How to Become a Professional Traveler: 18 Ways to Get Paid to Travel The World

9/10/2020

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By William Ballard

Although we aren't sure when the illustrious traveling lifestyle will pick back up again, we do know that it will, and it will come back with a vengeance -- that's why it's important to be ready when it does.

The romantic dream of the nomadic lifestyle is one that many obsess over these days. Some more than others, for sure. Mainly because many who wish they could live this romantic lifestyle have no idea how these professional travelers do it, and, therefore, label it a pipe dream or fantasy, and give up on it before they even start.

If your Instagram feed is anything like mine you’ll probably be mesmerized day in and day out with lustful images of mountainous landscapes, or the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean -- in other words, where you would rather be right now.

The truth is, those lucky few you see flaunting around the globe that live this coveted lifestyle have figured out how to tap into their marketable skill-sets and use them to design a life that allows them to indulge their passion for travel. The good news? This, so-called, pipe dream is actually well within your reach.

Here are 18 ways you can get paid to travel.

1) Teach English Overseas

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Believe it or not, one of the number one things thousands of newbie professional travelers do when heading overseas for a life of travel is to teach English.

It doesn't matter if you want to teach older folks or pass on your knowledge to the youth: the opportunity to travel the world, to discover and be immersed in a new culture and community, all while helping others learn a new skill is very much possible.

If teaching is your thing, with a more cultured outlook on the world, and money in your pocket to fund your travels, this opportunity could very well be the answer you've been looking for.

Now, when it comes to teaching English abroad, your "ticket" to landing a great job with a good salary in a country you really want to visit is what is called a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate.

When you’re searching job listings, you are more than likely to find that while you don’t need to speak the countries’ first language or have any previous teaching experience, a TEFL is still a requirement that will keep popping up time and time again. No need to stress out though, there are lots of ways to get your TEFL certificate. From online, self-paced courses, to full-time, in-person courses, there is training option out there that’s right for you.

If you’re fluent in English, have a bachelor’s degree in any discipline, and have a passion for exploring the world, the next step to landing your dream job is to simply search through some job boards for English teaching positions, then to get your visa sorted out, and finally, start packing your bags! It really is that easy.

2) Become a Travel Writer

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Now, for one of my personal favorites! Getting paid to travel the world, writing as you go, and seeing your name in the byline of your favorite publications. Ahh, now that's the dream.

If you’re like me, and have a passion for writing and a love for travel, then getting to visit your favorite countries while earning a handsome living at the same time is the best job in the world.

With the current digital landscape the support for the travel and writing industries is amazing! It has never been easier to start living out your dreams of earning a living doing something that you truly love. The first step? You guessed it, start writing!

In my experience, I've found that many newbie travel writers have this idea that they can't start travel writing until they leave their home and go on some kind of overseas vacation, however. It's just not true.

The truth is: you don't have to travel clear across the world or even out of State to start living the travel writing life. The beauty of travel writing is that you can fit it into your daily routine and even do it part-time writing local stories for local publications about your very own neck of the woods.

These local type stories are perfect for developing your writing chops (discovering your writing tone and voice), building your writing portfolio, and attracting an engaged readership to your work.

To that end, the first step is to start subscribing to or gathering stories from your local travel publications and getting a feel for the type of stories they are looking for. Finding the right publication that aligns with your writing style and personality type is essential, so spend some time familiarizing yourself with what’s out there and read over their contributor guidelines thoroughly so that you can perfect your pitches and land that magazine spread that you crave so much.

Want to discover how to dominate your writing market— the ethical way? I suggest grabbing a copy of my latest eBook, now only $7, by clicking here. The $7 sale won't last long, so get your copy today before time runs out.

3) Become a Travel Photographer

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And now for another one of personal favorites. If you're like me, you probably rarely ever leave your house without your camera. Let me ask you this: Do you have an eye for aesthetics and creating beautiful composition? Do you look forward to waking up ridiculously early in order to get that beautiful sunrise shot? Photography can be a great hobby but it can also become a great side hustle or even a full-time job. However, if you’re going to be successful in it, you have to know your stuff.

While many photographers start humbly with no experience, they all have one thing in common—they take their camera with them anywhere and everywhere they go. The fact is, that's how you evolve, take better photos, and build a personal portfolio.

Now, even though it seems like everyone on social media these days is a photographer, travel photography is more than just a beautiful photo, it’s about capturing stories, moments, and feelings with your imagery.

To land jobs as a travel photographer you’ll not only need to be creative, but you will also need to be a bit open-minded as well about how you earn money from your work. Books, magazines, newspapers, calendars, post cards and websites all need travel images, so there are lots of opportunities for contract and freelance travel photography work.

