Whether you’re looking for digital nomad jobs or you just want to travel the world and leave the West behind, you'll need to know how to make money while traveling. Here is a comprehensive list all of the possible options that I can think of, along with the various pros and cons of each. Most work opportunities fall under two different categories: location-independent work and location-dependent work.

Location independent work is the sort of work you can do from anywhere there’s internet and make a living. And blogging is one of my favorite types of remote work. You can blog from anywhere, but it takes time to build a site that provides an amount of cash flow.

Whether you're looking for how to make money while traveling in the US, Europe, South America, Australia, India, in Thailand, or in an RV, all of these strategies will work.

Location dependent work, like teaching, requires you to be at a particular place and time.

There are endless approaches to work being an entrepreneur, and the ones that will be most appropriate for you will come down to how adaptable you are and how much money you’ll need to sustain your lifestyle.

While this guide is going to provide insight a little deeper than others that have written on this topic, you will still require outside resources if you decide to pursue any of these recommendations for work. In this guide, I’ve only added pros and cons for the items I’ve tried myself or have another source for making money.

One thing that irritates me, when I read nomad blogs, is when some say “It’s easy to make a living online.” No, it fucking isn’t.

It isn’t easy to earn money online, especially when you travel the world. It’s easier to find a job at a company or an institution. And if you can’t hold a position in the real world, don't expect that being your boss and creating wealth online will be any easier. Hint: it won't be.

Blogging and Related Businesses - Some oversell how feasible this is for earning revenue while traveling.

One of the main reason that most people fail to earn as bloggers is that they fail to build their business around what people are looking for on Google. And chances are that when you actually do find things people are looking for, it’s going to be very competitive work.

For example: Let’s say you go after a niche that very few know anything about. Who are you going to network with? Who are you going to earn links from? Blogs require some kind of supporting community or preexisting audience to draw from. 

So, if you’re going to get started in blogging, you need to know what your core competencies are. Are you going to earn money because you're talented, attractive, witty, funny, or smart? Are you a decent writer?

If not, your blog will just sink into the bottomless abyss of mediocre crap all over the internet. One study by a company called Ahrefs said that less than 5% off all the content that goes online gets organic traffic from Google.

Some compensate for this by just making the most helpful and relevant stuff. And this is an effective strategy, but the competition is intense. 

Travel Blogs - A travel blog seems to make sense to most those who like to go abroad. If you’re traveling, why not create a blog about your experiences? I’ll tell you why.

Because you’re probably not that much more interesting than the place you're visiting. And better content about that place already exists.

There are tons of travel blogs. And like I mentioned, unless you have a unique approach or something that will make you stand out, don’t expect to earn much.

Hobby and Niche Blogs - This is great for developing some kind of specialization. If you have an interest in something that a small, but dedicated group are interested in, you can generate a steady stream of traffic. The challenge with these kinds of blogs is finding a space that isn’t too crowded. Anything related to gaming, internet, mobile apps, all of these niches can be pretty difficult to squeeze in to.

You might also run into similar challenges with fitness blogs and anything related to diets. The market for weight loss, relationships, or anything about exercise is inundated with material.

Business Blogs - Overall, a business blog while you travel the world can be a pretty good idea if you know how to do studies and can create content relevant to current events. If you know how to collect data and create informative material about your chosen market, you can do well.

The best thing about blogging is that after you develop enough traffic, you can build streams of income on top of it, be it advertising fees or affiliate commissions. When some hear about this, they often attempt to make Amazon affiliate blogs. Some of these genuinely work to create income, though depending on your niche, it could take more than a year before you see decent cash flow.

Advertising Revenues - Google AdSense and other advertising networks can be one way to create an income stream from your website. Just know that you need tons and tons of traffic to make this viable. Otherwise, you'll earn pennies. There are three different kinds of networks you should look out for:

Affiliate Sales - This is where if someone buys something after clicking one of your links, you get a commission or advertising fee. One of the most popular affiliate programs for is Amazon associates because as long as someone buys something after your cookie is on their browser, you make a commission.

Some of the drawbacks of building affiliate sites are that the managers of the programs can sometimes terminate your membership, leaving you without a way to monetize your site. Amazon’s program is known for being especially picky, sometimes canceling memberships without explanation.

