Working on the Road

Digg Digg

After the first few steps of RTW planning, frustration may start to set in. Realizing just how much this entire venture is going to cost can be very eye-opening, and finding out just how much you can save (and what you’re going to have to sacrifice) can be intimidating.

If you are discouraged by your financial situation and pondering if it might take as long to just wait for retirement, consider other options. Working while traveling is something that many long-term travelers do to help fund their adventures. Whether it’s teaching English for a year (or more) and socking away money while exploring the region you’re living in, or working on a farm, in a hostel, or in a local bar or restaurant, there are several ways to supplement your income while on the road.

Teaching English

By far the most popular way of making money while on the road, teaching English as foreign language (TEFL) is a great way to make some money while still traveling. The necessary qualifications depend on where exactly you want to teach, but most developing countries only require you to have a college degree and be a native English speaker. A certificate of some kind (TEFL, TESOL, CELTA) is certainly helpful and may help you find a job more easily and with higher pay.

Some travelers without certifications may have to work under the table, which is a risk, but thousands do it each year. If you’re looking to hunker down and actually live somewhere for a while, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and certain parts of China pay the most. Time off will give travelers the opportunity to explore where they are living, plus you get the advantages of living in a completely different culture, which is an adventure in itself.

If you only want to teach here and there to gain a little extra income, that’s also possible in many countries in regions like Southeast Asia and Latin America. Pay is typically lower and you will most likely have to work illegally, but it can certainly prolong your trip.

Restaurants, Bars, And Hostels

If you’ve every had any experience working in the hospitality industry, now is the time to brush off those skills to earn a few extra bucks. Getting a job in a local restaurant or bar as a server or bartender is possible, though you’ll most likely have to work under the table. Most places prefer to employ locals, but it is possible to find jobs, particularly in really touristy towns (and at Irish bars for some reason, which seem to be located in every touristy city in the world).

Working in a hostel is another possibility, though you probably won’t earn much money. Instead hostels will employ travelers to do a bit of cleaning or bartending for a few hours here and there in exchange for room and sometimes board. It’s a great way to keep your per day budget down while hunkering down in a cool place and meeting lots of new friends. The traveling hostel bartender is usually a pretty popular person.

Working On A Farm/WWOOF’ing

WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a fantastic way to make your trip a bit longer and is very popular in countries like Australia and New Zealand (typically more expensive countries to travel in). The premise is that you work on an organic farm in exchange for room and board. So while you won’t be adding to your bank account, you won’t be spending much money either, and you will meet a good number of awesome people in the meantime. A lot of WWOOF’ing locations are off the beaten path, so you can take advantage of living in and seeing part of a country that most don’t get to. Work is available worldwide.

If you simply don’t make the kind of money that’s going to allow you to save $15 or $20 grand without having to wait half a lifetime, you don’t have to give up your dreams of traveling the world. Adding in some work along the way, or moving somewhere to teach for a while can help tremendously.

While these are all great ways to make a few extra bucks on the road, if you want to make a real living while also living or traveling abroad, find out more about being a location independent professional.