These 12 Travel Jobs Will Pay You to See the World

In today’s article, get to know the best travel jobs you can apply to, as well as the requirements and how much you can expect to make.

Do you sometimes find yourself daydreaming while on your day job, thinking of all the places you want to go to but can’t because you’re at a desk working?

Do you ever go to beautiful, exotic places on your vacation and dream about staying in one of those places forever?

Or maybe wonder what it would be like to get one of those jobs that allow you to travel to these places.

Dig through the list today and see how you can get paid to travel.

12 Best Travel Jobs

These are jobs that require you to travel as part of the job requirement.

Jobs wherein traveling isn’t an integral part of the job requirements but is offered as a perk of the job aren’t included in this list.

Also, remote or work-from-home jobs aren’t included in this list; those jobs allow you to travel, for sure, but it’s different from employment that requires you to travel.

1. Flight Attendant

Being a flight attendant is one of the best jobs that let you travel to many different cities in the country and in the world, onboard lovely airplanes, and land at the best airports.

There are physical requirements, though.

These vary among different airlines but the basic ones for safety are that you must be able to reach the overhead bins, your BMI needs to be within the normal range (that is, your height needs to be proportional to your weight), and your vision needs to be at least 20/30.

Other highly valued skills of a flight attendant include excellent communication skills, customer service skills, and the ability to present a well-groomed, dignified appearance in spite of jet lag, turbulence, and difficult passengers.

If you can do this job, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.

The salary range for flight attendants is normally between $62,000 to $96,000 a year, not to mention the perks, like free or discounted flights for you and your family members.

And the biggest perk of all: being paid to travel to and stay in all kinds of beautiful cities and countries.

2. Commercial Pilot

Commercial pilots don’t just fly airlines, though many of them do.

The term “commercial pilot” means a pilot allowed by the FAA to receive money for services, so the term also includes cargo pilots, tour pilots, backcountry pilots, ferry pilots, and even flight instructors.

Learn to fly, and you can travel as much as a flight attendant does, but for a greater salary and have one of the best travel jobs imaginable.

Of course, you’ll have to assume a greater amount of responsibility.

To get a commercial pilot license, you’ll first need to be a private pilot and log at least 250 flight hours.

You’ll also need commercial pilot training, a second class medical certificate, pass the FAA written exam, and pass the check-ride.

In exchange, though, you get a salary between $117,000 to $152,000, with perks such as free accommodations, food, and expenses when staying anywhere.

3. Cruise Ship Worker

Being a cruise ship worker is a travel job that allows you to see the world, one port of call at a time while meeting plenty of tourists from all parts of the globe.

You’ll be living on the cruise ship, so you’ll have free room and board, and this is aside from the salary you’ll be getting.

Below are some of the positions you can apply for:

• Hairdresser
• Massage Therapist
• Casino Dealer
• Engineer
• Server
• Cook
• Gift Shop Attendant
• Housekeeping
• Concierge
• Financial Controller
• Purser
• Computer/Internet Technician
• Ship Physician
• Ship Nurse
• Photographer
• Videographer
• Instructor
• Clergy
• Entertainer
• Deck Officer

The requirements and salary will, of course, vary by position, but at the very least, you’ll need to be able to handle months out at sea, and you’ll need to know how to swim.

For more information, check out All Cruise Jobs, CruiseShipJob.com, or Cruise Ship Jobs Guide.

4. International Aid and Development Worker

If you want to travel to foreign cities, immerse yourself in an entirely different culture, make a difference, and get paid for it, working as a volunteer for an international aid organization may be a good fit for you.

You’ll visit countries around the world that are in the middle of wars, famine, and suffering after natural disasters and are in dire need of help and assistance.

These organizations welcome volunteers over 18, with or without experience, and they are usually looking for volunteers for missions related to health, food, social services, and infrastructure.

It’s no vacation to help those in need, even if they’re in a gorgeous country. So before you apply, do some soul-searching and figure out what matters to you.

Requirements and salary vary depending on the position you’re applying to, but you’ll need to be able to bear being without the comforts of home for months or even years at a time.

Some of the organizations you can apply to are:

• Peace Corps
• Voluntary Service Overseas
• Red Cross
• USAID
• UN Volunteers
• Voluntary Service Overseas

 

5. Foreign Service Officer

How would you like to live and interact with people from other countries and immerse in their culture while serving and representing your country?

If the idea sounds appealing, foreign service might just be one of the best travel jobs for you.

Foreign service officers are assigned to one of 5 areas of specialization: political, economic, consular, administration, and public diplomacy.

They travel around the world working on immigration, managing refugee flows, distributing disaster aid, reporting on diplomatic issues, and conducting press conferences for ambassadors.

Foreign service officers must also be a US citizen, at least 20 years old but no older than 59, and available for worldwide service; that is, willing and ready to go at a moment’s notice to fly anywhere in the world as the state department decides.

Requirements include an oral assessment, plus a security and background check. Passing all these gets you an offer for a position and a training slot in the Foreign Service Institute.

The state department will decide where you get assigned and when you need to be transferred.

The normal salary range is between $82,000 to $109,000 a year.

6. Au Pair

If you’re an unmarried young adult with no children but good with them, and willing to stay with a host family for the entirety of your stay in a certain country, you may want to apply as an au pair.

An au pair is someone who travels to a foreign country for a defined period to support a host family with childcare and housework in exchange for board and lodging, as well as pocket money.

Despite this arrangement, an au pair is neither a nanny nor a housekeeper.

The primary purpose is to facilitate cultural exchange. The host family teaches the au pair about their local culture and allows the au pair to practice speaking their language.