Another thing to keep in mind about affiliate programs is that the pay can often be low. Because affiliate programs are the easiest to get into and have the lowest risk, the yield can sometimes be unimpressive. That’s not to say that some individuals haven’t made an absolute killing.

I recommend Authority Hacker’s The Authority Site System for learning how to build a proper affiliate site that makes actual revenue. Worked for me.

EBooks on various subjects like:

These are all pretty popular product ideas to make among entrepreneurs that want to learn how to travel the world. In fact, I even created a book that I thought would make me money when I created this site. What I realized, as time went on, was that information is just not as valuable as it used to be. That was when I started giving my book away as an incentive to sign up for my mailing list.

You’ve got to create something really remarkable to make someone pony up cash for it. Unless your services entail some kind of coaching, supervision, access to a group, or some other kind of implementation work, don’t expect to make much selling eBooks. If you want to make more you'll have to learn to create value.

I feel that courses and eBooks are best used by giving them away for FREE. They can be used as lead magnets for building email lists or getting followers on a controllable asset like a Facebook page. EBooks are also great for building authority and promoting your business. But they don’t tend work as well as your core offer. Why? Because your competition can take what you've made and resell it rather quickly.

Here are some good resources for creating online courses: 

And here are some good services for hosting:

E-commerce for Money while Traveling - When I think of e-commerce, I think of things like Shopify stores. E-commerce just means that you've created an online store for selling your own product also means that people put items into a virtual cart and check out from your site. What differentiates E-commerce from other kinds of affiliate programs is the amount of money you make and the revenue velocity. I find this blog, My Wife Quit Her Job has a pretty good break down of the comparisons between Blogging, Niche Sites, and E-commerce.

Dropshipping - Dropshipping is an online retail fulfillment method where a store doesn't keep any items in inventory. Instead, it purchases the product from a third party and sends it directly to the customer.

Links for Dropshipping: Shopify Dropping Guide

YouTube Videos / Vlogging - Making good videos is an art. If you decide to make videos to earn money, it will help considerably if you’re talented, attractive, funny, or smart. You don’t have to show your face on the screen if you don’t want to, but you should probably record yourself. It would be strange for someone to make videos with an artificial voice, but I supposed someone could pull it off and make money.

I’m a little wary of YouTube after hearing about all the demonetization they’ve done on videos from the more prolific creators. I believe that you should be mostly in the clear as long as your videos avoid controversial content at all costs.

How-to videos or instructional content tend to do well without the risk of being demonetized, but the way YouTube has been recently, you can never be too sure.

Links for Getting Started on YouTube:

Selling Artwork - If you’re talented and can create unique items that will actually want to buy, you can sell your art directly to customers on different platforms.

Links for Selling Art:

Selling T-shirts - This is a side-hustle that actually worked for me. It was one of my first little business endeavors where I actually made sales. I was able to make a t-shirt with a humorous slogan. People sharing the design and it started making money. The challenge is coming up designs that people want to buy that don't infringe on any kind of IP. 

Most clever lines from television shows, character likenesses, certain types of images, if they fall within the probable doubt of infringement, most printing companies will simply delete your design to save themselves from the liability. That said, this is a great way to make money out of clever ideas.

Doing Surveys - This is another way of earning cash online that really worked for me. Now, it can be a little time consuming and for a meager payout. But it can also occasionally be fun. Be careful though, some of the websites saying that you can make money this way may turn out to be total scams. I recommend using Amazon Mechanical Turk. If you get experience on the site doing the various tasks, it can prove to be a rewarding way to earn in the future while traveling.

This is a pretty critical one that I don't want to leave out. A lot of people think that email marketing is dead, that it's played out, and it's not worth it. But you can still make money and earn a living this way. Out of so many different kinds of online marketing, email marketing is still a great way to make money if you know how it works. 

One of the best resources on the topic would have to be Alex Becker's YouTube series on the subject. I would also recommend programs like List Launch Pro because in that you don't have to actually create any items.

All you need to get started in Email sales is a landing page and an autoresponder like Aweber or GetResponse to manage your lists. Then you just need to find the right kinds of offers to promote to your audience. The best types of offers are the ones that genuinely have worked for you.

But if you want to go a more extreme route, sending offers to an astronomically large list of people should still yield you some results if the landing page converts.

Beer Money - This is a sub on Reddit where people share advice on making a little more money online. You're not going to get rich with the information on the sub, but you'll find ways to make money.

