The Best Career For Travel Lovers

Jenn: [00:00:00] Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. Meggan, for us travel lovers, usually the things holding us back from traveling as much as we want to are time and money.

Yeah, those things. And the career you choose obviously can have a big influence over both of those things. So today, we want to explore some of the best careers, this is just our opinion, the best careers for people who love to travel. But, uh, first, I want to say that I've read a lot online, and my husband has experienced this firsthand, that traveling for work is a lot less glamorous and exciting than you would imagine.

Uh, and there's definitely a difference between, like, a job that involves travel and a job that gives you the freedom to travel. But we're gonna throw out, uh, through a few options for both. All [00:01:00] right. I think we should start with the obvious, Meggan.

Meggan: I think we should too. And just to go back to your point there, I've traveled for work as well, like to various places, and like a hotel room in Saint John is not exciting. Like there are... I know there's better places to travel to, but like travel for work can be, can definitely not be exciting, and oftentimes it's exhausting, et cetera.

So a job that incorporates it could be very different. And like you said, the obvious here is really pilots, flight attendants, cabin crew. So I actually wanted to be a flight attendant at one point.

Jenn: Ah, fun facts

Meggan: I know, I know. I did go to community college for travel after I did my university degree, um, so travel and tourism, and it did cross my mind, but also when I was younger. And I, I think it seemed glamorous at the time. Like a lot-- I read a lot of like magazines and books, and it did seem glamorous. I never wanted to be like a pilot 'cause I could never handle that kind of [00:02:00] responsibility. But the idea of jet setting as a profession really spoke to me. Um, and for those who chose this avenue, like good on you. You're out there living my childhood dream, apparently. I also need to second what Jenn mentioned, though, and like go back to that not glamorous because I also worked in a hotel for a year, and it was a really-- that was a really fun experience. But often pilots and flight attendants stayed with us during layovers, and they often looked like tired.

And I remember there was often as well a lot of drama, pilots, flight attendants. So for-- take that, you know, from that what you will. But there was always a lot of like hotel gossip on those days. So being in the airline industry can be a big advantage with cheaper rates, standby tickets, although you may of course not always get on, uh, days off in foreign destinations which can give you exposure to places you may not have otherwise gotten to travel with a regular job.

You also probably become a very efficient traveler and packer, which I could [00:03:00] utilize. You also know the ins and outs of what to do and not to do because of your job. If nine to five, Monday to Friday isn't for you, this could also help quench the thirst of having a non-traditional job while jet setting. Your career might not start off as jet setting as you probably have to move your way up the ranks in terms of flight itineraries or routes, but it can happen. It isn't all glamorous as sometimes combining your passion with your work does take away from the excitement or the passion at times. You can spend your days making tight turnarounds, being really tired, never being home, plus you have to deal with the general public in like a metal tube at thirty thousand feet.

So that could be a bit of a downer at times as well. It is a lot to consider, but i-if this is the type of lifestyle that speaks to you because of course there are many good sides of it, it's definitely something to really consider, I think.

Jenn: And one thing that we didn't mention in t- in here is, like, airline care- like, on the ground. So, like, you could [00:04:00] be, like, a gate agent so that you're not flying, but you still get those, like, benefits of, uh, getting, you know, discounted fares and standby flights and stuff too. So that is something to consider.

But yeah, it is, uh ... I also briefly, like, super briefly considered being a flight attendant, but as we know, I do get a bit motion sick, and I was like, "Mm, that's probably not the best place for me."

Meggan: Maybe not the life for me

Jenn: Maybe not, but, uh, it is an option. So my, uh, next suggestion is travel medical professionals. So not just limited to travel nursing or travel paramedicine.

There's lots of other medical professionals that can travel on a contract as well. So in this case, you usually travel for short-term contracts. It could be, like, couple of weeks. It could be a couple of months. You usually get to live and work, obviously, in a different city or community. [00:05:00] A lot of these are gonna be in, like, high-needs areas. So in Canada, a lot of travel medical professionals go to rural communities, which also could be up north, but we actually get a lot of travel nurses in our town in Nova Scotia as well, so, like, rural Nova Scotia. And there are opportunities to go to cities as well, and this can be a great way to explore different places.

So for example, one of my friends, uh, went to the Yukon as a travel nurse, and then she eventually moved there because she really loved it. And one of our other friends is a travel paramedic, and he's usually gone for three weeks at a time. He's usually up north or basically exclusively, um, in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. And he doesn't really get to, like, explore while he's there 'cause he's working the entire time. But, uh, he does give him three-plus sometimes weeks off between contracts, and you don't actually have to fly home between contracts. [00:06:00] You could fly somewhere else within the country, uh, and travel for a while before going to your next contract assignment, so something to consider

Meggan: Definitely. And I think a- an overriding, uh, you know, theme here is gonna be, and it, it certainly when I speak as well, it's not a, a negative, but I think you have to be a certain type of person as well for these types of roles because, um, it isn't, you know, your traditional. So it does take a special type of person, and I mean that in the best way.

