Van Life Jobs: 45 Jobs You Can Do On The Road

Looking for van life jobs you can do on the road?

Look no further.

I've done the research (and many of the jobs) and compiled a list of the 40+ ways you can make money on the road while traveling in a van.

Whether you're looking for online jobs for van life or jobs in a physical location, it's all here! Let's get into it.

Table of Contents

Traveling In a Van and Making Money On The Road

Traveling in a van and making money on the road is not as difficult or as far fetched as it might sound!

Tens of thousands of people are living the van life (and RV life) while working from the road. It might even be millions – as of 2018 there were over 1 million full-time RVers!

If you want to learn how to make money on the road… stick around. That's what this entire website is all about!

45 Van Life Jobs You Can Do On The Road

These 45 van life jobs you can do on the road consist of online jobs, offline jobs, gig work, and more.

Whether you want to travel the country in a campervan doing various in-person jobs, have a full-time job online, or a few side gigs… it's up to you! It doesn't matter if you're looking for a van life full time job, or part time jobs for living in a van. It's ALL here. Let's dive in.

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1. Become a Virtual Assistant

Working as a virtual assistant is, in my opinion, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get started making money from the road.

It requires no previous experience, no specialized skills, and doesn't cost a lot to start up.

All you need is a computer, internet, and willingness to learn and succeed.

Virtual assistants can do a variety of tasks from social media management, writing, editing, graphic design, administrative assistance, data entry, and more!

Virtual assistants set their own pay rate and their own hours. A starting hourly pay rate for a basic virtual assistant on the low end is between $25-35/hr. Yes.. on the LOW end.

If you'd like to learn more about how to become a virtual assistant, check out this post.

Or download this free PDF: 220+ Virtual Assistant Service Ideas!

Interested in a low-priced beginners virtual assistant course? Check out the Virtual Assistant Accelerator here.

2. Start Travel Blogging While Traveling In Your Van

Blogging is one of the best tried and true methods of making money from anywhere.

Although it takes time to gain traction, blogging is a sustainable long-term method for making money online. And if you're already traveling, you might as well start a blog to document it!

If you want to learn how to start a travel blog, you can check out this post here.

3. Proofreading To Make Money From The Road

Do you like reading and have a natural knack for spotting spelling errors, bad grammar, and more?

Bonus if you catch all the typos I'm sure this article has 😉

Proofreading is a great way to make money while traveling. You can set your own hours and work whenever you want!

Caitlin Pyle, creator of Proofread Anywhere, teaches you how to start a sustainable proofreading business that you can do from literally anywhere.

She was able to create a proofreading income for herself of $5000/mo… which is a pretty cushy income when you live on the road!

If you want to learn more about it, Caitlin holds a free masterclass here. You'll learn if proofreading is really right for you, how it could be your ticket to location-independence, and how to get proofreading clients.

4. Work as a Bookkeeper to Fund Van Life

Bookkeeping is a lucrative business that you can do from ANYWHERE.

Online bookkeepers can earn upwards of $80 per hour and are in high-demand.

Most people confuse bookkeepers with accountants, but they're actually very different!

Bookkeepers don't require a formal degree and the work of a bookkeeper isn't as complicated or in-depth as an accountant.

Bookkeepers update financial records, ensure record accuracy, take care of receipts and more.

There are many places online you can learn about becoming a freelance bookkeeper. For step-by-step guidance, I recommend this free series offered by Bookkeepers.com.

This free series teaches you all about the basics of bookkeeping – what it is, who it's good for, how much you can earn, and more.

5. Transcription as a Way to Make Money While Traveling in a Van

Transcription is another great way to make money from the road.

So, what is it? Transcription is pretty simple: typing audio files into a text format.

A practical (and highly in-demand) version of this would be typing up recorded podcast episodes or YouTube videos into text so the owner can use them as blog posts.

Transcriptionists can be highly paid and work on their own time. You can choose when, where, and how often you work!

My friend Janet has been a transcriptionist for several years, and now she trains newbies how to get started too.

She's got a free ebook called ‘The Truth About Transcription' that you can grab here.

