How To work and Travel: The utmost guide

I remember when I was working 12-hour shifts in Canada, my utmost dream was to work and travel and find a job that allowed me to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Ten days of holidays per year simply wasn’t enough to quench my thirst for travel and adventure, but at that time I had no idea how to work and travel. 

These days there are so lots of options out there for those who want to work and travel. From teaching English online to drop shipping and running a blog, pretty much any individual can find ways to make money while on the road thanks to the internet.

It took us 5 years to figure out how to work and travel, but it won’t take you that long thanks to this guide.

If your dream is to work and travel full-time, then you’ve come to the ideal place. We’re now experts on this topic and we’ve interviewed dozens of remote workers on this blog and we’ve literally written the book on travel jobs (101 of them to be exact).

In this post, I’m going to list the 10 easiest travel and work jobs, how much they pay, what the requirements are, and exactly how to find them.

You could be working and travelling shortly after reading this post! some of the jobs will take a while to become profitable, but a lot of of these could be earning you money on the road today.

Table of Contents
Why work and Travel?
The work & travel Mindset
Quitting Your job To work & Travel
Working and travelling With Your current Job
Remote work vs. travel Jobs
The work & travel Lifestyle
The best work & travel Jobs
Now Is the time To work and Travel

Why work and Travel?

I think the answer to this question is quite obvious. If you love to travel but feel confined to a cubicle, factory, office space, or desktop and you want to get out and explore, then working while travelling is for you.

If you only get 2 weeks of holiday per year and you want a lot more time to explore the world, then combining your work with travel is for you.

If you hate being stuck in traffic, waking up to alarm clocks, having your boss tell you what to do, or you’re worn out of being forced to work long hours on someone else’s schedule, then guess what… remote work is best for you.

The work & travel Mindset

If you want to work and travel, you’re going to have to shift your mindset. You may not have an alarm clock waking you up every morning, but you’ll still need to have the motivation and discipline to peel yourself away from the beach to get some work done.

Keep in mind that this type of work isn’t for everyone. often you’ll still have commitments with companies and people in different time zones, indicating that you may have to be awake at ungodly hours for Skype meetings and conference calls.

If you work online and travel, then you may find that the wi-fi is too slow and that you aren’t able to get enough work done.

There are a lot of things to keep in mind when deciding to work and travel, but in my experience, ever single hurdle, frustration, and roadblock is worth it for the freedom and lifestyle that working on the road can offer.

Quitting Your job To work & Travel

When we first quit our jobs back in 2008, it was terrifying. Leaving the normal paycheck and normal life that society promised was “secure” was like jumping off a cliff and not knowing when or where we’d land.

But we kept an open mind and today we’re working and travelling at the same time and making a lot more money than we ever did in Canada while working less than half the amount of hours per week.

Quitting your job to explore remote work opportunities can be stressful. but when we did it, we didn’t have the resources that are available now. These days, you can first start working from home so that you can make the transition to taking your work on the road with you much easier.

Using lots of of the jobs I’m going to list in this post, you could start earning a side-income now so that one day, when you’re comfortable, you can make the step to a full-time work and travel lifestyle.

Working and travelling With Your current Job

Maybe you don’t have to quit your job in buy to work and travel.

We’ve helped dozens of people take their current jobs on the road with them. You may be shocked at how responsive your boss is to allowing you to try to work from home — wherever in the world that may be.

Here are a few ideas on how to successfully request to do your current job remotely.

Start With one day a Week

Before asking your boss if you can simply stop pertaining to work all week and work completely from home, why not ask to test it for one day a week.

Ask if you can work from home every Wednesday for one month and if there is any negative change in productivity or sales, you’ll return to a normal workweek.

Play The productivity Card

Tell your boss that there’s been a 2-year study done by Stanford university that shows that working from home makes workers far a lot more productive.

Explain that by working from the comfort of your home office, you’ll have fewer distractions, better access to resources and a a lot more comfortable working environment.

Have an Excuse

Maybe there’s a reason why you need to be at home a certain amount of time per week. A new child, a challenging environment at work, an inability to concentrate in the office, migraines from office lighting, etc.

If there are legit reasons why you cannot be fully productive at your office or workspace, tell your boss honestly and request a change.

Give an Ultimatum

This is an absolute last-ditch effort and must only be attempted if you have an alternative income-source to fall back on, but an ultimatum can give your boss that final push needed to allow you to test working from home. 

Actually Be a lot more Productive

If your boss agrees to allow you to work from home, then you must work hard to get as much done as possible. double your productivity on days you work from home. stay focused and verify that everything you said to get this position was true. Your days working from home must be your best workdays.

Take It To The next level (Full-Time home Office)

After the test is completed and your boss agrees that you’re a lot more productive when you’re not in the office, it’s time to go full-time.

Usually, you’ll need to agree to be at work for meetings, certain formalities, and the occasional summary, but for the most part, if you’ve proven you’re a better worker from home, then you must have no problem going full-time.

