If you love to travel, having one of the following jobs that require travel can be the perfect career for you. After all, people spend most of their time while awake at their jobs, so you can knock out two birds with one stone.
Luckily there are many career paths that you can take which require you to travel regionally, nationally, or even internationally. Each of these requires different levels of education, but there is something for everyone.
1. International Aid Worker
International aid workers work for organizations like the Peace Corps, providing resources such as food, shelter, and education to needy populations around the globe. The pay is low but many participants say that it is worth the opportunity to travel to another part of the world that they would never see and meet people they would otherwise never meet, and make a difference in many lives.
The skill sets of international aid workers vary, but all of them need to have the desire to help their fellow mankind. If you have a big heart, this might be the right job for you. Think about it, would you rather make 50k sitting in a cubicle in Iowa all day, or 15k while helping needy people in foreign locations?
2. Physical Therapist or Physical therapist Assistant
Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are in high demand around the country and even around the world. Physical Therapist Assistants, or PTAs, require an associate’s degree from two year college. Physical Therapists, or PTs, require a bachelor’s degree plus a doctorate in physical therapy.
With the right education and clinical experience, a trained PT or PTA can travel to many locations throughout the year, working for a variety of hospitals, clinics, and home health companies while doing what they love.
3. Traveling Nurse
Like traveling physical therapy professionals, traveling nurses work in a variety of settings such as clinics, hospitals and providing home health care. The education requirements for nursing vary depending on the level of nursing that you want to attain.
LPNs, or Licensed Practical Nurses, require less education than RNs, or Registered Nurses. But traveling RNs are in higher demand. Traveling LPNs also require more years of experience before moving into travel positions. These jobs are often easier to get than some of the others on this list of jobs that require travel since there is such an overwhelming demand for nurses versus the low supply.
4. Field Service Technician
If you want a hands-on job that requires travel and not a lot of formal education, consider becoming a field service technician. Field service technicians work in the field on heavy vehicles and mobile equipment such as the kind of equipment you would find on a construction site. Field service technicians are responsible for inspecting and maintaining the equipment that is used for farming, construction, railroads, and other industries that use heavy mobile equipment.
These technicians come in to fix complicated machinery such as when a crane is broken or when a high-rise elevator needs to be fixed. There is complicated machinery that needs fixing all over the world, so if you specialize in a certain area of field service, you can be sent all over the world with your valuable expertise.
5. Cruise Line Personnel
Cruise line personnel are one of the jobs that require travel and have the added benefit of visiting amazing vacation spots. Cruise line personnel travel to many exotic destinations and can get off the ship to explore local cultures and beatiful locations. Cruise lines are like mini-ecosystems with a need for all kinds of staff, including housekeeping, chefs, servers, entertainers, engineers, hotel managers, child care workers, inventory managers, maintenance and cleaning crew and much more. All of the work goes into making sure that guests aboard are safe and have a great time.
6. Flight Attendant
Flight attendants are responsible for the safety and comfort of passengers on airlines. They have the opportunity to travel all over the world and check out new destinations. This job comes with a lot of responsibility, given the regulations that have affected airlines in recent years.
For an avid traveler, it is a dream job. The pay seems high per hour, but the guaranteed hours when starting out can be extremely low, and you are only paid the high per hour rate while in the air. Read more about the in’s and out’s of Flight Attendant Careers in this article I wrote.
7. Interpreter / Translator
Interpreters convert the spoken word from one language to another while translators work with the written word. Interpreters and translators need to have an affinity for languages and know English and one other language fluently.
They can work in corporations, hospitals, court rooms, conference centers and schools, to name a few. Many are self-employed and are able to be flexible in traveling for their work. The minimum education required for interpreters and translators is a bachelor’s degree but many have graduate degrees that focus on one of their languages or the region where that language is spoken.