credit: Pexels
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If you yourself aren't interested in living in a country where English isn't the first language but you still want to take the teaching route, you can also sign up to teach English online. You might need to complete a TEFL/TESL course, or have a degree already, or take a proficiency test. As long as you can work with the time zone of your students, you can teach from any country.

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Traveling Nurse

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Photo Credit: Pinterest
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As a nurse, you are pretty much always going to be able to find work no matter where you go, and working as a traveling nurse is one way to work without accepting a position in one place.

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A traveling nurse contract often lasts for a few months at a time, you make a competitive salary (usually around $60k USD), and assignments can include things like free housing, medical coverage, or rental cars. You just have to already be a registered nurse in order to pursue this.

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Flight Attendant

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Photo Credit: Unsplash
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Becoming a flight attendant seems like the obvious choice of career for someone who loves to travel, but it's more work than people realize. Your locations will vary depending on the airline you work for and if you work domestic or international flights. The amount of time you have in destinations varies depending on your layover times, but it's still a great option.

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Online Translator

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If you know more than one language, there are plenty of jobs—such as translating, transcribing, and editing—that you can do remotely from wherever you choose to call your home for the time being.

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Cruise Ship Worker

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Photo Credit: Unsplash / Tomas Jerabek
Photo Credit: Unsplash / Tomas Jerabek
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This is a pretty straightforward job option if you're looking to travel. You aren't going to be making millions, but you get a place to stay as well as all your meals paid for, plus you get the days off at every stop your ship makes, and you're surrounded by young, fun people doing the same thing as you.

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Travel Blogging Or Photography

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Photo Credit: Unsplash / Alif Ngoylung
Photo Credit: Unsplash / Alif Ngoylung
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One thing to remember before deciding to be the next big travel influencer is that freelance writing or photography isn't as easy as posting photos on social media. It's possible to make a living as a writer or photographer, but you have to put in the effort to build relationships.

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Before you move abroad, work on building a relationship with websites or clients, and start your freelance business so you know how much income to expect.

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Nanny Or Au Pair

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Photo Credit: Pexels / Tatiana Syrikova
Photo Credit: Pexels / Tatiana Syrikova
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Being a nanny for a family abroad (call it an au pair if you want to feel fancy) is a great way to get to live in a new location at a minimal cost. You can find the family that's right for you; you won't be on the clock 24 hours a day, so you have downtime to yourself; and you can get paid as well as potentially getting somewhere to live depending on the level of commitment you're looking for.

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Teaching Any Skill

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Photo Credit: Unsplash / Kaylee Garrett
Photo Credit: Unsplash / Kaylee Garrett
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Whether you've been skiing your whole life or you practice yoga religiously, there's a way you can take doing what you love and make money while you're traveling. Get a job working at a ski village in Switzerland, or go teach yoga at a studio in Bali for a change of pace.

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Social Media Manager

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Photo Credit: Pexels / Alex Azabache
Photo Credit: Pexels / Alex Azabache
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While you're busy traveling around the world making all your friends jealous with your own Instagram posts, you can also make money managing other people's social media accounts. Plenty of brands or businesses are looking for help with their social media but don't want to bring someone on full-time, which is where you come in to help on a part-time basis.

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Destination Wedding Planner

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Photo Credit: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images
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Why be a regular old wedding planner when you could be a destination wedding planner? The happy couple will pay for you to travel with them, you get to be a part of someone's special day in paradise, and you get paid to do it!

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Bartending Or Waitressing

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Photo Credit: Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
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Bartending or waitressing may not be your dream career, but they are skills that are transferable in pretty much every country. No matter what country you want to go to, you're going to be able to find some sort of service industry job to help you pay your bills.