Travelling is fun but it doesn’t come cheap. If you plan to travel for several months or more, you may need to pick up another job.
Working on the go has never been easier with technology that allows us to communicate from across the globe. Pick up a job that will help you financially and also allow you room to explore.
Freelance
Freelancing is one of the most common means of making money while abroad. Many become freelance writers and marketers but there is so much more.
Almost any job can be freelanced like web design, software engineering, translating, data entry, editing, transcription and online tutoring. Freelancing is one of the most attractive jobs because IT Technology has made freelancing readily available so you can travel the globe without sacrificing your financing.
Find freelance jobs at a site like Remote.com.
We highly recommend Sharon Gourlay’s “How to Make Money From Blogging” – She details strategies for monetization and the exact methods she uses to make an annual $150,000 income.
Teach English
Image: Adam Patterson / Panos / DFID / CC BY 2.0 via Flickr
English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world and countries are always looking to hire new teachers. Almost any country you can think of has a program that hires English teachers, and some countries even offer housing, medical insurance, and higher than average pay.
If you’re interested in becoming an English teacher, you can find jobs on international job boards like Serious Teachers. This is a portal for teaching jobs all over the globe, and it’s free to register.
Serious Teachers has been running for the past 13 years, so is one of the most well established job boards for international teaching gigs; registering for free means you can apply to jobs, and get email alerts once the jobs are published on their site in a specific country of your choosing.
30,000 teachers and administrators have been hired via this job portal, so it’s a good one to have an account set up on.
Work in the Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry is vast and only limited by your imagination. If you want to travel the world, become a flight attendant or work on a cruise. If you want to stay in one country, search for jobs in tourism.
You can work as an English translator or lead tours in the city for native English speakers. Perhaps you can become a bartender, a waiter or a host at the local restaurant or bar. All country’s need English speakers in the hospitality industry.
Become an Au Pair
Au pairs are childcare workers who live with a host family. Your job is to babysit the child and teach them English. Many families seek au pairs to give their child better language skills and to expose them to diverse cultures.
Au pairs get free housing, good pay, benefits and an immersive experience in the local culture. A family will acquaint you right away with all of the local attractions, entertainment, food and travel.
Marketing
Marketing jobs come in many forms. You can work as a marketing or public relations professional from your home if you can keep up with the occasional call or Skype meeting.
Meetings can be inconvenient because they’re more than likely scheduled by their time zone, not yours. However, if you are already involved as a marketer, this is a great way to stay connected.
Sell Hand Crafted Goods
Turn your unique crochet art into a viable source of income by using an online shop like Etsy. If you have an interesting craft you may be surprised how much someone is willing to pay for your skill.
Work Exchange
Photo by Jim Holmes for AusAID via DFAT Australian Aid.
Work exchange programs span the globe and encompass any number of jobs. From tilling farms in South America to bartending in Greece, work exchange programs have it all.
In a work exchange program, you agree to work for a business in exchange for food, housing and sometimes pay. If you plan to participate in work exchange, make sure you have money stashed in your savings because your program may not pay much!
Check out websites like Help Exchange and Work Away (classifieds style lists of work exchange projects available around the world). These are good places to start when you want a nice, local place to stay; and to make an impact on a grassroots level, with all of your time and effort going directly to bolstering local workers and families.
Work as a Translator
As mentioned earlier, every country needs translators. English translators can work in almost any capacity.
You can translate books, brochures, blog posts and more in written format. You can also become a business translator in an office, translate for tours or record translated voiceovers.
Translating is a great way to sharpen your foreign language skills and keep you on your toes—as well as keep the money flowing in on your travels.
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32 Comments
I make money as a travel blogger, VA, skype consultant etc. My husband picks up Chef work but that only works for London and Australia ( visas!). I think that if you want it badly enough you’ll always find a way to fund it. If you use money as an excuse, you don’t really want it.
Awesome Alyson! I’ve found it’s definitely sensible to diversify your income streams, especially when you’re working online. I agree, I think that there are enough opportunities out there nowadays that anyone who wants it badly enough should be able to find something to stay sustained :)
Happy travels!
That’s a solid list of ways to travel without running down your savings. These days, there seems to be a trend towards having a portfolio career where you do a little bit of everything. Teaching English seems to be really popular right now.
Teaching English does seem to be the popular choice right now – especially throughout Asia – seems to be the biggest hub for this. I agree that there seems to be a generational switch in mindset recently, that these days it’s more common to have dabbled in many different career paths and job choices :)
Awesome suggestions! I’m currently working marketing jobs that allow me to travel whenever I want. But I’ve definitely have had to stay up til 3 or even 5am to get on skype calls or gchats. Not always the most convenient thing when you’re going to be out all day the next day
Thanks Genie! Marketing jobs are a great way to incorporate travel and see the world, but yes, I’ve also been on the 3 – 4am conference calls – definitely something I’m still not used to!!
Freelancing is the only way I can travel. None of the other options fit me :D
Always something which will vary from one person to the next. Glad to hear you’ve found your groove with freelancing!
Such an awesome list. Personally, I would do the work exchange. You get some new experience and meet some amazing people that way. Teaching English oversea is so popular now, and I can see why. In some country, they pay very well.
Thanks Yuen! Yes, work exchange is a favorite among a lot of travelers I meet on the road – a great way to immerse yourself in local life while you’re traveling too. Teaching English also; Asia seems to have become the hub for these opportunities, and yes, many countries pay very well :)
Happy travels!
Thanks for the article. It would be great if you share in detail or refer sites that can help establish such programmes to work overseas while on vacation. Once I met a foreigner (could be a traveller himself) working in an accommodation rental in Iceland and wondered how he got the job there. I would’ve loved to learn how to do that. It would definitely help to offset my expenses in an expensive country I travel to like Iceland.
Hi Jasmine, thanks for reaching out – I’ve just updated the Work Exchange section with recommendations to check out websites like Help Exchange and Work Away (links now in the paragraph above) – those are great places to start and I believe Iceland usually has a lot of opportunities listed.
Hope that helps, have an amazing trip!
I’ll have to check out those links. I’d like to do more traveling and it would be nice to have a good freelance job to pay for my wanderlust.
Feel free to reach out if you have any follow up questions or if we can help further :) Happy travels!
These are all pretty good ways to make money, while being on the road. I will check out some of those links you posted, to make some more money in addition to blogging. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Barbara – feel free to reach out if you have any follow up questions or if we can help further :) Happy travels!
Fantastic list with some great opportunities and suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of. The work exchange sounds especially great – especially if I could tie it in with a house-sitting gig! And while it might not be a massive money-spinner, selling your original travel photos can sometimes work too!
Thanks Marion :) Work exchange is a great opportunity for sure, and usually they come with room and board, so you probably wouldn’t even need to tie it in with a house sitting gig. I like the idea of selling your original travel photos, every bit helps!
Happy travels :)
These are great ideas, Megan. However, folks should also research the pitfalls.
Your freelancing, for example, should probably start before you find yourselves away from your home country. (Let us not forget most of the those sites that advertise freelancing gigs involve compensation that- to be totally honest- barely qualify as a pittance.
Teaching English almost always requires you to speak the local language, as well. Korea, as an example, has a rigorous process to enable an American to teach there. (Yes, even just English.)
Au Pair positions in many countries (and, unfortunately, even here in the states) involve abuses such as virtual slavery – refusing to let their au pair travel freely, work significantly higher hours than stipulated, etc.
Many countries require the traveler to have a work- rather than tourist- visa.
And,then, there’s the income tax issues when making money abroad. Both to one’s home country and to where one was employed.
Hi Roy, thanks for sharing your knowledge of some more in depth practicalities of each – yes, it’s definitely advisable to do proper research into a gig if you think it might be for you.
Nothing is without both pros and cons, you’ve definitely highlighted some great points people should think about.
Thankyou for your comment :)
I think teaching English would be pretty cool. I know a lot of people who teach around the world.
I agree! Asia seems to be a big hub for teaching English right now. Many opportunities depending on what you’re looking for :)
I make money on the go by my marketing clients and by our photography tutorials. Selling crafts was something I never considered until this article but a great idea for the future!
Awesome Victoria! Selling crafts is definitely a great approach if you’re creative and artsy – I’ve found that there are usually local markets in every town, no matter where you are in the world, and locals are quite open to purchasing exotic crafts :)
Since I have kids, some of these options aren’t as suitable for me, because I would need to find a place for my kids while I do work. I like the freelance option, but it’s so hard to make that jump sometimes, and be able to really assess what you’re good at (and also confident enough to be able to sell that skill to others). Still trying to find my niche!
Freelancing would definitely be more practical if you have kids, but yes it can be difficult to make the jump, and I would probably recommend trying to get something started before you go overseas so you have a steady income stream.
Wishing you all the best with finding your niche – I’m sure you’ll fall into something you’re brilliant at soon!
Hi Meg,
All great tips. I am big on making money cyber style; freelance writing, blog coaching, selling my 126 eBooks, audio books, paperbacks, courses,affiliate stuff, other consulting channels. If you create value and build up your friend network the opportunities are limitless. Thanks much!
Ryan
Thanks Ryan :) Working online is something which has really worked for me too … I agree that if you have creativity and are able to network and diversify, you should be able to find something to establish that location independent lifestyle and break the 9-5 ties.
Thanks for stopping by – love what you do!
This is a great list Meg but I have to say I have a bunch of Early Childhood Educator colleagues who would cringe at being called babysitters/Au pairs. Lol. However, I think for us in English speaking countries teaching English is a most likely choice. It was something I was thinking of doing way down the road when I retire. lol. Doing jobs that are based around a particular skill or education I think is a safe bet.
Thanks Christopher! Haha yes, I can imagine that they probably would … my apologies!! If you do have early childhood skills or training though this is a great way to find work overseas, might just have to cringe through the job title!
And teaching English is definitely a great choice too – would be a great way to travel when you retire – we’re thinking about doing it too :)
Great Tips! Such a great information.
I agree with you that “Travelling is fun but it doesn’t come cheap.” I have always been facing problems with Making Money and was trying to hire someone to help me.
I will tweet your post. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Stefan
Glad the post was helpful for you Stefan … Wishing you all the best in your journey to making money on the road :)