It has been almost two years since I quit my corporate job in the Philippines so that I can travel the world and work remotely. Looking back, the start of it all surely involved a lot of changes and spurts of fear on my part… but right now? I don’t regret the decision that I’ve made and I never will, because I’m having the time of my life and I’m enjoying every second of it! ♥
Besides, this is exactly the kind of lifestyle that I have always wanted. And working a 9 t0 5 job—often, even more hours!—cooped inside an office setting? Well that, wasn’t really my cup of tea…
Well okay, I have to admit that at first it looked great because of the ‘sense of security’ that it gave me as well as the whole idea of achieving ‘success’ in the corporate setting of an investment bank at the age of 19. But as time slowly passed, I realized that I wanted to…
Take control of my time (who doesn’t?) and not trade my 20’s for a job that I didn’t love
Earn what I actually deserve with my set of skills (fresh graduates—in my opinion—will always be undervalued anyways); and,
Get rid of unnecessary time-wasters (hello, horrible traffic and humongous stress!)
…in order to develop the career or business that I have always wanted while I venture out to see the world, meet different people, and experience various things all at the same time.
Digital nomads ☆
A photo posted by Aileen Adalid (@i_am_aileen) on
Jun 6, 2014 at 8:47pm PDT
Today, other than blogging about my travels in Asia and Europe, I work as a freelance graphic designer, web designer, SEO manager, and marketing assistant (as needed) while managing my own Amazon business, Adalid Gear (together with my ‘partner in crime’ a.k.a. boyfriend, Jonas). Most days involve around 4 hours of working—not consecutively— which leaves me a lot of hours for travelling, strolling, bumming *lol*, and doing the hobbies that I’ve never managed to do before (like playing the piano, singing in a bossa nova band, etc.)
With all of this blah-blah, I guess what I just want to say is that: YOU can do the same thing!
With the help of this post, I will give you some ideas on how you can jumpstart your ‘life of travel’ that’s filled with financial + job location independence. Other than my own experiences, I will also share other jobs that my friends and travel bloggers have done or are doing.
★ To make the list easier, I’ll group related jobs in one number/heading.
#1 – DIGITAL NOMAD JOBS
This was how I started after I resigned in 2013. Being a ‘digital nomad‘ simply means making full use of the technology around you (ta-dah: Internet!) in order to work remotely and earn an income whenever and wherever you are—much like a nomadic lifestyle.
EXAMPLE: (My story) I first started out with oDesk to offer my services of: graphic design, web design, SEO management, and marketing. I controlled my time and I accepted/applied for paid projects that I wanted right in the comfort of my own apartment or in some beach or resort in Asia. [Working remotely through the internet = digital nomad life]
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I eventually landed on a stable high-paying online job with a Swedish brand and that went on for almost a year (I first started as one of their customer service staff, advanced to being their product line head, and eventually their marketing + social media manager). It lasted only for a year because come May 2014, I decided to adapt their kind of business. So, after a bit of prep (and a bit of guidance from the CEO of thee said Swedish company), Jonas and I set up our own online Amazon business: Adalid Gear. Even after resigning from the Swedish company, it still made me me a ‘digital nomad’—apart from being an ‘entrepreneur’—because the kind of business that we had was still online and we can work anytime, anywhere.
For more types of ‘digital’ jobs that you can do with the help of an internet connection (see the top 33 helpful websites you can use), just read through the list below (because one or more could fit you!):
Consultation or Coaching
If you are a professional or an expert on a certain field (let’s say: financial management, relationship + dating, travelling, etc.) then this is something that you can offer online; this is because most companies often need the help without the need to permanently hire someone in their physical office. You can even sign up for sites like Skillshare where you can make passive income from prepared courses that you will make.
Online Entrepreneurship
For my case, we do retail but other than that, you can try selling digital products like eBooks and apps, or set up your own website and build a brand for your services (on programming, website development, tour organization/trips, etc.). Sure, it doesn’t always have to be something ‘online’—you can still be a business owner of a different kind; but it’s just that most of the time, online-based businesses give you more freedom to move around.
Online Poker Player
Aside from being an entrepreneur waaaaay before me, Jonas was also a professional online poker player ever since 2008 and that enabled him to travel to different places like the Maldives, Prague, U.S., etc. and then eventually landing in Asia. This of course requires certain level of skills like bankroll management, number crunching, probability forecasting, etc. so it might be a bit of a hard start. But once you learn the game, the return is enormous. I’ve tried to learn it before but decided not to really commit because it was just not my thing LOL (I hate dealing with numbers and probabilities). Plus: the plays here are just intense. [Take note that online poker is illegal in the U.S.]
