My parents and extended family were almost all teachers and educators. With two months of summer off from work, along with plenty of vacation days, they had the privilege of enjoying both their work and traveling around the world.
They were bitten by the wanderlust bug. At family events, everyone would share their most recent exciting trip. My family seamlessly blended their love of travel, exploring new and different sites, with their occupation of teaching elementary, middle, and high school students.
Is Frequent Traveling Compatible With Your Lifestyle?
With many jobs requiring frequent travel, some professionals purposely seek out these opportunities that afford them the chance to see the world. During the job search process, professionals must consider how much travel is required to perform a specific role successfully. By carefully evaluating the travel requirements, candidates can make informed decisions about jobs that are a compatible fit for their circumstances, preferences, and career aspirations.
Extensive travel can disrupt personal and family life, making it challenging to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Professionals with caregiving obligations may find frequent travel particularly burdensome or impossible.
However, for those who have wanderlust, a career that offers the opportunity to get paid to explore new places may be a dream come true. In these roles, accommodations and travel expenses are often covered, while you get to immerse yourself in different cultures.
Jobs For Travel Lovers
If you have been bitten by the travel bug, here are 10 occupations you should consider that will earn you a paycheck for traveling.
Traveling for work and meeting new people can strengthen your professional network and lead to potential clients and customers. Moreover, demonstrating that you can adapt to new environments can be a valuable soft skill in your career.Read More
1. Flight Attendant
Average Base Salary: $39,077
Job Summary: A flight attendant is a trained individual who ensures the safety and comfort of passengers on an aircraft. They provide customer service, conduct safety demonstrations, and respond to emergencies during flights.
Qualifications: Applicants are usually required to be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or GED. Successful completion of an airline-specific training program or orientation is necessary. This training is provided by the airline and covers aspects such as safety procedures, emergency protocols, and customer service. Flight attendants must also be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to work on each type of aircraft they serve on.
2. Airline Pilot
Average Base Salary: $108,544
Job Summary: An airline pilot is a professional responsible for flying and navigating airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft. Their duties include conducting pre-flight checks, developing flight plans, ensuring the safety and integrity of the aircraft, and maintaining communication with the flight crew and air traffic controllers.
Qualifications: Airline pilots typically need a bachelor's degree, and experience as a commercial or military pilot and must meet FAA requirements, including completing 250 flight hours with a pilot ground school. After you have passed your written ground school test and logged your hours, you will need to pass a check ride with the FAA.
3. Management Consultant
Average Base Salary: $92,345
Job Summary: Management consultants work closely with domestic or international clients to provide business solutions to organizational issues involving maximizing business performance, business processes, and revenue streams. A management consultant can offer expertise in a range of fields, such as business management, marketing, business strategy, supply chain, and employee productivity.
Qualifications: Most employers require applicants to have completed, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a business-related field, such as business administration, economics, or finance.
4. Auditor
Average Base Salary: $77,965
Job Summary: An auditor examines an organization's records, accounts, and finances to ensure accuracy and compliance, as well as identify and mitigate risks. There are several disciplines within auditing, including financial; environmental, health and safety; external; internal; forensic, and information technology. Because auditors attend frequent client meetings, they travel extensively to company sites, including internationally.
Qualifications: Similar to the education path of an accountant, aspiring auditors are required to hold a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field, like finance or business.
5. Tour Guide
Average Base Salary: $35,290
Job Summary: A tour guide leads visitors through historical sites, museums, geographic destinations, or outdoor excursions, extolling relevant cultural, historical, and practical knowledge.
Qualifications: Most tour guide jobs require at least the completion of a high school diploma, while some employers desire a four-year degree to lead a museum tour. Additionally, some states require you to obtain a tour guide license.
6. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
Average Base Salary: $75,806
Job Summary: A pharmaceutical sales representative travels to different locations to sell pharmaceutical products and devices to healthcare professionals, such as doctors and nurses.
Qualifications: To become a pharmaceutical sales representative, most employers require at least a high school diploma or GED. Your qualifications will lie in your ability to build relationships and be persuasive.
7. Travel Nurse
Average Base Salary: $114,279
Job Summary: A travel nurse is a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse who works short-term contracts in various locations where healthcare facilities are understaffed. When contracts end, travel nurses either extend their stay at the same hospital or move on to a new location and opportunity.
Qualifications: Travel nurses must complete a state-approved nursing program, an associate degree in nursing, or a B.S. in nursing to pursue licensure where they permanently reside. They must then pass the National Council Licensure Examination.
Typically, you cannot become a travel nurse right out of college, as clinical experience is generally required.
The Nurse Licensure Compact allows licensed RNs to practice legally in 39 participating states. If your location does not fall under the NLC, you must apply for state-specific licensure before you begin employment. Some states may fast-track temporary licenses.
8. Construction Manager
Average Base Salary: $91,022
Job Summary: Construction managers oversee the development of buildings and infrastructure, managing tasks onsite, scheduling, budgeting, and supervising projects from start to finish. Although they have a main office, construction managers travel to field offices on-site.
Qualifications: When hiring construction managers, most employers prefer they have a bachelor’s degree in construction science, construction management, architecture, or civil engineering. However, it is possible to get hired with an associate degree in construction management or technology combined with relevant work experience in the field.
9. Professional Interpreter
Average Base Salary: $53,543
Job Summary: A professional interpreter enables communication between two or more parties who speak different languages. Interpreters can only render oral language, while translators specialize in written text. The most common areas of specialization include conference, guide, media, public sector, medical and legal. Interpreters, especially liaisons or escort interpreters, travel frequently to provide language support.
Qualifications: Professional interpreters are generally required to hold a bachelor's degree, while organizations like the United Nations recommend a master's degree. They should be highly proficient in at least two languages, including the source language (the language spoken by the interpreter) and the target language (the language in which they are interpreting).
10. Diplomat (Foreign Service Officer)
Average Base Salary: $97,246
Job Summary: The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing U.S. interests abroad. American diplomats can be employed at any of the more than 270 international embassies or consulates.
Qualifications: While there is no specific academic degree or professional experience required to become an FSO, all applicants must undergo a rigorous hiring process. This consists of a written Foreign Service Officer test, a written personal narrative, an oral interview combined with role-playing exercises, and a medical and security clearance review.
Diplomats are generally skilled negotiators with outstanding interpersonal skills who possess knowledge of foreign policy and languages.
Digital Nomad
Alternatively, the digital nomad lifestyle offers a unique work experience that comes with the autonomy of not being chained to an office. As the name implies, it allows professionals to work remotely while traveling freely.
If you are looking for a job change that will be more suitable to your desire to travel, consider freelance projects or find companies that offer remote positions. A downside to the digital nomad lifestyle is that you will be responsible for covering your own travel expenses, such as transportation, lodging, and meals.