Don’t call it a dream. Call it a plan.
Got wanderlust? Maybe you’re ready to ditch your boring 9 to 5, or you’re a recent grad who wants a new experience before settling down to work. We feel you!
There’s a sweet spot for traveling – and it happens in your twenties. As a teenager, you were too broke. But when you hit 30, life has an annoying tendency to get in the way, making it harder and harder to get away.
Now, more than ever, 20-something Canadians are discovering a desire for international adventure and an awesome job that they truly love. But there’s just one issue – a distinct lack of funds.
There’s good news on the horizon, though – if you’ve caught the travel bug but still need to make a living, there are jobs that actually pay you to live and travel abroad. Seriously. There’s a dream job out there in the world, just waiting for you. We’ve rounded up five of our faves below.
Au Pairing: The “babysitting” job you’ll actually want to do
Remember those nights spent babysitting your neighbor’s kids from across the street? You’ve probably erased them from your memory, right? But working as an Au Pair is far from everyone’s babysitting experiences of the past. If you love working with children, improving your foreign language skills and experiencing culture like a local, becoming an Au Pair might be just the dream working abroad opportunity for you.
While salaries do tend to run on the smaller side, it’s worth bearing in mind that your accommodation and food is paid for which allows you the freedom to save some extra cash for travel! Being Canadian (eh!) also opens you up to some awesome Au Pair opportunities in places like the UK, Italy, Australia or France that offer special visas to Canadians from abroad.
Teach English abroad: Avoid moving back in with your parents after graduation
There’s a lot of pressure on university grads to get jobs right out of school. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Go to university, get a job, and then life will work out. But for you, maybe there’s a small voice in the back of your head that won’t let the idea of traveling after graduation go away.
Teaching English is, hands down, one of the most top ways to earn money while living abroad. All you need is your Bachelor’s degree (all majors welcome!) and a TEFL certificate.
There are plenty of websites and online job boards geared towards helping graduates find the right teaching job abroad. International teacher recruitment companies, like Teach Away, are dedicated to helping new grads find great teaching jobs across the globe.
Teaching English can take you to every corner of the globe – from Europe, to South America or Asia. Whether you want to live near a tropical beach or smack bang in the middle of a bustling city, there’s a teaching job out there for you.
Volunteer abroad: When in doubt, help out!
Leave your philanthropic footprint all over the world and volunteer overseas. Now, although you obviously won’t earn a salary in volunteer positions, you can find organizations that provide you with accommodation and even food as compensation!
Opportunities to give back all around the world are hugely varied – you can try your hand at anything from building schools to helping wildlife conservation. Not only can these positions be extremely fulfilling, but they can be fun and allow you to meet a ton of new and interesting people along the way!
Work on a cruise ship: Live like a pirate (well, almost!)
Looking to fulfil your childhood dreams of sailing the high seas? Cruise ships offer some of the best opportunities for those who want to take on a new adventure working abroad.
If you have strong seal legs and don’t balk at the idea of weeks at sea or relatively close quarters, this may be a job worth checking out. Working on a cruise ship gives you the chance to travel to a bunch of different (most likely tropical) locations. You can also say hello to free food and living expenses, making it easy to save some extra cash! Who can disagree that sailing around the Caribbean is pretty much a dream job opportunity?
Work as a tour guide: For adventurers with a strong sense of direction!
Have you fallen in love with a particular city or region in another country? If you’re a confident and enthusiastic person with good people and organization skills, working as a tour guide could be the perfect gig for you. Every day, you’ll get to show hordes of tourists around and share what makes your new home abroad so amazing!
There are hundreds of companies looking to hire tour guides year round. While you don’t need any specific qualifications to find work as a tour guide, the job does require you to have lots of knowledge on the sights and history of the city (or country) in question. So long as you’re willing to learn, though, there’s nothing stopping you from applying for a job as a tour guide anywhere in the world!
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So there you have it. Five ideas for jobs that will get you traveling in no time at all! With so many ways to travel and get paid at the same time, don’t let fear or excuses get in the way of your dreams. Before long, you could be packing up your bags for a new adventure working and traveling abroad! Best of luck.