And coming up next, I wanna take a little bit of time and talk about, like, cruise ship crew. So you will travel, but you will not travel like someone who's on a cruise ship vacationing, but

Jenn: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Meggan: into

Jenn: Yeah

Meggan: Um, you will wake up in different destinations constantly, repeated exposure to destinations, so that's also something to keep in mind, especially if you sort of remain on the same ship or itinerary for a period of time.

You'll really get to know where you're going and where you're exploring. But you can of course explore those different ports and trips out of port as well. Think of it [00:07:00] like your accommodations are always traveling with you. , A big advantage could also be saving money as your accommodation and meals are often covered. And on ship there won't be a ton of places for you to, like, go and spend your money, so it can be a really great way to save for the future. Another advantage is the camaraderie and the second family that you'll likely come to know on the ship with your coworkers. I'm sure that also has its ups and downs But, um, you can... I'm sure you'll meet, some of the best people you'll know. This can be a great way to get out and see the world, especially if you are able to work your way through various cruise lines and itineraries so you can see more of the world and not just one specific route. So yes, you will be working, but you can also make it work for you to be able to see the world if this floats your boat, as they say.

Jenn: Oh. Oh, well, that was a good pun Meggan.

Meggan: Thank you.

Jenn: actually, so I graduated from massage college, and my plan was to work on a cruise ship. That was my original [00:08:00] plan. It obviously didn't work out. That's not what I did. But I- one of the major downsides for, uh, I'm gonna say specifically that type of role in the, like, spa maybe on the ship, is that you are working while you're in the port.

Like, there are people who don't get off the ship, and so they're booking massages or facials or whatever. So I, I- probably that type of profession doesn't get to get off the ship in port as much. Your time off is probably gonna be more in the evenings or the early mornings. , On the other hand, we have close friends who worked in the entertainment on cruise ships, uh, and they got a lot more time off during the day to, like, get off during the port because there weren't as many shows going on during that time of day.

So I mean, I think that it's going to vary wil- wildly depending on what, uh, role on the cruise ship you have and when you'll be performing your, your work duties. Uh, but [00:09:00] yeah, it, they had a really cool experience, and they got to see a lot of different places, and they actually, um... They're a couple that they are married, and they met working on a cruise ship, so, mm, there you go

Meggan: never... Below deck, they say

Jenn: Amazing.

Meggan: what is next?

Jenn: right. Next is, uh, English, English second language, English foreign language teachers. So I feel like this is one of the, like, OG careers for people who love to travel, right? Teaching English as a second language, as a foreign language abroad. So in most cases, you're going to need a bachelor's degree in pretty much anything. They just want you to have a bachelor's degree, and a TEFL certification, so Teach English Foreign Language certification. And of course, you're gonna need to speak English at a fluent level. Teaching experience is a plus, but it isn't actually necessary. A lot of places will take you without experience.

And teaching English [00:10:00] abroad does give you the opportunity to live in another country. Like, some regions are easier than others to get a visa. Um, when I was doing my research for this episode, like Asia seems to make it pretty straightforward for people. Someone I know from high school taught English in China, and it gave them a great opportunity to explore, like, literally the other side of the world for a while. And I also knew someone who taught online, which gave them the flexibility to be anywhere in the world and work online. They did live here in Nova Scotia, uh, and they taught people in Asia, and so their time, like the time zone, she worked a lot at night, um, but that worked for her lifestyle at the time.

And so yeah, it's a, it's an interesting way to, to do one of the other, move somewhere or free up your, um, location to work. And I think that... I'm not sure if [00:11:00] COVID has changed, like, how... I think that, like, probably has changed this job. But yeah, definitely, definitely one of the, the originals.

Meggan: Oh, it is for sure. My cousin Trevor actually went, uh, many, many, like 20-plus years ago to teach English in Korea, met someone, stayed. They have a daughter. Like, he never ca- He's come home, but he didn't come home, he didn't come home for good

Jenn: Yeah

Meggan: it is definitely an OG one, and I think a lot of people who just maybe did want to have a gap year or whatever thought they'd fill it that way, and then I'm sure it changed many, many people's lives for sure.

Jenn: Mm-hmm.

