You can FIND the job, but can you GET the job!

The result is shown on the right, while the bottom shows their household income. If we look at day-to-day happiness, income is even less important. Moreover, the relationship between income and happiness under this threshold may be caused by a third factor. For example, being healthy could both make you happier and allow you to earn more. If this is true, then the effect of earning extra money will be even weaker than the correlations above suggest.

Read much more about our evidence. However, we did a survey of the modern literature on stress , and today, the picture is a bit more complicated. One puzzle is that studies of high ranking government and military leaders found they had lower levels of stress hormones and less anxiety, despite sleeping fewer hours, managing more people and having higher occupational demands. One widely supported explanation is that having a greater sense of control by setting their own schedules and determining how to tackle the challenges they face protects them against the demands of the position.

This means the picture looks more like the following graph. Having demands that exceed your abilities is bad too: Instead of seeking to avoid stress, seek out a supportive context and meaningful work, and then challenge yourself. See our evidence survey on stress for more information. If you want to dig into the evidence in more depth, see our evidence review.

What really matters is not your salary, status, type of company and so on, but rather, what you do day-by-day, hour-by-hour. Engaging work is work that draws you in, holds your attention, and gives you a sense of flow. What makes the difference? Researchers have identified four factors:. The following jobs have the four ingredients of engaging work that we discussed.

The key difference is that the second set of jobs seem to help other people. People who volunteer are less depressed and healthier. A randomised study showed that performing a random act of kindness makes the giver happier. And a global survey found that people who donate to charity are as satisfied with their lives as those who earn twice as much.

We explore jobs that really help people in the next part of the guide , including jobs that help indirectly as well as directly. Being good at your work gives you a sense of achievement, a key ingredient of life satisfaction discovered by positive psychology. It also gives you the power to negotiate for the other components of a fulfilling job, such as the ability to work on meaningful projects, undertake engaging tasks and earn fair pay.

If people value your contribution, you can ask for these conditions in return. For both reasons, skill ultimately trumps interest. However, you want the potential to get good at it. And this probably means working with at least a few people who are similar to you. Research shows that perhaps the most important factor is whether you can get help from your colleagues when you run into problems.

When we think of dream jobs, we usually focus on the role. But who you work with is almost as important. A bad boss can ruin a dream position, while even boring work can be fun if done with a friend. So when selecting a job, will you be able to make friends with some people in the workplace?

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And more importantly, does the culture of the workplace make it easy to get help, get feedback and work together? To be satisfied, everything above is important. But you also need the absence of things that make work unpleasant. All of the following tend to be linked to job dis satisfaction. Although these sound obvious, people often overlook them. The negative consequences of a long commute can be enough to outweigh many other positive factors. There are famous examples too — Einstein had his most productive year in , while working as a clerk at a patent office. This is what to look for in a dream job:.

Read more about our evidence for these six ingredients. And when we look at successful people, they are often passionate about what they do. The research above shows that intrinsically motivating work makes people a lot happier than a big paycheck. One problem is that it suggests that passion is all you need. If a basketball fan gets a job involving basketball, but works with people they hate, receives unfair pay, or finds the work meaningless, they are still going to dislike their job.

The third problem is that it can make people needlessly limit their options. But in fact, you can become passionate about new areas. The six ingredients are all about the context of the work, not the content. Ten years ago, we would never have imagined being passionate about giving career advice, but here we are, writing this article.

Many successful people are passionate, but often their passion developed alongside their success, and took a long time to discover, rather than coming first. Steve Jobs started out passionate about Zen Buddhism. He got into technology as a way to make some quick cash. In reality, rather than having a single passion, our interests change often, and more than we expect. A quick aside before we go on. You can have all the other five ingredients, however, and still find your work meaningless. So you need to find a way to help others too. For instance, Jess was interested in philosophy as an undergraduate, and considered pursuing a PhD.

