Since graduating from college in May of 2014, I have been living, working, and traveling around Asia. A unique initial gig in Hong Kong launched me onto a path that has included running blogs, starting an eCommerce store, and working at two startups. Through a winding path typical of expats, I have finally found my place as the Head of Global Training at Pixelz, an international technology company in Da Nang, Vietnam. 

My current opportunity is incredible but I am not all that unique. All over the globe, recent graduates are finding ways to travel for a living.   

Before you buy your plane ticket and begin your adventure abroad with get paid to travel jobs, it is important to understand some of the common avenues people take to travel for a living. For simplicity sake, let’s break international jobs into three broad categories: freelance work, remote work, and full-time work. Then, we'll discuss the most popular regions to explore while you travel for a living, a couple jobs that are hiring RIGHT NOW, and some last minute tips to get you started on the right foot.

1. Freelance work

This is the ideal office view, forget that too-cold cubicle.

Freelance work is most often associated with digital nomadism. It is the quickest path to a travel-for-a-living lifestyle (though, often not as quick at putting money in your pocket). Freelance work is simply you selling your expertise and skill set to clients. These often include:

• Web Design 
• Freelance writing and editing (travel, educational materials, blogging)
• Graphic Design
• Digital Marketing 
• Search Engine Optimization
• Photography
• Social Media Management

Reflect for a second about yourself: what skills do you have that you could potentially offer a business in exchange for cold, hard cash?

Advantages of Freelance Work

There are some great advantages of doing freelance work:

• Low Startup Costs. All you need is a laptop, an internet connection, and ideally an online portfolio with a domain name that reflects either your name or business name (www.YourNameDesigns.com). 
• (Almost) Unlimited Freedom: your location is (usually) irrelevant to your work. 
• Unlimited Autonomy: you get to chose who you work for, when you work, and how often or long you work.  

Sounds pretty great, right? Pay me to travel anywhere in the world my heart desires? Why isn’t everyone doing this?!

Because, alas, nothing is perfect, and there are some real drawbacks to freelancing.

Disadvantages of Freelance Work

Though your Instagram may be “on fleek” when freelancing around the world, your wallet may be less so. Enticed by the images posted by current digital nomads and freelancers of themselves in Bali on the beach “working,” people often overlook the following pitfalls of freelancing when considering it as an option: 

• Highly Competitive: Because of the reasons mentioned above, there are many people who want the computer-on-the-beach lifestyle, and so, many freelance markets are highly saturated.
• The Freelance Market Power Structure: The people with the most clients continue to get the bulk of new clients. This makes breaking through to quality clients difficult, and can be a source of frustration. 
• Low-Rates: The high supply of freelancers means low pay for freelancing gigs until you have a regular clientele or reputation. There is always someone willing to do the same job for less pay.
• Slow Business Growth: To cut through the millions of other freelancers and get a hand in the market takes a lot of time. It may be as much as six months before you begin to make money. 
• Unpredictable: Unless you have clients on retainers, you will never know exactly what your income each month will look like. This can make planning for trips or spending splurges difficult to calculate.  

If you decide to freelance, you may need to find side-jobs to supplement your income or use a good-sized nest egg to keep you afloat while you launch your business. On the flip-side, if you are successful, you have hit the jackpot: a steady flow of money with nearly unlimited freedom and autonomy.

How to Find Freelance Work 

There are hundreds of freelance platforms (like Upwork) online. Depending on where you want to work in the world, most cities also have small sites specifically for freelancers in that location. 

These are great resources, but they have a dark side. The best of these sites (those that pay the highest rates) are also highly competitive with thousands of freelancers with similar skills competing for the same jobs. If you go this route, prepare for a battle with the masses.

2. Remote work 

We lied, this is the ideal office view.

Remote work is the perfect hybrid between full-time office work and freelancing. Although individual circumstances vary, generally this involves working for a company with a regular salary, but there is no central office where staff meet everyday.

Advantages of Remote Work

The advantages of remote work include: 

• Regular Pay: You receive a salary, so your financial situation is stable.
• Instant Cash-Flow: There is no ramp-up; once you start, money starts flowing in.
• Travel for a living: You are still free, depending on the specifics of your contract, to work anywhere you like. This means you can travel to your heart's content while receiving a salary.
• U.S. Salary with Foreign Living Expenses: Making a US salary while living somewhere with a lower cost of living can mean enjoying a standard of living much higher than you might back home.