Basic writing jobs have to be some of the easiest ways to make money while you travel the world. If you're a native English speaker, you'll never run out of work if you know how to compose an excellent article. There are several different niches when it comes to writing jobs, and most of them are in high demand.

The problems I feel with online writing jobs is that the pay is often not proportionate to the amount of skill and time it takes to complete a good article. Also, there are too many writers out there willing to work for peanuts. You would be shocked to learn how little some make.

Online content marketplaces flood the market with cheap workers which makes it pretty difficult to make a living by writing professionally. This makes it difficult for everyone to earn.

This is why the people who make the most money as writers get off of Textbroker. They start their own websites, build their own funnels, and prospect diligently.

I feel that writing jobs are great as supplemental work. They are great for turning some spare time into cash. But I find that if you have your own web properties, you'll probably want just to write content for your own enrichment instead.

Make a Living Writing's Guide to Online Websites that Pay Writers. 

Blog Posts - Webmasters need articles that review specific topics with specific keywords in the content to be picked up by search engines. Most of the time when writers are given assignments to create articles, they’ll also have to research the topic and provide links to support their arguments. This can be a time-consuming process, separate from writing the final product itself.

Reviews - Those with Amazon Affiliate sites always need good product reviews. If you can write decent reviews, then there will still be a demand for your services.

The challenge, when writing these kinds of articles, is discussing items that you might have never used (as if you’d bought them). Most of the time, people will just use other people’s reviews for feedback and go from there, mixing and matching.

Well Kept Wallet's Guide on Getting Paid to Write Reviews

Translation Services - Speak a second language? Doing translation gigs can also be a lucrative choice. Translating different materials like brochures and website copy is a great way to make money. From what I’ve seen, people pay premium rates for translation services for various documents. You can check Fiverr.com for examples of this kind of work.

Copywriting - This is a popular choice for those interested in remote location jobs so they can learn how to earn while traveling. If you're not sure what it is, copywriting is the content that you might see on websites, emails, catalogs, billboards, and brochures.

Some copywriters write white papers, some write sales pages. It’s a pretty massive industry with huge demand. It's a great way to make money and earn a living. 

In my article about Kevin Casey, author of "Jet-Set Copywriter," you can see an example of someone that built a great lifestyle business for themselves by Copywriting. He has some great advice on the topic in his book.

My favorite books on the topic of Copywriting:

Transcribing - This kind of writing work isn’t as easy to get into, but I have no doubt that a lot of individuals do it. If you do decide that you want to get into transcribing, you’ll have to follow a style guide as it’s posted on the platform you choose. Learning how to transcribe as according to their standards can be a challenge. But after you get the hang of it, I imagine it would be a pretty reliable source of income. Earning this way takes some time to learn and patience. 

Graphic Designer - Becoming a graphic designer is another notable option, but as I understand it, there is a decent amount of competition in this field. Some of the graphic designers on platforms like Fiverr.com have templates or special software they use that allow them to create logos or infographics quickly and efficiently. But this can be nerve-wracking work, especially if the client isn’t happy with your designs and doesn’t know exactly how to explain what they want

Programming / Web Design - Usually, when I think of web dev, I think of people who have an advanced understanding of HTML and CSS who can build a custom website from scratch. There is definitely a market for these kinds of skills. However, most people just use WordPress and a basic hosting package to get their websites up and running.

App Creation - This is one of the more interesting ways to make money. This is one comes with a learning curve, but some have done it to significant effect. I’ve heard of one app maker that built more than 30 apps with helpful resources, each of them making a little more than $1 in advertising revenues per day. He said: 

Website and App Reviews - There is a big market for folks to review websites and test apps or other interactive content. You don’t need much more than a microphone and the ability to speak English. If you already have some experience in quality testing, making sites or apps, this might be a really good way for you to think critically about the craft.

Links for signing up as a tester:

Teaching Classes and Online Tutoring - From ESL to Science, Math, or Accounting, online teaching is a solid choice for making some cash on the side with the miracle of the World Wide Web. Helping people learn is one of the best ways to make money.

I once used the service Hujiang to teach Chinese students English online, and it was a pretty good experience. Just know that you’re expected to put in 110% attentiveness to your students during sessions.

