Following 18 months of lockdowns and travel restrictions, it’s not entirely surprising that interest in travel-centred jobs have increased by 140%*. And with recent reports showing that the level of new candidates seeking jobs in travel has risen to its highest in three years, the consumer spending experts at money.co.uk decided to find out which travel-permitting jobs are most in demand.

To do this, money.co.uk put together a seed list of popular and sought after jobs that involve travel or allow travel, they then utilised SEMrush and input each profession and ‘jobs’ to find out which job had the highest global average search volumes.

The top 10 most in demand travel jobs

Placing closely in second with 34,500 searches is the job of a pilot. A career as a pilot is attractive for many reasons, from having an office above the clouds, earning an appealing salary, to visiting parts of the world you would have never explored before. An average starting pilot salary can start from £24,000, with captains of large airlines earning roughly £150,000 a year.

Taking the third spot is travel nurse with 23,500 average global monthly searches. Travel nurses are registered nurses who work in short-term roles at hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities around the world. According to Nurse.org, under normal circumstances, many travel nurses have the potential to earn over $3,000 per week.

In fourth place is translator with an average of 21,800 monthly searches querying about the job. Translation is a multi-billion-dollar industry and will likely open up a number of travel opportunities. It’s worth noting that many translation jobs are entry level and provide a great way to build your experience in the industry.

Placing fifth is the job of a travel agent, the phrase ‘travel agent jobs’ receives on average 16,400 searches worldwide per month. Some travel agents can go on discounted trips to luxury resorts sponsored by hotel companies to familiarise themselves with the experiences they’re selling – a great perk of the job. On average travel agents can start on a yearly salary of £19,000 and go up to £29,000 in the UK and around €37,000 in Europe.

Rounding off the top 20 most in demand travel jobs

Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, commented on the report’s findings:

“After over a year of restricted travel, it is no surprise we are all itching to get on a plane and see new parts of the world, but for some of us, travelling may seem way too tempting to give up once the holiday is over.

“Our research sought to find the most in-demand jobs that allow you to travel the world, revealing that truck driving jobs saw the most average global searches at 34,800. Long-haul trucking is an ideal job for those who prefer the open road. For this profession, you would need to attain a commercial driving license but once achieved, you’ll be able to see different parts of the world from one destination to the next.

“For roles such as a pilot or travel photographer, you may need some extra money to help you get the qualifications or equipment you need to succeed. Taking out a personal loan may be one way to finance your new career. It’s important to remember that you pay the money back, with interest, over a set time period, and missed or late payments can affect your credit score.”

Jaemi Lennon, director of The Fewer Things, an award-winning company that provides TEFL programmes in Asia, comments on the boom in popularity of travel-permitting jobs:

“There has always been a buzz around teaching English abroad, especially for young people. It allows you to travel, explore new cultures and earn a decent living all at the same time. The days of the traditional ‘Gap Year’ are over and teaching abroad allows graduates to feel as though they are not slowing down their professional and career development while away from home.

“The beauty of teaching abroad is that you don’t need to be a qualified teacher and you can gain a teaching qualification and training as you go – all you need to have is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline to get started.

“Teaching abroad can even become a long-term career if you want it to, particularly in countries such as China and South Korea where you earn far greater salaries and benefits than your typical teaching job in the UK. Asia seems to be the place to be now if you’re wanting to teach abroad and that is because there is so much on offer. From the relaxed and slow-paced life of a tropical island in Thailand to living the big city life in China.

“The pandemic has of course put some obstacles and boundaries in the way of travelling abroad, over the last 12 months, but the surge in applications from young people looking to get away from their normal life at home and experience something new has never been greater for us at The Fewer Things. All programmes and positions were filled months in advance in the first half of 2021 and a lot of programmes are starting to fill up for 2022. It seems all applicants we speak to have the same goal; and that is to escape the traditional 9-to-5 lifestyle at home.”

For more information on personal loans, visit: https://www.money.co.uk/loans/unsecured-loans.htm. 

Methodology

1. Money.co.uk were curious to uncover which jobs that allow you to travel were the most in demand based on global google searches.
2. To do this, money.co.uk trailed through multiple online articles: Business News Daily, World of Wanderlust,  Expert Vagabond and Target Careers to create a narrowed down seed list.
3. SEMrush was then utilised and each profession and ‘jobs’ was searched to see which  had the most online searches, thus determining the most popular and in demand. E.g. Truck driving jobs, Air hostess jobs…etc.
4. All data was collected on 02/09/2021.

*According to Google Trends on 02/09/2021. 

Feature Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash