Where do I start ? - Income

Hylda&Jon · Guru

Where do I start ? - Income

Where To Next · Veteran Member

I want to start my travelling and was wondering if anyone would like to share their thoughts or experiences on earning an income whilst doing so. I am not eligible for the pension for 19 years yet, but am stuck in a job I hate. I don't own my home, it's a rental, so am happy to sell everything I own (except my van) and work my way around the country. My experience is being a solo mum for many years and office/admin work. I've also tried night fill and traffic controlling for a few months each. I've read about the fruit picking, but would love to hear what others do to generate income while they travel. Thanks smile

herbie · Guru

There are a lot of different web sites that have jobs for people on the move,but a lot of the jobs they offer are not right next door to where you might be located,you have a varied lot of skills by reading your post, so you are not limited to just one type of employment.We work as we travel ,but our work is in mining or oil and gas ,so we just head from one place to the next with one phn call.But in saying that google in seek and see what's on offer out there.Road constuction traffic controlling jobs are always being advertised up this way.Get onto companies who operate these traffic controlling companies and see where that leads to.The first step is the hardest belive me, but once you make that first step you will never look back and say Should of i done this. What state are you from as that can also make a big difference to job opportunities .Why i say that is with all the rain we have had and still having up here in QLD fruit picking i would think would not be booming right now,where road contruction is due to all the repairs that need fixing. I hope my two bob's worth on this subject has helped you in some small way

Regards Herbie

villatranquilla · Guru

we've had great sucess with Gumtree job search and now heading back to WA to a farming job - first job we applied for was actually for backpackers but the lady was prepared to give us a go. It was for 6 weeks and included meals which is a real bonus.

neilnruth · Guru

Welcome to the forum from us Where to next. You've come to a good place for help and advice.

Duh · Guru

Where To Next wrote:
I want to start my travelling and was wondering if anyone would like to share their thoughts or experiences on earning an income whilst doing so. I am not eligible for the pension for 19 years yet, but am stuck in a job I hate. I don't own my home, it's a rental, so am happy to sell everything I own (except my van) and work my way around the country. My experience is being a solo mum for many years and office/admin work. I've also tried night fill and traffic controlling for a few months each. I've read about the fruit picking, but would love to hear what others do to generate income while they travel. Thanks

One idea I thought of doing at one stage (but never did) was buying a key cutting lathe & scissor/knife sharpener, I didn't go right into it you may have to do a locksmith course for the keycutting, which would require being licenced and police clearance etc.

Someone who is knowledgeable in that area may be able to comment on that. I have seen caravanners offering scissor/knife sharpening as a service, don't think you would need a licence for that, just a good commercial quality sharpener and the knowledge and experience to do it.

Although I have only seen male key cutters, I don't see why a female could not do that job with the right training etc.

EllenajoeL · Senior Member

Hi where do i start

welcome and there's already plenty of great tips given here (as usual).

May I add:

its worthwhile to 'always' be considering ways to minimise expenses as you travel (esp fuel, accommodation and food; as these tend to be the big $ expenses).

So....what and how you drive, where and how you find a place to stay and even what and how you shop for eats... will all potentially be of benefit.

AND if you wish to undertake harvesting trail -type labour, then it is best to remain open-minded and be physically strong (no inference intended BTW).

That way, you can make a good 'go' at it, perhaps even make a good earn....BUT it is often 'eye-opening' and 'back-breaking' employment IMHO.

Good luck and good travels

bowlerbear · Senior Member

workaboutaustralia.com.au is also another good one to look for jobs. If you become a member you get to see the jobs days before the public do. What comes through for public viewing are what is left after the members have had their pick.

AlCath · Veteran Member

Hi,We headed off two years ago,the husband had been working for a company for 20years and was working longer and longer hours,we rented out our house and hit the road.We were scared because we both didn't have a trade,I had bakery,cafe,reception experience and the hubby was a purchasing/office manager.We have not had problems getting work,if you are in a town just ask and you will be amazed at the jobs around,if you are in a caravan park ask the owners,if they don't have anything they will know of local farmers or businesses looking for workers.Also face to face is what the small country towns like,what have you got to loose,we have picked up caravan park work,cafe work,sugar cane harvest(the hubby),housekeeping at motels,parks and gardens with a council(hubby) and are currently working on a station in Western NSW,I havn't done alot of farm work,but I clean the local farm houses and have also done farm sitting between two farms.We had planned one year on the road and we are not at all ready to go home,we recently sold our pop top for a full van with more comforts,I say just do it and enjoy every moment.You will meet fantastic people and have an awesome experience,we are also travelling with two dogs(the kids) and we don't work unless they are welcome at the work place.Caretaking jobs are great because you will get free rent,sometimes a small income or they may supply you with fuel or meat,we have found the gumtree website and this website great for finding jobs. As I said before,talk to people don't be scared to do something out of your comfort zone(if you don't like it you move on),we never thought we would be on a station mustering sheep,some days wrestling them LOL.We have found the families on the stations very friendly and when we leave here we are now going to be leaving some very good friends.We wish you all the best,let us know how you go.

