Jobs For Living On The Road

Become a Digital Nomad

Are you planning to hit the road full-time but are somewhat drawn back because you lack the means to fund this adventure? Of course, you first need to ensure your vehicle is registered correctly and all your documentation is intact if you will be on the road most of the time. As long as this is sorted, there are so many ways you can live on the road.

One way is to divide the year into two parts so that you can work during the first part of the year and use the second part to travel without hassle. Another option is to work remotely full-time or become a digital nomad, which is someone who earns a living working remotely from anywhere they like. You can also decide to do both, depending on your preference.

There are various jobs and opportunities for people to make money while living on the road. In this article, you'll find a list of the top positions for living on the road so you can find something to do as you explore different parts of the world. Living the van life is a lot easier with one of the jobs we’ve highlighted below.

Jobs for Life on the Road

The most popular van life jobs are usually remote work. Remote work is also a broad term that can mean anything. Still, it generally means working for a company or business from home without going to an office or specific location. All you need to be able to work remotely is a steady internet connection and a laptop or desktop computer. Therefore, if you already have work but want to start living on the road, you can ask your employer to allow you to work remotely.

Virtual Assistant

This is a great remote job opportunity for van life because you can work anywhere, and there are practically zero restrictions on where you can perform your duties. With this, you can conveniently make money on the road. Being a virtual assistant is a broad occupation, and it could involve almost anything.

However, a virtual assistant's essential thing is to help people with their business, whether online or offline. The job usually involves managing clients and answering emails and calls. It may also include web design or web development. There is a long list of jobs that can be classified under the virtual assistant category.

Here are some remote virtual assistant opportunities that you might want to consider for living on the road.

Tech Support

This is for people who can manage sales funnels, website backends, and more. Tech is a broad term, and it often confuses people. However, if this is what you're great at, you can rest assured that several people are ready to hire you.

Customer Support

Many businesses are currently struggling with their customer support and need help managing their numerous clients and customers. This includes Facebook group management, inbox support, welcoming new clients, and more.

Email Marketing Manager

Writing monthly newsletters and email marketing are integral to running an online business. It is also an excellent opportunity to make money living on the road.

Graphic Designer

Learning graphic design is super easy, and you don’t need to graduate from design school to become a graphic designer. You also don’t need a degree to be a graphic designer because there are different levels to graphic design. The online world is filled with companies seeking help with branding, website design, and even logos.

If you're ready to explore these options, you can apply to any of these companies for a remote opportunity to work and help them build their brand. This will also allow you to grow your business. It is worth mentioning that you’ll need Wi-Fi if you want to do this job while living on the road.

Suppose you're interested in becoming a graphic designer but unsure about how or where to start from. If this is the scenario, you may want to consider taking online courses on Udemy, YouTube, or other platforms. Depending on the level of graphic design you want to attain, learning graphic design can take between a few days to several months.

Website Designer

Web design is an area you might want to explore if you want to live the van life. It is an extra advantage for you if you've ever built a website or you have a blog that you can show your potential clients. There are so many people that need a website but do not know how to create one.

Some of these people cannot afford expensive websites, and they only need someone to help them with something simple. There are easy ways to build a website, and the most widely explored option is WordPress and Squarespace because they make the process easy.

One fantastic thing about web design is that you don't need to know how to code before beginning. However, it's a plus for you if you're good at coding. There are so many online courses that you can take to become a web designer, like graphic design.

Blogger

This is another opportunity to explore, but you need to note that it is not easy to make money. It takes lots of determination and consistency, and you can easily tell from the different success stories of people who have used this as a means of earning money living on the road.

The options to explore include ads, affiliates, and helping businesses promote their brand. There are different online courses that you can take if you’re considering becoming a blogger.

Social Media Manager

This is another opportunity that you might want to consider if you love social media. People who are always online on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and understand these platforms well will do great as social media managers. Interestingly, so many businesses need the help of a social media manager.

There are also several online courses to help you become a social media manager and boost your confidence.

