If you’re a keen nomad then chances are your employment history, like mine, is a little schizophrenic.
Since graduation, my resume looks a little like this:
Job
Travel and Job
Travel and Job
Job
Travel and Job
Travel
Job
Travel
I’m all over the place. I come and go. I chop and change. This can make job interviews in my home country a little awkward.
Interviewer: “So, you’ve traveled a lot…”
Me (earnestly): “Yes, and picked up some valuable experiences and skills along the way!”
Interviewer: “You’re planning on staying a while, though?”
Me: “Oh yes, I’m ready to settle down now.”
And I always mean it, until a year or two is past and I have itchy feet again. So the cycle continues.
And it’s not a bad way to live, but I’m learning that the most effective way to do things is by creating my own income from freelancing and side projects. I’m working on it.
But basically, if you love long-term travel the choices are:
- Find a job with travel perks
There are many such jobs but be warned: they may involve trips where you’re forced to work the entire time with little leeway for your own exploring. - Find a job in your home country with flexible leave
Perhaps you can find a company that will let you take months off at a time and then return for more work, then leave again… I have yet to work for such a place but know they exist, especially if you’re employed on a contract basis. It could work, providing you still want to return there after your travels. - Work while you travel
Teach English, do menial work, freelance write, try nannying, whatever you can find that you enjoy doing or at least funds your traveling. Arrange a job with a work placement organization before you go, eg. summer camp jobs, farm work (see links below). - Save up, quit your day job and simply head off
This can work if you’re prepared to watch your funds dwindle. You also need a plan for when they’ve dwindled down to $0. - Create a passive income
We all dream of this, and I have yet to master it. It involves creating some kind of business and growing it until you can step back and let others run it, or let it run itself if possible with little input.
Related Sites:
So, fellow travelers: how do you juggle traveling with employment?
July 8th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
My work history is also a little schizophrenic; I just can’t seem to stay interested in one thing for more than a year.
My fiance did finally give in to my pleading that we take an extended trip for at least a couple of months next year. The only catch is that one of her conditions is that we have some sort of passive income.
And like you said, that’s much easier said than done!
July 8th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Hi Chris,
Yeah, it takes time, I think, with trial and error. If anyone reading has mastered it, please, we’re all ears!
Where do you think you’ll go first?
July 8th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Well I kind of work as a consultant and my job is to travel to client sites so I travel for a living. When i am intereted in seeing a place I simply schedule some days before or after a job and then check out the city. This is really good for exploring the U.S. bur right now my goal is to explore Europe so I am trying to expand my company into the overseas market. It really helps if you have highly marketable skills that are in demand.
As far as creating a passive income I would not rely on a single source. Always diversify your income sources as that will create a nice steady stream of income. Also creating joint ventures with others in your field or niche is a great way to help each other out.
Creating and selling ebooks or courses is a great way of earning a passive inocme. It really depends on your expertise and if there is a market out there for you. It takes time and dedication to build up passive income sources. For instance I have one website that is finally making me money after a solid year of hard work. Now what I have learned from that experience I am funneling into other websites.
July 9th, 2007 at 6:29 am
If you’ve got an employment history that shows only short-term jobs, it’s probably worthwhile looking at contracting roles instead of permanent positions. Employers looking for contractors don’t usually care that you’re not going to hang around longer than six to twelve months. And as a bonus, you don’t need to feel guilty when you leave
July 9th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hi Paul,
Sounds like good advice!
July 19th, 2007 at 9:46 am
I think I’ve done most of the above…
Find a job with travel perks: I’ve worked as a travel writer, journalist, with NGOs and with the UN – all of these have involved travel.
Work while you travel: on my last b-i-g trip (3 years long) I wrote freelance articles along the way, worked as a typist, as an interpreter, and as an English teacher. The first year I was out of pocket, the second I broke even, and the third… I made money!
Save up, quit your day job and simply head off: I saved for a year before going on that 3-year trip – and those savings saw me through my first year of travel (Cape to almost Cairo). I quit the day job, got rid of the appartment and car (and most of my clothes) and took off with a backpack and a one-way ticket.
Create a passive income: I’ve started a website, which I hope will be the beginning of that passive income.
And it all works! The trick is to want to travel badly enough, and to be free enough to do it. It’s harder if you have a family, though not impossible – I did meet several families who packed up the kids as well as the backpacks and took off for a year or more, with all that home-schooling work it entails.
I’m not on the road right now but the temptation is there, lurking…
July 20th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Scribetrotter, that’s really impressive. What were you doing for the UN?