Getting paid to travel

Those of us that love to travel know that the unfortunate reality of having wanderlust is the sometimes large price tag attached to the journey.  Getting around, finding a place to stay and restocking supplies all cost money and unless you’re prepared ahead of time, even a small miscalculation can shut you down and end a vacation early.  Some who want to travel may not even get a chance to start, lacking the initial funds needed to make it that first step.  Back when I was younger and my wallet thinner, I came across a great way to both travel and make money - seasonal work.

Seasonal work gives one the opportunity to take employment at places all around the world.  A majority of these jobs involve servicing people at resorts and other tourist hot spots, so the places you want to go and explore are the very same places you’ll be living and working at.  To make things even easier, the employers usually provide all the necessary housing and organize conveniences such as employee meal plans, so you’ll never go hungry.  As long as you can scrape together the money for a bus ticket and get yourself out there, you’re in the perfect position to both make some cash and see some of the most amazing places on the planet.

From national parks to cruise ships to resorts, hotels, campsites and more, all sorts of vacation destinations are looking for people to come and work for a month or three.  Since they are seasonal positions, there are different types of jobs available based on what the season happens to be.  Big fan of skiing?  Check out the huge variety of ski resorts offering free passes and a place to stay in exchange for working in the kitchen or operating the lifts.  Want to go rock climbing?  Sign on at a place like YosemiteNational Park.

Of course, with every good opportunity there has to be a downside.  The truth of the matter is that these jobs don’t offer the best in hourly wages and some of the jobs available may not be the most desirable.  Someone with no skills coming in for the first time might be expected to work in the dish room.  If you've been there a while or happen to have the right set of skills, you can get a job as a server, where the real money is.  Since people are on vacation, they’re usually a bit freer with their tips, so positions like servers and bartenders are highly valued and can actually end up being profitable.  But mostly, it’s minimum wage and no tips.

Another issue is that you will be working, so you’ll not always have the chance to run off and have fun.  Luckily, people are pretty good about trading shifts and trying to arrange their own schedules so they can have a good time of their own.  And the management is generally understanding of the situation, so they try to get you the days off you need as long as you’re not too demanding about it.

If you can get past the working vacation angle, you might just find seasonal work is right up your alley.  People from all over the world come to work in national parks and resorts and you’ll meet more than a few interesting individuals from other continents.  Personally, I’ll never regret the time I got to spend working in such amazing places as Yosemite and Alaska.

If you’re interested, the best place to start looking is probably Coolworks.com.  I've found many a job there and the list is constantly updated with the latest openings in places all over the United States and even abroad.  If you’re looking toward a more outdoorsy adventure, you might want to check out usajobs.gov.   They handle most of the U.S. government jobs, though they’re generally looking for more skilled people and offer a better wage.  Either way, just a quick browse through what they have to offer and where you can go may be enough to convince you to give it a try.

Photo courtesy of chensiyuan via Wikicommons