The problem was that although she finds philosophy interesting, it would have been hard to make a positive impact within it. Ultimately, she thinks this would have made it unfulfilling. Instead, she switched into psychology and public policy, and is now one of the most motivated people we know. To date, over 1, people have made major changes to their career path by following our career advice. One caveat is that givers also end up unsuccessful if they focus too much on others, and burn out. So you also need the other ingredients of job satisfaction we mentioned earlier, and to set limits on how much you give.

The idea that helping others is the key to being fulfilled is hardly a new one. Set your heart on doing good. Do it over and over again and you will be filled with joy. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. Rather, get good at something that helps others.

This is the reason we set up 80, Hours — our mission is to help you find a career that contributes. But which jobs help people? I have a friend who gets all her freelance consulting jobs from UpWork and it pays her enough so she can keep traveling. Task Rabbit , Outsource. This option is an excellent way to earn good money while getting a taste of the world, gaining some solid work experience, and networking with people both fellow crew and passengers from around the world. Many of the easy, low-wage jobs usually go to people from developing countries, but there are many other jobs available to choose from.

This book by Wandering Earl who worked on a cruise ship is a great place to get started. Working holiday schemes allow people under the age of 30 to work abroad. These programs tend to be used mostly by gap-year travelers, students, or young adult backpackers. Most of the countries that offer these programs are English-speaking Commonwealth countries such as Canada , England , New Zealand , and Australia under 35 now.

The visa application process is pretty simple, and the visas are usually issued for one year. Most of the working holiday jobs you can find are typically service or low-wage office jobs. Most people become office assistants, laborers, bartenders, or waiters. Many companies specialize in placing travelers. And hostels usually have job boards and can offer a lot of assistance in finding work!

These are some popular websites for finding au pair jobs:. This is also a good article about what being an au pair is like. Hostels are often looking for staff to work the desk, clean, or show the guests around town. You can often trade a few hours of cleaning for a free bed. Moreover, these jobs can often be for as long as you want — a day, a week, a month… whatever you want and they need.

Worldpackers is a great resource for finding this kind of work in hostels around the world. If you are a certified diver and want to become an instructor additional classes may be needed , there are dozens of huge scuba destinations around the world where you can easily find work including Thailand , Cambodia , Honduras , the Caribbean , and Bali.

You can find jobs just by going there and asking around. Use your existing skills and talents to find work. Teach people how to play music or how to dance, cut hair, offer business consulting, cook for people — use whatever skills you have to find a job. Websites like Craigslist and Gumtree are two places to advertise your abilities and find work. Creating your job is one of the easiest ways to get a job. Somewhere at the destination you are going is a person who wants to learn the skill you have.

Bars in party destinations or at hostels are the best places to start looking, as they often have a high turnover and the work can be steady.

Finding Work Overseas: 15 Ways to Earn Money While Traveling

In countries that have working holiday visas, these jobs also often go to travelers. In that same vein, waitstaff, busboys, and dishwashers are always in demand, since people come and go from those jobs very frequently. These jobs are easy to get, especially in popular backpacking and party destinations, as well as large cities. Again, in countries that have working holiday visas, travelers become the backbone of the service economy and jobs can often be easy to get. Additionally, Worldpackers , Workaway. Use your love of travel to work in travel! Tour companies are always on the lookout for new tour guides.

One of my readers did it so she could see the world. You can find jobs on the following websites:. You can always trade your labor for pay. There are a lot of short-term jobs around the world, jobs that you can get on the fly. Here are several incredible resources for finding jobs as a traveler:. You can find them, but it takes a lot more time. In the European Union, visa rules require companies to give job preference to people within the EU before they hire someone else. In Asia, most companies want a foreigner to be able to speak the local language. You can find good jobs, but it is not easy.

Whether you are going to teach English, wait tables, bartend, sit in an office, work at a hostel, or land a high-paying job in your field, working overseas is something that will change you forever. Living in a different country is a unique experience not many people get to have. It teaches you a lot about yourself and your perceptions of the world. At the end of the day, that is what travel is about. If you are creative and flexible about what you want to do, you will find work. When you are flexible in what you want to do, there will always be work available to help increase your travel funds and get you to the next destination.

