Traveller

Job Title:

Traveller

One Sentence To Describe Work Role:

Seeing the world.

Number Of Years Dedicated To This Field Of Work or Lifestyle:

10 years

Category Of Work:

Lifestyle / Hobby – unpaid

Country / Area of Work:

Based in Australia – travel globally.

Industry:

Hospitality/Travel

Type:

Lifestyle Choice

Key Skills For The Job:

• Flexibility
• Excellent Communication Skills
• Problem solving
• Initiative and enterprise
• Planning and organising
• Self-management.
• Able to adapt to new situations
• Independence
• Creativity

Vital Key Skill:

Determination.

Your Personal Experience Of Entering This Role:

Learnt On The Job

Tips For Undertaking This Work:

If you can dream it, you can visit it.

Don’t be scared to travel when everyone else seems to be following different goals.

Prioritise travel over everything else you spend money on. When people ask how I can afford to travel so much, this is how.

The world is a book. Those who do not travel read only one page.

Future Progression Or Developments:

After visiting 100 countries I might start to slow down my travel career a little bit but I still plan to take several trips per year.

Advice You Would Give To A Younger You Undertaking This Work:

Travel while you’re young and able. Don’t worry about the money, just make it work. Experience is far more valuable than money will ever be.

What Are The ‘tools of the trade’ Used Daily:

• Camera
• Map
• Sense of humour
• Sense of adventure
• Lonely Planet Guide

A Typical Day’s Duties:

Wake Up.

Have a coffee.

I’ll usually look at a map and chart out a course for the day or chat to other travellers in the hostel/ backpackers for tips.

Walk – I usually discover a city or place by walking as much as I can. It’s a great way to get a sense of the people and vibe of a place.

Chat – to the locals – they always have the best recommendations.

Shoot – it’s amazing how much more of a destination you notice when capturing a photo of it. This memory can then live on forever.

Eat – I usually like to try the local cuisine at every opportunity, whether that be on a food tour, being shown around by a local or finding a hidden gem of a restaurant myself.

Is Travelling A Regularly Part Of This Work:

Yes

Weekly Working Hours:

Way Of Life – Hours 24/7

Type Of Hours Arrangement:

Flexible Based On Your Own Needs

The Best Thing About The Work You Do:

Seeing the world and discovering different ways of life and cultures. I have been dreaming about travelling the world for as long as I can remember. In the past 10 years I have been lucky enough to live out almost all of my travel dreams and many, many more. There are too many great things about this way of life to even list…

Your Least Favorite Thing About The Work You Do:

You are sometimes spending long, lonely hours in airports and train stations. To be able to travel on the budget that I do you generally have to choose the slowest way of getting from A to B. This can mean long bus rides, 7 leg flight connections, walking for an hour. In addition, I mostly travel by myself and it can get lonely, especially knowing you are 1000’s of kilometres from your loved ones. That aside, there are far more positives than negatives of being a travel addict.

Any Duties You Hadn’t Anticipated Prior To Undertaking The Work:

– The hours on flight booking websites trying to find the best deal.
– The generosity of strangers in foreign lands.
– Living with only the contents of a carry-on bag.
– Long waits in customs/security queues.

The Top Perks Of The Work:

• Frequent Flyer points
• Meeting fabulous people
• Seeing the most amazing wonders of the world

Other Work In The Same Sector: 

• Travel Photographer
• Travel Blogger/Writer
• Travel Agent

What Professional Organisations Are Associated With Your Work:

Traveller’s Century Club (for those who have travelled to 100+ countries)

Additional Info You Wish To Share:

What a magnificent ride this “job” has been! While I also have and do undertake other employment to support my lifestyle, I have always considered my true occupation to be “Traveller”. In the past 10 years I have visited 100 across every continent except Antarctica. The reason I have been able to travel so extensively is because I have tried to work on a shoestring budget by staying in hostels, taking buses and trains, finding the cheapest flight deals I can (this is usually the biggest expense coming from Australia) and prioritising travel over all else.

Over the years I have hiked to the rim of an active volcano (Vanuatu), stood in a boat under the mammoth Amazonian Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), driven a brand new Mustang into Monument Valley (USA), taken a 6 day train across Siberia (Russia), skydived over a mountain range (New Zealand), slept in a yurt (Mongolia), rode a horse throught the Ancient city of Petra (Jordan), looked out from the tallest building in the world (Dubai), taken a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat (Cambodia), visited the Demilitarised Zone dividing North and South Korea, watched the sun rise over the Matterhorn (Switzerland), watched a leopard in the wild (Sri Lanka), rode in a hot air balloon over the temples of Bagan (Myanmar), taken a speed boat by the Pitons (St. Lucia), swam in the Caribbean Sea (Barbados), shopped on Orchard Rd (Singapore), dined overlooking the pyraminds (Egypt), stood on the equator (Equador), visited Che Guvara’s Mauseleum (Cuba), sipped Pina Coladas by the ocean (Puerto Rico), sung to fiddle music in Temple Bar (Ireland), walked the ancient walls of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and had many, many, many more amazing experiences.

Where People Can Visit For More Details On Your Work:

See my Facebook photo album titled ‘1 0 0 COUNTRIES‘, click here .