If travel photography is your thing, then bookmark this blog and follow along with me. I'll give you all of the secrets, tips, techniques, and strategies you’ll need to take profitable photographs and become a professional traveling photographer.

I also encourage you to come by William Ballard Photography and see a little bit more in-depth about what I'm doing photography-wise. See you there!

4) Become a Social Media Manager or Consultant

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As a business expert, it is more clear now than ever, how essential social media is in any business operation, and the travel industry is no different. If travel businesses aren’t utilizing it effectively they are ultimately losing business.

Think about the variety of businesses you encounter in your day-to-day life or on your travels such as hotels or restaurants. Each one of those has to be working on their online presence and thinking about how they can leverage it to bring their business to scale. That’s where you, a traveling social media manager or consultant, come in.

As a professional digital marketer myself, I can see the potential that businesses are losing out on if they don’t have a great social media strategy. With all of this opportunity at your fingertips, why not reach out to businesses and propose an upgraded marketing strategy, or tell them how you can help them to improve their online presence.

Creating your own social media consulting business will allow you to use your creativity and marketing knowledge to help businesses engage their audience online—and did I mention you can do it from anywhere in the world that has good WiFi? Moreover, you can even provide this type of service using platforms like PeoplePerHour.com

5) Become a Travel Blogger

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Now, for another one of my personal favorites. On the surface, travel blogging seems like the dream job to cruise into if you’re looking to share content and fund your travels online—and in many ways it is.

Behind the scenes of this glamorous lifestyle however, travel bloggers are hustling away, using their entrepreneurial skills to turn their passion project into a side hustle and, for some, even into a full-time job. But with so many travelers creating their own blogs these days, travel blogging is now a very crowded space.

Therefore, the question is how do you stand out? How do you actually make money from your blog? Well, like any other business, building success takes time and commitment. You could build your income stream and monetize your blog with strategies like affiliate marketing, Google AdSense, sponsored posts, or selling your own products through your blog (all of which we will talk more about later).

Of course, none of this can happen unless you actually create a space where users enjoy the content you share and want to come back for more. I, again, suggest bookmarking this blog and following along with me as I teach you how to write a lucrative travel blog that can fund your travels and keep your readers engaged.

6) Teach English Virtually

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I mentioned teaching English abroad earlier, but if teaching in an in-person classroom setting isn't your thing, and you would rather have the ability to move around from place to place while still working, then teaching English virtually might be a better fit.

With online education across many subjects and interest areas becoming increasingly popular, there’s an abundance of work out there that you can take part in.

Choosing to teach English through virtual means will allow you to remotely interact with people from all around the world, helping them to learn a new skill while also setting yourself up with a stable income. Moreover, teaching English remotely (through virtual means) allows for an extremely flexible workflow. In other words, as the teacher, you can teach from anywhere in the world and at any time that suits you and your students best.

As long as you have good WiFi, a TEFL certificate (which we mentioned above), and speak English fluently there’s no reason why you can’t use this kind of work to fund your travels. Again, you can find job postings for services like these through platforms like PeoplePerHour.com or even FlexJobs.com

7) Become a Tour Guide

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Becoming a tour guide is a job that will literally take you all around the world, making your “office” your local National Park or even the Guatemala Canal. As a tour guide, you’re always on the go, from country to country or place to place and there’s always something new ahead. While this kind of lifestyle may seem draining to some, it might just be the opportunity that's right up your ally.

As a tour guide, you’ll meet people from all over the world, be immersed in the local culture and work all around the world. While this all sounds great you also have to consider that you’ll be living out of a suitcase, answering hundreds of questions each day, as well as never really allowed to have an “off” day -- but why would you want to, right?

If this sounds like your cup of tea then it’s time to sit down and do some extensive research because finding a tour operator or traveling agency that aligns with your interests is one of the most important things to ensure you’ll have the time of your life working as a tour guide.

8) Become a Social Media Influencer

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Admit it, your Instagram feed is usually filled with beautiful, inspiring images compelling you to get out and explore that hot new vacation spot or to try out this product or that product, and 99.9% of the time you’re jealous of that influencer’s life.

Social Media Influencers (those people who post on social media for a living) have a pretty big role to play in the marketing world these days, and there’s really no limit to how much you can earn by making it big as a traveling social media influencer.

While many people are out there desperately trying to live out this professional traveler dream and build their online following in order to become a social media influencer that brands and businesses are dying to work with, there’s only an elite few who have managed to successfully turn their travel habit into a profitable business through social media.

