There are plenty of jobs out there that enable you to travel whilst working abroad. Whether it’s computer-based work, hospitality or volunteer jobs, there is something out there for everyone.
We wanted to know just how well working with children lends itself to travel. So we’ve asked Hannah, a current university student, about her last few years which have been spent travelling while working in childcare. We wanted to know where she’s been able to travel to, whether childcare is travel-sustainable and what the top highlights of her career have been so far…
1. What first drew you into wanting to travel and work abroad?
I had a lot of friends that were older than me and I kept seeing their pictures, which were amazing! They are living it – they are living the life! I just looked at their photos and thought I need to be there. So I think that’s what made me really want to travel and live abroad. I also spoke to them about it as well and they’d tell me about so many amazing experiences… so I think that’s what made me want to get into it.
2. How did you originally go about looking into getting a job abroad?
I think it was
through Facebook, I saw an advert for Camp America which took me to their
website. It was a job application for working with children in a summer camp
abroad, which I’d always wanted to do. I think that’s what I first did when I
was either 18 or had just turned 19 and it was the first time I went away and I
loved it! It was only for 3 months but I became a lifeguard and unit leader for
camp. So that was the first thing I got into in terms of jobs abroad.
3. Would you say that working with children is something you can take anywhere?
I think I’ve had about 4 jobs abroad now where I’ve worked with children, so yes I would definitely say working with children is something you can take anywhere! My first job, like I said, was Camp America. My second job was au pairing, where I lived in Connecticut for a year with a family and spent most of my weekends in New York. I looked after a 3 year old boy and 4 month old baby. I actually went back and saw them this year…and the baby was 4 years old!
The third job I had involved going over to Thailand and teaching English, which was a completely different experience. I think maybe it was because the country is so different to what I was used to. It was definitely more challenging, especially seeing how some of the children lived out there. I think I loved the children in Thailand the most though, it sounds really bad, but it was amazing how much they just wanted to learn.
I also have just got back from working on the Disney Cruise Ship, where I worked in Youth Activities. I think that definitely answers the question as I was on a cruise ship visiting different countries, working with children so you can definitely take it anywhere!
4. What has been your best experience so far?
Oh my gosh there’s so many! I think my best experience was looking after the children in Thailand as it was just so rewarding. The experience made me appreciate what I have at home and, like I said before, the children really just loved learning and showed so much appreciation.
I remember the first day I got to the top of the school and was just smothered in kisses and cuddles by the children. They were speaking Thai and I literally didn’t have a clue what they were saying but I could just tell they were so happy that we were there to help and teach them. It really made me appreciate the education system at home. I also felt so great when I was teaching them – just the smallest new word like dog or cat, once they learnt it, their faces just lit up which made me so happy!
5. What have you got planned next?
I haven’t got anything planned right now because I started university – I’m doing primary school teaching right now, with no travel plans at the minute. I only got back in April from the cruise. I never went to university, just straight from college to travelling so I thought, you know what, it’s time to stop travelling and really focus on my career for now.
6. What would your advice be to someone looking to follow in your footsteps?
I think my advice would be just to embrace every moment that comes towards you. I tried to plan so much of my travelling, but I kind of wish I had days where I hadn’t planned anything. Try to do as much as you can, especially because, some of the places I stayed I wasn’t in for as long as I wanted to be so I definitely would have used my time more wisely. Do what you want to do, there’s so much you can do with travelling.
I went down the route of working with children but you can do so many different kinds of work while travelling. Follow your heart and really do what you want to do. I think travelling is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s very hard to just pack up your bag and leave your family. I never went travelling with anyone, I always went by myself, and I met my friends when I was there.
The hardest time I ever went through was being away for a whole year just by myself. Having Christmas by myself – I was with people, my host family – but it’s not the same. Choose wisely where you want to go and think carefully about what you want to do when it comes to travelling and just go for it!
7. Name the best, or most surprising thing you’ve learnt whilst working abroad.
I think the
most surprising thing for me was when I went to America, how the people spoke
to me or thought I should act as an English woman. For example, when I got
there, I got asked about 4 times ‘Have you met the Queen?’ or ‘How much tea do
you drink?’ I found that really funny and very surprising…but I guess everyone
stereotypes. I’ve also learnt so much, I think travelling in general has just
taught me so much about myself and how, when I put my mind to something, I can
achieve anything.
8. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
When I first went away I used to get quite homesick. Not very bad, but sometimes I’d get days where I just really wanted to be in my own bed, with my own family surrounding me. So I think that was a challenge, especially Christmas! I think it was 2014 or 2015, and it was really hard being away from home because I’m quite a family orientated person and Christmas is my favourite time of year.
So it was hard to be away from my family and away from everything…but it was definitely worth it. I got to see NY at Christmas time which was amazing! I think when you do have a bad day, you need to push yourself to overcome it and, even though I thought about it, not once did I ever come home, even if I wished it. I’d say that was a challenge to push myself through homesickness.
9. Would you recommend a career in childcare to someone also looking to travel?
I would definitely recommend a career in childcare to someone looking to travel. You need to really want to work with children, it makes it easier. Otherwise it does become a challenge for you.
Working with children in a different country is even harder, because you’re out of your comfort zone and there’s different languages around you. I would definitely recommend cruises or camps, as those are amazing experiences.
I would also say to really look into what you are going to be doing because, when you first look into it, it all sounds all fun, but you need to really research what you’re going to be doing when you are travelling. Don’t go for the first thing on the first website, really look into it and look at the negatives and positives of each role.
10. What is your dream job and where?
Definitely primary school teacher. Probably in the UK when I first pass but I’d be happy to teach in America. I have always loved America. It has my heart, I think I left a piece of myself in America so I would definitely love to teach there.
Interesting read, didn’t think of childcare as something that can take you places!