Work and travel dreams - ideas on how to do both
The long held dream of many is the concept of work and travel , getting the best of both worlds. Earning money as you adventure around the world sounds like a fantasy but it really isn’t. You can do it!
Work and travel on a cruise ship
Ideal for singles
As a cruise director and someone still involved in the industry, I will give you the lowdown on this. This employment is really ideal for a single person.
If you are a couple, it is very difficult to try and get work together. Even if you were both employed by the same cruise line, your chances of working on the same ship would be remote.
It is not unheard of, but generally, in my experience, couples struggle to find work together.
This was my launch into real world travel. Working on a cruise ship means being away from home 6-8 months a year. The money is generally good. It’s a great starting point.
Depending on your itinerary aboard a vessel, you could be traveling Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe or the entire world on a world cruise.
You accommodations are good. The food is better than what you would get traveling on the road and it is a set 3x per day. The types of jobs on a cruise ship can vary.
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Shore excursions
- Housekeeping
- Cruise staff
- Youth Staff
- Activity staff
- Salon and gym
- Shop
- Casino
- Reception and guest services staff
The choices are practically endless. Is it easy? No. The days are long. 16 hour days are the norm.
Depending on the cruise line and the national flag it operates under, contracts can vary substantially – as can conditions.
Getting a job with a cruise line takes time and determination. Avoid the agencies that promise employment. Most – not all, are scams.
You would be better off setting up your resume and sending it off directly to the cruise line advertising the position.
But I have to say, some of my most memorable life moments have been working on a cruise ship.
Friends and lovers are temporary and experiences are intense. Depending on your department, you will get shore leave.
However the most freedom to go ashore and explore will be with the Casino, shorex, the entertainment side and the shoppies (shop staff).
Salon staff, restaurant, guest services and general services have less time as a rule.
Work and travel and travel some more
Working on a cruise ship is a great way to not only travel but to save money FOR travel. It is like starting your travels with trainer wheels.
You get the comforts, the stability and the experiences so that you can then move on, if you like, and start traveling in other ways.
Even working on a cruise ship for 6-8 months will start to flex those travel muscles, teach you a whole lot about yourself, bring you out of your shell if you are a shy person. It is definitely a great way to set you up for the real deal.
See also the digital nomad lifestyle as a possible way to achieve your dream of work and travel
Teaching English - a great way to travel and earn
Suitable for singles and couples
Teaching English abroad is perfect for the single person and can work for couples. You have a good chance of working together as a couple.
However, you may find that it is perhaps not in the same school but in the same region or area.
Some schools may even encourage this as they see the emotional support value in having a couple,
There are several types of teaching English available. So….. how to work and travel making money teaching English?
First up, if you have qualifications in teaching and the experience as a teacher, your recruitment by an agency would be much easier.
But, you can teach English without a teaching degree. But like anything, you have to go through an admissions process. In most cases it will require some small investment. You will need to get a TEFOL/TESOL degree or something similar by doing the course and qualifying.
There are two main ways you can be a teacher of English while you travel. You can be assigned to a country – somewhere in the Far East is the most common, usually China, Taiwan or South Korea.
In Europe it is possible to get work but the demand there is more advanced, looking for business English.
Africa is mostly volunteer work. Latin America also offers a lot of opportunities for teachers without degrees.
What this type of teaching means is that you physically will live and stay in that country and could be assigned in a big city or a small community.
Now, this is great but the travel is limited. However, you will get off the home shore and be immersed into another culture.
If that’s your goal with world travel, it is a good start. You can earn and move on with savings but effectively you will be rooted for the time you are teaching.
And generally, the demand will probably mean you will be assigned mostly in Asia/Far East.
Check out this video and find out so much more. Prepare to get really excited! This is excellent information.
If you’re interested in this type of physical teaching, that is, being in the country and immersed in the culture and earning a good income with usually provided housing, this may be something you would enjoy.
Teach English remotely
Perfect for the single person, perfect for couples and possible for families in tow.
This is great for multiple individuals who would teach their own English classes separately and pool their income.