For those who are more conservative, having a regular salary that they can rely on makes the travel-for-a-living lifestyle slightly less intimidating. With your finances being more certain, you can more easily plan your travel expenses and not have to worry too much about having to dip into your savings.

Disadvantages of Remote Work

There are, of course, some drawbacks to working remotely: 

• It’s Still Early: Companies are only recently becoming comfortable with their staff working outside their direct line-of sight.
• Potential Restrictions: Some remote-work may require regular meetups of staff that you must attend or restrict the months per year you can travel freely.
• All Your Eggs in One Basket: If you get let-go from your job while working from Bali, you may have to be quick on your feet to figure out your next move.

For some, the idea of working remotely removes some of the romance from heading off to travel for a living. For others, it is a great hybrid with the benefits of a full-time job, but the flexibility to travel while getting paid.   

Finding Remote Work

For those who want to work abroad, I always suggest having a professional website, portfolio, Twitter account, updated Linkedin, etc. geared towards your expertise. Similar to a tie and dress shirt, having your digital identity clean and professional is the easiest way to show you have it all together. 

If you want to see what types of remote jobs are out there in the world, you can find opportunities around the world through GoAbroad, or check out sites like Flexjobs. In addition to applying to jobs through those sites, I would use these sites as a way to figure out which companies offer remote and paid to travel job opportunities, and then I would try to reach out to people at those companies directly.

3. Full-time (in-office) work

With a laptop and a wifi hotspot, you’re pretty much set for most remote and freelance work.

These types of jobs often offer the best career advancement opportunities and the most stability, but the threshold for entry is much higher than, say, freelancing. 

Advantages of Full-time Work Abroad

Working this type of job abroad can be pretty sweet. If you can get a full-time professional job abroad you can expect:

• Higher Salary: mature startups and larger corporations have bigger budgets. This can mean having a high salary relative to the local economy, providing the opportunity to grow a little nest egg. Not to mention getting paid to travel for business. 
• Career Advancement: Everyday you are gaining work experience valued anywhere in the world, working with people you can learn from, and gaining those rare soft skills thanks to working with people of different cultures.
• Stability: By having to stay in one place, you immerse deeper in the local culture and are forced to overcome some of the difficulties of living abroad. 
• Pay Me to Travel on the Weekends: With the higher salary that comes with nine to five work, you have extra money in your pocket for weekend trips to countries and cities near you. 

Disadvantages of Full-time Work Abroad

There are some disadvantages that come with the stability and career advancement offered by working at a company abroad. In a full-time office situation, expect the following: 

• Locked Into a Location: While traveling on the weekend is always an option, in this scenario you are putting down roots for at least a year in one location. 
• Typical Nine to Five Drawbacks: No matter the situation, an office job abroad is may be lacking in the “adventurousness” category when compared to freelancing.
• Difficulty of Entry: Once you find this type of position you are set, but it can take some time and savviness to find these jobs as we are just now beginning to enjoy the fruits if a truly globalized economy.

If you want a get paid to travel job but don’t want to give up years of career advancement in the process, a position at a company abroad might be the path for you.

Finding Positions with Startups or Companies

If I were to begin my search again for someone to pay me to travel, I would start by scouring local job boards in the cities where you would like to work to get a feel for what skills in which areas are in the highest demand.

Additionally, if you are interested in working for startups, many countries and cities have online communities and forums for startups. You can also find local startups by using sites like Angelist.

This category of jobs also includes English teaching jobs. Teaching jobs are one of the easiest ways to get paid to travel. At most, they require candidates speak English and have an easily-obtained TEFL or TESOL certification, and in many countries there are more positions than can possibly be filled. Finding the right teaching job abroad is a lot easier than you think.

Popular regions for work abroad

While the most popular work abroad locales for Americans are those with familiar cultures– namely, Canada, the UK and Australia– there are hundreds of thousands of open positions all over the globe. You can see a list of jobs organized by country and industry in this LinkedIn post by Guy Berger as well as by searching the Jobs and Work Abroad board and filtering by industry or country. 