This ebook walks you through every question you may have about transcription. Such as:

Can anybody be successful with transcription?
Common myths and misconceptions
Who actually hires transcriptionists?
Reports from freelance transcriptionists
How to become a transcriptionist
and more

Again, if you'd like to snag a copy of the free ebook, you can get it here.

6. Sell Stuff on Amazon

Selling products on Amazon is a super popular way for travelers to make money. While it might not sound practical at first, it's really great!

When you become an Amazon seller, you source products, list them in your store and send them to Amazon's warehouses. Amazon handles the shipping and fulfillment for you.

It's called Amazon FBA – or Fulfillment By Amazon.

When you sell products on Amazon's marketplace, you get access to their millions of shoppers so you don't have to worry too much about marketing. Then, when the customer orders, Amazon handles the packaging and shipping!

A popular way for travelers to source products is by visiting local book stores and department stores and checking out their sale items. There is an Amazon app you can use to scan the product, and if it's selling online for a higher price, you can make a profit!

Traveling works great for this because you get to visit stores and snag up deals that you normally wouldn't be able to do if you just lived in one area and hit up the same stores all the time.

If you'd like to learn more about Amazon FBA, my friends Jessica and Cliff have a free course all about it. THey've been selling on Amazon for years and have definitely learned a thing or two!

The free course teaches you how to set up an Amazon seller account, how to find profitable inventory, and a lot more. Check it out here.

Online Van Life Course: Van Life Academy

Want To Learn How to Build Your Own DIY Camper Van?

Van Life Academy is a 95+ lesson online course that teaches you everything you need to know about building a DIY camper van – even if you've never touched a tool in your life.

Led by successful van-lifers, this program covers everything you need to know about van life, including:

Picking the right van for you. (Including how + where to buy)
Planning your build.
Build tutorials for every. single. thing. (plumbing, electrical, and solar included)
Budgeting and timelines.
How to live on the road – showers, income, etc.
Van Build and Van Life budgeting tips and trackers.
And so much more.

Want to learn more? I took the course myself. Read my Van Life Academy Review: Is It Worth It?

7. Try Your Hand at Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing happens every day, all over the internet and beyond.

In fact, most purchases made online today are affiliate sales!

So what is affiliate marketing? It's when someone recommends a product or service to someone else and makes the company a sale.

When the sale is made via an affiliate (typically tracked via special links), the affiliate gets paid a commission. This happens behind the scenes and doesn't cost the customer a penny.

Since it's invisible and doesn't cost the customer any more than normal, nobody except the seller and the affiliate know it's happening!

Affiliate marketing works because it's a win-win situation. The business gets a new customer and is happy to pay the affiliate a commission for referring the sale. Happy customers, happy businesses, and happy affiliates.

Affiliate marketing was one of the most attractive online income sources to me when I first started learning about all this stuff.

I'm getting better and better at it and currently earn a few hundred dollars a month through affiliate marketing on this website! It's growing every month, I can't wait to see where I am in a year.

Here's a post I wrote where you can learn more about affiliate marketing and how to do it. You don't even need a website!

8. Create and Sell Printables or Digital Downloads

Are you kinda creative? If you're looking for van life jobs that require creativity (or ingenuity) this could be right up your alley.

It never ceases to blow my mind all the ways you can make money online, and this is no exception.

You can design and sell printables online through your social media, a website, Etsy, or other online marketplaces.

What's really amazing about this is that you only have to design the printable ONE TIME. Then you can sell it over and over and over again! Truly passive income.

What kinds of printables can you sell online?

Coloring Pages
Planners – travel planners, meal planners, etc
Journals
Budgeting Sheets
Cost Trackers
and so much more!

The sky is the limit here. Don't have a creative bone in your body? Don't let that stop you. Hire someone on Fiverr to create it for you, and then sell it!

9. Digital Marketing Van Life Jobs

Digital marketing is an ever-growing industry that is as in-demand as ever, and it's not going away anytime soon.

As long as the internet exists, digital marketing will be highly in-demand.

There are so many different kinds of digital marketing services you can offer:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Advertising (YouTube, Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Etc)
Copywriting
Email Marketing
Website Strategy
Lead Generation
Content Creation
Link Building

and so much more.

10. Freelancing from a Campervan

If you interviewed a group of remote-working vanlifers, I guarantee a big chunk of them would be freelancers.