These people have captured their main niche’s attention by creating beautiful, engaging content and sharing their true personality with their audience. While it may not be for everyone, the rewards are definitely appealing. In fact, the world of influencing is certainly a lucrative one, with successful Social Media Influencers making up and around thousands of dollars per post, accumulating to millions of dollars every year. With that said, this is certainly a money making opportunity that I would highly recommend looking into.

In short, Social Media Influencers make their money by partnering with businesses and brands and sharing their products or experiences with their large and highly engaged audiences via a direct post or Instagram story, and don't forget about YouTube and the power of vlogging.

9) Work on a Cruise Ship

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Imagine this: Your workday begins with the magical sunrise colors splashed over the ocean skyline and finishes with a hazy view of a never-ending horizon. Everything that comes in between is filled up with working hard and reaping the sweet rewards of life on a cruise ship.

This strategy is, by far, one of the least talked about ways to get paid as a professional traveler, but one of the most promising and lucrative options.

Vacation cruise ships are one of the most popular forms of tourism, operating in seemingly every part of the world, and now that we are gradually making our way out of this worldwide pandemic, it is an industry that is constantly growing and will be in much needed help once the lock-downs are lifted. And that's where you come in.

With all of this consumer demand comes plenty of work opportunities for those looking to use their job as a means of traveling around the world. On the average cruise ship, there are over 200 employees conducting the everyday operations of the vessel, performing jobs such as deckhands, hosts, onshore expedition leaders, fitness or yoga instructors, medical staff, bartenders, entertainers, gift shop workers, and the list goes on and on.

With all of these paid positions available in exchange for accommodation, food and a decent wage, the opportunities are endless. Even on your time off from these duties mentioned, you can also implement some of the other opportunities that we have talked about today, such as travel writing, travel photography, or travel blogging to establish a second, or even third income stream.

So if growing your bank account while sailing from port to port sounds like a pipe dream or some kind of fairy-tale fantasy, I would suggest reconsidering that notion.

10) Become a Virtual Assistant

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Believe it or not, if you have a personal or executive assistant background you're already well on your way to becoming a professional traveler. This is a perfect way to take the administration skills you've learned in corporate America and implement them remotely on beach from Australia. And as more and more employers are embracing the remote work, the opportunities are endless.

Becoming a Virtual Assistant is one of the best ways to fund your travel obsession from anywhere in the world. Now, it is important to bear in mind that things change from client to client, but essentially a Virtual Assistant is someone that an executive from a large business or the manager of a small entrepreneurial type firm employs to do any digital administration type tasks that they might need done.

A few of the types of tasks that a Virtual Assistant might provide to their employer could be answering customer emails, updating websites (which could be writing web page copy or even blog writing), organizing files, bookkeeping, managing schedules, social media management, research, or even some photo and video editing. In short, the types of task that a Virtual Assistant could be asked to do is really just about anything. It really just depends on the executive or manager.

To land yourself a Virtual Assistant job you’ll need to be pretty computer savvy and confident navigating a number of online systems. Being a good communicator and time manager are also important skills to have. You'll need to be well aware of your personal strengths and marketable skill-sets. Knowing these things will aid you in being able to determine which executive or manager you would be a good fit to assist.

If you’re looking for Virtual Assistant jobs there are numerous platforms that connect workers like yourself with companies needing your expertise and skills, the platform that offers this type of service to the most affluent of clients is Zirtual. Another popular platform is Upwork, but don't forget PeoplePerHour and FlexJobs as well.

With that said, the pay varies from each employer, and it is mostly dependent on your experience in the areas of tasks you will be doing, as well as your main marketable skill-sets, but no matter which employer you end up working with, becoming a Virtual Assistant will allow you to make all the money you will need to sustain life on the road.

Lastly, I would encourage you to check out this article I wrote on Medium, which highlights four main keys that every executive is looking for when it comes to hiring a new assistant.

11) Create Travel Guides & Information Products

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Many travel bloggers, especially those with an already established social media following and high website traffic, have started to use their blog as a kind of personal storefront to sell their own products or services to their niche audience.

The point is this: Consider a trip to Prague. Within Prague there is so much that you can do and see and experience that one little article couldn't really do it justice.

In the photography world, when a photographer is thinking about putting a book of photos together what they normally start off with is a theme, such as horses, for example. Then they will go around the country capturing breath-taking photos of horses and collecting their best ones until they have enough to make a full-length photo book.

Now, these types of books are more than just any old photo album, they are professionally done and beautifully designed. And most photographers sell these kinds of books well into the hundred dollar range or more. In fact, I've seen some sell them for up to a thousand dollars or more.