(Travel) Blogging
This takes work, but once you’ve established yourself online, paid opportunities can be really good. Companies or brands will pay you for features and reviews or give you a free stay/flight/meal. You can even make use of advertising and affiliate marketing opportunities that can really rake in some money.
Virtual Specialists or Assistants
With the help of online websites (like these) and depending on your skills and interests, you can do:
Administrative Work
Customer Service, Data Entry, Data Processing, Management, Online Research, Secretarial, Transcription, etc.
Specialist Services
Content Writing/Editing/Proofreading, Finance (Bookkeeping), Legal, Medical, Marketing/Marketer, Social Media Management, etc.
Technical Services
Graphic Design, HTML, Programming, Web Design, Web Development, Video/Audio Editing, etc.
#2 – TEACHING OR TUTORING JOBS
Teach English Overseas
Countries that don’t have English as a first language should be an instant destination for you especially if you don’t mind teaching or if you already have previous teaching experience. Don’t worry as well because some schools or language centers would just require you to have a Bachelor’s degree + knowledge of the English language. But of course, most of them would still expect you to have a TEFL (or TESOL/TESL) certificate—there are a lot of courses and certifications online for this. As for the pay, it can be really good especially if you do private classes or one-to-one, as compared to teaching in language centers. So now, where can you go…?
ASIA
Japan, China, Korea, and Thailand are the hottest countries right now that needs English teachers (with Japan, Taiwan, and Korea said to be paying the highest).
SOUTH AMERICA
If you are from the Philippines like me, you can definitely go to the Asian countries that I mentioned above but most of the time they require a Visa from you. What’s more is that work arrangements can get a bit tedious and comprehensive. So the best thing that you should do is head to South America given how they have several countries that are visa-free for Filipinos. Take Brazil and Colombia for example and those are already the highest-paying countries for English teachers. If you ask me, this is such an awesome ordeal (especially because I have developed a certain hatred towards Visa applications), that’s why once I finish my trip here in Europe, I am actually planning on heading to South America to become a freelance English teacher. If you’re into this kind of adventure, maybe we can meet along the way! ;)
EUROPE
Spain, Turkey, Russia, Germany, to name a few.
Online Teacher or Tutor
Websites like Tutor.com, Verbling, Kukuspeak (more here) are great websites to begin with. It’s important to note however that there are applications and most websites require years of experience.
Translator
This is self-explanatory; so if you’re fluent in Chinese (as an example), there are a lot of clients out there that would need your service.
#3 – AU PAIR JOBS
If you love dealing with kids, an au pair job is the best thing for you! It’s basically like being a nanny where you might also be expected to do some light housework. I haven’t experienced this yet, but it’s very common in Europe wherein most au pairs are female. I even know several travel bloggers who are doing this while doing their freelance work (or studies). For this arrangement, the family would of course provide the accommodation and food and they would also pay you. (Other countries where au pairs are common: US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand).
Unfortunately, if you want something short term, this might not be ideal since most au pair contracts need you to do it for 6 months and more. But that aside, it’s worth a shot!
#4 – NON-PAYING JOBS (But with Free Accommodation and/or Food)
The jobs that I’ll be listing below will NOT pay you… BUT in exchange for the work you do, they will give you FREE accommodation and/or food. In my opinion, that’s still a great deal if hotel costs for example are digging in too much into your wallet. Besides, with these kinds of set-ups, you can also mix in your freelance or digital work like the ones I mentioned in #1!
Blogging
I actually already mentioned this in point #1, but it also applies here because even if some companies or brands pay you for the feature or review, most of them DON’T pay since they consider the feature/review (of experiencing their establishment, tasting their food, or having a free stay) as their ‘payment’.
Couchsurfing or Home Stay
I love the website: www.couchsurfing.org when searching for couchsurfing hosts! This is because each profile will show people’s testimonials about them. Now, what’s couchsurfing? It’s basically a ‘coined term’ that refers to the act of letting a friend or a stranger stay and sleep in your house for FREE, using whatever space available: may it be the couch, floor, or if you want someone to be lucky, a whole room. Aside from that perk, you also get the chance of meeting new (local) people and then experiencing the country/city with them. (In a way you can also call this a ‘home stay’ too if you specifically search for families and not just individuals in couchsurfing.org; however, there are actually other sites online that focuses on family or home stays. Be mindful though that some of them are paid so pay attention to the details).