Freelancers work from the road doing a variety of different things like graphic design, video production, writing, social media management, digital marketing, software engineering, and so much more.

The great thing about freelancing is that it can be beginner friendly, but there are also specialized roles you can get into. To learn more about freelancing, check out this post!

11. Sell Goods on Etsy

On Etsy, you can sell handmade goods, craft items, vintage goods, printables, and more.

My friends Kyle and Olivia of Drivin' and Vibin' started out their full-time RV life by selling vintage maps on Etsy that they curated from different shops along their travels.

Etsy can progress into a full-time income quickly!

12. Traveling Photographer Van Life Jobs

If you have a passion for photography, why not try to make a little gas money with it?

You can sell your photography directly via your own website and social media, or you can sell it through stock photo websites.

If you want to learn more about this, I have an article all about selling your photography online here.

13. Build Websites From Anywhere in Your Camper Van

Website design is an in-demand service that you can do from anywhere.

And with today's website builders like WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and more… it couldn't be easier!

You don't have to know a LINE of code. These platforms have drag and drop builders that make designing aesthetically pleasing websites a breeze.

Check out my post for how to create a WordPress website here.

14. Graphic Design as a Way to Fund Van Life

Graphic designers make graphics for everything you see on the internet today.

Whether it be social share images, quotes, logos, or cool designs to sell on T-shirts… A graphic designer probably made it.

You don't need any degrees or certification for this – a simple eye for design and a desire to learn is enough.

Tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and even the free tool Canva make graphic design a breeze.

15. Sell T-Shirts Or Other Goods with Print On Demand

Print-on-demand is a way to sell merch and products that you design without you having to create the product, hold inventory, or deal with shipping.

Websites like Teespring make it a breeze! You simply upload your design, choose a product for it to go on (like shirts or mugs), set a price, and you're done.

After you've got your design uploaded, all you need to do is get traffic and buyers. Teespring makes the products, ships them out, and you keep the profit.

Not a designer? Not a problem! Find a designer on Fiverr to create designs for your own custom merch.

16. Start a Dropshipping Business To Make Money on the Road

Dropshipping is similar to print on demand, but it's typically not customized goods.

You set up an online store, list products for sale, and drive traffic and customers to the website.

But you don't actually have any of the products on hand physically, and you don't deal with the shipping or fulfillment.

As a dropshipper, you source products online through various suppliers. Typically when you buy through suppliers, you get a pretty low price.

You list the products on your website at whatever markup you deem appropriate.

Then, when a customer purchases from you, you take their name and shipping info and buy the product from the supplier to have it shipped to the customer.

The customer never knows this back-end process is happening, and you keep the profit.

This is totally legal and is a really lucrative way to make money online when done properly.

If you want to learn more about dropshipping, I suggest the YouTube channel Wholesale Ted.

17. Write an Ebook and Sell it From The Road

I love digital content. I love the idea of digital content so much that I have structured my entire working life around it. Ebooks are no exception.

The best thing about selling digital content is the fact that you only have to create it once. THen you can sell it an infinite number of times! It's the epitome of putting in hard work up front, then sitting back while the profits roll in.

There couldn't be a better time to write your own ebook. As a self-publisher, you can sell through Amazon for their Kindle program and have a nice stream of passive income! This is called Amazon KDP – for Kindle Direct Publishing.

Fiction, non-fiction, you name it.

Don't want to write a book? Do the research, find a topic you think will sell well, and then hire a writer off of Fiverr to do it for you.

Seriously – so many of these things can be done by hiring other people to do it for you. If you don't have the know-how or time but you have the money, I definitely suggest trying it!

18. Create and Sell a Digital Course

Yet another digital product, digital courses are also lucrative products that you only have to create once.

Do you have specialized knowledge in a certain area? Be it a hobby, a skill, or what have you – I guarantee someone will pay you for your knowledge.

There are many platforms you can sell digital courses on like Skillshare, Teachable, Udemy, or even your own website. If this interests you, research to find the best option for you.

19. Life or Business Coaching

The coaching industry is strong and if you have a mentor or leader quality about you, coaching could be up your alley.

People hire life and business coaches for help in certain areas of life whether it be business, financial, parenting, love, spirituality, or more.

There are several programs online where you can become “accredited” as a life or business coach, but that's not required.

