How To Permanently Travel The World And Get Paid For It

This is probably the biggest dream of most of us: Finding a job that pays you to travel. I have already explained what kind of local and remote jobs you can do everywhere in the world and how you can find these nomad jobs. But what about jobs, that send you to all of those exotic places? Or ways to get paid because you are on the road? Now doesn’t that sound interesting? Read on and find out how to travel the world and get paid for it.

Overview of Income Opportunities

First of all, let’s have a look at the different kinds of opportunities we have to make money away from our (old) home base to get an overview:

1. Making money while traveling:

1a) Local jobs: These are the best kinds of jobs if you like to travel very slow and want to learn as much as you can about the country and culture. You go somewhere, find a place to live for a few weeks or even months, and find a job in that place. The most common jobs are for example teaching a language, working in a bar, scuba instructor, or doing farm work.

1b) Online jobs: These are the typical digital nomad jobs. Usually, all you need is a computer and a decent internet connection. You can work online and completely independent from your location. There are many job opportunities in fields like web design, content writing, or virtual assistance work.

2. Making money with traveling:

Making money with traveling is probably what most people want. Travel the world and get paid for it – yes, please! Popular businesses would be for example very successful travel blogs, professional photography, or tour guides.

3. Making money via a passive income:

How great would it be, if you could travel wherever you want and do whatever you like, while your bank account fills up automatically? Although it usually takes a lot of work in the beginning and a little bit of maintenance later, passive income, such as returns from licenses, is possible. I will talk about that in a second.

Travel the World and Get Paid: Here Are the Best Jobs that Pay You To Travel

I want to give you some great examples of ways to travel the world and get paid at the same time. These are opportunities for how to make money with traveling (see number 2 above) and how to generate passive income while traveling (see number 3 above).

If you want to know more about the first option “Making money while traveling”, you can check out my other article that gives you some great remote job ideas.

Making Money With Traveling

1. Flight attendant

Probably the most obvious jobs that pay you to travel: Flight attendants get to travel the world and get paid for it. But that’s not all they get. If you work as part of the cabin crew, you usually receive great discounts on flights, better rates on hotels and even your family members can get cheaper flight fares. Check out websites like Airline Career or Flight Attendant Career to find open positions.

2. Crew on a yacht or sailboat

Another great opportunity to make money while traveling is working on a yacht or sailboat. Jobs usually include positions such as chef or caretaker. Often crewmembers only get free accommodation and food in exchange for their work onboard, but there are also paid opportunities out there. Have a look at websites such as Find a Crew or YaCrew.

3. Crew on a cruise

Or how about working on a massive cruise ship? You could work as an entertainer or animator and make sure the passengers have a great time while cruising around the world. Of course, you could also get a job as a chef or waiter onboard. Check out pages like All Cruise Jobs to find open positions.

4. Tour guide

If the sea isn’t the right place for you to work, how about traveling the world as a tour guide? You could lead a group of tourists or backpackers through Asia or do an Overlanding tour through Africa. So much fun and you get to see the world. To find a job you could apply at the big tour companies out there like Topdeck or Intrepid or you find local ones and ask for open positions. Especially during the high season, there are plenty of opportunities.

5. Au Pair / Nanny

Do you like kids? Great! Why not become a traveling Au Pair / Nanny. For that job, you’d normally live with a family in their home and take care of the kids at home, bring them to school, etc. But there are many families out there, who travel a lot for business reasons, e.g. entrepreneurs, managers or artists. They need someone to come with them and look after their kids while they are working.

Other parents like to bring a nanny with them while on holiday, so they can have a proper break and relax. Check out specialized websites like My Travelling Nanny or Adventure Nannies.

6. Private Teacher

Since we are talking about traveling nannies: If a family needs to travel for a longer period of time this can conflict with their kids’ school program. Many parents decide to homeschool their kids in these cases. If they don’t have the time or knowledge to teach their kids themselves, they need a private teacher to come with them. Have a look at websites like Educator Overseas.

7. Private Nurse

The same goes for families who are traveling the world, for private or business reasons, and have someone with them, who needs special care. That could be a child with disabilities or special needs, or maybe an older family member who is in need of permanent care. Lookup jobs on websites like Travel Nursing Jobs.

8. Freelance Photographer / Videographer

While you are out and about and travel the world, you might as well take beautiful pictures or videos of the breathtaking places you go to. Sell them to stock photo websites such as Shutterstock or iStockPhoto.  But be aware that the competition is massive and you have to be either very professional or very lucky to be able to make a living with it.

