A bit shocked with the current rise of airfares? They have gone up not 3% or 5%, but 10%, and sometimes even higher! Here’s more, hotel rates have ballooned out of proportion. Yes, it’s sad, conventional traveling has become almost unaffordable to most of us travel junkies. But here’s the good news! There’s a chance you can travel for free! In fact, you can even get paid while doing so. Too good to be true? I know what you’re thinking, but its true. Below are clever suggestions you can do to get paid while traveling.
1. Work As A Tour Guide
Photo Credit: Guido Schalkx
If you love mingling and hanging around with people, this one is perfect for you. As a tour guide, you can see and study different cultures while leading tourists to iconic and historic places in the world. And you can have substantial income while enjoying foreign cultures. There are always two sides to a coin, though. Let’s look at the negative and the positive side: location guides (guides who operate in just one location) will most likely freelance. This means inconsistent paydays and your job has no security. Some (those who thrive on taking risks) offer free tours and charm tourists to give tips. Long-term guides, on the other hand, are better off with contracts or even full-time gigs from tour companies. If you want stability, take the second option. However, be ready to deal with planning, logistics, and the stress of managing a group of (sometimes, grouchy) tourists for weeks, or even more.
2. Teach English
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Latin America, The Middle East, and Asia have abundant jobs for English teachers. If you are bent on having a cultural and educational trip to a land that has mystified you for the longest time, teaching could be the gig that can carry you through. In many cases, you’re not required to be certified. Your students just need to know one thing — that you’re a native speaker. Visit eslcafe.com, and email some applications to schools in South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and many other locations. I’m sure, you’ll end up being amazed by the number of interview invitations you’ll get.
3. Turn Yourself into a Timeshares Ninja (simply put, sell timeshares)
Photo Credit: Pierre Lesage
Is persuasion your game? Yes? Then head over to Australia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Caribbean, or anywhere you can find major resort areas. You’ll enjoy a job selling timeshares. Resorts need salespersons who can better relate to potential clients, so they prefer Asians selling to Asians, Americans selling to Americans, Germans selling to Germans, and so on. You can look forward to having a huge income potential if you choose this route. Many sales professionals have earned enviable amounts, since this line of work has been proven lucrative, many times over. You can absolutely travel more often once you turn, Timeshares Ninja!
4. Be a WWOOF’er
Photo Credit: Yuntian Wong
Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms or WWOOF, is a non-traditional business. Volunteers trade their time and labor to help run a farm for accommodations and meals. (Most of the time WWOOF’ers do this with like-minded travelers.) Would you like to know more perks if you’ll pick this route? Terms are flexible with volunteers staying as short as they want, or as long as they desire. And it’s fun because there are numerous job opportunities to choose from. Yes, it’s true that you need to shoulder your own expenses flying to the farm, but once you’re there, many can offer a ride to the next destination. Now, that’s appetizing, if you ask me. While WWOOF’ing can’t be taken as a career choice, it is a wise way to explore the world without emptying your savings account.
5. Become a Travel Photographer
While my father is a professional photographer, I’m not. A novice photographer, that’s what I am. By using the adjective novice, I mean I’m an average camera handler. On the contrary, for those who are camera savvy, there’s a huge opportunity to sell travel photos they snap. One prerogative is to set up a ‘shop’ (yes, your very own) on websites like SmugMug.com. Via these platforms, you can sell photos either to a variety of travel magazines, or to business organizations with stock photography collections. Nifty, right?
6. Trade Specialty, Foreign Goods
Photo Credit: Fashion Vortex
Planning to travel and happen to have small savings to use as capital? You can consider diving into the exciting world of import-export trading. That way, you can fly to more exotic destinations. While there, grab the chance to search for local, specialty, and handmade goods. These will attract travel-hungry consumers on the home front once you get back from your trip. Terrific tip: pick up goods that specific regions are known for. A few examples are Mexican hammocks, Italian leather, and Turkish ceramics. An alternative is trading in one-of-a-kind pieces; those hard to find items always create a stir. Normally, these products can’t be bought in bulk. Upon reaching back America, make your rounds in the stores, visit collectors, and maybe even hit up eBay for profits that can make you smile for months. Here’s one thing you have to take seriously about this hassle—figuring out how to navigate customs regulations—but, if you’re able to sell goods with prices several times over their original worth, the biz will automatically pay for itself.
7. Research For A Travel Guidebook
Photo Credit: cha-cha minoza
In case you’re the scholarly type and love researching, you can opt to work for a travel guide company such as Lonely Planet and Fodor’s. Many describe the job as exhilarating. Why, with you jetting off to numerous places to sample unique cultures, food, and luxurious hotels. To balance it, though, you need to be informed that the job entails hard work. A lot of guidebook writers and researchers blatantly say they are demanded to have hectic deadlines at times requiring 12-to-14-hour days. Enjoying sights is just a little portion of the job. They must churn out articles, reports, and maps of the places they’ve been assigned to and participate in extensive, tedious data entry.
8. Try a Government-Related Post
Photo Credit: Rebecca Dru via Flickr
Aside from the possibilities mentioned earlier, people looking for a way to balance leisure over income while traveling may consider government-related opportunities. So far, the Peace Corps is one of the best known government agencies offering the option to “volunteer” for overseas positions. This agency operates in three primary regions: Asia, Europe, and Africa. Now, here’s the meaty part — records show that volunteers have been led to important contacts abroad, and have occupied paid positions with related organizations, or have other private employers outside of the U.S. hiring them after working with Peace Corps.
9. Become A Flight Attendant
Photo Credit: lizzard_nyc
You can also choose to get a 9-5 job while country hopping. A great option is working as a flight attendant. These flying professionals make around $25,000 to $50,000 a year, and the freebies are great! They get fantastic travel benefits which include going on trips with family members if they choose to. The salary may be a bit on the lower ranges, but be reminded… the average time on the job for attendants is about 80 hours per month. Cool, isn’t it?
10. Work For A Cruise Line
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Being employed on a cruise ship sends you to charming and mysterious locales for a good pay, like a flight attendant job does. There are a few key differences, though. The job usually comes with long hours for not-so-handsome pay. The good news is all expenses are handled by the cruise company, and of course, you’re given free travel. Crew members are offered their own shops, dining halls, gyms, Internet cafes, party areas, and organized activities that create a dandy and cool company culture.
11. Start A Travel Blog
Photo Credit: Mono Andes via Compfight ccProfessional travel blogging is a tough gig. Yes, traveling around all those thrilling places is a tantalizing part of the job, but it takes many hours of hard work to make it happen. According to reports, many travel bloggers pour in about a year to build their sites, and presence on social media before they can monetize their websites. (Almost all travel bloggers start out spending their own savings.) In addition, you must operate everything not excluding site growth, marketing, and finances. But if you love travelling and blogging, you’ll be able to work things out, and possibly even become famous.
12. Be a Freelance Blogger
Freelance blogging has become a lucrative business. Yes, it’s not just a job anymore — it’s a full blown business. The joys of being a freelance blogger are varied and many. One of my favorites is… …you are not dependent on any location where to do your stuff. You can work wherever you please, and whenever you want, as long as there’s Internet connection and a computer. Highly respected bloggers can earn as much as $300 to $400 per post, while mid-level bloggers can take home $90 to $200 per article.
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