20. Freelance Writing

Freelance writing is one of the best van life jobs to make money on the road that exists. Period.

Freelance writing has a low barrier to entry and pays REALLY well. A good starting rate for a new freelance writer would be around .15 cents per word.

That would mean for an article as long as this one up to this sentence, you'd make almost $400.

I know, it sounds crazy, but it's not.

I only know that because I work as a freelance writer and virtual assistant. The first writing client that I got paid me $250 per 1,500 word article and I thought I was a baller! Then I found out that was industry standard… and for some industries it was considered LOW.

I wrote an article all about freelance writing here if you want to learn more.

Social media management is typically the first task small business owners and entrepreneurs choose to outsource.

Businesses are simply too busy to hang around on Facebook all day or learn ever-changing marketing tactics that work on different platforms.

Some platforms change marketing best practices every single day… or at least that's what it feels like. (I'm looking at YOU, Pinterest)

Social media marketing pays really well and is a great kicking off point to learn more about digital marketing in general.

22. Become a #VanLife Influencer

You might think I'm joking here… But I'm really not!

You don't have to be a skinny young chick to become an influencer. You don't even have to show yourself at all, if you don't want to.

Influencers don't just happen – while it's true that some go viral, others happened very deliberately.

There is a method to becoming an influencer, and it's all marketing. If you want to become an influencer, learn all the ins and outs of IG marketing (and maybe take a photography class).

Influencers get paid through sponsorships, brand deals, affiliate marketing, selling their own merch (like with print on demand), creating their own courses, and so much more.

There are many different levels of influencers – nano, micro, and more. You can start earning money from your following at as little as 1,000-5,000 followers.

23. Teach English Online

If you have a bachelors degree (it can be in anything, doesn't have to be english) you can get paid to teach english as a second language online!

English tutors are in high demand and many travelers find success with this van life job. Check out the website VIPKID to learn more.

24. Take Surveys

Surveys aren't going to make you rich and they aren't going to be a full-time income, but they can be a nice little chunk of pocket change for your travels.

Taking surveys online helps companies understand how they are doing and how they can do better, and they will actually pay you for it.

25. Evaluate Websites

Website and web search evaluators check websites for their search-ability and user-friendliness.

This job is becoming more and more popular these days!

The application to become a website evaluator is pretty straight forward, and the work is easy. It's also flexible!

Here's an article about finding web evaluator jobs on The Balance.

26. Perform Microtasks

Micro tasks are small actions you can take online on your computer, tablet, or phone, that pay you a small amount for each task completed.

They can be taking surveys, watching a video, watching an ad, review fashion, and so much more.

Check out this post on DollarSprout about all the websites you can do microtasks on.

27. Learn to Code

Do you love computers?

Maybe you're an ex MySpacer who used to create their own themes.

Or maybe you just love websites and user experience.

Or maybe you just want to learn how to code so you can make great money from the road!

Coding is in high-demand – as long as computers exist, it will be.

Coders work as software engineers, software developers, web developers, app developers, and more.

As a coder, you can be paid upwards of $50k-$100k per year, and you have the ability to work from anywhere.

Oh yeah – you can learn to code for free. That's right – for FREE DOLLARS.

Want to learn more? I wrote an article about learning to code for free here.

28. Find Remote Jobs You Can Do On The Road

Of course, you can always get a remote job!

Remote work is a viable option for making money while traveling in a van. And, thanks to 2020, the industry is growing so fast!

There are so many jobs you can get in any industry, from entry level to advanced.

My RVing friend Camille Attell created an online course specifically to help travelers get remote work. I helped her with a couple of her launches and I know how great this course is!

Her students cannot say enough about her. She teaches how to go from NO experience to HIRED as a remote worker. And she has a private student-only Facebook group where she shares tips, tricks, job leads, and more!

If you want to learn more about her course, Remote Work 101, check it out here.

29. Don't Forget to Check Craigslist!

Craigslist can be a treasure trove for random jobs.

Check out the gigs section in the areas you're traveling through to find random jobs for van life!

Gigs might be helping someone move, working a local event for a brand, or random handyman work. You never know what you'll find on Craigslist.

