Travel bug - does it ever go away?
 

I've been traveling my whole life (I'm in my mid-20's), have been to many different countries, but still when I read these stories about people travleing around the world for 6 months to a year it stirs something inside me I cannot explain! I want to go! Tell me, does it ever cease? I've heard from people who have gone on RTW trips it doesn't help their travel bug.

I am currently in search of a profession or job that will allow me time to travel extensively (2-3 weeks per year doesn't cut it). Any tips on that? I was thinking of getting a master's degree & teaching college.

I've had the travel bug all my life and I'm much much older than you. For some of us it never goes away. As soon as spouse & I finalize plans for one trip we begin thinking of our next - often have 2 or 3 in the works (right now we just completed making all arrangements for a RTW trip this fall, we are going to the Caribbean in a couple of weeks and are making plans for a trip over Christmas/New Years.

Of course, since we are older than you we have more free time and we are secure enough financially to be able to afford all our travel. In our younger days we rarely traveled other than a short summer vacation to the local shore or nearby mountains. Our travel days really started when the kids were grown and out of the house.

As for finding a job that will allow you to travel you basically have two choices: 1) Find a job in which you travel for a living however while that will allow you to travel you'll find you won't really have time to enjoy the places you go as you'll be working most of the time. Most business travelers will tell you that business travel gets "old" pretty fast. 2) Find a job where you have extended periods of "down time". The difficulty here is getting a job that pays well enough so you can travel during those long weeks between "paying" assignments.

The reality is that unless you are a trust fund baby or win the lottery (nice to dream about but not very likely) you, like the rest of us, will have to work and save during your early years in order to be able to enjoy yourself while travelling during your later years.

So be patient, find a job that you like doing (have fun at your job don't make it "work"), become good at it so you can increase your earning power, try to live simply (don't squander your money on "things") and save as much as you can. Today's youth (not necessiarilly you) have a feeling of entitlement and want instant gratification. You have to control that feeling so as to defer that gratification until you've built up your "travel nest egg".

Good luck in your furture travels.

I love to travel too. There are probably many jobs that allow you to live in foreign countries such as working for the US State Department. When I was in college many fellow students traveled to countries and worked as English -language teachers to support themselves thru various organizations.
I am a teacher and the best part of teaching is June, July, August! (actually the kids are the best part and vacations second).
My daughter and SIL are university teachers and have even more time off (a month in the winter and three mo. in summer).

I have always had it, since I was a kid, it never goes away, and I'm about 3 decades older than you are!

Depends what you want to do for work. There are all kinds of approaches that could support travel. Aim for high paying jobs that are in demand, so you can work a couple years, then quit and take a long trip. Or train in a field where an international corporation would hire you and you could work legally overseas through them.

I'm not sure about the masters degree and teaching college, as the most viable route, because academia simply does not pay much. Though you could take sabbaticals and summers off.

Also, one quick note of advice - re-read A Traveller's last paragraph and take to heart! Very well said.

Try this website for investigating overseas employment: www.jobmonkey.com

Thanks for all the tips so far. I know I'm not alone in this! =) Teaching for me has always been appealing - working with people, not having the 9-5 grind, etc. I have been working in accounting for the past 5 years, and although the job market is extremely hot right now, I just can't bear to go back to it - it's not for me..

Being a teacher was a good career choice for a travel bug like me. Lots of time off. The only drawback, and I think it is a small one, is I end up traveling when a lot of other people are. It is an acceptable trade-off.

I have a sales job where I travel quite a bit-both locally and further away. Yes it's true that when you travel for business you don't always have time to see the sights. And it does get hold fast although my travel comes in spurts so I am not doing it week in and week out.

Because of my job, I have been able to go to places that I probably couldn't have afforded especially when I was younger. I usually try to stay an extra day or two to see the sights after my business is over. That doesn't always work out but most of the time I can manage it. Then the only thing coming out of my pocket is my hotel and food for a couple of days. In fact in a couple of weeks I am heading off to NYC to work a convention. I will have most of evenings free to go to shows, etc. I am then staying 3 extra days. I am going to use Priceline for a hotel so I may have to change hotels but it's worth it for the money saved.

And to answer your question-No, the travel bug never seems to go away.

meant to say it can get "old" fast. I think the other thing about traveling for business is how you take advantage of the situation. There was a story on another thread about co-workers who just stayed in their hotel at night and didn't even venture out to restaurants. If you are a traveler, you will make the best of your free time to see the local sights.

My travel bug has never gone away. In fact its gotten stronger as I've gotten older. I don't expect it will ever cease.