Home Swap
If you’re leaving your house/condo/apartment behind, why not swap with someone else’s residence from another country? This means that you will let someone (a family or an individual) stay in your residence for X amount of days and then you get to stay in theirs as an exchange. (Good website for this is www.homeexchange.com — it even seems like some people in the site exchange children too for cultural immersions, etc. Sounds a bit risky to me, but I guess if the references/testimonials are good for the host, it will already give you a sense of security. Moreover, you would also know their complete address, identity, and details.)
Hostel Work
Most hostels will let you stay for free and in return, you have to do some ‘light work’ for them (such as cleaning, running errands, etc.) So the next time you try to book into a hostel, why not ask first if they are open to this kind of set-up?
House Sitter
It’s just like what you think: you get to stay and have a whole house to yourself for FREE (sometimes to take care of the pets too) while the whole family is away on vacation. The biggest site so far is www.trustedhousesitters.com and then there’s also www.mindmyhouse.com. (If you want to look for a longer commitment, go to: www.housecarers.com)
Volunteering
There are volunteering opportunities in most popular charity groups (like WWF etc.) but unfortunately, those tend to have expensive registration fees (so that will defeat the purpose of trying to gain financial freedom). So what you can rather do is look for volunteering jobs that have no fees; these are usually the jobs that you can get at hotels, restaurants, schools, etc. wherein in exchange for the help that you give them, they will give you free accommodation or food. To search for these, you can try searching at www.workaway.info
#5 – TRADITIONAL JOBS
These are the commonly known ‘conventional’ careers that will make you see more of the world, but the downside is that it would still require a lot of hours (fixed). Of course my aim for this article is to give job ideas that not only allow you to travel, but it should also allow you to control your time and the amount of work that you put in. However, I thought that I would just enumerate these jobs nonetheless because they can be your options too! (And if you’re lucky, the hours can still be flexible!)
Biologist / Geologist
If you have a degree related to this, chances to travel the globe is highly likely since you can be stationed in places like Hawaii or in more remote ones (which would prove to be an adventure!)
Cruise Ship Crew / Yacht Crew
A few of my cousins do work as entertainers or bartenders in a cruise ship but it’s important to note that they operate on a contract that can span for months or years. (If you want something temporary, like just helping out in a yacht for a brief time in order to go from one place to another, you can use this awesome site that I found: www.crewseekers.net)
Flight Attendant / Pilot
Starting can be quite tough because new employees almost always have no chance of choosing their own shifts or destinations. But you can still get to travel around while being paid; you might even get a few free flights or huge discounts (not only for you, but your family too).
Freelance Photographer
At least for this one, you can control your time but be mindful that it’s becoming insanely competitive out there and it might be a bit hard to start.
Travel Agent / Tour Guide / Tour Organizer
This was one of the usual dream-jobs before that is deemed to give you the highest chance to travel the world; but, with the advent of the internet, the industry is slowly waning (what with people booking their own trips). But this could still be a viable option for you especially if you have a degree in tourism and you would want to put that into use. Otherwise, you can be a ‘digital nomad’ by setting up your own tourism business online wherein you create and organize trips for others.
FINAL NOTES
I hope this post helped give you an idea on what types of jobs you can do in order to travel the world! I also hope that I helped inspire you into adapting this kind of lifestyle, because it’s one of the things that I would absolutely recommend to everyone.
It’s not impossible: it’s VERY possible because if I managed to do it, then YOU can do it too!
(Do imagine that at that time when I was starting, I had little to no guidance—I stumbled through and picked things up all by myself. Yet, here you are, reading this article as a start-up advise, with me as one of your ‘guide’! Therefore if you think about it, this is already a ‘stepping stone’ for you: so take advantage of it ;)
★ LAST TIP: Are you under 35 and planning to stay abroad for a year? If yes, consider the possibility of getting a youth working holiday visa! Some countries allow travelers to work (and look for work) during their vacation which can last up to one year—this would act as some sort of residence permit. To know more about this, simply check this article to see which countries have reciprocal agreements (if you’re from the Philippines, we have an agreement with New Zealand so it’s worth checking out).
Like I’ve already mentioned above, always check the visa requirements first of the country that you’re planning on visiting, as well as their conditions for non-online working travelers. For example, It’s usually possible to ‘work under the table‘ and receive free lodging and pay in exchange for your services; but, some countries won’t allow that. Just be mindful about these things and you’re good to go!
How about you?
Do you want to travel the world and earn at the same time? What steps are you trying to make in order to do this?
Or are you already working remotely? What do you do and how has it been? Do you have other jobs in mind that are not included in this list?
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