What Expedition Jobs Are Available?

Expedition jobs are always highly sort after. Imagine being paid to fly off to remote lands and work in the beautiful places we visit. Competition for theses expedition jobs is fierce, ex-forces personnel seem to have an advantage due to being ‘naturally’ adept and trained for the task of working in the field as do instructors of the various outdoor activities.  People with professional medical qualifications are needed in every corner of the globe.  So does that mean it’s pointless even trying to get any form of expedition employment? Well, no…. read on.

To start with every expedition company has a home base somewhere, an office.  If it is a large company then it will also have offices in the countries they have expeditions in. So start at the bottom rung of the ladder by applying for the administration jobs. Every company wants their employees to know what they are about, so you will at least get a free trip out of the position and then possibility to work your way up the ladder.

On an expedition it isn’t just the leader and a medic, if the company has several expeditions going on at once or a large one on the go then resupplies will have to be taken care of.  So whilst they are busy in the mountains or the jungle you can relax in the comfort of their in-country HQ, then drive into an area dropping off supplies.  This is one of the more enjoyable expedition jobs as you get to zoom around the place, normally in a 4 x 4 and meet lots of people.

You could have a part time job at home and still apply for expedition jobs such as the kind that demand your speciality, for example, telecommunications experts, chefs, mechanics, construction skills etc.  Obviously this depends on how your employer would view you jetting off into the wilderness for weeks at a time.

An excellent way to look for expedition jobs is to actually join an expedition itself.  This might sound like a scam but please do read on.  When you do an expedition you might actually find out that it really isn’t as glamorous as you thought it would be and so after you could then have a change of heart and no damage done, no quitting of work or canceling university courses.  But if you find you like it then during your time in the field you will meet a huge amount of people all connected to the expedition, from the office in the home country all the way to the local office and all the necessary local people who all help to make the expedition a success.  In the world of expeditions everyone knows everyone else, so the company you go away with might not have any expedition jobs but someone you meet during your time away will know of an opening somewhere or have valuable advice for you to use.

You are obviously taking the time to read my article so here is a small snippet I would tell someone, it might help you, it might not -

“In Thailand, on the island of Koh Tao, I did my PADI Divemaster. After the course I stayed there for two months under an internship where I took there clients diving.  I dived for free 3 to 5 times a day in paradise notching up 200 dives.  Then my visa ran out so I moved on. I wasn’t paid but I lived for dirt cheap, ate local food and explored the island everyday! The island is famous for this kind of  ’deal’ so when you get there ask around.”

See, this is how it starts.

Obviously the pinnacle of expedition jobs is the expedition leader, which can only be achieved when the company is positive of every single one of your abilities.  Then after being a leader for quite some time you can become an in-country manager, then possibly a director of the company.

So really the amount of expedition jobs available to you are quite numerous, as are the ways of getting them.  This advice goes for any form of travel related work.

Tags: Can I work on an expedition, Is there any expedition employment, Is there any expedition work