Morgan Williams - Careers for People Who Love Traveling

Published in 2021 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2021 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Williams, Morgan.

Title: Careers for people who love traveling / Morgan Williams.

Description: New York: Rosen Publishing, 2021. | Series: Cool careers

without college | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781499468854 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781499468861 (library bound) Subjects: LCSH: Tourism--Vocational guidance--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC G155.5 W551 2021 | DDC 910.23--dc23

Some of the images in this book illustrate individuals who are models. The depictions do not imply actual situations or events.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Portions of this work were originally authored by Simone Payment and published as Cool Careers Without College for People Who Love to Travel. All new material in this edition authored by Siyavush Saidian.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

T heres nothing in the world quite like traveling. The desire to see different cities, countries, and continents has driven many explorers, students, and professionals to wander the globe. Are you interested in becoming one of them?

If you love travel, it may seem impossible that there are jobs available that can not only allow you to traveltheyll actually be paying you to do so. Whether youre leading a group of people on an exciting journey, traveling around with a sports team, or helping others book their dream vacations, there are a lot of careers open to someone who loves to travel. The best part is that you may not even need a college degree to break into most of these careers.

In many areas of the travel industry, the most important thing you can bring to the table isnt an advanced educationits a strong work ethic and a smiling face. Most jobs that encourage a lot of traveling require good teamwork, excellent customer service, and the ability to learn new things. Through on-the-job trainingnot college educationyoull be able to succeed in these occupations.

CHAPTER 1

HEART-POUNDING TRAVEL

S ome people like to take vacations to help them relax and unwind. They may spend time at a tropical beach, sipping a cool beverage in the hot sun. Others, however, want to get their hearts racing when they travel. They want to experience pulse-pounding experiences at exoticand some-times nearbydestinations. If that sounds like you, you may want to consider a job as an adventure travel specialist. As an adventure travel specialist, you can guide people looking for a good time while also enjoying it yourself.

WHAT YOULL DO

Being an adventure travel specialist can lead you down a number of different paths. Some people lead challenging trips to exciting locations. Others just plan the trips. Some do both the planning and the leading. Typically, though, even the specialists who only do the planning take part in a few trips so they can learn about the places their customers will be visiting and the activities in which they will be participating.

It may seem like this job is fun and games, but adventure travel specialists face both physical and mental challenges.

They need to have a lot of energy to be able to work hard all day long. They also need to be quick thinkers. People in this position need to be able to solve many types of problemsfast. They have to stay calm when dealing with emergencies. They need to assess situations to make sure conditions are safe for everyone in the group.

One of the most important parts of the job is working with people. Adventure travel specialists are with their group all day long for several days. Trips can sometimes even last for weeks or months. They need to be comfortable in front of a group. On the trip, youll need to act as both a coach and a cheerleader, helping people to face difficult challenges. Adventure travel specialists also need to be good at working on a team. These teamwork talents will need to be communicated to the people on the trip so everyone can work together to have a great time.

Some people consider harsh environments and difficult obstacles things to be avoided. If you want to be an adventure travel specialist, youll need to be very comfortable in these kinds of situations.

EXCITEMENT ABOUNDS

There are a wide variety of adventure trips that need guides. Here is a small sample of the kinds of trips you could lead:

Land: Backpacking, caving, dogsledding, llama trekking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, wildlife viewing

Water: Fishing, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, surfing, tubing, white-water rafting

Air: Bungee jumping, hang gliding, hot air ballooning, parasailing, skydiving

There are no limits on adventure travel opportunities. If you choose this career, you could find yourself soaring through the air all over the world.

Adventure travel specialists do more than just lead people on great adventures. They also teach their clients something along the way. An ocean kayak guide might teach kayaking skills while they point out how to identify sea life along the way.

Adventure travel is sometimes called ecotourism. One of the goals of some adventure travel trips is to teach people to appreciate our environment and the plants and animals that live in it. This is especially true for people traveling to exotic locations worldwide. Its very important that travel specialists and their groups respect the natural world thats hosting them.

WHAT YOU NEED

Official training isnt always needed to become an adventure guide. The best way to prepare for a career in this field is to gain experience in the type of adventure youd like to lead. If youd like to become a white-water rafting guide, go on a rafting trip as a participant and watch what the guide does carefully. Another option could be to get a summer job working as an assistant to an experienced guide.

If you want to get more than just hands-on experience, wilderness or outdoor organizations often offer classes for aspiring adventurers. There are many groups that offer weeklong or monthlong classes during the summer. Some schools can even train you to become a guide.

As you gain experience, you should also work on the other skills youll need as a guide: people skills and organizational skills. You may want to consider public speaking classes so youre comfortable in front of groups. Join a scouting organization or another group that will help you to build teamwork and outdoor skills. Take first-aid classes so that youll be prepared for emergencies that can come up, and work on your outdoor cooking skillsmost guides have to cook one or more meals a day, especially if youre taking clients somewhere remote. Theres no definitive list of skills an adventure travel guide should have, so your best bet is to get as much experience and training as possible. That way, youll be ready to tackle any challenges that crop up in the field.