Taking it To The final level (Work & Travel)

If your boss understands that you’re capable of working from home, then they already know you can work remotely from anywhere. At this point, you must be able to take it to the final level and begin working while travelling.

At first, start with a short trip away. maybe it’s a trip that you would usually have to take holiday time for, but thanks to this new working environment you’ve created, you’ll be able to continue working while you’re away.

A week for a friend’s wedding or a few extra days away for an anniversary are best stepping-stones for this. slowly these trips can become longer and longer until you’re generally doing work and travel full-time.

For a lot more information, check out The utmost guide To Remote Work.

Remote work vs. travel Jobs

There is a big difference between remote work and travel jobs.

Remote work is work that can be done on the computer and online, and typically, you’re employed by someone else. travel jobs are typically jobs that are available around the world.

The former will give you the freedom to choose your own hours and often even build your own business, while the latter will require you to be in an office, shop, or on a farm for a certain amount of hours per week.

Each type of job has its pros and cons, but both allow you to work and travel, which is what this post is all about.

Below, I’ll list jobs that can be done remotely, as well as jobs that are available in-country for those of you who don’t want to spend your days checking out a computer screen.

See Also: Download Our 101 travel jobs Ebook

The work & travel Lifestyle

Working remotely is a great feeling, but the transition can be hard for some people. And, fair enough, you’ve been surrounded by colleagues for your whole working life, and once you decide to work abroad (either for yourself or someone else), you might find it a bit lonely.

Plus, you’ll need to figure out what sort of equipment you need in buy to successfully work and travel at the same time. here are some tips.

Creating a Remote Office

You’ll probably find that you won’t want to travel from place to place every 3 days. Instead, put down some momentary roots in various destinations and stay awhile.

Not only will you get to really know the culture, people, and way of life, but you’ll be able to create a remote home office. 

This is crucial if you like to work from home, rather than a cafe, bar, co-working space, etc. First, you’ll need to rent a place that has strong wifi and a good area to work at — a comfortable table and chair are essential.

After that, you’ll want to make sure you have a surge protector (if necessary), amulti-plug for charging, and maybe even a wifi range extender. 

Make your remote office as comfortable as possible, so you are as efficient as possible.

Co-Working Spaces

If you’re feeling lonely and don’t want to work alone, you can always join a co-working space. These are cropping up all over the world, but are especially popular in digital nomad hot-spots (Lisbon, Chiang Mai, Canggu, Medellin, Budapest, Ubud, etc.) 

Basically, you pay a monthly fee and receive access to a working space. This space will be comfortable and have the needed items you need to be productive — headphones, computer chairs, fast wifi, conference rooms, and snacks.

Quite often, there will be seminars available as well. Coworking spaces are great for meeting fellow remote workers who are living nomadically as well. 

Online work & travel Communities

Another way to meet fellow digital nomads is to check online Facebook groups and travel communities. quite often, if you search for the city name and digital nomad, you’ll find a Facebook group you can join. For example, I searched Canggu digital Nomads and this group popped up: 

You’re not alone! There are lots of others working remotely, and finding a community is easy thanks to the internet. 

The best work & travel Jobs

These opportunities are changing and evolving rapidly. When we first started working and travelling, there weren’t so lots of options available to us, and definitely in the coming years, there will be new and exciting work and travel jobs that no one ever thought of before.

That’s why I’ll continuously be updating this post (as I do my 101 travel jobs Ebook) to make sure that all of the current best travel jobs are included here.

Work & travel in The US

Requirements:
Between the ages of 18 and 28
A full-time university student actively pursuing a degree or other full-time course of study at an recognized institution
Be Proficient in spoken and written English
Hold a J-1 Visa

Pay: 
Varies depending on job ($7.25 USD / hour or more)

While this post is mostly geared towards Americans, Canadians, British, Australians, and similar countries seeking to work remotely to explore exotic countries, I also know that a lot of people from other countries have always dreamt of working and travelling in the US. thanks to some new work travel programs, this has never been easier.

Either you can try to apply for jobs, the J-1 Visa and an American social safety number yourself, or you can go through a travel program like InterExchange. They have a great resource for helping people apply for their visas and find work in the US. 

Their USA Work-Travel program allows you to work for 3 months and then take a month off to travel the country. We’re not sponsored by them in any way, but they’ve been around for over 50 years helping people work and travel in the US, so I thought that this must be included in this post!

Work & travel in Australia

Requirements:
Between the ages of 18 and 35 
Have no dependent children travelling with you in Australia
Be in good health
Have no criminal record
Sufficient funds to sustain yourself and exit the country (sometimes proof of $5,000 AUD is required)

Pay: 
$18.93 AUD / $13 USD minimum wage for full-time work (most jobs range from $20 – $27 AUD / hour)

Another popular place for work and travel is Australia, thanks to their exceptional working visa program for expats from commonwealth countries.

Dariece and I considered this program a few years ago, but unfortunately, it only works up until your 35th birthday, so we’re a bit too old now.