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When the travel bug bites, you’d do anything but stay at home. However, you cannot travel as a full-time job because you need a source of income to pay for your trips and vacations. But what if you turned travelling into a profession? What if you’d transform your hobby into your job? There are several ways to make a living while checking off your bucket list of the places you’ve always wanted to see. 

Before quitting your 9 to 5 job and buying a one-way ticket to Asia or Africa, research what becoming a professional traveller implies. Getting rid of the fixed expenses from your home can maximise your travelling budget, so you should write down the costs you can save if you switch to this lifestyle. Fixed costs often include rent, car leasing, phone bill, TV subscriptions, and other utilities. 

This article provides some basic information on what being a professional traveller implies. 

What would you do as a professional traveller?

As a full-time traveller, you’d spend all your time exploring new places. You’ll no longer have a fixed home. However, it doesn’t mean you cannot engage in some activity that allows you to earn income, as countless remote jobs don’t require you to be at the office. 

But as with anything else, being on the road 24/7 has its advantages and disadvantages. You’ll have to leave most of your belongings at home because all your possessions should fit into a bag. Learn to live as a minimalist before changing your life to understand if the lifestyle suits you or not. Full-time travellers sometimes struggle to have a social life because they’re away from their loved ones for long periods of time. You might feel lonely sometimes, but when travelling, there are many ways to meet new people and connect with people who share common hobbies. 

As a professional traveller, your schedule is always flexible. No two trips are the same when you’re visiting new places, and there are always exciting experiences to try while immersing in local cultures. You decide your work schedule and where you want to spend more time. While the majority of people can travel only for a couple of weeks annually, you’ll be on the road almost daily. However, it’s recommended to take your time to discover each place, even if your new job would provide you with the opportunity to visit it again someday. 

How do you make a living as a professional traveller?

There are countless ways to make money as a full-time traveller. Here are our recommendations. 

Sell photos on website

Suppose you’re a skilled photographer, you can sell pictures from the destinations you visit on platforms to generate passive income. Stock photo websites are quite-popular among content creators looking for beautiful imagery, so why not monetise the pictures you take while travelling? There are plenty of platforms you can choose from, so depending on your style, you can collaborate with one or more. When you sell the rights to your content, other people can use them for a fee, and you’re reimbursed for each time a photo is downloaded. However, selling photos to stock photo platforms isn’t incredibly lucrative, but it allows you to build some passive income. 

Teach online

Teaching online is a popular way to make money while travelling, and you’ll learn that many professional travellers are providing education services in one way or another. To become an online teacher, you need a certification to prove that you’re authorised to provide this kind of service. Once you get your diploma, register on a platform that facilitates teachers worldwide to connect with possible students. Make sure to pick a reliable platform because you’ll provide your personal information to create your account, and if the website is untrustworthy, it can enable a data breach and compromise your information. 

Copywriting

Copywriting is another profession you can do remotely that enables you to gain enough money to support your lifestyle. As a copywriter, you create various types of content, such as marketing content, social media content, email texts, blog posts, articles for magazines and newspapers, and website content. You can pick the area where you want to be active, so you can comfortably work remotely and enjoy travelling. The skill you need to become a copywriter is impeccable English because most employers are searching for native speakers. The first step to becoming a copywriter is to build a portfolio and upload it on a platform that enables you to connect with clients. Job opportunities are easy to find when you have great skills. 

Create digital travel guides

Share your travel experience with other people who might be interested in visiting the same places as you do. Travel guides are detailed guides on particular forms of travel or destinations you sell for an established price on your website or a third-party platform. You most likely have plenty of insider tips for the other tourists who don’t have the time to discover a place. Help them not miss out on the beauties of a place. Suppose you already have a travel blog; you can use it to sell the guides because it gives you credibility. However, it’s crucial to be active on the blog and share travel-related content to establish your authority in the sector and create a loyal audience willing to pay for your products. If you don’t have a blog, you can advertise the guide on social media and publish it via Amazon. 

Be prepared to work hard

Being a professional traveller might sound like a dream job, but not everyone can do it. It requires much dedication, work, and determination to transform it into a lifestyle. Be sometimes prepared to feel lonely, put in long hours, deal with little income initially, and feel disappointed with some destinations. It’s also paramount to be adaptable and flexible because the travel industry is evolving continually, and you need to catch up with the latest trends. However, if you stay focused on your goals and are willing to work hard, you can become a successful professional traveller.