The same idea applies to travel writing. Let's say you go on that trip to Prague and you've written hundreds of articles covering all of the many things you can do and find there. Well, Prague would be your theme, and as you collect all of these hundreds of articles that you've written, and set aside the best ones. The next thing to do is upload those articles into a service like Designrr (AFF) and let the software do all the heavy lifting for you.

Once you have your digital information product ready to go, the next thing is to upload it to your online store. Finally, start sharing your online store with your following on social media and start seeing the money role in. This means that you could be making money while relaxing on a beach in Prague without a worry in the world. Sounds pretty good right?

Now, I'll be honest with you. Making money like this is much more difficult than just posting a link of your store on social media and watching the sales come in. It's going to take some persuasive copywriting skills and some serious effort on your part. I suggest grabbing a copy of my ebook, Persuasion: The Ultimate Copywriting Superpower, now only $7 for a limited time.

To that end, by including an e-commerce element or online store to your blog you can tap into your expertise to create extra value for your audience while adding another income stream to support your travels. The content you can create and sell really is endless. Find an area your audience is interested in, that is lacking information, and provide that information for them. Whether it’s in the form of some in-depth travel guides or other info products like online courses, e-books, or even Lightroom presets, creating paid content is a great way to have a passive income while you’re off enjoying the world.

12) Become a Freelance Journalist

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Are you skilled with words and have interesting opinions on topics discussed in the media? Are you tired of fake news and ready to make journalism a respected profession again? Travel journalism is an approach many skilled wordsmiths have adopted to ensure that they can continue to travel around the globe and earn money as they go.

As with travel writing, to become a freelance journalist you’ll have to go out and take the time to develop your skills, improve your writing, and build your own personal portfolio. With that said, I highly encourage you to check out this article I wrote in Publishous entitled, "Freelance Blogging vs. Freelance Online Journalism." In that article I cover a lot about the differences between independent journalism (a.k.a blogging) and actual online journalism, plus a little bit about the issue of "fake news."

With so much white noise and generic content throughout the digital landscape, it’s important to think about what topics people enjoy, what will keep readers engaged, and what is relevant at the current time. Stick with me and I will show you exactly how to do this effectively.

The good news? Finding freelance journalism jobs in the era of online readership has become increasingly more accessible for those who are just getting into the business. You can start by submitting articles to websites that accept freelance submissions. A few great ones that have supported many traveling freelancers’ careers and provided lots of opportunities are Freelancer, JournalismJobs, and even Rovology.

13) Become a Freelance Graphic Designer

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The fact of the matter is this: Many people have become nomads (or professional travelers) because they've mastered the freelance lifestyle. Who wouldn’t want to use their skills and travel around the world without watching savings drip away?

Those who break into the freelance game can use their highly coveted marketable skill-sets to earn a handsome living from a cafe in Europe or a beach in Australia. And, since the pandemic, as more and more businesses allow flexibility in their employment and are embracing the remote worker now more than ever, there’s nothing stopping you from making the nomad lifestyle your reality.

If you already have a background in graphic design then the next step is the hardest, and that’s actually finding work. Thankfully, there are numerous sites that facilitate finding a remote job, like Upwork, Fiverr (AFF), and 99 Designs, which are always full with graphic design jobs.

Once you’ve built up a design portfolio you can also use that to approach new businesses and offer your freelance graphic design services, allowing you to continue living a life on the road while earning a handsome living. And if you stick with me on this travel journey I will teach you how to develop a portfolio that really makes you stand out from the crowd.

14) Become a Freelance Videographer

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Sticking with the freelance theme let’s talk about one very important marketing tool for businesses, which is video content. Hotels need videos of their facilities and tourism businesses, like travel agencies, need videos of local attractions and everything else in between.

So, who creates these short, simple videos for businesses to use? People just like you, of course.

I know the camera in the selected image above may seem a bit intimidating, but step away from the belief that you need an expensive camera (like the one above), setup with the best lenses as well as lighting and editing software, and step into the belief that with a little practice, you could soon be profiting off your own video content even just by using your smartphone.

Put together a portfolio and start reaching out to potential clients within your niche that align with your personal style and branding. You might get paid in cash, or you might get free accommodation and tours in exchange for your work—either way, creating video content for businesses is opening a lot of doors for nomadic creatives (professional travelers) like you helping them market their businesses across the globe.

Stick with me, and I will show you how to get started creating videos that sell.

15) Sell Your Images on Stock Photography Websites

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Now, coming back to one of my personal favorites. We've already talk a little bit about travel photography, but to take this one step further ... This strategy, by far, is one of the easiest ways to instantly start funding your travels -- and won't cost you a dime to get started.

