With some careers, you’re stuck. You might love teaching scuba diving lessons, but you couldn’t exactly move to Ohio and keep your same career. If you want to be a farmer, you probably won’t be able to live downtown in a metropolis. As a small gift shop owner who only speaks English, you wouldn’t be able to pack your bags and live just as comfortably in China.
Not everyone wants or needs that kind of freedom, but if you love the sound of a job you can take anywhere, then this list is for you. For some of them, you don’t even have to speak the language of the country you live in.
1. Nurse.
Nurses will be needed forever, in every part of the world. You might live in an unincorporated town, but you’d still have a job opportunity at the local hospital. You might live in competitive New York City, but you’d still be sure to find work, despite the large population. You could even work overseas since, depending on your degree and experience, you can use your training internationally. An Associate Degree in Nursing program will get you started, and from there, you can be assured of a job anywhere you go.
2. Server.
All around the world, people eat at restaurants. If you gain experience in the serving industry, you could take your skills anywhere. You might have a job waitressing in a sweet small town, or you might make great tips working at a top-notch restaurant in LA. You could even get hired by a hotel or resort on the other side of the world and continue to waitress or bartend while enjoying a completely different culture and life.
3. Dentist.
Dentists are needed everywhere, and if you go to school to be a dentist or a dental hygienist, you could live anywhere you wanted to and still have a job to do every day. People in small towns don’t drive three hours just to see a city dentist, and people in the city don’t drive out into the suburbs to get their teeth cleaned. Wherever you live, you could set up a dental practice and make your living brightening smiles. Cutting-edge composite fillings are needed all over the world, so you could even take your work overseas.
4. Mechanic.
Where there are cars, there are mechanics, and the language of engines is the same all around the world. While every model has its own quirks, if you trained at the automotive & diesel technology college in NY, you’d know how to navigate different models and makes of cars and trucks. Whether you worked in a peaceful farm town or moved to London, you’d be able to find work if you had a degree in automotive technology.
5. Construction Worker.
Construction is needed all over the world. If you had the skills to build homes and buildings, then you’d be valuable to any company worldwide. You could work for home builders in Melbourne or office construction in Norway. While you’d have to speak a foreign language to do this job in any country, it’s valuable in the city, the suburbs, and even out in the middle of nowhere.
6. Masseuse.
A masseuse provides much-needed relief to stressed and tight muscles. As a masseuse, you’d work with customers of all ages, helping them with post-accident injuries or work-related muscle cramps. You could take your skills as a masseuse anywhere in the world since, as long as you speak a language moderately well, you could work for larger businesses, your own business, or even at a mall kiosk.
7. Photographer.
A photographer is needed anywhere, whether it’s a small town or a big city. You could provide wedding photography, senior portraits, baby portraits, and more. Besides taking photos for people, you could also sell your photography online. You might be able to make money traveling the world, taking photographs of your adventures, and selling them. Or you may get hired by a company that needs a traveling photographer.
8. Yoga Instructor.
Yoga is now a universally liked way to tone muscles, get exercise, and relax. A yoga instructor doesn’t even need to speak the same language as their students, since they can guide their class by demonstrating. You could get a job teaching yoga at a faraway resort, set up a big city yoga studio, or be the only yoga provider for miles around. Wherever you go, there’s a good chance people will be eager for yoga instruction.
9. Teacher.
Teachers will always be needed in every town, country, and continent. You could be a teacher in the country or the city, in your home country or across the world. Even if you don’t have your degree in teaching, you could teach English overseas. Teaching is a perfect career for people who want to travel and see the world, since it’s needed everywhere.
10. Plumber.
If you became a plumber, you really would have your pick of the world. People might drive a little farther to see a good doctor, and a nurse in a small town might have to commute to work, but as a plumber, you’d need to visit someone’s home. Even if you lived in a small town, you could make your living serving the surrounding houses and buildings. Plumbers are needed everywhere, and you could take your skills to another country and live abroad for awhile, if you wanted to.
Choosing a career doesn’t have to limit your life options. The right career can expand them. With any of the above jobs, you’d be able to take your skills to any part of the world. You could live in the city for a few years, then move out to the suburbs when you started to raise a family. You could travel the world and then come home to a small seaside town and still work the same career.
