Travel All The Time With Jobs Like These

by Chris Owen on

Those who travel all the time can go to far away places as routinely as others might go to buy groceries. They have somehow managed to be employed in an occupation that requires travel as part of what they do. Commonly, we might think of sales people who hit the road to get face time with regular or prospective customers, and many do. People with the word “travel,” or something like it, in their job title are normally on the move a lot too. Travel writers, flight crews and astronauts come to mind.

But there are a number of other occupations that include travel as a key element of the job description. Some travel occasionally and for others, the job is on the road. If a traveling job sounds like a good fit, consider thinking along these lines:

Education Professionals
Pick your topic (one that you love would be a good choice), get credentialed and throw your hat in the ring to teach anywhere on the planet. TeachAbroad can tell you all about it here.

The idea for this post actually came from a teacher. Also the photographer on last Saturday’s Photo of the Day, Lauren Irons is TheTravelingTeacher and her travel/work has seen Cambodia, Malaysia, Morocco, India and other countries around the world. Irons takes fans along for the ride via her blog, rich in colorful photos and first-hand accounts of her adventure.

Military members
“Join the Navy, See the world” is still a very viable option for an occupation that might have a great amount of travel, and not always into battle zones. The U.S. Navy, even today, touts the travel opportunities available:

“If you enjoy traveling, you will be able to take advantage of flying for free on military aircraft as they travel to different destinations around the world. You will even be able to hook up with lodging at the different Navy bases and other military bases, which are under an American flag. This will allow you to see even more great places while you are enlisted in the US Navy.”

Medical people other than doctors
Don’t get me wrong; there are traveling doctors too. Doctors Without Borders will be quite happy to tell you about their volunteer opportunities. But Nurses, aides, technicians and others are in high demand worldwide.

“In college I dreamed of having an international career,” writes Caroline Polt, RN at Transitions Abroad, an online source that helps people work, live, study and/or volunteer abroad. “Several years after my sister ventured off to foreign lands to teach English, I decided to pursue the same route,” continues Polt, noting, “healthcare organizations worldwide are scrambling to recruit nurses.”

Travel Agents
Part of being a travel agent is experiencing destinations, modes of travel and other elements of booking travel that require personal contact.

These days, webinars have taken the place of a lot of what travel agents commonly saw on familiarization trips, hosted by a tour operator, resort, cruise line or other travel source. Still, there are a whole lot of free or reduced-price options that can get you traveling all the time.

Location Independents
These are people that are experts in their field so they travel to share their knowledge/gifts with others. For example, someone who is an expert on repairing a certain amusement ride at Disney World is an invaluable resource. Someone who is an expert at repairing amusement rides in general will be on the road a lot.


Work On A Cruise Ship
Jobs are available and cruise lines are hiring now. AllCruiseJobs lists job openings, currently boasting 665 cruise ship jobs from 49 recruiters. Think working on a floating hotel is something you might like to do? A reality check is in order.

“They eat, sleep and live on the two crew-only decks when they are off-duty, and only enter passenger areas to work,” says Paul Motter from CruiseMates in a FoxNews report. Yes, they do sail to exotic destinations all over the world, but on the ship, they are in a world quite different than paying passengers when not working.

“The crew area also includes a bar, usually open every night for varying hours for drinks and dancing, and a deck area with a small swimming pool and deck chairs,” says Motter. “Everyone works seven days a week, but the number of hours varies a great deal depending on the particular job. “

Or Any Other Job On The Planet
The key, it seems, is to actively search for the job that will have the right amount of travel for you. Want to be home on the weekends? There are jobs that can make that happen. Want to travel just in the United States? Other jobs do that too.

Maybe travel is not the number one priority when looking for a job. Indeed, for many, any job in a tough job market will do. But that surely does not mean that we can’t make our jobs what we want them to be, eventually.



[Photo credit – Chris Owen]

Expat Workforce matches expats and employers

by Libby Zay on

Are you an expat? Do you need a job or could you benefit from having a second gig? We found a matchmaking website that might be able to help. A new job board called Expat Workforce is connecting businesses who outsource work to English speakers living abroad. And it’s absolutely free for expats.

As an expat, all you have to do is register and post a profile – which includes your location, availability, skills and education/work background – and then you are able to browse jobs. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes, so it can’t hurt to throw up your information if you’re on the hunt for a job. You can also follow the job posting updates on Twitter.

