If you’re a long-term traveler, I’m willing to bet that one of your recurring fantasies involves some variation of the following scenario:
You wake up one day after years of penny-pinching to the amazing news that your travels will now be fully funded by either (a) a surprise inheritance; (b) a wealthy significant other; (c) a coveted book contract; or (d) an agent or magazine editor who has read your travel blogs and thinks you’re the best thing since Paul Theroux.
But unless you happen to be incredibly lucky–like this travel writer who picked up the phone last week and heard “Hi, this is so and so from Conde Nast”– you’re going to need to find another way to fund your travels.
Now I’m not advocating that you head back to the corporate cubicle unless that’s what your heart truly calls you to do. What I am saying is that you can get paid to travel… you just need to be creative about it. Let’s say you’re not the teach English abroad type. You’re not diplomat material and you’ve got no desire to sign up for military service. You’ve still got options! Here are a few ways you can get paid to travel:
Tour guide: As the world tourism industry continues to boom, tour companies and other hospitality industry businesses are always on the search for guides with winning personalities, solid local knowledge, and creative itinerary ideas. There are lots of options here: Hone up on history and become a local licensed guide in your own city. If city and state laws permit you to offer tours as an independent operator, develop a specialized tour. In New York City, for instance, there are hundreds of tours for any interest–walking food tours, ghost tours, immigrant tours, and famous filming location tours are just a few themes that already exist. You can also create experience-based tours.
While living in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, my husband and I proposed offering Caribbean cooking classes to tourists arriving on cruise ships. We contacted a company that offered shore excursions, proposed our idea, and enjoyed entertaining people from all over the world–all from the comfort of our own home. The tour company was thrilled because they had a product that distinguished them from their competitors, who offered the same-old boring city walking tour.
If you want to get out of your home environs, though, check out the possibilities of becoming a tour guide for an educational tourism company. Many of these companies, such as EF Smithsonian, do not require you to be licensed, though they will require training (often at their own expense). As you build up your experience and accumulate positive customer reviews, you’ll be in a competitive position to be sent to more exotic locations. I worked for EF Smithsonian for a couple of years and offered tours not only in my home base of New York City, but also in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Competition at some of these companies can be fierce, but turnover is also pretty high, so new openings become available frequently.
Travel blogger: It’s every blogger’s dream to get paid for writing online, but the success stories are few and far between. Bloggers who doget paid to write may not make enough to begin saving for retirement, but for travelers who are exceptionally frugal, some of these gigs–especially if you patch a few of them together–may be able to pay your travel bills. PlanetEye pays local destination experts $250 USD per month in exchange for three 250-word blogs per week. As of this writing, PlanetEye is seeking a Beijing expert.
Keeping your current job: What? Isn’t the idea to get a job that gets you on the road? Yes, precisely. Examine your current position and determine whether you honestly think you could perform the same duties at the same level from a remote location. If the answer is “yes,” schedule a meeting with your boss and propose long-term telecommuting. Develop a list of reasons why the deal is attractive for the company (here are two: they’ll save on office overhead and they’ll have someone in the field who can collect valuable market information all over the world). Map out for the boss exactly how the idea could work: with voice over internet phone service, you can have your own local phone number; with online phone conferencing services, you won’t have to miss out on important office conversations. If he or she is resistant, propose a trial period of three months. If it doesn’t work out, back to the cube. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Master Teacher: Make a list of all of your skills. Are you a great cook? Do you play an instrument well, teach yoga, or navigate Class V whitewater rapids like a pro? Do you know how to set up a business, design websites, or provide technical consulting? How can you turn your skills and interests into marketable goods that will be snatched up in another country? What country could use your skills and has the money to pay for them? How can you generate a buzz about your services that will have invitations rolling in from Costa Rica to China? Answer these questions and you’ll be able to accumulate a tidy travel budget.
You don’t have to confine your travel dreams to you two weeks of vacation or wait until retirement to get on the road. Try out one of these suggestions and see how free you’ll feel working while traveling.
Julie Schwietert Collazo is the editor of Matador Pulse as well as a regular contributor to the Matador Community. She runs her own website Collazo Projects, which she updates daily. She calls Mexico City and New York home but will be soon be running a hostel in Columbia shortly.