Cath & Al

Sheba · Guru

www.workaboutaustralia.com.au

Keep an eye out for the book in op-shops too.

Cheers,

Sheba.

gypsy rover · Senior Member

Outback stations are often looking for governesses. The lessons are all set by School of the Air and all you need to do is follow the instructions for each lesson. The job usually comes with accommodation and often they supply some food such as meat and also fuel. The only down side is that the properties are usually very isolated and you don't get to go to a town very often. However, I always found the station owners very friendly and you are treated as one of the family. The website is www.governessaustralia.com/. You would be expected to stay at the job for the whole school year. It is a great way to experience what life is like living in the outback. Good Luck.

Chris

Where To Next · Veteran Member

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the replies.

Jon - thank you for all the links, I've booked marked them all for future reference.

Herbie - thank you for the tips, I am in Qld, and yes roadworks are a busy industry at present. I have started making a list of employers to contact, maybe I can say them an advert looking for a worker. If only I had done a trade all those years ago.

Jenny and Barry - I've bookmarked gumtree as well, wasn't aware so many jobs were advertised on there. Good luck with your next job ! How long to farm type jobs normally go for ?

NeilnRuth - thank you for the welcome, I have so many questions I don't know where to start !

Duh - I like this idea, will definitely do some research into this one and see what is involved.

Ellenajoel - thank you for the tips on cost of living savings, I am hoping to do a lot of free camping to cut down accommodation costs, and am looking at getting either another fuel tank or a bigger fuel tank on my van, so I can stock up on cheap diesel along the way. I'm already a savvy shopper in the food department so that won't be a problem. I am hoping to do small amounts of driving each day, but will see what happens when I hit the road. I am definitely not physically fit so the fruit picking may not suit me :(

Chris - I am really excited about joining up with workaboutaustralia and seeing what is on offer, but will wait until just before I hit the road before signing up, thank you for sharing that with me.

Cath and Al - thank you for sharing your experiences, it sounds like you have had some great work experiences. Can I ask how you go onto the jobs you've had so far ?

Sheba - thank you for the link, which books are you talking about ?

Chris - thank you for the information and link to work as a governess. Did you need any special qualifications to do this ? Not sure I could sit still in one place for a whole year, but it is certainly something I will keep in mind for a couple of years down the track when I might be looking to stay in one place for a while. I have bookmarked the link, thank you.

Does anyone have any ideas for self employment while travelling ?

Thanks everyone,

Julie

Sheba · Guru

Where To Next wrote:
Sheba - thank you for the link, which books are you talking about ?

Julie

They publish a Book as well Julie. It's mentioned on the Website, but some-times you can find it in Op-shops for either 50 cents, or $1.00. I've got 3 copies here at the moment.

Picture 168.jpg

This one is the most expensive I've found so far. The latest Edition I have is 208 pages. Covers will be slightly different with each new Edition, but Workabout Australia is the same on all.

Cheers,

Sheba.

Where To Next · Veteran Member

Thank you Sheba, I will keep my eye out for one.

Julie

EllenajoeL · Senior Member

Where To Next wrote:
.......
Does anyone have any ideas for self employment while travelling ?

.......

A the risk of stating the obvious to you ....

if you have the capacity to work from home using a laptop (eg internet-based income/employment) then its possible to take that with you on the road; communication coverage issues aside.

I've worked that way as a 'business analyst' for a startup web application, the only real requirement was to be able to access emails (and maybe skypechat) on a semi-regular basis. I know this sort of thing can also be done for proofreading, general document transcribing/updating and even online sales; for instance.

Obviously it depends on your skills, interests and contacts AND its unlikely this would be a longterm, major $ earner, however its also unlikely that you would need strict adherence to deadlines/formal workhours/schedule etc too....which is often an advantage when travelling.

Where To Next · Veteran Member

Hi Ellenajoel,

Thanks for your reply to my post. I do have a couple of ideas for things I can sell online to bring in a small income, but am interested to know more about how I would source admin type work that I could do while travelling, I think they call it a virtual assistant these days ? I don't know what a business analyst does, but I am about to google it once I submit this post. My biggest asset is my data processing/keyboard skills, so if I could find something along those lines it would be good, but I will be honest and say that I don't even know where I would begin to start to find work like that I could do whilst travelling. Ideally I would love to find something that I could spend approximately 4-6 hours per day doing, so that I still had a few hours free each day to either relax or do some driving to my next destination. My work ethic and ability to work unsupervised means I wouldn't have trouble devoting the time to a job of that nature. If you are interested in sending me a PM to chat more about the possibilities of me finding online based admin work, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Julie

herbie · Guru

Don't know if this avenue will help any but most of those caravan mags are always looking for people to write articials on their travelling ventures for them.

beiffe · Guru

Do you have skills in MYOB or Quickbooks or similar as there is always work on properties as well as small business all over Australia.

Also many farmers use specialised rural software so maybe look around and see what is in vogue at the moment.

I used to sell and support several rural software packages and there was always work for someone who knew the software packages.

Also often there is work using excel and word and other programs. Also web page design is a valuable skill that is needed everywhere.

Regards
Brian