Job Offers

Article by Jeff Booth

LEAD THEM TO THE PROMISE LAND
It takes more than a tenuous grasp of local history and a bright yellow umbrella to shepherd 30 clueless travelers through a group tour. If you want to work for Intrepid Travel, one of the most adventurous youth-oriented group travel agencies, you’ll likely be carrying a hiking stick and bartering for beds in a grass hut. Intrepid is hiring 60 new group leaders for Europe and Asia, from the coastline of Croatia to the sacred mountains of Tibet. What does it take to be an Intrepid group leader? Exceptional people skills; wide travel experience in Europe, Asia, or the Middle East; broad life experience; and the ability to think on your feet. The job starts at about $18,000 per year plus travel allowances, and leaders are usually on the road four weeks at a time, followed by a week off. Apply online at Intrepidtravel.com/employmentgrp.php.

HIP PHOTOGRAPHER
If you’re outgoing and have some skill with a real camera—i.e., not a disposable—you could get a job as a hostel and backpacker photographer in Europe. Photohype.com and HostelFlyer.com are launching a project to use their 50 HIP (Hostel Info Point) consoles as a platform for a photo exhibition on the European hostel scene, and they’re looking for ten young photographers to document the backpacker life from Amsterdam to Istanbul. Payment comes in the form of a free week’s room and board at each HIP location. To apply, send an e-mail to Geo@PHOTOype.com describing yourself as a traveler, photographer, and human being. Include your current location, age, a picture of yourself, and five preferred HIP Hostel locations (see photohype.com/HIP.htm). In a separate e-mail, send low-resolution digital images of five to ten of your best photographs of "people, travel, and friends."

PERMITS AND PAYMENT
Legal employment in the EU and elsewhere can be hard to come by, thanks to seemingly draconian regulations, but luckily BUNAC.org is there to arrange work permits for students in Great Britain, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada; another group, CIEE (ciee.org/work.aspx), can hook you up with a work visa for Australia, France, Canada, Germany, Ireland, or New Zealand. Another of the biggest work and internship organizations is AISEC, which covers 85 countries (us.aieseconline.net).