9. Private Photographer / Videographer

If you don’t want to sell your photos and videos to stock photo websites, you could also work as a private photographer or videographer. You could, for example, work for holiday resorts or tour companies and take great photos or videos which they can use for marketing purposes. To find jobs like that it’s best to either pitch some companies directly or have a look at job search websites, such as Indeed or platforms specialized in freelance positions Upwork.

10. Presenter for Travel Documentaries

Let’s take the video idea one step further. How about traveling around the world and filming exciting and informative travel documentaries? Getting a job for a giant like National Geographic is obviously nothing but easy. But check out some general job search engines, such as Indeed. Every once in a while small productions are looking for presenters. Or have a look at production websites directly, like Pilotguides.

11. Traveling Artist

Do you have a special talent, like singing, playing the bagpipe, acrobatics, or acting? You could join a traveling circus or theater and make money with your talent while moving from one place to another. Or work as a street performer and breakdance your way through the world. You might not get rich, but if you are good and perform at busy public squares, you surely can live of it.

12. Freelance Travel Writing

Another way to travel the world and get paid for it is as a travel writer. You could write articles and sell them to blogs, websites, or guide books. We all dream about writing for Lonely Planet, but of course, only the best are lucky enough to become a writer for big companies like that. Check out this amazing blog post I found from The Write Life that tells you what travel magazines and websites pay freelance writers.

13. Blog / Vlog

If you are into travel writing and taking photos while traveling you could start your own travel blog. Use your articles, videos, and photos for your own blog and make money e.g. as a brand ambassador. But please be aware that it usually takes much effort and time to grow a blog to the point where it actually generates income.

14. Hotel / Restaurant Tester

Some companies pay you to sleep in assorted nice hotels. All you need to do is fill out a detailed review of the accommodation. Trivago, for example, offers guests a discount on the booking in exchange for an honest review. That discount/cashback can sometimes be even higher than the actual room price, which means you get paid for staying and reviewing.

Are you worried about your safety while traveling? Have a look at this amazing list with 30+ life-saving travel tips for your next trip.

Making money via a passive income:

This sounds almost too good to be true – travel the world and get paid for it while not doing anything. But there are indeed some opportunities you have. But please be advised that all of them usually require you to put in some effort or even money before they generate income.

1. Rental Income

If you own a flat or a house and you go on a trip for a few weeks, months, or even years, rent it out! That money could cover your monthly expenditures while traveling. You only have to make sure you have someone at home, either a friend, family member, or a property manager, who looks after your house or flat every once in a while. Especially, when something breaks, like the air con or the dishwasher, you should have someone who can arrange a replacement.

2. Rent Your Car or Motorbike

The same goes for cars or motorbikes. Of course, you could simply lock them away in a garage. But not using them for a few months or longer will only cause them to get rusty. Rent them to someone instead, so you get a bit of money from it and your precious car or bike stays active. You only need to make sure to tell your insurance company that there will be a new driver so everything is covered.

3. Delivering Goods

Since you are traveling from A to B anyway, you might as well take all kinds of goods with you and get paid for it. Sometimes you’d need to do another stop along the way to deliver your package, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

People would want you to deliver pretty much anything from important documents to homemade cookies, to puppies. They either don’t trust the postal companies, or it would be too expensive to ship, it would take too long or it is too complicated (like a puppy). Check out websites like Roadie or WorldCraze to find great deals.

4. Book / EBook / Online Course Income

If you are a talented writer or have a great story to tell, you could also write a book or an eBook and sell it before you leave. The income it generates within the next months can then finance your trip. Or maybe it’s not a book, maybe it’s an online course for Udemy about how to find the perfect wife.

But again, please be aware that the book or course doesn’t sell itself. If you don’t want to or cannot do the marketing yourself, hire someone to do it for you. If your idea is great, it can be worth the money.

5. Blog / Vlog Income

Don’t get me wrong, a blog is surely anything but easy money. But if you have an existing blog or vlog, that is very successful and generates loads of traffic, you could earn additional money by using affiliate links or Google AdSense. You would have to set it up but after that, there is not much to do. Besides, of course, make sure enough people are visiting your blog or vlog. But you are doing that anyway, right?

Travel the World and Get Paid for it – Now!

Making money while traveling is definitely possible. And it’s not even that hard. Most of the mentioned jobs don’t require any specific education, although some experience is always an advantage. But finding a job that pays you to travel is something that almost everyone can do.

I hope I could give you some inspiration on how you can combine traveling and making money. Have you some other ideas on how to travel the world and get paid for it? Or did you do any of the mentioned jobs and have some tips for us? Let me know in the comment section below!