The Wanderlust guide to careers in travel
It’s a new year and you’re looking for a new start. How about a job that pays you to travel? Here’s our guide to getting a satisfying and fulfilling career in travel
These are jobs that travellers dream of. Careers that take you to exotic corners of the world and pay you for the privilege. They don’t just fall into your lap, of course. Competition is tough – and some demand very particular skills.
You could go directly to our industry-leading travel jobs page and see if there is already a new career waiting for you there. Or follow the advice below and put yourself two or three steps ahead of the pack.
Get creative
Anyone who has every kept a journal on the road has the potential to be a travel writer. Everyone with a camera could be a travel photographer. But in these competitive fields it isn’t enough to have the tools. You need to know how to use them to create compelling, practical content that publishers want. Our photography seminars and writing workshops at the Adventure Travel Show in London (23 & 24 Jan 2016) will set you up with skills, advice and insight you need to kickstart your new career.
We’ve asked industry experts for their advice on becoming a travel writer or travel photographer – and on writing guidebooks and filming wildlife – to help give you a step up in these competitive fields. Many people break into the industry by becoming a travel blogger – read our guide to getting started as a travel blogger.
Maybe you’d rather just travel the world, searching for film locations. We’ve got advice on that too.
More information
Help others travel
Ironic, isn’t it? Helping other achieve their travel dreams could be the best way for you to achieve yours. Take travel product managers, for example. Their job is to scout out new locations and put together new itineraries, researching every aspect of a trip first-hand.
Tour leaders, too, are responsible for making sure their clients get the most out of their trip of a lifetime. But at the same time, they get to experience a country on a deeper level, interacting with locals as equals and experiencing cultures revealed more fully after each visit.
Other travel jobs – like being a flight attendant or crewing a yacht – can simply be a means of getting you to the places you’ve always wanted to go. And they’ll probably be rewarding in unexpected ways, too.
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Do what you do, but somewhere else
Here’s some exciting news: you may already be doing a job that will pay you to travel. Teaching and nursing are particularly portable careers, and in demand all over the world. There are others, and Jonny Blair has listed the 5 easiest jobs to travel with.
You may also have the skill set for other jobs you can do while travelling without necessarily working in that particularly field right now. Alexandra Gregg has put together the ultimate guide to working holidays. You may make a great au pair – or a ‘manny’ – for example.
More information
5 easiest jobs to travel with – Jonny Blair
How to take a working holiday – Alexandra Gregg
How to travel for free – Wanderlust Team
