Do you find yourself ridden with an unrelenting wanderlust? And your laptop sees more tabs on flight booking sites and “must visit lists” more than excel sheets? Do you often wish that you had a dream job that paid you to travel? You are one for the road. Staying put in a cubicle is not for you. But traveling costs a pretty penny. Your best recourse is to get a job that lets you travel. We have compiled a list of all the jobs that enable you to travel on the job, and feature people who have done just that.

Consultant

Consultants need to be wherever their client’s office is. Most consultants in big MNCs like Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte and Accenture travel to various countries on what’s commonly called as an “onsite”. The projects can range from a week to months. The perks include traveling on company’s expense, living in fancy hotels, and also experiencing a different culture, work and otherwise. Shobhit Pareek, a business strategy consultant with Ernst & Young, has traveled to over 12 countries, including China, South Africa, Nigeria and has even lived in South America on a project. His job requires him to develop entry strategies for companies into new geographies which in turn requires him to understand not just the markets but also the people. “You realize a completely different aspect of a country and shatter a lot of stereotypes when you meet a lot of people. For me, it is always a bigger learning than the project itself. “

Reporter

If you have a knack for writing, observing and storytelling, journalism is the place to be. You could be reporting an earthquake one day, and meeting an international celebrity to interview them just before a concert on another. Or you could be a freelancer who travels for the love of traveling and not focus on money. Rohini Kejriwal, a former reporter with Deccan Herald and current freelance journalist, has been traveling all over India and writing about the offbeat places she goes to, the events she attends, the stories she hears and the interesting people she meets. After traveling all around the hills of India and completing a stint as a teacher in a school in Dharmsala, Rohini started the ‘Alipore Post‘, where she curates offbeat art, music, and literature in the form of a daily email sent to subscribers. In Rohini’s own words, “Writing while travelling is one of the most enjoyable forms of writing. And for me, it’s not the usual travel writing in the popular sense of the world. It’s all about discovering the nuances that make a place what it is. It’s about having no agenda, walking around for hours with a camera and diary for company, attending the local gigs, drinking the local brews and possibly even getting invited to butter tea by a monk and hearing a myriad of the most unexpected stories that paint the most amazing pictures in your head.”

Wedding Photographer

There has never been a better time for wedding photographers. From a basic service to capture the festivities at a wedding, to creating an extravagant experience capturing the entire gamut of emotions, rituals and details involved in the occasion, wedding photography has come a long way. Photographers are in demand and the good ones can be sought after even in places beyond Indian shores. Dev Purbiya, an eminent Mumbai based photographer has now traveled to 12 cities and 4 countries which include Dubai, Thailand, Italy and Australia on photography assignments. “I feel like a part of the family, capturing their most private moments, being included in the rituals and ceremonies. The great food is another perk!”

Sales

Sales is the first career choice that comes to mind when you think travel. Depending on your market and scale, a sales job can involve traveling from one area to another, from a city to another, or in some cases even traveling abroad. Pramath Malik, 28, who works at Intellectual Property (IP) rights firm Dolcera, has now covered 19 countries and 30 states in the USA, all on work trips. His trips entail meeting clients, understanding their needs, giving detailed presentations about his company’s offerings and socialising with the client.

“The rush of sealing a deal for your business, all while traveling the world is unparalleled”, beams Pramath.

An engineering or executive level position at an MNC

If traveling on work is your dream, and big paychecks are hard to let go of, working at an MNC is the most obvious choice. What might seem like desk job involving boring number crunching all day, has a new aspect to it in global settings. The higher you move in the corporate ladder, the more the opportunities for travel. Higher executives and CEOs travel anywhere for once in a 6 months to once a week for meetings, conferences, and sales pitches abroad. Meet Ahmad Abdullah, 30, Ex-Googler and currently the data guy from LinkedIn who is responsible for creating stories from number and communicating it back to the clients, all over the world. While his focus area is Indian market, juggling among Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore offices of LinkedIn, his work has taken him to LA, SF, NYC, Singapore and Hong Kong in the short span of 6 months. And if this is not enough, his itinerary for next quarters looks like Dubai, Dublin, London & Vegas.

Pilot

This would need some career planning in advance, but once you’re in, this field ensures you’re hardly ever on the ground. Domestic pilots travel almost every day and international pilots have flights about once in 3 days. Perks include free flight tickets for your family members, a decent view of the skies and a handsome pay. Raghu Surukuchi, a 6 month old pilot with Indigo, has already traveled to over 12 cities within India and would soon be flying overseas.

Cabin Crew

But if flying planes is not an option, you can always serve in one. Cabin crew members have it pretty good – their job description is to look attractive, ensure a great and safe travel experience for the passengers. Perks include a great pay, stays in the best of hotels, cosmetics allowance, and of course travel to exotic places around the world. Meet Shweta Jadhav, a former air hostess with Air India, who has not only been to over 50 countries on the job, but was also based in her favourite New York City for a few months.

“Once you have tasted flight you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

Tour Guide

If you have a knack for history, know the nook and cranny of a place (Including knowing that “secret alley to get the best samosas” and a predilection for showing people around, there’s no better job. While tour guides are barely a common or even desire profession in India, if you’re good at the job, traveling opportunities are limitless. Sushant Rajput of New Delhi has been a travel guide for over 5 years now. What started as a personal interest in history and a knack for traveling turned into a profession when he took a couple of friends visiting from the US, to Agra. Sushant realised he loved the experience of showing people a place from his eyes and decided to turn into a full-time tour guide.

Merchant Navy

If seasickness is alien to you and the thought of sailing on the ocean for the better part of the year gets you excited, you may find your ideal career in merchant navy. The perks include traveling to the shores of the world, high salaries and full onboard entertainment on the cruise. Apoorv Sood, (of the popular twitter user @Trendulkar fame) who has worked in the Indian merchant navy has traveled half the world by the age of 22.

“The feeling of total solitude you get when you are in the middle of Pacific or Atlantic, thousands of miles from civilization. The ship is in effect, a small close-knit community of multinational crew. The bars and mess rooms, games room, TV room and a plunging pool. You make your own entertainment: quiz nights, lotteries, bingo, deck golf, barbecue parties etc.“

Anything “personal” to a celebrity

You can be a personal stylist, a designer, a chef or anything that your high profile, globetrotting celebrity can’t do without and luxury travel is guaranteed.

Meet Chef Imam Khan who has traveled as far as the mountainous terrains of Ladakh with south Indian superstar Mahesh Babu, to whip the celebrity’s favourite dishes while the latter filmed a movie. Based in the USA initially. Chef Inam’s stint for cooking for some high profile clients began when he did an interactive barbeque session for professors from Harvard and MIT. He’s even been invited by Hollywood actor and comic, Dave Chapelle, and other celebrities have tasted chef Inam’s famous fare. After moving back home, Chef Inam hasn’t only been running a successful restaurant “Chef Inam’s Steakhouse” in Hyderabad but constantly travels with the stars of the Telugu film industry to whip up their favourite meals. “It’s always a wonderful experience to travel and at the same time do what you like. My next cooking adventure is going to the dense forests of South Africa where I’m invited by some friends”