HOW TO WORK ABROAD
Working abroad is a dream for so many young people. Little responsibilities, fresh start and an opportunity to live and travel for months or even years on end. Whoever you are and whatever your interests there is a job out there in a new country that is waiting for you and this post will give you the basics of how to find these jobs, applying, visas and what you can expect when working overseas.
I've had two work abroad experiences, including working on a pub crawl in Croatia and at a party hostel in Budapest. Both of these jobs I found while travelling, you can read more about my experience working in Croatia and Hungary here, however during my time I met a wide range of people doing everything from being full time digital nomads to working in farms across the world.
DESTINATIONS
You could genuinely choose anywhere in the world to work, it's really up to you. For young travellers who are low on money it's best to think about moving to a more affordable region like Asia, South America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Generally your wage will match that of the locals, so while you won't be making big amounts of money, you'll have affordable living costs for food, transport and extras. No matter where you decide to move to it's best to have at least a little but of money saved to keep you going and not worrying about your day to day spendings.
Some countries like Hungary, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and Poland have flocks of digital nomads and expats moving per year and they have become some of the leading countries for remote workers due to their cheap living costs and lively nature. If you already have a career or job that you can do remotely, then moving to another country
VISAS
Visas can be tricky and confusing, especially since getting a visa will vary depending on where you are from and where you are planning on staying/working.There are 2 visas you need to consider, one is a tourist visa and the other is a working visa. For some more 'casual' or volunteer based jobs (not paid), you may not be asked to obtain a working visa before you start, however depending on how long you're planning on staying in the country you may need a tourist visa. Countries like Mexico, Croatia and Thailand all have leniency periods where you don't need a tourist visa up to a certain number of days (usually between 30 - 180 days), whereas destinations like Australia, Bolivia, Nepal and Vietnam all require you to have a tourist visa upon entry.
During my time in Croatia and Budapest I did not require either visa as I have a British passport and I was working on a volunteer basis, however since the introduction of Brexit rules this has changed and you'll most likely have to apply for either visa depending on your job and what country you're planning on moving to.
Working visas can be a little more difficult to obtain and countries like Australia, New Zealand and USA are typically a lot more strict about who they give working rights to, so it's best to start the visa process as early as possible. A working visa gives you a lot more freedom and typically lasts up to a year - 2/3 years.
Here's some helpful visa resources:
Find out if you need a visa for countries you're travelling to
Explanations of every visa you can obtain
PAID WORK OR VOLUNTEERING
Working abroad encompasses such a wide range of jobs that will either be paid or unpaid (volunteer). Paid work will be treated as more of a 'serious' job and you will be asked to work longer hours, however you'll be earning as you work. Volunteer based roles will mean you have more free time to explore and do
Unpaid or volunteer work will work on the basis that you give your time in exchange for free accommodation and sometimes added extras like free meals, free events (if you work at something like a hostel) and/or access to a bike/car. My hostel job in Budapest was on a volunteer basis, so I got free accommodation and free tickets to events in exchange for 3 - 5 hours of work per day.
FINDING A JOB OVERSEAS
So where should you be looking when it comes to finding an overseas job? Well, there are so many ways you can opt to find a job depending on what you're interested in. The most common sites to find jobs are Workaway and WWOOF, these are incredibly popular for backpackers across the world and you can find all types of jobs in every country. A lot of these jobs will be on a volunteer basis and you'll solely be working for your accommodation, however you can find paid opportunities too.
If you're on the hunt for higher paying jobs au pairing, paid farm work and
Alternatively you could look for jobs that don't get paid as well, but all your costs would be covered. For example boat skippers get paid a wage while having their accommodation, meals and any extras covered. This is the same for people who do ski seasons, my friend was paid €20 an hour as a bar tender at a ski resort in France and had all his expenses covered the entire 4 months he worked - imagine how much he saved! Other jobs that would fall under this category would be tour leaders (for companies like Contiki and Topdeck) and live in jobs like hotel work. I had a live in job at a hotel in Scotland and didn't pay for anything other than a small weekly grocery shop for snacks.
If you already have a desirable skill from home you can easily apply that to a new work environment, even if you're overseas. My friend Q was already a full time barber in the UK, so when she was in Poland she was able to work for a Polish barbers and get paid cash in hand per haircut (you can read my Krakow budget travel guide here).
You can even use your language skills to go into establishments like restaurants and offer to proof read their menus - you may not get paid but you might get a free meal out of it!