Guest Contributor
While love for traveling is no diamond-in-the-rough trait, few belong to the group of travel fanatics whose hearts skip a beat at the first sign of an airplane terminal. If your coffee table resembles a travel agent’s workspace, or you can recite the airplane safety video word-for-word, it’s safe to say your travel obsession has reached new extremes.
While you could always wait for your airline miles to accrue, why not turn your passion for global adventures into a lifelong career? For those hoping to expand their professional horizons and venture into the travel industry, consider a travel job. However, before you kick your career switch into hyper gear, consider the pros, cons, and responsibilities ahead.
Travel-friendly career options
Taking the plunge into the travel industry might sound frightening, but when you see the variety of job opportunities, your fear might subside.
Travel nurse or doctor
Tourist venues are often in desperate need of travelling nurses or doctors, especially in amusement parks and cruise ships. Fusion Marketplace can help healthcare providers with a seemingly incurable travel bug launch their medical careers to new heights. With the help of an online marketplace, you can peruse medical travelling opportunities and select the job opening that aligns with your career goals.
Bartender
Hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, and venues need bartenders. They make an average of about $12 per hour, not including tips. Aspiring bartenders should be able to pour delicious drinks while also holding conversations with tourists.
Up for the challenge? Acquire your bartending license, score a job as a barback, and find a bartending mentor. In no time, you’ll be double-straining and speed-pouring the nights away.
Tour guide
Popular tourist sites often have tour guides for guests. These go-to guides share details about the venue, often related to history. Some destinations need tour guides who are bilingual, so if you’ve picked up a second language along your professional journey, consider this job opportunity a must for any travel enthusiast.
Nanny
As families travel, parents often require babysitting services so that they can enjoy a night away from fussy little ones. Some nannies travel with families, while others work at venues like cruise ships or resorts. So, if you’re interested in interacting with kids around the clock, nannying may be the job for you. Tip: in order to find gigs such as this one and above, we highly recommend joining a travel nurse agency.
Pros of working in the travel industry
Before deciding to work in the travel industry, you should investigate the must-know benefits of travel jobs in particular.
Traveling to new places
Most travel-related careers offer unique travel opportunities. Despite traveling for work, you can usually squeeze in a few hours of downtime, perfect for exploring your destination of choice and living as the locals do.
Meeting new people
Perhaps one of the top benefits of travel jobs is the ability to constantly crossing paths with locals, clients, fellow travelers, and other medical traveling professionals when you visit an exotic destination. Those new people can swing open more job opportunities in the travel industry as you gradually develop your network.
Unusual shifts and hours
If you’re not cut out for typical 9-to-5 hours, you might enjoy the travel industry. Though you may have to log long hours Thursday through Sunday, you can enjoy days off Monday through Wednesday.
With an ever-changing schedule, you might end up avoiding burnout, characteristic of a strict routine.
Dynamic work environments
Aside from a constantly evolving schedule, travel jobs will keep you on your toes in a way that a cubicle-centred office job could never. By exploring new environments and trying out new activities that wouldn’t be available to you in your hometown, you can fend off fizzling motivation and recharge beachside.
Experiencing new cultures
With travel comes an introduction to new people and their cultures. If you like learning about local foods and rituals, travel jobs present the perfect first-hand opportunity to do this.
Wrap up
The benefits of travel jobs are numerous and exciting, but the life of a nomad can be a tiring venture. As with every decision, explore the pros and cons. If anything, travel jobs are an excellent option for a couple of years and will allow you to check a few places off of your bucket list before you race towards retirement.
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