Work abroad and earn whilst you travel, Start your adventure today!

It’s possible to work abroad to save up for travel trips. Once you’re aware of schemes and working visas, with a little bit of starter cash you don’t have to work in your home country, you can start your adventure now and earn whilst travelling.

This can dump you straight into a new country, enjoy a new culture, whilst earning and making new friends along the way.

If you’re paying rent already, why not shift this rent to another country and learn to adapt to a new surround? This will give you the feeling that you are already travelling and the adventure can begin today.

With some information its possible to work abroad using one of the global schemes to raise travel funds.

Here I have laid out some advice about how to work abroad whilst you travel:

WWOOF (Woofing) – World Wide Opportunities to Organic farming

(Working on a cattle ranch in Tamworth, Australia)

WWOOF can be an easy option for finding work whilst abroad.

It’s a network of work placements offered by organic farms seeking to find low cost labour workers all around the globe. Backpackers are able to find work ranging from strawberry picking, feeding animals, yard maintenance, house cleaning, baby sitting, you name it, whatever work is needed to be done on the farm.

It’s not amazing pay, you might only get food and accommodation in exchange for your work, but it’s easy work and readily available.

You will find other backpackers will be working on organic farms, it’s possible to meet and make new friends in this environment.

Due to farmers markets and trade associations, farms are very well connected, if you do a good job, farmers are likely to pass on a recommendation to the next farm. You can unlock a lot of opportunities if you choose to go down this route.

The great thing about WWOOF; as well is it being a global organisation that works all around the world, you never know where it might take you.

In a lot of cases you might not need a working visa (depending on the work and location). In Australia by doing some farming on your working visa it’s possible to get a 6 month extension for doing rural work where help is needed. If your job ends and you want to extend your time in Australia this is one option you can take.

Australia, New Zealand working visa

(Australia is perfect for setting up a Holiday working visa experience)

Australia
New Zealand

If you are under 35, you can apply for a one year working visa in Australia or New Zealand (depending on nationality).

Applying for your working holiday visa is easy, simply apply online and receive a response in a matter of days. The success rate is high, but not guaranteed, it all depends on your background check. If you have a clean criminal record and you’ve been confirmed, you can start working in Australia & New Zealand instantly.

Both Australia and New Zealand have a demand for work in hospitality or farming. If you have a specific skill set that could be of use to the local economy, these high end jobs are most needed in Sydney/Melbourne or Auckland/Wellington.

Here you will find hostels hosting backpackers for monthly rates while you can search for a job and somewhere to rent. All these cities have local expat magazines that are full of job adverts and rental adverts, it’s easy to integrate into Australia and New Zealand as its become over the years a popular expat location.

Example of magazine in Australia

With the money you have saved, you can travel around South East Asia on the cheap. It’s an amazing experience to travel half way across the world and set up a new and exciting life for a few years. Another positive is they speak English, so you fit in straight away.

Singapore Working Visa

(Singapores national language is English which makes it an easy destination in Asia to work)

Singaporean holiday visa can last from 2 to 6 months during a placement term. The difference with this visa is you have to find a job before you start within an area that you are qualified in. For example, I studied a degree in tourism and hospitality is in demand, I worked on a hotel reception. Working in Singapore is a great opportunity to work in Asia.

There are no barriers with regards to language as English is widely spoken. All signs and paperwork in Singapore are in English, it’s easy to integrate into the country and its community.

The easiest way to find work is by going through an agency that will have many places on their recruitment books and will aim to find a placement to best suit your needs. I used Speedwing and found them very helpful and easy to use. In fact, it made my whole working experience a breeze.

You can also do it yourself by contacting the Ministry of manpower, but you must seek employment on your own which might be challenging unless you have some sort of job already lined up.

Camp America

(Working at a Summer camp in the states can allow you to apply for a J1 working visa)

In order to work on a summer camp in America you can apply for a J1 visa. This is a lot different to a full working visa as it is specifically targeted at students looking for summer jobs, such as with a summer camp.

In the US it’s very common to send your kids off to summer camp whilst school is out for the summer. This can be an exciting experience as you will be placed on a Summer camp with other similar aged camp staff from all over Europe.

It’s easy to make friends with other staff members as well as meeting loads of kids on the camp too.

If you get on with them really well, it’s very popular for the parents invite you over to stay at their place whilst you are travelling around the USA. This can be great as American homes can be massive compared to the UK.

By the end of the camp, you will have earned enough money to travel around the United States of America, and possibly into Mexico or Canada. Many camp staff get together and rent cars to drive along the coast with. You will probably turn your adventure into a road trip once the Summer camp has finished.

Canada Working Visa

(Easier to get a working visa in Canada than in the US)

Almost the same culture as the USA but way more awesome. Applying for a working visa is a lot more straight forward compared to the states as well. For this reason I would recommend working in Canada on a visa.

If you happen to enjoy skiing then this is an awesome opportunity to work during a snow season on a resort. You can work as a ski instructor, clean chalet rooms or as a bartender. Canada is a large country with lots of different unique places to visit and can be a fun experience.

You can also look into city jobs around Toronto or Vancouver which both have great expat vibes going on if you fancy picking up an office job or working as a barista in a coffee hangout.

South Korea – Teaching English

(South Korea are looking for English teachers)

Teaching English can be a fun experience. If you have a university degree that’s all you need to apply for a one year English Teaching placement in South Korea.

The pay is very good for a new graduate, it can help to pay off those expensive student debts. Many other destinations such as Japan or Dubai require a TEFL teaching qualification, but South Korea does not require this so if you wanted a fast option towards a well paid job, then this option can be for you.

You can apply through an agency and select what part of South Korea you want to work in. If you have a TEFL qualification, this will affect your employability and total salary offered.

If you don’t have a TEFL you get paid less and if you work outside Seoul you will also be paid less than someone working in the capital city (Roughly high end is around £24,000 per year depending on the agreement you have made). The school will most likely pay for your return flights as well, which is normal custom.

Other areas which are also covered is your flat, a starter fee so you can buy bedding and cooking equipment. They even pay a completing bonus for finishing. It’s also popular that if you do a good job and the school wants to keep you, they will pay a fee to keep you for an extra year and extend your flights to cater for the new arrangement.

Sound too good to be true? It really is, and that’s why I recommend South Korea over any other country as they really have a drive to excel on the global stage and feel that good English teachers are the way towards this path so make the most out of this opportunity!

For global teaching opportunities you can check out TeachAway

Working in the EU – Europe

(If you live in the EU this can open up many working opportunities, make the most out of them)

If you have an EU passport, then you can work anywhere within the EU, and I mean anywhere with no restrictions. What an amazing opportunity!

You can work as a:

• Ski Instructor for British tourists in Austria
• Party resort as a rep in Greece,
• In a hostel looking after Aussie backpackers in Barcelona,
• On a campsite cleaning tents in France
• Pick berries in Norway
• A tour guide in Amsterdam

Anything in Europe is possible, seek out many possibilities of working whilst you travel.

I hope you find this blog post useful and feel free to post below in the comment section if you happen to know of any other global working schemes. Thank you for reading and happy future travels!