- Teaching English remotely means that you could have your family wherever there was a good internet connection and could each have your own classes, if you both wanted to teach, and pool your incomes with your spouse..
- The ideal would be that one partner would have a remote job or business already and the other could supplement income with teaching English remotely as the costs of the kids would mean that your income demands would obviously be higher. Of course, if you planned well, you may have an established source of income already or plenty of savings and anything above that would be a supplemental help.
Depending on what you are looking for, this may be another great way to approach funding your world travel. You can be mobile and enjoy travel while you teach. If you belong to an agency such as VIPkid.
You need an internet connection that’s fast and reliable though. So heading off the beaten track is not an option. But given the fact that you could earn upwards of $2000 per month for 60+ 30 minute sessions a month, this is one cool way to get around.
In both cases this would take some prep time. Ideally, give yourself a year or 6 months minimum to get the accreditations you need while at home, and, with regard VIPkid, at least a year to become established.
But once you have done the groundwork, you can takeoff anyplace of your choosing and know that you can earn while you travel.
*Important note: Any teaching requires setup, materials and props. Backpacking your way through a country would not be conducive to this type of employment unless you were prepared to stop and stay for a good number of months.
Excellent, fast and reliable internet is key and you do have to be a responsible person and realize that unreliability or missed classes will see you instantly dismissed.
If you are looking to travel and stop for a few months and are prepared to invest both time and effort (and some money) in delivering top standard classes to your students, then this may be something you can look at.
Online teaching companies
There are a number of online teaching companies available and you would do well to research each one carefully.
Read the requirements and check that you are qualified to teach for these companies and also note that some online teaching companies will be looking for strictly Canadian/US citizens for employment
Work and travel is doable but you really need to be creative in both your thinking and in your flexibility.
Start a travel blog
Good for singles, couples and family
Start a Travel Blog
Obviously a perfect way for a family man or woman to work and travel with the entire brood across the continents.This is the ultimate dream, right?
Imagine going to all these wonderful places, taking great photo’s and blogging about it. In return, all the money you make from the website/blog will pay for your travels. Well, like I said, that’s a dream.
The truth is, there are literally thousands of blogs out on the Net that are doing exactly that – or at least trying.
Hard facts:
- It is not that simple. Everyone and their cousin has a travel blog. The competition is overwhelming.
- You have to have a niche. Most blogs will offer a general outlook on travel. What is so special about yours?
- You will most likely not make a cent for months or years or perhaps never
So, should you forget that idea? No! Not at all. But you do need to rethink it. You need that niche. You need to find that very special interest that you and just a few would write about.
The fantasy of work and travel with a blog as your income earner is possible. Here’s a good article that will help you understand how to start a travel blog and what to expect.
Visiting a country and backpacking through it is an experience but if you are going to focus your entire website on observations and hints and tricks about backpacking then you better know your stuff and be prepared for some stiff competition.
However, maybe your love is kayaking or cycling. Perhaps it’s botany or ornithology. Now you are drilling down to a niche. If your travel website is about traveling the world on a bicycle, studying the botany of a region or finding the best places to kayak, then you have a market.
Yes, it’s a way smaller readership then the general travel material, but you are eliminating literally thousands of websites that would otherwise pose as competition.
The message here is forget about general travel. Dig deeper and correlate your travel and blog with something you’re passionate about.
Expect to spend a lot of time and effort creating a blog and getting Google rankings that will get you to the first page of search results.
Perhaps you can simply work and travel by creating another type of blog – something that has nothing to do with travel. It could be about boating or fishing – basically anything you’re passionate and know about.
This is an option that is long term. It is said that in order for your pages to get to those top pages of search, even if perfect for user experience and SEO, would be around 35 weeks.
In conclusion
The dream of work and travel is very doable. If you are the type of person that is independent, can be away from family and friends for an extended period of time, then this can be done.
Be aware that working for yourself is not a vacation. You may be in the most beautiful spots on earth and find yourself slogging away over the laptop, working on board ship or in a school for most of the day.
It takes a serious amount of self discipline and small sacrifices to achieve a real sense of travel with work. …now go pack your bags.
Find more about travel lifestyle in the Lifestyle section