Writer or Editor

Websites are always seeking freelance writers to help them create exciting content for their sites. If you enjoy writing, you might want to consider making money from it. Businesses are almost always looking for writers and editors, and what's more, is that you can do this job remotely. Therefore, whether you are on the road or not, you can easily make money from writing.

Programmer

This is going to require a lot of commitment and dedication on your part. It is a long journey to follow, but it's worth it because the payout is always very high. If you're good at solving problems, and you're also into computers, learning to code will be an excellent option for you.

Coding is also one of the highest-paying remote work that you'll find today. Also, web developers, software programmers, and coders are in high demand, which will continue for a long time. Therefore, if you want a long-term plan that will help you enjoy living on the road, programming is a great option to consider.

Do you have any of the listed skills mentioned above but are unsure where you can find jobs online? There are copious freelance platforms where you can get remote jobs, and you might want to consider signing up on one of these platforms. The most popular freelance platforms today are Fiverr and Upwork. You can also find some of these jobs on LinkedIn. As a freelancer, you can make money living on the road with ease.

Seasonal Work

You might want to consider seasonal work. Most travelers today work seasonally and travel the remaining part of the year.

You don’t have to use the whole year traveling. You can decide to travel in summer and work in winter. However, it entirely depends on what you prefer. Check Craigslist if you’re interested in working seasonally.

If you don’t know the type of seasonal work that you can explore as a van lifer, this list below will help you.

Farm Work

There are many exciting farming experiences that will let you earn money. However, this depends on your exact geographical location and the kind of crops that thrive well in your region. Farming is an excellent type of seasonal work to explore.

Consider sugar beet farming. The beet season is usually in fall, and it usually requires farmers to work long hours. This principle is like that of the weed or hemp farm, and with this, you can conveniently earn a decent amount of money to fund your travels.

National Park Staff

You can apply for a work position in a National Park. These parks usually hire seasonally, and it’s a great way for you to earn money before your travels begin. The parks mostly hire people during the winter season and sometimes in summer. However, it is essential to state that you are applying for temporary work when applying for these jobs.

Ski Resort Staff

These resorts usually have a great need for employees before each skiing season. You can start applying for a ski-resort job in your region. One interesting thing about most of these resorts is that they offer accommodation for their workers, which is great for people living on the road.

Service Jobs

If you have the experience, you might want to consider working as a waiter, bartender, or other similar positions. This type of job pays around $50 to $500 per night, depending on your city. You can do this as a seasonal job for four to six months and use the rest of the year to travel and explore.

Handy App Worker

Have you ever used the Handy app before? This is a fantastic place to find companies and people looking for who to hire. The popular jobs you’ll find in this app include hanging pictures, electrical work, and furniture assembling. When you join the app, you’ll always be notified when these jobs are available, and you only need to choose the one you can do and wait for the approval. You can use this as a means to earn cash randomly.

Brand Ambassador

This is another excellent way to earn spare cash. As a brand ambassador, you'll represent different brands either in customer-facing or in larger events. This is a good paying opportunity for van lifers, and the pay is usually around $25 per hour.

Check the following places if you’re looking for a brand ambassador job:

Popular Companies

Most companies today are looking for someone to represent them. You can reach out to one of these companies and apply to become their brand ambassador. A few examples of some of these companies include Two Dots Productions, Encore Nationwide, and more.

Pop Bookings

This is an app where you can find numerous brand ambassador gigs within your city.

Facebook Groups

This is likely to be one of the best and easiest ways to find a brand ambassador job. All you need to do is search "Brand Ambassadors” of the city you would like to work in. As soon as you get a job, you'll be placed on the company's email list, which will allow you to know when there are future gigs.

Mechanic

This is another amazing opportunity for people who are mechanically inclined and want to earn money while living on the road. Also, you need this skill because your vehicle is likely to break down on the road. This is a common thing for van lifers. However, most van lifers are not mechanically inclined.

Therefore, you can reach out to different van life communities to let them know that you can work on their vans. This will probably also help you build a reputation within a short time and make money on the road with ease.