1. Oceania and Australia

Hang 10 working abroad in Oceania and Australia.

If you’re looking for time split between the office and the surf, this is the corner of the world you should set your sights on. An adventurers dream, Oceania and Australia boast the best in hiking (tramping), surfing, skiing, kayaking, and… well, you’re getting the picture. 

2. Southeast Asia

Your lunch break has never felt so adventurous!

Don’t want to work like a dog, but still interested in living like a king/queen? With low cost of living, southeast Asia will leave your pockets lined and your tummy full of delicious noodles. The noodles alone pretty much make this sell for us. 

3. Western Europe

Learn the true definition of “quaint” working abroad in England.

Cobblestoned streets and shaded cafe terraces more your work-jam? Jobs in western Europe will put you at the heart of great food, great wine, and great art. Feel truly inspired every day when you sit down to work on a new project. 

4. Latin America

Live and work by the motto pura vida.

Corn husk or banana leaf? No matter how you take your tamales, you’ll have your cravings satisfied working in Latin America. Haven’t you always wanted to ask a llama “Como se llama?” Yeah, we thought so. 

Compare your favorite work abroad programs side-by-side.

Want to start working abroad NOW? These "get paid to travel" jobs are hiring!

If you’re fired up and ready to travel for a living, here are a few opportunities to help you start your search. 

1. Teach English to Children in Japan with Amity Corporation

Amity offers exciting opportunities for enthusiastic professionals who enjoy working with children. Amity Native English Teachers have the unique opportunity to gain invaluable teaching skills as well as international business experience.

Required:

• BA/BS degree; all majors considered 
• Completion of elementary and secondary education in English only 
• Teaching experience helpful, but not necessary 
• Japanese language ability helpful, but not necessary 
• Desire to work with children

2. Finance Association Executive Assistant in China

At Shanghai Interbank Market Clearing co., the Finance Association Executive is responsible for daily duties related to engaging with regulators, handling logistical arrangements, organizing ExCo meetings, and organizing training for market participants. 

Requirements:

• 3+ years’ relevant experiences of risk management, compliance or regulatory report at financial market regulatory departments, clearing houses, exchanges, banking or other relevant financial sectors; being familiar with OTC market and international market regulation is preferred; 
• Fluent in English, excellent writing still is preferred, ability in Chinese is a plus; 
• Strong communication and learning ability, good organization skills, high team working stills and professional ethics; 
• Bachelor's degree or above

3. Financial Consultant

International financial sales consultants will assist expatriates and international investors in their medium to long-term personal financial planning. In this client-facing role, consultants will give clients all the guidance they need to realize their personal financial goals.

Requirements:

• No experience required! You’ll learn on the job! 

Now THIS is how you commute to work, am I right?

4. Intern Content Editor Part-Time in Spain

In this position, duties and responsibilities include finding, editing, processing, tagging, publishing, and controlling the offers, brochures, flyers, and coupons of all the retailers the company works with, processing any client's content demands with maximum level of excellence, growing and updating a database of retailers, stores, shopping malls, cities, products, locations, and opening hours, and creating user and SEO-friendly content.

Requirements:

• No previous experience required
• Open to European participants
• Native level Danish, English is a plus
• Knowledge of Danish retailers
• Experience with online content

Pay Me to Travel, Dang It! Check Out ALL Jobs Abroad

Final tips when you travel for a living

A few final tips for you before you start your international job search:

• Be proactive. Don’t rely solely on job boards and sending in your resume. Be proactive in networking with employers and making genuine connection. 
• Be flexible. Your first job abroad may not be in your dream location or be your dream position. Be flexible, and once you are abroad, you can begin networking on the ground and find your dream situation. 
• Be clear with yourself about your value. Employers want to know the value you are going to bring to their company. What is your speciality? What do you bring to the table that other people might not? Be clear about your value with yourself so you can state it with confidence.

Working abroad is an incredibly rewarding experience personally and professionally, and there are a variety of ways to find work abroad. The most important key is to be honest with yourself about your personal and professional goals, and to match those goals with a path abroad that will help you achieve them.

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