30 Jobs That Require Traveling for Work

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If you have a passion for traveling without the wallet to afford it, consider finding a job that will take you across the country. There are many jobs that require traveling, and in these cases your employer will actually pay for you to visit. One of the biggest benefits of finding a job that travels is the fact that you will not have to pay for your transportation, food, or hotels. This list has 30 jobs that require traveling for work, in industries ranging from engineering to fiance.

Not all of these jobs center around traveling – the majority of these jobs require you to travel to visit different company branches or to your clients. Look at companies that built products or services that can be consumed internationally. You may need to travel to a manufacturing plant as an engineer, travel to a university as a recruiter, or travel to another branch to interview employees.

How do you find a job that requires traveling for work?

There are many myths surrounding jobs that require travel, and one of them is that you need to be self-employed in order to be able to travel and work. This isn’t true! While self-employed and creative jobs give you the flexibility to determine your own travel schedule, there are still many salaried jobs out there that require you to travel.

Most of these job descriptions will describe a certain percentage of travel in the job requirements, such as 30% travel or 70% travel. Consider a five day work week when trying to figure out how much the travel requirement is. A job with 80% travel means that you will typically travel Monday through Thursday. A job with 25% travel may mean you travel one week per month.

What types of jobs require traveling for work?

To find a job that travels, envision jobs where your employer may need to send you to another office or branch. You should also consider jobs that involve working with clients, who you may need to travel to see. To increase the likelihood of traveling internationally, you should look for a company that has an international presence.

Consulting jobs of all kinds will also require traveling for work. Nearly every field is going to have consultants, which will be people who provide advice on different business processes. Consider searching for your field + consultant in your job search, and see what comes up.

See 5 myths about jobs that travel. 

Human Resource & Training Jobs that Travel

University Recruiter // With a job in recruiting, you will have to visit different cities to try to find and convince the best candidates. As a University Recruiter, you will travel to different schools to coordinate recruiting events, interviews, and site visits.

Workshop Coordinator // Companies always need continuous learning experiences. A workshop coordinator would help facilitate training opportunities in different corporate offices.

Academic Researcher // Working in academia, you will attend conferences all across the world to further your research. You may also travel to work with researchers from other institutions.

Ski or Scuba Instructor // Whether you want to be in the mountains or in the ocean, an instructor to teach lessons is profitable and can help you do what you love every day.

Tour Group Leader // If you love history, sight-seeing, and know a lot about a particular city, you may consider becoming a tour group leader. Help others enjoy a new town.

Engineering Jobs That Require Travel

Automotive Test Engineer // An engineer needs to make sure that your vehicle is safe and can withstand all sorts of conditions. Automotive test engineers will travel to different climates and cities to test cars in various conditions.

Plant Controller // As a plant controller, you would be responsible for leading manufacturing sites and ensuring everything is working appropriately. This may involve traveling to different plant locations.

Communications Field Technician // There are telecommunication sites all across the world, and someone has to maintain them. a field technician may be required to travel to ensure communication towers are working effectively.

System Implementation Consultant // Companies of all sizes are purchasing technology to make their processes more efficient. System implementation consultants are hired to make sure the technology is working and set up effectively.

Product Marketing Engineer // A product marketing engineer will help make sure a company’s product is designed, tested, and deployed appropriately. This may involve working with offices and employees from multiple offices. Read our interview with Kaitlyn the Product Marketing Engineer.

Other Engineering Interviews: Faizan the Management Trainee, Michael the Cybersecurity Consulting Manager, Dale the Cybsersecurity Consultant

Finance Jobs that Travel for Work

Public Accounting Staff // If you are studying accounting in university, getting a job as a public accountant can take you to clients in a variety of places. Travel on a project basis to help companies with their finances.

Internal Auditor // Similar to a public accountant, an internal auditor helps to make sure finances in a company look good before external auditors come in to check it. Many companies outsource internal auditors, so consider an internal auditing consulting position.

Anti-Money Laundering Consultant // Banks and credit unions want to make sure people aren’t doing anything suspicious with their money. An anti-money laundering consultant will help make sure processes are in place to prevent money laundering from happening.

Retirement Planning Consultant // People throughout your country will need help saving for retirement, and a planning consultant can help. Different companies may fly out their retirement planning consultants to work with new clients.

Management Consultant // A business strategy or management consultant will work with executives at a company to improve processes and solve any problems that come up. Management consultants are known for having exotic traveling schedules.

Healthcare Jobs Requiring Travel

Travel Nurse // As a traveling nurse, you may be assigned to different hospitals across the country for a few weeks at a time. This helps hospitals who are short staffed  bring on additional help.

Pharmacy Technician // Some medical companies will hire traveling pharmacy technicians, bringing diverse skills to different locations.

Doctors Without Borders // DWB will accept both medical practitioner and non-medical individuals for roles to support developing countries.  You can be a physician, surgeon, or you may be a water sanitation or logistics specialist.

Medical Sales Representative // These medical individuals travel to make sure local physicians and hospitals are familiar with the latest drugs and technology, and help make sure patients have access to the best resources possible.

Au Pair/Nanny // As an au pair, you will live with a family and help take care of their children. You can get a job as an au pair in a new country to you, and you may get the opportunity to travel with the family as well.

Service Jobs That’ll Take You Around the World

Flight Attendant // Serve drinks and amenities on an airplane, and get flown to new locations every day for work. Working for many airlines will also give you benefits to fly on stand-by for free.

Cruise Ship Worker // There are many job opportunities on a cruise chef – work in the kitchen, as an entertainer, or help promote tours. As you help cruise travelers experience the best, you may get to spend a few free hours in port as well.

Missionary // Many programs exist to help promote religion in a foreign country. Look into volunteer programs that may be helping developing nations.

Peace Corps // The Peace Corps sends volunteers across the world to help promote peace and serve people. Returning from your experience as a Peace Corps volunteer is also a great resume boost.

Teach for America // Teach for America places individuals in low-income schools to help inspire children. You may be placed in cities anywhere across the United States, and your service will be rewarding.

Creative Jobs with Travel Opportunities

Wedding Photographer // As a wedding photographer, your clients do not need to be limited to your home base. You can be hired by people from all over the country, or all over the world, to photograph their wedding!

Travel Blogger // If you have your own travel website, you can be paid for blogging about different sites that you visit. Many travel bloggers will make money off of advertisements, but you may also be able to land sponsored posts, where companies will pay you to try their services or products.

Website Designer // Many website designers have the flexibility of working remotely, and will design websites for their clients on the go. If you have the programming and graphic design skills, being a web designer could be a profitable option.

Beauty Technician // Beauty brands, such as for make-up, hair, or nail, will hire beauty technicians to travel to trade shows to promote their products. With the right passion for beauty, being a beauty technician can be a fun and creative way to see your country.

Event Coordinator // Nearly any large company will have a marketing department with event coordinators, who may be required to put on all types of events ranging from training to recruitment. These events could take place anywhere across the country.

How do I convince my current employer to let me travel more?

If you are currently in a career that doesn’t travel, but you want to convince your employer to let you travel more, you may have a few options. Work from home and flexible mobility policies may not exist for everyone. In these cases, look for training opportunities outside of your city or state.

Also look for conferences in your field, which are likely to take place all over the country. These are great opportunities for networking and learning. Your employer will likely have a budget set aside for conferences, so see if you can dip into that budget!

What other jobs will pay you to travel for work? Let us know in the comments below! 

Ready to travel for work? Check out these posts:

• How to Build a Business Travel Capsule Wardrobe
• The Ultimate Business Trip Packing List
• Is TSA Precheck worth it?