Excellent piece. I fall under the “Keeping your job” category for the time being and have been able to travel far and wide because I can pick up and go telecommute for a couple months!. I feel blessed in that regard.
Conde Nast called you? Very cool!. Or are you referring to nerd’s?
@lola: I love how everyone on the blogosphere knows nerd’s eye got called by conde nast. talk about a gossiping community!
@NomadicMatt: It’s a small, small world
Hung out with her in Seattle and subscribe to the blog.
Fortunately for me part of my job pays me to travel and since it’s not on your list I thought I would add it. I work for a company that sells specialized research equipment. I’m in technical support and one of my duties is installing and training on the use of equipment. I don’t always see a lot of my destination but I get the flavor of the location and almost always have some time to walk around and explore a bit.
This has taken me to Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Canada, Chile, The UK, Taiwan, South Korea and some other places I’m not remembering just quite yet (no coffee yet but I can see it). I’ve also been to many destinations in the US via my job.
Also as far as “keeping your current job” goes, I had some success asking for extended unpaid leave to travel. With the right company, after you’ve proven yourself to be a valuable employee, this can be a good way to get some quality travel time in and still have a job waiting for you!
(Of course, I quit halfway through my two month sabbatical… but that’s another story…)
Did you mean to link to Nerd’s Eye View? It looks like that was the intention because it says “like this travel writer” but there’s no reference…
This is really interesting and helpful- thanks!
Hi all- Thanks for your comments. Yes, I was referring to Pam Mandel of Nerd’s Eye View and my original article had several links, including one to her site, but they didn’t get preserved in the internet ether on their way to Matt, and for that, I apologize.
Thanks for sharing your own experiences– and Lola, I was DEFINITELY thinking of you with the telecommuting bit!
Hi Matt! After a short break but a long absence, I’m finally back to the blogosphere and found some time to enjoy your excellent blog…
Great ideas to make money travelling…
Many thanks for your comments on Blogtrotter, while I was off. It’s now still in Kos on the way to Crete! Hope you enjoy and wish you a great weekend and a nice week ahead!
awesome! i especially appreciate the tour guide info–i think this would be great for some of us natural born teachers/performers who may not want to necessarily stick to the classroom teaching English.
Sorry about the lost links. Some issues when putting this up.
@graham: seems like you have a pretty good job!
I would love a job that lets me travel worldwide..
Nice tips, Julie! Giving tours was something I looked into in Paris. They’re always looking for English speakers, and I think that it would be such a fun job!
Some great ideas. Working casually for a multinational can also be good. When you arrive in a new city there will be a store or office and, since you know the systems, can often get a foot in the door.
Linda and I put together a list of ways to find short-term work overseas; I’m going to link this in the comments Julie.
Hey! I was thinking of doing some traveling in Thailand over Christmas. Any recommendations on must do/see?
Sarah:
Yes, lots of the tour directors who work for EF Smithsonian are or were teachers– it’s a natural transition for them. If you want any other info, just let me know.
Peace,
Julie
@tanya: why didn’t you take one of those jobs?
@lakshimi: me 2!
@alicia: I have tons of ideas. I mean I do live here!
E-mail me and we will talk. My e-mail is in the contact page.
This is so great, because I was just over at the Indie Travel Podcast asking them about the very same thing! I am on the job hunt right about now. On Craig and Linda’s advice, I went with tutoring English and might also be working at Brit Telecom.
No wonder Pam go called by Conde Nast – her pictures and descriptions are so vivid, you want to jump in!
A combination of all the above is the way to go. Diversify. Diversify. Diversify
Unfortunately, travel doesn’t pay (much) for any one travel career choice but add ‘em all up and you never know where you might find yourself with a few euros in your pocket.
@beth: That’s very true! having a few income streams definitely helps! Never put all your eggs in one basket as they say.
You forgot international man of mystery. Alas, I don’t know how to apply for this position.
@Steve: Next time I see Austin Powers, I will ask.
You didn’t mention mystery shopping! Many mystery shopping companies shop hotels, cruise ships and restaurants. Check with the Mystery Shopping Providers Association website: http://www.mysteryshop.org.