Working on the Road

Being able to travel requires that you are either wealthy, retired, or have a job that can be done on the road. I have seen many of all 3 in my travels. It is surprising how many worker bees are traveling. I have met writers, company CEOs, tutors, construction workers, road crews, internet store owners, Ebay power sellers, and more. Cell phones and the internet have made the road less traveled far more accessible to those with wandering feet. Customer support, medical transcription, article or book writing, sales, web design, and education are very common jobs over the internet. I have heard of a comic book that is created, issue by issue, by passing the work back and forth across country by email. Of course, there are also many standard employers which have learned the value of older transient labor and are also hiring such as amusement parks like Dollywood and Disneyworld, campgrounds, state and national parks, electronics installation firms, Amazon.com at their warehouse in Kansas during the holiday season, others who need holiday shipping help, vacationing farmers and ranchers who need animals fed while they are gone and their places looked after, Alaska schools who hire RVers to stay in their school parking lots and report vandalism when schools are closed, state fairs, movie extras, RV deliveries from factories to dealers, income tax preparers, and many more. The jobs are out there. A good place to start looking is at Workamper.com which matches up employers with short-term job seekers. See what is out there even if you aren’t ready to hit the open road yet.

You should be very careful of taking any standard job while traveling and know what the rules are in that state to avoid getting bitten hard by greedy bureaucrats. Even being given just a campsite and utilities for work can trigger the tax man into action if you are not careful. Talk to other working RVers and consult a local accountant if necessary.

Beware of the profusion of work at home scams out there. One good place to check them out and perhaps find an opportunity is WorkAtHomNoScams.com . He does reviews of many offers and has an active following that also contributes their experiences. You can also check out offers at the local Better Business Bureau over the Internet. Don’t expect any company to have no complaints whatsoever though. Upset people and people who don’t get their own way complain. What matters is how the company handled the complaint. Another thing to watch for is if the company asks for money up front for materials. While normal if you plan to sell something in your own store, for other jobs that is a definite red flag.

Now if you are thinking you will just throw up an Internet store and people will come, think again. It takes a lot of work to run and promote any store and a lot of time before it catches on. It can be done but it is not going to be an overnight success. Plan for that. Think a year.

One possibility may be internet marketing. You create mini (1-2 page) websites and write articles to promote other people’s products or even your own and get paid a commission when people buy using your affiliate link. There are hundreds of thousands of good legitimate products and companies out there that use affiliates to sell including Camping World, Amazon, web hosts, etc. There are many places on the Internet to learn how and one good one appears to be Wealthy Affiliate. Yes, I am studying it there and an affiliate. I like that they provide a study plan that keeps me on track but won’t let me go too fast, forums for ideas and support along with more direct access to others to ask questions, web hosting that includes WordPress and templates, all kinds of free tools, etc. What I learn there can be applied to promoting any website whether the site is meant to earn money or just personal.

I hope this has given you all some ideas on how to get out there and join us on the open road. You do not have to be wealthy or retired to travel. You do need to do your homework and plan.

My favorite quote: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving.” – Mame

Other resources:

Work-for-RVers-and-Campers.com
CampHost – private company that hires camp hosts
Seasonalemployment.com – seasonal employment opportunities
Housecarers.com – homesitter positions
scca.com – get into sports car racing support!
Writers and editors – WritersMarket, MediaBistro, Associated Content, Freelance Writing Jobs, and WriterFind
Liveperson.com – whatever you are an expert at, get paid to help others
FlexJobs – telecommuting jobs