3 Types of Travel Jobs (And Which One is Best For You!)
Looking for a travel job? There are many posts online that list the various travel jobs out there, like teaching English, working for a summer camp, or running an online business anywhere in the world. You might skim one of those lists and go, hmm, that sounds cool or yeah, I'd never do that.
But how do you know which travel job is right for you?
Since time is such a big factor when it comes to traveling, the length of time you'll be working your travel job is the best place to begin in terms of figuring out which travel job is right for you.
It helps to first categorize these types of jobs into their length of time:
Short-term
Long-term
Open-ended
Getting a Travel Job: The Three Types (And Which One Is Best For You)
Short-term
A short-term travel job could be anywhere from a day to a few months. Short-term jobs typically have a contract that lines out how long the opportunity is.
Some benefits about short-term work + travel opportunities include the ability to fit into your current schedule (like if you have a break off of school or vacation time with work), and allow you to "test the waters" before fully committing if you're contemplating returning for a longer period.
A few examples of short-term travel jobs are:
Seasonal positions, like working at a summer camp or ski resort
Internships
Freelance work
Work Away or WWOOF
Volunteering
Long-term
Long-term travel jobs typically last six months or longer, but still have an "end date."
Benefits of working long-term could be moving somewhere new
Some long-term travel jobs include:
English teacher
Peace Corps
Working holiday visa (such as the visa for Americans under 30 years old to live and work in Australia or New Zealand for up to a year)
Au Pair (live-in nanny for a family)
Cruise ship staff
Tour guide
Open-ended
A work + travel opportunity that's open-ended would be working with no foreseeable end, such as working remotely or running an online business. It is open-ended and there is no end date.
Many open-ended travel jobs require time building up to be able to work for however long. If you want to live a work + travel lifestyle forever, consider making these jobs happen.
A few examples of open-ended work + travel jobs include:
Working your regular job remotely
Running an online business from anywhere in the world
Full-time travel blogger
Full-time freelancer
Working in hospitality (such as tourism or the hotel industry, as there are tours and hotels all over the globe)
Jobs that require traveling for work often
Now that we've covered the basics of working short-term, long-term, or open-ended, consider your current situation:
Are you currently employed?
Are you looking for a new job, or do you want to work + travel during vacation time?
Are you starting a business, and if so, can you run it from anywhere?
Once you've reflected on your situation you can decide which time frame is best for you at this time.
Maybe to start you'll try something short-term, and then when the timing is better do something more long-term.
Or maybe you want to be a full-time travel blogger, but since it often takes a lot of time getting to the point of taking it full-time, you'll work + travel long-term while building your blog on the side.