This can be challenging when teaching a language because it can be boring at times when you have to speak extremely slow and then listen to students drone on as they try to speak your language.  If you're a good teacher with some experience in your field, it can also be gratifying to help students make progress. When a student has a revelation and learns something new, it can be very gratifying.

When looking for work in this area, you could either go through a teaching, or you could also look on Craigslist.

Virtual Assistant - Because there are so many online entrepreneurs these days and they all have various mundane tasks they need to be completed. These could be activities like prospecting, scheduling appointments, sending and replying to outreach emails. If you already know what kinds of needs these kinds of online businesses have, you’ll be able to sell your services much easier.

Some of the advantages of this kind of work is that it is definitely necessary. The problem is that you'll be competing with everyone in India and Bangladesh for these kinds of gigs. Some entrepreneurs tend to try and cut costs, which can make bidding on these jobs a race to the bottom. Not to mention that these kinds of situations can be a bit on the tedious side.

Links for Virtual Assistant work:

SEO - Don’t already know what SEO is? It’s a kind of service where you help a client or a company’s website rank in Google so that they get more relevant traffic. There are many different kinds of SEO that you can do. Some people do On-page, some people do outreach, paid traffic, and others do link building. While this is the kind of field that requires some training, it's not as daunting and technical as something like programming or web development.

SEO is a pretty popular choice for world travelers, and you'll find a thriving SEO community in Thailand. It's best to learn the basic principles if you're involved in internet sales in any way. You can find SEO work on the platforms already mentioned, Upwork and PeoplePerHour. 

Social Media Manager - This is a job where you’re paid to post content on different social media platforms and occasionally respond to comments on behalf of an organization. This can be pretty time consuming, taking as long as a day to get everything completed. But many organizations and clients might need help with this.

Trading Cryptocurrencies - This isn't freelance work, but I still feel it was worth mentioning. Another way that you can earn an income while traveling is learning how to trade cryptocurrencies and cloud mining. Some people in the online community tout Bitcoin as a way of making a disproportionate income from a small investment.

Well, back in 2017, it was. But there's no telling whether we'll see such an incredible upswing in price anytime soon. In the mean time, you might look into cryptocurrencies or cloud mining, because in these ways, you can make money whether the market conditions are good or poor. 

If you'd like to learn how to trade cryptocurrencies while traveling, I would recommend learning the Wycoff method as promoted by the guys over at Learn Crypto.IO. 

What is cloud mining? Cloud mining is when you pool your money together with other investors to utilize a remote data center with combined processing power. This enables you to mine crypto and create income without having to build and maintain expensive hardware yourself. I recommend talking to a professional at Fintech if you'd like to get started. 

Teach English - I really think that teaching English is one of the best ways you can live abroad, even if the salary isn’t the greatest. One thing is that you are doing something that actually contributes to the local society. You can either teach English at a kindergarten, a High School, a University, or an English Training Center.

Voice Overs - If you've got some talent and a unique voice, you can look into doing voice-overs. This was one of my favorite gigs while living in China: making educational recordings for companies. There are a lot of other possibilities for native English speakers while living abroad.

Links for Voice Over Jobs:

Acting or Modeling - If you’re a white guy living abroad in a population where it's not the norm, and you're looking to spend a weekend doing something moderately enjoyable, you might look into modeling or acting.

In my view, this is similar to some of the other white monkey jobs I’ve had living in China. Sometimes, just being foreign is enough to earn some extra income. If you find an agent looking to recruit for this kind of work, chances are they'll also be able to see you work playing music.

Here's an Intro to Freelance Modeling Work.

Working Holiday Visas - If you’re between the ages of 18 to 30, you may be able to get a working holiday visa. In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, France, Scotland, Canada, and Singapore, you can sometimes stay for as long as a year working in any position you like. This is one great way to make some cash while living far from home.

Selling Timeshares - This is an exciting job worth looking into if you have sales skills. There are opportunities of this type at resorts in places like Mexico, the Caribbean, Thailand, and Greece. Here's an interesting about a day in the life of a Timeshare salesman. 

Hostel, Hotel, or Resort Jobs - Following on the heels of selling timeshares, there are other opportunities for hostels, hotels, restaurants, or resorts that might have demands for your particular skill set. And there are a ton of different options. You could be a driver that picks passengers up from the airport. 

