This article was originally written by Kate Johanns and was published on The Washington Post Jobs.
Some of us possess wanderlust, which is a term with German origins. Quite literally, it means to have a lust for wandering. If you’re looking for a job that allows you to “see the world,” these career paths might be just the ticket.
1. Event planner
The hospitality industry—while rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic—is back, and someone has to plan those in-person conferences and events! An event planner helps companies design experiences that achieve strategic goals. For instance, they might plan training conferences, fundraising galas, or large meetings. The event planner needs to be able to translate a client’s ideas into a seamless, cost-effective event where attendees don’t have to think about logistics—and the planner likely will travel to do so, both for site visits and the actual events.
2. Tour guide
A wide range of tour guide jobs exist—but if you work for a company that arranges group tours, you’ll get to travel. Of course, being a tour guide means you’ll be facilitating others’ travel (which means dealing with their foibles), but you’ll likely enjoy special access to tourist sites, as well as make useful connections throughout the industry. You might be able to tack a few days on to the end of a trip.
3. Professor
Earning tenure as a professor is a highly stressful endeavor, but along the way you may be able to spend time in some interesting locations. Tenure-track professors attend many academic conferences, some of which take place abroad. They also have opportunities to teach in study abroad programs, particularly summer study abroad programs in which American professors travel with a group of students for short-term expat experiences.
4. ESL teacher
Almost 1.5 billion people speak English worldwide, and many opportunities exist for English as a second language (ESL) teachers to work in other countries. You’ll need a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate to secure a position teaching English to non-native speakers in other countries.
5. Travel nurse
Working as a travel nurse is one way to ensure you never get bored. As a travel nurse, you’ll work for a staffing agency as opposed to a specific physician or medical facility, and you’ll be placed based on need. You may find yourself securing licensure in a new state or even a new country. The good news is, if you don’t like one area of nursing, you’ll soon be on to new adventures. Travel nurses often have higher salaries than traditional RNs, but the costs of temporary housing may be greater, and your available benefits, such as health insurance, will vary by assignment and the time you take off in between.
6. Sales representative
A sales representative can expect to put in long hours on the road as they travel to visit clients, but if you like to meet new people, pursue competitive goals, and enjoy a high level of autonomy in your job, then it could be the right job for you. Typically, you’ll be assigned a territory or region to cover, so while you might not see the world, you’ll have the chance to get to know a particular area well.
7. Business consultant
If you have an MBA and work at a big consulting firm, it’s likely you’ll have the opportunity to travel and spend time meeting with clients to make presentations and do research. Of course, some of this travel has been curtailed with the ease of remote work, but you’ll still find opportunities to travel in search of client facetime.
8. Buyer
A buyer is responsible for deciding what customers will want to purchase and securing that inventory. It’s a high-stress field—if you’re not on target with your trend-watching and can’t negotiate a good profit margin, you might not be long for the industry. But if you are successful, you’ll have the opportunity to go to market, meet with suppliers, and visit manufacturing facilities.
Now, if you really like traveling and want to go a step farther, you could consider finding a job as an expat.