The au pair also educates the children in his or her care and allows the children to practice the au pair’s language.

The minimum age is normally 18, but the maximum age varies per country. Program requirements and salary for au pairs also vary per country, so it’s good to check the requirements and the fine print thoroughly first before you turn in your application.

Programs do generally require a visa, a medical checkup, and a criminal background check before interviewing you.

For more information, you can consult AuPair.Com, AuPairWorld, or Great AuPair

7. Luxury Travel Advisor

Travel advisors for clients put together an itinerary, manage vacation time, and provide personalized service and advice.

But when you’re a luxury travel advisor, this goes one (or maybe even a few) steps further.

Clients who are willing to spend big money on a vacation want advisors that have first-hand experience in every aspect of the travel experience, such as flights, hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

Thus, luxury travel advisors are almost constantly traveling and in contact with their clients.

When you’re only getting started, you need to make sure that you find the right agency to work with. You’ll want an agency that’s well-connected so that you can get added amenities and benefits that you can offer your VIP clients.

Read the fine print and research how the salary and commissions work, as well as whether they’ll provide training.

The average income of a luxury travel advisor is around $47,000 a year.

8. English Teacher

If English is your native language and you know how to teach, teaching English abroad may just be the travel job for you.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), also known as Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), English Language Teaching (ELT), and teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) is a fast-growing educational field, presenting many opportunities for teachers who want to teach English in foreign countries.

The usual requirements to be able to teach English abroad include a Bachelor’s Degree, some teaching experience, and a TEFL/TESOL certification. Pay varies per country, but you can get as much as $78,000 a year.

You can teach English from your own home, but going to other countries and experiencing their culture firsthand is a far more enriching experience.

9. Travel Nurse

If you’re already working as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), or nurse practitioner (APRN) and would like to have some change in scenery, you can apply to be a travel nurse.

A travel nurse is a skilled healthcare professional who takes short-term assignments in hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Traveling gives you the opportunity to gain more clinical experience by working in different hospitals and facilities while getting to visit new locations around the country.

If you don’t already have a degree as an RN, you need to get one, which takes 2 to 4 years to complete.

If you’re going to be a travel nurse in the United States, you can expect to make around $74,000 to $118,000 a year, while if you’re going to work overseas, the salary would depend on the country.

Other perks you could get include free board and lodging, transportation, health insurance, and possibly incentives for accepting certain high-risk or high-demand assignments.

10. Truck Driver

This is probably the least glamorous one here, but being a long-haul trucker does allow you to travel around the country and even to Canada or Mexico.

There’s currently a shortage of qualified truck drivers, and so trucking companies are willing to train and pay more truck drivers.

The problem is that traditionally, long-haul truck driving is physically and mentally exhausting, not to mention the time away from their families.

But now, the industry is changing, and trucking companies are now willing to change industry standards to make truck driving attractive to younger drivers.

You can make between $30,000 to $90,000 a year as a truck driver, depending on the company and where you’re assigned to drive.

You’ll have to be above 21, obtain a commercial trucking license, attend truck driving school, pass a background check as well as a medical, drug, and alcohol test.

11. Athletic Recruiter

If you love sports and you love traveling, this might just be the job for you.

Colleges, universities, and professional sports teams hire athletic recruiters to travel to schools and sporting events around the country and find the best up-and-coming athletes in various sports.

At times, the assignment is to find coaches and other sports roles.

To be a good athletic recruiter, you’ll need to know the sport completely.

You’ll also need to know how to assess an athlete: their skills, how they can fit in a team, potential problems, and how to woo them to join your team.

Negotiating skills will also take you far in this career, as you need to deal with the athletes, their parents, their current coaches, and sometimes their agents if they have them.

Sports recruiters make around $34,000 to $50,000 a year.

12. VIP Nanny

Not all childcare jobs are created equal.

Far from the usual babysitting or stay-out nanny, VIP nannies cater to VIPs and celebrities and as such command higher pay than usual.

Being a VIP nanny becomes a travel job when their clients travel as the nannies would have to travel with them.

Aside from extensive childcare experience and rapport with children, you’d need to have at least a bachelor’s degree, certifications in child CPR, first aid, and other life-saving measures, have excellent communication skills (speaking more than one language is definitely a plus), and most importantly, the flexibility to be where they need you to be.

You’ll be paid quite handsomely—$40,000 to $84,000 is the usual range of annual income for VIP nannies—along with all the perks, but you can get paid even more if you can teach specialized skills to your wards. Music, sports, and academics are all sought-after skills in nannies.

Veterans do advise that you go through your contract very carefully; hire a lawyer if you need to. Once you sign it, do everything in your power to complete your contract.

Keep in mind, though, that competition is fierce. Only the best of the best get to do this, so get your experience, your qualifications, and keep training to be the best.

You can do a Google search for “VIP nanny,” “high profile nanny,” “celebrity nanny,” or “professional nanny.” Alternatively, some of the agencies that hire VIP nannies include:

• The Nanny League
• British American Household Staffing Agency
• Nanny & Butler
• VIP Nannies & Household Staffing Agency
• Nanny Poppinz

Final Thoughts On Travel Jobs

These aren’t even half of the opportunities available for those who want to work while traveling, so it’s really not impossible to make money while traveling.

But truthfully, many of these travel jobs require prior skills and expertise, experience in the field, and perhaps most importantly, commitment.

You’re going to get homesick at some point, and you’ll need to be able to find a way to overcome your homesickness and finish out your contract.

How does working while traveling sound? Are you interested in any of these jobs at all? Tell us in the comments!