Sell Physical Products

Selling physical products is also a great job option for people who want to live on the road. The physical products to sell include artwork, jewelry, and more. However, you’ll need a good marketing strategy if you want to make great sales. Whatever product you have, there are many online stores where you can sell these products while living on the road.

What's more, you can easily manage and set up an online store, and you can do this yourself. A commonly used platform for building eCommerce stores online is Shopify, and you can use this to sell your products online. These stores are easy to use, and with them, you can quickly sell your products.

Photographer

Living on the road will help you discover so many hidden talents, and one of these is photography. Traveling is a great way to explore photography and videography. What’s more, is that you can make a living as you offer these services. Also, as a traveler, it will be a lot easier for you to get clients.

Rent Out Your Van

It will interest you to know that different people are willing to pay to use your van. This is a great way to earn a little more money. If you have a place to stay or won't need your van for your trip, you can rent it out to other people who are willing to find out what it's like to live a van life.

Start a YouTube Channel

This is another fantastic way that you can earn money. YouTube is a great platform that allows people to showcase their talents and make money. However, for you to be able to monetize your YouTube channel, you’ll need to have up to 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch time hours. This is the standard requirement to meet.

The most important thing about starting a YouTube channel is having enough viewers. With up to 40,000 subscribers, you can earn up to $1,000 every month. Another exciting thing about growing a YouTube Channel is that you'll be able to build an audience. With this, you can easily sell and market products online to help other businesses achieve their goals.

Start a Dropshipping Business

This is another amazing way to make money as a traveler. Dropshipping does not require much capital to start, and you also would not need inventory. This makes it possible for people to find different products to sell from wholesalers who are offering these products at discounted rates.

You can also make an online store to distribute these products with dropshipping. A commonly used method is creating online stores through Shopify. The online store also makes it a lot easier to reach different customers and sell the products to them. Once these customers place their order, they will send their address, and you can then forward it to the warehouse so that the order can be processed and delivered while you keep the profit.

Dropshipping is usually hard to understand, but it is a great money-making option for people living on the road. You can also partake in online courses to learn dropshipping.

Create and Sell Online Courses

People are constantly looking for new skills to learn to improve their portfolio and also add to their experience. Creating an online course to sell is another nice way to make money while living on the road if you have a skill or expertise in a specific area. The course can be about anything, and you'll be surprised that many people are interested in your course.

You can create a course about yoga, music, meditation, gardening, personal finance, and more. There’s an endless list of courses that you can create, and you only need to make sure that you have the skill.

Do you have a skill that someone has asked you to teach them? Then there's a big chance that so many other people want to learn that skill. Are you wondering where they can access your course when you create it? There are different platforms where you can upload the course. This includes Teachable, Thinkific, Udemy, and more.

One thing to note about creating and selling courses online is that you’ll need a good marketing plan if you want to get your course to many and become a bestseller. You can advertise your course in many ways, and it can be through a WordPress blog, an Instagram page, a YouTube channel, and more.

Participate in Online Surveys

There are so many online surveys that you can complete to earn little cash. Some of these surveys are from reputable companies while others aren’t, and so you’ll need to be cautious. Examples of a few reputable survey companies to try include Harris Poll Online, Inbox Dollars, American Consumer Opinion, Vindale Research, One Opinion, Global Test Market, VIP Voice, My Survey, i-Say, and Quick Thoughts.

Earning Money Makes Living on the Road Easier

Living on the road may not be for everybody, but if you want to enjoy it better, you’ll need a steady source of income. There are so many jobs that you can try to earn money and live on the road. We have listed twenty of these jobs for you to try. Rest assured that they will not alter your plan to live on the road. Importantly, don't neglect your vehicle registration and documentation. Contact a professional vehicle registration service provider to ensure you comply with the legal requirements for vehicle owners, especially since you'll be on the road almost all the time.

Moreover, you will need to consider where your mail will be delivered as you will always be on the road. In this instance, you can use any professional mail forwarding service to get your mail to you wherever you are in the world.