You can worry about a career when you come home! Looking for another way to kick start your new year? Want to share your tips and advice? Visit the community forum to ask questions, get answers, meet people, and share your tips! Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase.

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Such great ideas for working abroad! Loved reading this Matt! What about people over 50 or 55? Your options above seem to work for the younger nomadic people, but what are our options? I was a volunteer in my 20s and plan to do it again in retirement. One job that is often over looked on travel blogs is teaching at an international school. I got about 15 weeks of vacation when I was doing it and the benefits and pay at any decent school are great. Working holiday visas are not available to us. For example, as a latino, try to work in Spain. Or as an african, try to work in japan.

A better title would be: Consequently, I have decided to join the Nomads and I plan to be in Colombia and Mexico in for a start. I love the people of Latin America! The cost of living is cheaper than in California. As a retired French and English translator with 32 years of experience, I will use my language skills to earn some money as outlined in the article, in addition to my monthly retirement pension.

I had been travelling the world and when I ended up in Thailand I realized that was where I wanted to be based. I then went back to the US and quit my job. I had to look hard but 10 days later I wad having dinner with the president of a small company explaining how I could habdle all his SE Asia opportunities. I moved to Thailand 11 years ago and now have a house on the beach, a wife and two kids, and have worked or visited 33 countries. I am currently on a half year assignment in Rio. Sell your skills to get what you really want in life.

While limited to those under 30 currently, the Australian government is in talks to raise the age to 35, which is awesome. How often can you say you travelled and payed off your credit card debt? Due to the pound being far greater than the aussie dollar this gave me an opportunity to pay it off quickly and also England location is paradise for those wanting to experience Europe in an affordable way. I literally took a huge risk coming to UK with debt, but had faith I would pay it off in a fun productive way and I did that working as a Live-In-Carer! I used my skills, I have a nursing and disability support carer background and love working with people.

Sounds like a great idea to see different parts of the UK, can you give any links for some of the best agencies you worked for.

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I can attest to a bunch of them.. Not only are you banking extra money…most of these jobs are really fun! It did take a few months to find a decent job, but it was a great decision for me! I have just checked and you need documentation of training or experience as a professional educator to become a paid teacher in iTalki.

You should correct this mistake to make your post reliable. This is a great post! The best thing you can do, in my opinion, is vary your income source! Money is the biggest problem in western countries specially for the travellers of Asian countries due to currency matters. You have shared good ideas here. I would love to prefer freelancing. Great ways to earn money while traveling. For volunteer work like Workaway, do you need a working visa for that particular country?

The bottom line

Hi Matt, good post. Some of the jobs I have worked are: In my experience — even with little or no qualifications, if you want it bad enough to live and work overseas you can have it — but you need to stay focused, persevere, sell yourself, and do lots of networking with like-minded people.

Lots of good info in this post. I enjoyed your list. When you travel alone or with a like-minded friend you can really enjoy the exploring the world for as long as you desire. Id certainly recommend it to anyone who hasnt tied himself down yet. People often forget how many marketable skills they have. Especially in the tourism industry there are usually quite some jobs for travelers. And if you are open to anything you can end up in the oddest places. I once spend a vacation working in a pancake restaurant of a migrated family.

Matt you are the best. I really enjoyed your articles. I was really looking for ideas to make money while travelling. In my 7 years of long term traveling, reducing the expenses has been so far the best strategy. One month of work in a western country can fuel our trips for years!

Matt, This is great advice. I have also learned to save money over the years when it comes to traveling, with the help of my parents.

How to Find Work Overseas: 15 Ways to Earn Money When You Travel

One thing that has been helpful is to book ahead of time. It can save lots of money down the road.

I agree with how you said that you should pick a budget and stick to that each day of your vacation. That is a great tip because when people are on vacation they always feel a need to spend a lot. Another recommendation for traveling out of country is to do your currency exchange before you leave. You will avoid costly exchange rates. Real good ideas here for a budget traveler. A friend who works on a cruise ship has been to so many places in North America, Asia and Europe. Good thing is that he travels as he makes money, kinda being paid to travel.

I love your blog- thanks for ALL the information!