Find a job you like to do and make the change since you are still young. Teaching does not pay as well as accounting but what is more important to you? It seems like going back to school to change careers will postpone your travel - you'll not be earning the income you have now. "to teach college" you didn't mention a subject, so perhaps teaching at a school would allow you to change careers much more quickly and you'd have those summers off.

Save your money (don't buy "stuff" except essentials) and take a leave of absence from your current job. Take the trip of your dreams before you settle down.

iamq mentioned that teachers end up traveling during peak travel times.

one thing for teachers (if you have an option) is to consider a school which is year round. At my school we have a month off in Dec-Jan and another month in April then 7 weeks Jul-Aug.

Another option is to just go! since you are looking for another profession, just quit your job, get a ticket to your starting point, live cheaply, and travel till your money runs out. It can last longer if you are able to earn a little along the way...English lessons, sell your blood, babysit at a resort, write article for your local or trade newspaper, etc.

When you are out of money or ready to stop, go home and get a new job or switch professions then. It helps if you have a house to come home to...either your own or a parent's!.
The travel bug is just like hunger. You wont ever get rid of it, you just satisfy it for now.

hi lcuy!
that's what i want to do! LOL

nanabee,
A colleague of mine did just that. She quit her job last year and is out traveling until the money runs out. So far she has spent her year traveling in India, China, Japan, Viet Nam, Cambodia Indonesia and Australia. I just got a card from her and she is thinking that the $$ will last another year and she intends to head to South America next. Wow!

life is too short not to go for it!

Hi Angela S!

Don't waste that 5 years of accounting experience, just make it work for you! Apply your knowledge to the travel field. When I worked for a cruise line, they had an extensive accounting department. And they received the same travel benefits as everyone else in the company (i.e. 3 free cruises a year, plus major discounts on hotels, rental cars, airfare, etc.). I know major hotel chains, theme parks, and airlines are always looking for good accounting people.

My son earned his degree in Hospitality Management. He does "contract work", taking assignments for 6 months at a time. He's worked for theme parks, hotels, a cruise line, ski resorts, and is currently working for a marina company. He isn't making "great" money, but he is satisfying his wanderlust. He also enjoys getting to know the area he lives in. Housing can be a problem at times (some of the remote areas end up being domitory style), but he's young (your age) and is enjoying the experience.

Good luck-do it now, it will be much harder once you're older!

AngelaS - FYI - don't know what kind of acct you do, but some people in public acct work contract from Jan - April and take the rest of the year off b/c they make plenty of money for that short period of time. Of course, it is a busy four months.

Whatever you decide to do don't go into debt in order to pay travel expenses. You'll fall behind very quickly, have a very difficult time paying off your credit cards and never have enough money left for travel. In order to do a lot of personal travel you have to set priorities and goals that are going to be far different that what your friends ans peers do and this includes your spending and savings habits.

Does it ever go away?
God, I hope not.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! A_Traveller - I am much too practical to go into debt traveling. I just need to find a job with adequate vacation time!

I am a teacher, and we do love our June and July time away. If you do want to go into teaching, be sure it is because you would love being actively involved with children all day and then taking work home w/ you at night. DON'T go into teaching because of the time off. Teaching is a calling, and if you aren't truly dedicated to the kids, you will burn out very fast. Take the advice of other wise posters here, and start saving now for extended travel in your retirement!

Thanks for the tip kansasmom; if I went into teaching it would definitely be at the college level - probably starting out teaching with a masters & possibly pursuing a Phd down the road..

I may very well be wrong about this. But I suspect that, unless you have lots of &quot;life experience&quot; (as in having worked for years in a profession), you won't find it easy to teach at the college level without a Ph.d. I know that, strictly speaking, most colleges don't require a Ph.d. But the reality is that it's a tough market. I know people <i>with</i> Ph.d.s who've had a struggle finding a college/university teaching job.

Perhaps at a two year community college...

I should have added that, if you get your Ph.d. and a job teaching at a university, the job itself could present you with travel opportunities. My brother is an accounting professor who does a lot of research in a particular area of accounting. He publishes often. And he's had to good fortune to travel all over the world presenting papers at conferences.

It's, for him, a dream job. But, of course, he loves the teaching and the research. The travel is just a wonderful side benefit!

<i>the good fortune</i>!

MY two cents worth...it never goes away. I do suggest traveling in your early years as you are doing, cause arthritis and other complications set in later in life. HA. I remember watching several older folks in their retirement years having such a hard time keeping up. My hubby &amp; I did buy a time share on the second market for cheap and have allowed us to travel to so many other countries we would not have otherwise been able to afford.