5 Tips on How You Can Balance your Career and Travel
In Filipino culture, being successful means, graduating from university, having a good job, earning a good salary, having a nice car/house, being married and having children.
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Traveling or backpacking is never part of the criteria of being successful. But what if I told you that you could have it all even if you’re traveling? Would you have the guts to tell your parents, go against the norm and quit your job to travel and not get married by the age of 25 but still be successful? Here are the 5 Tips on how you can juggle it all:
1. Know yourself
You have to know who you are. Are you able to handle adversity alone? Are you independent or do you need a lot of people around regularly? Knowing yourself and where you are going will help you prepare for your future goals.
2. Plan your trip
Most people, especially the older Filipinos view backpacking as “paglalayas or lakwatsa.” Like it’s a spur of the moment indulgence. That’s wrong. Traveling is a very planned and organized activity or lifestyle if you want to be a satisfied traveler. Traveling or backpacking is not holidaying. Plan your timeline, save money and research your destination.
3. Stand by your convictions
You need to stand your ground. A lot of people won’t understand your decision to travel. Some will underestimate you. You need to be strong to know what you are doing is right and stand by your convictions.
4. Use your Travel Experience in your CV
Just because you are traveling doesn’t mean you are wasting your life. Yes, we give up our 9-5 jobs, but as travelers, we gain a 24/7 work experience. We become resourceful. Find different ways to earn a living while continuing to our next destination. A lot of employers see the gap year of traveling as a valuable life experience. You could even incorporate your love and experience of travel into a lucrative career. Take a traveling nurse, for example, a travel cna salary could certainly help you sustain your lifestyle.
If you ever go up in a job interview, impress them with your knowledge of the world and show them that traveling has made you a hard worker, a very resourceful person who will be a valuable asset to any company.
5. Enjoy your life to the fullest, NOW!
Believe it or not, traveling is great for your confidence and sex appeal. Nothing sexier than a woman who can sky dive or climb Macchu Picchu. And guys who can ride a motorbike across the country with that rugged look is so appealing.
You get to broaden your horizons and meet different people from different walk of life. What better place or way to meet the future love of your life. Even better, if you travel together, there’s nothing better than a relationship builder that travelling.
Looking for other articles? Check out our DIY Travel Guides Around the World and City Guides (Awesome Things to do in each Destination). For cheap and luxurious places to stay while traveling, here’s our ultimate list of best hostels and hotels!
About the Writer
Mary Jane Hornilla, 
I’m 34 now, I have backpacked around New Zealand, Ireland, and South America and have traveled even further. I have a university degree and works as a registered nurse. I have been married for five years and have a beautiful daughter. I still have loads of traveling miles ahead of me. I will not let life pass me by. I will enjoy every second of it and so should you.
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Currently, I am torn between my regular work versus travel and writing. Actually, I created an article from this dilemma asking how to pursue my travel and writing full time.
Hoping you can share with me some expert advice 🙂
What do bloggers do? Who paid them? How to become like you miss kath travel blogger? Do I need to apply as a blogger? And where to submit the application?