Jobs that travel are jobs you can do anywhere. People/Facebook friends, have apparently noticed that over the past two years I have been spending an inordinate amount of time traveling the world. “How do you afford to do that?” is a question I have gotten so many times, from so many people, that it is high time I fielded a coherent answer to the question.
I suspect more than a few people ask me about my career in travel because they are interested in also adopting a mobile lifestyle. Not wanting to be a warty toad who hordes knowledge and know-how, I will offer in this post generally what I am doing to travel the world and follow it up with posts later in the week that lay out a specific plan of attack so that, if you are interested, you can too can consider one of many jobs that travel.
What Is location independence? Is that woman on the laptop location independent? No, she’s probably just a model, but she’s working in a location independent office.
robcubbon.com
Location independence is the professional term for making a mobile living. Other terms, arranged in order of professionalism are, geographically independent, location flexible, having a mobile career, digital nomad, or the term one of my brothers enjoys using, homeless.
Wikipedia has a succinct definition of location independence:
Location independence is a growing trend among technology and knowledge workers. A location independent professional—or digital nomad—utilizes new technology to design a lifestyle that allows them to live and work wherever they want—be it from home, the internet cafe, on the beach, or even from the other side of the world.
Today hordes of people make their living by working from home-based jobs or online jobs. Some people work a home-based job minus the home, because they have jobs that travel with them. Location independence means making your living regardless of your address, if you even have a permanent address. All you need is the right skill set and (usually) the Internet. Some people work for one company; others (like myself) work various freelance jobs, while others have jobs that require travel.
Can I become location independent?
Likely you can. But probably not if you are a brain surgeon. The key phrase in Wiki’s definition is “among technology and knowledge workers.” Sorry firemen, social workers, truck drivers, nurses, teachers, etc. You may be able to find a job in those fields that allows you to live or travel somewhere exotic, but if you want to work in your field, you will likely have to punch a clock somewhere.
What are Jobs That Travel?
But how do you get paid to travel the world?
Spoiler alert: though I love the lifestyle I am carving for myself, I will be the first to tell you that it is not as glamorous as my Facebook posts from far-off corners would make it seem. I spent a whole week last year deciding if I could afford a new pair of $100 hiking boots. What kind of professional with two degrees does that? This guy. . .
What is just as important as figuring out how to earn money while being location independent is learning how to consume and spend less. This is especially true when starting out, which is smack dab where I am.
I save money by sticking to a strict budget. Going out to dinner? Maybe like, rarely. I am limited in whom I can date, and what I can have. I can have neither diamonds nor a girlfriend who wants them.
I base between Guatemala and NYC, and I have a suitcase in each country filled with wardrobes for those places in the safe keeping of friends. Each time I return to one of my “home bases” I need to find a new apartment to sublet, be it for three weeks or three months. I carry the bare minimum with me, and have simplified my life so that I own only what I need to. This might cause some people worry, but for me, this lifestyle brings a wistful freedom.
But, really, how do you get paid to travel the world?
As we discussed, I get this question a lot. It is a tricky one to answer, since I do not get paid to travel the world, but I do get paid for what I do—all over the world.
My annual income (which at this juncture is on par with a 15-year-old fast food worker) can be broken down as follows, ranked in order of the biggest income generators.
1.Freelance writing
Most of my income in 2013 came from freelance writing. Last year I wrote or ghost wrote over 400 articles online, in magazines, books, and anthologies.
2. Freelance editing
If you can write, you can probably edit. There are plenty of people and companies who need to outsource editing to someone who can do it. Most of my income in this area has come from editing a certain NYC poet’s poetry. I read poetry on my free time anyways, so getting paid $30/hr for that was a big win for life. I found this gig on Craig’s list.
3. Freelance marketing.
4. Book sales
I have published four different titles that I sell through this website. It’s a two way street, this website promotes those books and those books promote this website
5. Selling advertising on this blog, and my other website Rabble Rouse The World.
But all the time I gotta be like, yo, click here, and when people do, Google AdSense pays me a nickel.
6. Preforming music at bars
These are general things specific to me. Later this week we’ll look at specifically how you can earn money from freelance writing and online jobs in today’s market, complete with what publications pay and how to contact them.
If you want to make a career in writing, you need to work hard.
A friend of mine recently asked me advice on becoming a writer. I asked her, “When was the last time you wrote something?” She replied, “Oh, it’s been like a year.” As politely as possible, I told her that writing as a professional was perhaps not her inner song to sing. Let’s quote Bukowsi, “If it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it.”
I have been writing creatively for twenty-two years (since I was six years old). I have spent the better part of my life reading and writing and trying to bring shape to that craft and “find my voice.” I have attempted to publish what I write for the last twelve years. I was first published eight ago. That means I spent four years of receiving nothing but rejections before an editor gave me a green light.
Love writing too much if you are going to make a career out of it. When I left my job running a charity in Guatemala, I had to decide between a lifestyle of travel and adventure, or one where I had a grounded job that allowed me the American gold standard of two weeks off a year. I still wanted to do charity work, so I needed to find a way to do that that fit into my lifestyle. Slowly, I got there, and now am able to use the freedom that writing gives me to fundraise and design programs for charities all over the world.
Is Location Independence A Road Worth Taking?
For me, the answer is a resounding yes. Every month I second-guess this path less and less. I am far from where I want to be, but I am financially stable for the moment and have bigger projects—books—which I hope will one day allow me to buy a house. This is important: you cannot plan on always scraping by, and have to have a clear vision of what thriving is for you, and how you will work to get there.
What helped me the most was when I threw my metaphorical life rafts overboard. I have been offered several lucrative jobs along the way, but they were not “Lukecrative” and would have required me to make big sacrifices.
When I decided it was writing or bust, it was a gun to the head. If I wanted a lifestyle more glamorous than a homeless person’s, working hard and smart was key to achieve that. When failure is no longer an option, every day is a fight for success.
If you are interested in leading a location independent lifestyle, check back for how-to updates later this week.