Meggan: All right, this is one that I, I, I guess if, if we in the corporate world were going to have something while having, like, a typical corporate job, this might be of interest, and that is jobs that offer sabbaticals or unpaid leaves. So there's definitely a difference between sabbatical and unpaid leave, although sabbaticals can also be unpaid or partially paid, where of course unpaid leaves are just that. "Farewell [00:12:00] to you for now. We're not paying you." Sabbaticals often promise the same job you ha- you have, like, when you come back, and are often offered to educators, government or public sector employees, clergy, also some corporate employers such as finance, tech, and healthcare are becoming more prevalent. I know I have a cousin and she works in, I think, fisheries, and she's actually able to literally just take paid time off as part of her job for, like, periods of time. So government for, government for sure. They always said, "Get a government job," you know?

Jenn: They did say that.

Meggan: They did indeed. And like this is not an option for every profession, um, but if it is something you want to explore, start doing some research on your internal job, internet, and, uh, talking to your leaders. Oftentimes, these types of leaves are extended to longer term employees, and who are of course in good standing with strong performance.

But really, it does [00:13:00] depend on a bunch of different factors, so just research your own company and see what it looks like for you. But if you do have a typical corporate job, it could just be a way for you to take some time if you're able to afford it and not being paid while you're on leave.

Jenn: Yeah, yeah, for sure. I know, someone that I know works in healthcare, um, but like, uh, like provincial government kind of healthcare, and they offer the opportunity to like work for a certain amount of time and then take like I think up to nine months off. So, super cool opportunity, and, uh, definitely something to look...

Like, if you're someone who is currently, um, you know, looking for a new corporate job, like asking about this, uh, you know, while you're interviewing or when, before you're hired so you know what their, uh, policy is is something to consider.

And sort of, sort of along the same lines is freelancing and remote jobs. And, you know, last but certainly not least, I feel like this has [00:14:00] become much more popular with the rise of like digital nomads over the last several years, and there's so many options. So you can work freelance as a self-employed person, which we recently did an episode on, and I'll link that in the show notes.

A little bit more challenging because, uh, if you're going to work remotely, uh, and you want to be like moving around, uh, you may need a visa if you're planning on staying somewhere longer term. But otherwise, you could do some freelance work, like take a break to travel, and then work again. So when I was working, um, freelance or self-employed, I had several like regular clients that I did work for every month, and I would let them know that I was gonna be unavailable for certain periods, and then I would just like work ahead so that they would have everything that they needed from me before I went, and that's how I handled it.

But

Meggan: Mm-hmm.

Jenn: if you want steady income from [00:15:00] employment, you could look for a remote job. These are getting harder to find now for sure. Many businesses are returning to the office, but they are still possible, especially tech industries. I feel like they're a lot more open to remote roles. I think I mentioned this before, but when I traveled to the Yukon last year, I was working while I was there, and I was able to fit in a lot of fun things outside of the working hours, so that's still an option.

And then another option is to look for a company that offers the option for you to work abroad for a certain length of time per year. Um, yeah, it could be like a couple of months, and you could go work somewhere and then come back home. So

Meggan: Yeah,

Jenn: yeah

Meggan: definitely. There are two bonus ones I would actually like to mention,

Jenn: Okay.

Meggan: okay.

Jenn: Let's

Meggan: these...

Jenn: do it.

Meggan: Let's do this. So one, and it may be more for the younger, uh, folks, but it doesn't have to be, and that is becoming an au pair.[00:16:00]

Jenn: Mm, that's a good one

Meggan: my, my niece actually mentioned this recently, um, and of course you may have to take a, a language exam. You may have to do according to where you wanna go. But I, um, I don't, I don't like, I don't like kids. I like kids, but I don't wanna babysit kids, so it was never, like, a dream for me. But it is something, especially if you're young and you're not sure what you wanna do yet, and maybe you wanna do some traveling, looking into becoming an au pair could be something.

And the second one, and this may be for maybe retirees or folks that are older, but also could be for younger people, too, I guess of any age, but that's sort of what I'm thinking, and that is home sitting. So there are networks of, of out there online where you can actually go all over the world and home sit for people.

It's a job. You get to travel. You get to explore different parts of the world. So I think those are two that are sort of more off the cuff or maybe more for a certain sect of people, but I think could be a great way to see the world while also being employed and earning money.

Jenn: Yeah. Great options

Meggan: Yes, definitely. [00:17:00] Well, that is it for this week's episode.

Maybe you are in one of these travel careers or careers that offer this option or are considering one. The point is to explore some options of jobs and leaves and what you can possibly do to combine work with travel while keeping in mind it's not always glamorous, but for some it is the best decision for them or their lifestyle or what they wanna do, and we hope that you make or have made the best decision for you. So you can always find us on our website, travelmugpodcast.com, social media TravelMug Podcast, of course. That's YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can leave us a review or buy us a coffee if you like what we're doing here. The link is in the show notes. And until next time, don't forget your travel mug, and bye.

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