10 Awesome Jobs That Surprisingly Allow You To Travel [INFOGRAPHIC]

A quick search in Google for “jobs that involve travel” will unsurprisingly turn up the usual flight attendant, cruise line help and international aid worker positions. However, if you’ve got the travel bug but serving peanuts sky-high, living in cramped ship quarters and hanging out in poverty-ridden countries isn’t your thing, worry not – we’ve come up with a list of ten unconventional travel jobs that you wouldn’t normally have thought of.

Whether you’re still in school and looking to spend a summer globetrotting or well established in your career and hunting for a change, you’re bound to find an option to relate to among the choices we’ve gathered together for you here.

10. Auditor – Salary: $44K – $90K

If you’ve got the right education, auditing can be an excellent travel option as you’ll be working with clients around the globe and will have to visit them to work on their books. Contracts can last from several days to a couple of months, so you might just luck out and get to spend a winter in Hong Kong. While the salary ranges from $44K to $90K, keep in mind that all of your flights and hotel rooms will be covered while traveling as an auditor, so whatever you make goes directly into your pocket. Essentially, you’ll be getting paid to explore a new city without having to dig into your own pockets in the process.

9. Destination Wedding Photographer – Salary: $600 to $5000 per wedding

Getting paid to travel to exotic locations and take photos of happy couples tying the knot? Seems almost too good to be true, except it’s fully doable if you’ve got the right skill set and an established client base who can drop your name to their engaged pals. Think about it – if you were getting married on a private island, you’d probably want to bring a photographer whose style you were familiar with instead of hiring an unknown one once you got there. The only hurdle with destination wedding photography is that some couples feel it’s enough to simply pay your way there and treat you to a “free vacation” (even though you’ll be working hard the entire time) whereas others will generously compensate you but may not cover your transportation and lodging. Your salary can vary greatly and you’ll have to have strong negotiating tactics to succeed in this field.

8. Field Service Engineer – Salary: $62K – $82K

We’re living in the age of technology which means that inevitably, the machines that keep our lives running will eventually break down. Enter the field service engineers. These specialized engineers are trained in the upkeep and maintenance of large scale, important machinery and travel to various companies when problems that require their knowledge arise. You’ll need an engineering degree, but if you’re weary of the 9-5 grind, this sub-specialization of the field could be a great idea for you.

7. Athletic Recruiter – Salary: $40K – $50K

Got a sporty streak? Becoming an athletic recruiter might just be the perfect job for you. While most of the travel involved with the job will be domestic, you’ll get to traverse the country visiting various schools and looking for the world’s next athletic star. You’ll get to watch countless games, practices, tournaments and playoffs – all for free and often from the front row. You might even be able to perfect your slam dunk while you’re at it.

6. Roadie – Salary: $53K – $80K

If you love music or the arts and don’t mind long hours and heavy lifting, becoming a roadie for a band, theatre company or even circus would enable you to travel and also nab you a backstage seat to some incredible performances. It’s hard work and you may want to fall asleep the moment you’re off duty, but roadie work is a quick and easy ticket around the globe if you get in with the right company. The parties aren’t so bad either, with most roadies engaging in post-show celebrations after every performance. The payout is pretty great too, with the average roadie making about $1500 to $2000 per week.

5. Consultant – Salary: Varies by field

Most of us are experts in something. Whether it’s financial trading, IT, data analytics, management or interior design, you can market yourself as a leader in your field and quickly get scooped up by clients looking to utilize your skill set. If you become successful enough, chances are you’ll travel to your customers’ head offices to meet with them and/or visit their other branches across the country or globe. You’ll never know where you’re going next and you’ll have hours of free time to explore whichever city you’re in after every consultation. Each day will be different and you’ll never be in the same place for more than a couple of days or weeks.

4. Au Pair – Salary: $200 – $500 per week

While the pay isn’t great, becoming an au pair is a great way to see the world if you don’t mind hanging out with kids for most of the day. Salaries vary greatly, as your room and board will be covered – meaning the pocket money you get out of the deal won’t be exorbitant. However, some contracts are only a few weeks in length, so you can hop from country to country and explore each of them in your downtime. As well, many parents bring their au pairs on family vacation which is always a definite plus. If you can handle snotty-nosed kids and temper tantrums, becoming an au pair is a great way to sample all of the brie your heart desires in France or scope out the architecture in Istanbul.

3. Foreign Service Officer – Salary: $40K – $100K

When people think of diplomats, they imagine scholars with PhDs in Political Science hopping around the globe and liaising with presidents. While that is one stream of the job, there are countless other positions available to choose from. You can apply to take the foreign service exam straight out of university in Canada and the United States, and can specialize in a number of fields including administrative support, health sciences and economics. You get posted in a different country every few years, get put up in swanky surroundings and learn about the culture you’re living in while you’re at it. Not a bad deal at all.

2. Event Planner – Salary: $35K – $60K

If you can get in with the right company, you can travel extensively as an event planner. With many corporate multinationals having offices in different cities, conferences are often held several times a year as a means of bringing all of their employees together to make sure everybody is on the same page. On the other end of the spectrum, you could get involved with a political party and plan their campaigning events, leading you around the country and/or planet in the process.

1. Railroad Worker – Salary: $100KRailroad companies carry an extensive amount of product on each train and know how valuable each shipment is. These companies look for qualified conductors, maintenance workers and engineers every year to ensure that their trains are being held to the highest standard and that the numerous cars of merchandise they carry on a regular basis arrive at their destination on time and unharmed. The pay at these jobs is handsome and you get to go from coast to coast on the ground as part of your job every day.