Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 2 years, you should be quite aware of the current international oil and gas market crash. Like thousands of others, I am an "industry casualty" as a result. Rather than wait for the wait for the market to bounce back, I am strongly pondering a second career. My mental search for new career ideas keep taking me back to one thought time and time again...TRAVEL. Dreams and aspirations are fantastic, but your velvet cake is always best served with a tall glass of reality. Furthermore; qualifications, experience, and network do a wonderful job clarifying that scope of reality

That said, I thought what more of a credible brainstorming platform for career travel ideas than Fodors? I am hoping to reach out to some well experienced leisure, and career travelers that will provide dynamic insight on this topic. New friends, new ideas, new adventures, always a pleasure, thanks folks!

-Jayson

Do you mean you are looking for a job in the travel industry? Tour guide, perhaps?

Posters here are mostly people who pay to travel, not people who are paid to do so.

Unless you can locate a hitherto undiscovered niche you are likely to find jobs connected with travel underpaid.

Of course there are many jobs that require lots of travel, both domestic and international - traveling salesman, consultant, auditors, field reps, flight attendant, pilot, cruise ship staff, merchant seaman - are a few "jobs" that come to mind. The shortcoming for most of these is that you spend so much of your time "traveling & working" you don't have much leisure time to enjoy the places you are traveling to/from.

What kind of marketable skills do you have that will easily transfer to a job that involves 'travel"?

If you'd be switching careers to get a "travel related jobs" are you willing to accept the fact that might end up with an entry level position that pays little and has long hours?

Lots to research and think about before making the leap.

Jayson~ What is your education, your training, your line of work up until now? Does it translate into the travel industry in any direct way?

All good questions. Assuming you realize that travel planning--as in, being a travel agent--is a dead field, I would suggest becoming a travel/tour guide. There are a million ways to do this, and it doesn't have to involve leading busloads of sheeple along well trodden paths. I have a friend who is a nature guide, in and outside the US, and while any job has its drawbacks, he loves traveling to these places, has made friends and business partners in the various locations he revisits every year, and in general loves his job.

I doubt you can find anyone to pay you to have "new adventures". You could blog or do freelance journalism, for peanuts...

Are you willing to go somewhere and live by "local" standard (i.e., work as a Mexican for Mexican wages and live in Mexican housing)?

How much money do you need to make (I mean don't tell us here, but that's the consideration).

If you have money saved and don't need income... then this becomes a LOT easier to pursue with some hope of success.

Looks like the OP has left us. But if not, this is a post by someone hoping to make a living as a food/travel blogger. Seriously hard work, and he's being backstopped by a working wife.

http://thewanderinggourmand.com/marc...eport-traffic/

What do you mean "left us"? OP is still registered. It's only been a couple days.

Travel is great, we have been doing it for several years now but to make it second career is going to be very, very difficult. It is possible to travel cheaply by exchanging work for food and accomodation using facilities such as http://wwoofinternational.org and https://www.helpx.net but that would not generate any income as such but would provide the means to see the world at relatively cheaply.

Blogging is often viewed as a source of income and there are a lot of bloggers out there all blogging about making money from blogging. I doubt that more than a very few make any real money from it though.


We have met a few people along the way who work whilst on the roads, editors, IT consultants, journalists, teachers etc. all had easily transferable skills and could work from anywhere so there physical presence was irrelevant. If you work in the oil/gas industry, are any of your existing skills transferable? If so, would they may a good fit with the travel industry. If not, you will need to acquire new skills.

Blogging is often viewed as a source of income and there are a lot of bloggers out there all blogging about making money from blogging. I doubt that more than a very few make any real money from it though.

Thankyou everyone for taking time out of your day to commit your feedback.

suze, my highest education is a B.S. in speech Communications & Theatre. My respective in industry is oil and gas on the drilling end of the business. I am a directional driller. Yes, my skill set translates very well to international travel as a matter of fact. However there is virtually no work in my business as of now, nor has there been for the last year. A lot of people in my industry have thrown in the towel and started "2nd careers" which is exactly what I am contemplating right now. The only other skill set I possess, (aside from my personality with people in general) which can be profitable is bartending. In response to your second mental note regarding living in Mexico for instance, that is not applicable to my situation currently.

thursdays, it could be a job in the travel industry. I'm open to most any route during these prelim stages

roamsaround, very good ideas and input. Yes I am all to lucid of the realities one faces when "starting at the bottom." This is a sacrifice I am willing to accept because the ultimate goal of traveling trumps the rest.

crellston, thakyou for the links. I could be effective with blogging on some level, it is definitely something I have considered.

Thanks again everyone for your input and pateince with my response. I wish you all great and safe adventures.

NewbE, being a tour guide sounds incredible!

Of the skills you mentioned, I think bartending actually is the one that would translate the easiest and most successfully with travel/relocation somewhere.

Bartending is certainly a necessary skill everywhere, lol! I know I appreciate a good bartender

I guess you could move around and pick up bartending jobs pretty easily, but you'd always get the worst shifts as a newbie; a lot depends on how frequently you'd change locations.

Being a tour guide IS incredible...for him! He has infinite patience and good cheer. And a very specialized skill set as a naturalist. And excellent language skills. And boundless energy. I love going on his tours, but could never lead one!

How about traveling to source unique things to sell?

Keep in mind that it is not always easy to work legally in a foreign country. You usually cannot just show up one day and take up residence or work. To get residency you often have to make a sizable investment in real estate or a business and/ or prove you have the financial means to support yourself without working. If you have to work most countries require foreigners to obtain "Work Permits" and these are often difficult to get. You usually have to have a "unique skill" and your potential employer must prove to the Labor Department there are no "locals" qualified to fill the position. I doubt a bartender would qualify as a "unique skill". OP might have a better chance of claiming his "directional drilling" experience as being "unique" but that could limit his options to countries where there's an active oil & gas industry (probably suffering from the same problems found where he now lives/works.

One other point - there's a big difference in working in another country vs. having a job that combines travel & work. Bartending (or any other position) is just another job and won't really involve travel - you'd be just working in another country. Being a tour guide, on the other hand, allows one to easily fulfill the dream of working & traveling.

FYI: http://www.jobmonkey.com/landtours/attend_school/

Some companies prefer to hire locals. E.g. Intrepid, which used to use western tour leaders but now uses locals: http://www.intrepidtravel.com/about-intrepid/employment

Do you like hiking and biking? https://www.backroads.com/leaders

Looks like Adventures Abroad is hiring, but do you meet the requirements? http://www.adventures-abroad.com/careers

Being a tour guide would allow you to work and travel at the same time, but it is not an "easy" job. And pick the wrong company and your income will depend on tips and kickbacks.

Remember too that if you work as a tour guide (or similar position) you will be "working" while most everyone else you come in contact with will be "on vacation". That may take a bit of the fun out of the job.

Pay may not be great but if your assignment requires you to accompany and guide "your group" to multiple cities/countries your accommodations and meals are usually paid for by the employer.

Of course, to be a really good tour guide you have to be more knowledgeable about the areas you are traveling through than the people you are guiding.

Out of curiosity I googled "tour guide salaries" - entry level pay (in $US) can never under $20k with average being around $27k. Senior level guides with 20 years experience might earn upwards of $50k. There are some exceptions, of course.

Oops! The word "never" should be "sometimes be" - have no idea how "never" got typed.

I have no idea how much my tour guide friend makes, but I don't get the impression he's rolling in dough. Fortunately (ha ha), he's the least materialistic person I know.

I agree that making a vocation out of an avocation could take the fun out of it. Or it could allow one to live the dream. Which is why I think it's great that the OP is trying to think outside the box.

RoamsAroud, yes the current defecit of the O&G market is a global one. However when the industry is hot, with the right network and resume you can write your own ticket to work on any continent. But who knows when a barrel of crude is going to be $90 again... Anyway, might I further note that being the "entertainer" to a group of vacationers is wonderful IMO because they are automatically in a good mood. This is opposed to dealing with co-workers or clients while they are also at work. This is how I feel because of my bartending experience, I love entertaining people and being paid to do it is a big plus.

NewbE, Im happy you appreciate a good bartender!

thursdaysd, kudos for the links. I will further investigate and let you know my thoughts