Tweets from Last Night - Travel Careers

Travel enthusiasts and professionals from all adventurous walks gathered on twitter to dicuss the best advice for breaking into the world of travel as a full time career last night. Missed it? Luckily you can still get some advice and laughs about the travel business - read on!

Q1. Best advice for starting a travel career? 

• Work in a hotel! @laurentraveler
• Find people you admire, and ask advice (some might say I pestered them...) @travelerkate
• Travel first...get experience about the world, then pursue a career in travel. @JSGAnne
• Be willing to work for nearly nothing for the chance to see the world! @zipsetandrea

Q2. Benefits/drawbacks of working in travel?  

• Benefits, meet great people, see the world...drawback, not easy to get rich ;) @redhunttravel
• Your vacations are too much like work... but work trips are sometimes like vacation. @mollyt86
• Always being away from home and missing important family events @runawaybrit
• Benefit: Seeing the world. Drawbacks: Time away from home. Sometimes paid with experiences more so than money @bjohnsonCTA
• Possible benefit, exotic spouse. Possible drawback, exotic disease. @doritravel

Travel directors hard at work in Costa Rica

Q3. What education is best for a career in travel? 

• Being a trained English teacher has helped me work around the world. I get great pay, benefits and 14 weeks of holiday @runawaybrit
• Study abroad and @SemesterAtSea @lauraallentvl
• Education doesn't replace experience, but languages, geography, and history make good starters! @itikitweet
• A Master's in Schmoozing & Cajoling doesn't hurt. @davitydave

Q4. Dream job in the travel field? 

• Anthony Bourdain already has it! @girlonthegojan
• Foreign correspondent (j-school grad over here). Would love to be a tour guide, too. @brianapalma
• Traveling food critic for 5 star restaurants @kirkcole
• Is World-Roaming Gelato Taster a job? @lpusastaff

Q5. Must-have characteristics of a travel professional? 

• adaptabilty, open mindiness, respectful, little thick skinned, sense of humor, and a sense for you own B.O... @2trucks1tweet
• One simply must be able to get along with all sorts of people, in all sorts of trying circumstances. @akonthego
• ability to drink copious amounts of alcohol in lovely destinations & still capture a great sunset image :) @malloryontravel
• passion for putting smiles on people's faces! @travelwithAAA

Q6. Top tips for making money on a travel blog? 

• Be a better writer. #I'mnotjokinghere @davitydave
• Post at least once a day and stick with hit. It takes time to develop a following. @jsganne
• dont just focus on yours and self promotion; engage w other bloggers and travel tweeps @ilivetotravel
• Have a biz plan, set goals, be professional and treat like any other biz or profession you would have. @claudiabia

Q7. Moment when you considered getting out of the travel biz?  

• If I can no longer walk and can't find someone to push my wheelchair I'll think about it then but not before. @travelgirlmag
• Every time I have writer's block (ie daily) @melanierenzulli
• I was about to marry someone..I left, so he left. No regrets tho! @latinabroad
• When my boss offered me miles instead of money for payment. A year after quitting, I finally got back pay...in CO miles! @l_e_a_h

Q8. Favorite trip you’ve taken while ‘working’? 

• Favorite & hardest trip: Around the world alone, in 8 days...in coach ;-) http://t.co/B2zeVKpr   @laurably
• Flying around Southeast stopping in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia & Myanmar was up there   @explore724
• I worked in the British Virgin Islands for two years teaching peeps to sail and dive..that should count as living the dream! @nomadtours

Q9. If you didn’t work in travel, what would you do? 

• I'd be in a rock band... obviously. @kerrinsheldon
• Retire and travel :-) @jbranigan
• apart from being a photographer, I'd be an astrophysicist, I just love this universe!! @kymri
• Degree in Math. Meant to be an engineer. Wanderlust took over. @travelmaestro

Q10. Ways to make extra money while traveling? 

• ebay..although hasn't been a necessity for me (yet) @travelovetweets
•  teaching english is a good way for extra cash. @totaltravelbug
• Contact tourism boards to make money/write blogs for their companies.. @captainandclark
   

A special thanks is due to @Davitydave, the editoral dirctor at Frommers and @JSGAnne from the JetSetGirls for hosting #TNI!