The fact of the matter is this: Everyone from large companies, small and medium-sized businesses, writers and bloggers, graphic designers, digital marketers, and book publishers need images for their creations and content. When they are not able to hire a photographer directly to shoot images for them, stock imagery becomes the next best thing.

This is where you can use all of those amazing photos that you've taken on your travels, the ones that didn't quite make the cut for your articles in travel magazines or what have you, and turn them into passive income.

In short, stock photos are your own personal work that you can make available for commercial use. Essentially, when someone buys your images from a stock website, they are buying the usage license for the image and you’ll still own the copyright for your work. You can check out some of my stock photography work here.

Popular stock photo websites like iStock and Shutterstock usually take within 50% to 85% of the commission, with photographers getting between 15% and 50%. This means that to make good money from your photography through stock websites you’ll need to have lots of high-quality content that is usable in a variety of different materials and formats.

The other thing to remember about stock photography is that it’s a time game—the longer your images are online, gaining attention and sales, the more you’ll make in the end. So there’s never been a better time to start than now. Therefore, I suggest you, again, consider book marketing this blog and follow along with me as I show you exactly how to start making a passive income from your photography work.

16) Become an Affiliate Marketer

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Now, wouldn't you want to be like the guy in this image, pulling out your smartphone and pulling up the latest report from one of your affiliate marketing accounts and noticing your just made another thousand dollars today?

Well, undoubtedly, affiliate marketing is the most obvious strategy to implement for anyone looking to monetize their travel blog. Chances are you’ve seen affiliate marketing in action firsthand on some of your favorite websites. In fact, I've been implementing this strategy a bit throughout this article.

These types of targeted links you’re seeing then lead you to a third party website where you can purchase any number of products or services. And with every product or service sold through that targeted link, I. the owner of this website, earn a small commission from that sale.

Side Note: If you've purchased any one of the products or services that I've recommended through any one of the affiliate links throughout this article, I want to take this time and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. I only recommend products or services that I personally use or endorse.

With that said, affiliate marketing is a great way for companies to use your audience in order for them to make sales, and for you to earn money, as well as for your audience to discover great new products and services. With so many affiliate programs available it’s important to only associate yourself with the ones you personally love and know will be beneficial to your audience.

With programs ranging from hotels, airlines, insurance, and credit cards, there are endless opportunities to start earning money from your blog using affiliate marketing. Check out Amazon, CJ.com, Clickbank, and Shareasale to start using affiliate marketing yourself.

17) Start a Dropshipping Business

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If you have ever bought anything online chances are you’ve bought something off a dropshipping business without even knowing about it.

It can be a little hard to wrap your head around the concept at first but essentially dropshipping is an e-commerce business model in which your site acts as a storefront for other brands products (i.e. you sell other people’s products and take a cut for yourself, some what similar to affiliate marketing).

Dropshipping is a pretty great business model for anyone who’s looking to have a taste of running their own e-commerce business without a lot of the traditionally associated risks, such as having to tract and manage inventory. Meaning that, essentially, anyone, anywhere can start their own dropshipping business.

To get your business off the ground you’ll need to build an e-commerce site and start to attract customers to your store. One of the most important platforms you will need to master is Shopify.

The good news is that setting up your own store in Shopify is quick, easy and low cost. If you invest in starting your own dropshipping business you’ll typically see a profit margin around 15%-45%, without ever having to worry about shipping logistics, storage space, or unsold inventory.

18) Become a Freelance Proof Reader

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Are you the first to notice a spelling mistake or grammatical error? Does noticing a comma in the wrong place or spot make you feel like you are going through the agonizing sound of someone scratching on a chalk board? Perhaps you might just be a proofreader in the making.

If you remember your high school English projects you might recall that proofreading is the final stage in the writing process. This final stage includes looking for and correcting any errors in the grammar, style, and spelling that you can identify.

With so much content being shared on the internet every day there’s not many people who don’t need some kind of proofreading done. This includes writers, bloggers, small and large companies, and with websites like Gramlee, Proof Read Anywhere, and Grammarly available, there’s an abundance of proofreading jobs waiting just for you.

Again, a good place to start looking for proofreading jobs is looking through Upwork, FlexJobs, or even PeoplePerHour.

Now Over to You

While some of these freelance or remote jobs and revenue earning strategies may be more attainable than others, they all have one thing in common—if you are committed and driven enough, they will all allow you to quit the 9-5 and begin living that romantic, nomadic traveling lifestyle you've been dreaming of.

To that end, I once again encourage you to bookmark this blog because you are going to want to stay tuned as I take you along with me on my travel writing adventures, and teach you everything you need to know to become a true professional traveler -- making a handsome living and being able to explore the world in a way that you've always dreamed of.

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