You could be an in-house chef preparing food for the elite in restaurants. Preparing food is a skill that pays off everywhere. The best part about these kinds of positions is that some of them offer room and board and free meals.

Agriculture or Farming Jobs - If you’re tired of sitting in front of a computer all day, there’s still hope for you. Imagine working outdoors, with the warmth of the sun on your back, doing real work. Doing farm work is one great way to stop sitting and get active. You can also get away from technology and its constant demands.

Housesitting, Caretaker, or Pet Sitter - Here’s one way to get a free place to stay. If you’re not sure how to get in on this kind of thing, you can check out this site Trusted Housesitters. It is a membership site, but there are pretty good deals to be found. Though I haven’t used it myself, people that have report good experiences.

For these kinds of opportunities for Trusted Housesitters. 

Bartending or Restaurant Work - Got some experience as a line chef? Good behind the bar? There will always be a high demand for people who have these skills. You might check for positions at restaurants abroad, resorts, and cruise ships. You can check the resources below for openings.

Teach Musical Instruments - If you have some kind of education with a musical instrument, it's very likely you'll be able to find someone who will be interested in lessons while traveling. It doesn't matter if it's piano, guitar, or ukulele. I've noticed, after moving to the East, that people seem to have a much higher appreciation for musical talent.

One easy way to get started would be to check online classified sections or put up flyers where appropriate. It’s also not a bad way to get your name out in case someone needs a foreigner for a musical gig.

Busking - This is another option for work for people with talent. You could either play music in a public place, or you could do some other kind of interesting performance art while traveling. 

The main thing is to make sure that you are acting under local laws and regulations for such a thing. Not only might it brighten people’s day, but the ladies also tend to like it.

Construction Work - If you have experience in this area, this is another line of work you might consider. Construction is the kind of industry where there is always a demand, but depending on the country, the pay might not be high. I recommend checking into it if you've got the nerve.

Scuba or Surfing Instruction - After acquiring a scuba certification, you can look into getting started as an instructor at several desirable locations such as the Maldives, the Philippines, Hawaii, and Mexico. Giving travelers diving lessons could be a delightful way to spend your summer.

Surfing on the other hand, shouldn’t require special credentials while traveling. It’s not quite as dangerous. So if you can manage the basics, there might be people willing to pay for your help just to get started.

Links for Scuba Jobs:

Tour Guide - Do you know enough about foreign locations that people might even pay you to show them around? You can apply to a travel agency to work as a guide. Some might require that you get a license before you get started, but it could be a pretty sweet gig.

You’ll probably make more money putting your name out as an independent tour guide and getting testimonials on your website after working for free. This is a pretty low barrier to entry, so if you're very familiar with the foreign city you're living in you might consider this.

Websites where you can register yourself as a local/tour guide:

Work Exchange - I’ve already previously mentioned job opportunities that you might be able to find through a farm or agricultural work. Just a few hours of work a day can sometimes get you room and board and occasionally extra cash.

Find other Opportunities on HelpX.net. 

Photography - People need stock photos of various locations. If you can take professional looking pictures, chances are you might be able to sell them to licensing websites for money. You could also offer your services to companies in the travel and tourism industry. You could also work independently, covering events like marriages, graduations or anniversary parties. Here are some links for seasonal photography jobs. 

Links to sites where you can sell your photos:

International Corporate Jobs - This recommendation for work might seem out of place in a list where it seems most of the emphasis is on leaving the trappings of the Western world behind. But you might find that corporate life in other countries is very different, even more, enjoyable in some cases. There are openings for expats in companies in the Middle East, Singapore, New Zealand. Though you may have to work more hours, you should be going home with a huge paycheck to boot.

Cruise Ship Jobs - There are lots of different positions that need to be filled on a cruise ship. Some possible posts might include chef, casino staff, bartender, DJ, and more.

As you probably guessed, these kinds of positions tend to offer free food and lodgings. So you can work while traveling making anywhere from $800 to $8000 a month.

Links for Cruise Ship Jobs:

Edit English Signs and Menus - Some foreigners are making money by correcting English signs and menus in foreign countries. But I imagine that this is a service that could be extended to several other kinds of purposes, be it working on copy for foreign websites or creating tourist brochures.

Like any other kind of client work, it will come with the challenges of prospecting. But living abroad, you might be able to find no shortage of places that need to improve their English materials.