Expat Workforce is the brainchild of former expats. The website is still a brand new concept, so right now they are recruiting expats to submit profiles and promise they will “begin promoting aggressively” to businesses in the coming months. There are no success stories yet, but since it’s the only site of its kind we wanted to spread the word to all our expat friends.

[Screenshot courtesy Expat Workforce.]

Travel the US for 12 weeks and get $50,000

by Katie Hammel on

TheBigTrip.com, a travel promotion site, is looking to fill an open position. The job: traveling the United States, blogging about the places you visit, and hosting travel webisodes. The job will last twelve weeks and take place in the spring of 2010. Here’s the best part – travel expenses and health insurance will be fully funded by TheBigTrip and the selected candidate will receive a salary of $50,000.

The route is still being worked out, but according to the website, you will begin along the eastern seaboard, travel down the coast to the Florida Keys, explore Las Vegas and skydive over the mountains of the west. You can’t bring a traveling companion, but occasional visits to family and friends will be permitted. You must be 18 to apply and be legally allowed to work in the US, though you don’t have to be a citizen.

To apply, each candidate needs to upload a 60-90 second YouTube video explaining why he or she is the best person for the job. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2009 at midnight. The job requirements list creativity, charm, an outgoing personality, and knowledge of social media as important characteristics. So get creative and show your style, and you might just land the best job in the world country.

Add airport bird hunters to the list of odd travel jobs

by Alison Brick on

Two things that never crossed my mind, until this past week: geese being able to bring down a plane (as they did with the US Airways jet); and the role of bird hunters at some airports to avoid such accidents.

Who knew a job like that existed?

MSNBC.com has put together a list of other unlikely travel-related jobs. Some are specific to tourist destinations like the LEGO Professional Gluer at LEGOLAND in Carlsbad, California, or the Sewer Guide for tours through subterranean Paris. Others combat seemingly uncontrollable forces of nature: animals, gravity, and offensive tourists.

Monkey Men: To keep the langur and rhesus monkeys from stealing the guest cookies at the Amanbagh Resort in Rajasthan, India, these four men walk the grounds, armed with slingshots.

Coconut Safety Engineer: The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas makes sure that someone is around to pre-emptively pluck coconuts before they knock out one of their poolside guests.

Manners Police: This volunteer brigade in Venice responds to something even more offensive than the pigeons: the uncouth tourists, who walk around bare-chested or sit in the middle of sidewalks.

Curious about some of the other positions mentioned? Hotel Falconer (Santa Barbara), Karaoke Taxi Driver (Helsinki), Duckmaster (Memphis), and Tourism Ambassador (Japan).

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of April 15

by Adrienne Wilson on

The end of the week has arrived and I can’t express how happy that makes me. But I’m not going to make this intro long winded or provide some silly intro on the close of the day and what you may have missed so let’s just get into it!

5. Where Have You Been? At Bluestockings:
Although I am sure there are other events around the globe similar to this Bluestockings event this is one in particular makes me wish I lived in the Big Apple. For those who haven’t the desire to be on the go or can’t but still love drooling and thinking on the travel tales of others this live storytelling events might make for a fabulous evening for you and a nice cup of tea.

4. Cruise Ship Work: It’s Possible:
In need of a new job NOW? Well I can’t promise you’ll land one on a cruise ship immediately, but you can start NOW to get out of your cube farm and onto the high seas for a few months. The air is much fresher out there.

3. Tickets on Sale for Beijing Olympics:
While Ember is busy bringing the daily Beijing 411, Jonathon stops to remind us that one of the world’s biggest events is coming up fast and tickets are now on sale. Will you be at the Olympics?

2. Talking Travel with Matthew Polly:
Ready to be inspired? Gadling contributor, Justin Glow brings us all an awesome Q&A from his chat with Matthew Polly. If the name doesn’t ring a bell fear not, but don’t and I repeat don’t try bullying this guy to fork over his egg roll or burger for that matter. Read the interview and find out what pushed him to leave everything behind to travel to the Shaolin Temple.

1. Weekend in Miami: An Overview:
Summer is on the way and thanks to Willy, those who are planning a getaway to Miami, Florida can check out this overview for a few links and ideas on how to spend 2-3 days time or more if you happen to have it! Though the beach is almost a given he also provides a glimpse at museums and dining and most importantly, where you may want to rest your head.