Van Life Jobs That Aren't Online

We've made it through the online van life jobs – what about the jobs that don't require you to be on the internet? Let's get into those:

30. Traveling Yoga Teacher

Yup, you can take yoga teaching on the road. You can teach yoga in the areas that you travel to, look and see if you can fill in at yoga studios, or teach yoga classes online!

31. Workamping Jobs for Van Life

Workamping is exactly what it sounds like: working for a campsite – and sometimes pay. This type of job is typically done at campgrounds and you work in exchange for free accommodation, although many campgrounds will also compensate you with money, too.

Workamping is sweet! But it requires you to be in one place for several months at a time – usually a season or longer.

The types of work you can expect to do as a workamper vary. They include but aren't limited to:

Working as a camp host, checking people in
Campground maintenance
Campground cleanup
Bathroom and Janitorial Work

I worked as a camp host for the first few months of my RV life. It was fun, but I couldn't wait to get on the road!

32. Seasonal Work To Make Money While Traveling in a Van

Like workamping, there are many other seasonal jobs you can do while traveling to make money. From harvest jobs, Christmas tree lots, pumpkin patches, and more!

If you want to learn more about high-paying seasonal jobs, check out this article.

33. Seasonal Retail Work for Van Travelers

Like the aforementioned seasonal work, you can get retail jobs in tourist hot spots for their season.

Whether it be a summer season or a winter season, you can bet that retailers in touristy towns are looking for help!

Seasonal retail work can be a great way to make money on the road, but it does require staying in one place for a while.

34. Seasonal Service Industry Work

Like retail, the service industry has a high turnover rate and is always looking to get help during busy seasons.

If retail isn't your thing, work as a server, bartender, or cook at a restaurant in a travel destination hot spot.

35. Traveling Tradesman

Are you handy? Do you like to fix things, or maybe you already have a trade you do in your stationary life? Take it on the road!

You can totally be a traveling tradesman – whether it be an electrician, mechanic, plumber, even a hairstylist…

Obviously that's not a comprehensive list of things but you get the jist.

You can advertise your trade while you're traveling in a variety of ways.

There's always the decal-on-your-car trick, but you can also try advertising on Facebook in local groups, or using their Ads manager. Try posting to local Craigslists, too.

36. Pet Sitter

If you love animals, you can try your hand at pet sitting and dog walking while you're traveling. There are many ways to find pet sitting and dog walking gigs, like on Facebook, Craigslist, or by using the popular website Rover.

Read how this 35 year old is RVing across the US making $1k/week with Rover on CNBC.

37. Fairs and Events

If you've ever dreamed of running away with the circus, you totally can. I mean a traveling lifestyle really lends well to that type of thing!

You can find jobs with fairs and events on their respective company websites. But, you can also find temporary work at fairs and events using Craigslist.

38. Backdoor Jobs

Backdoor Jobs is a website full of short-term adventure type jobs for travelers.

If you're adventurous and like outdoor activities like climbing, water sports, skiing, or more, check out Backdoor Jobs to see if there's anything that piques your interest.

39. Coolworks Van Life Jobs

Coolworks is another website where you can find short term, temporary and seasonal work at a variety of different places.

This amazing resource has jobs at resorts, campgrounds, farms, education, and so so so much more!

Check out their job categories page here to see all the different types of jobs they have. You can even search by state, region, or season.

40. Work for National Parks

Are you a National Park Junkie? I totally am! Why not fulfill your dream of living in a National Park by working in one for a season? You don't even have to live in your van while doing it – many National Parks jobs provide housing if you desire it.

You can find seasonal National Park jobs on Coolworks.

41. Sell Feet Pics

Did you know you can make money selling pictures of your feet?

While this is mainly directed towards the female crowd – it's possible to make great money with this side hustle.

Give it a try and see how much you can make!

Gig Work Van Life Jobs to Make Money on the Road

The rise of the gig economy is responsible for many people becoming their own bosses. Think AirBnb, Uber, and Door Dash just to name a few! These make great van life jobs because many gig economy companies allow you to work in any city you travel to, as long as they operate there.

And you can make money while traveling in a van from city to city working gig jobs, too. Here are a few to get your gears turning!

41. Door Dash

Door Dash is a food delivery service available in most major cities. The process to becoming a Door Dash driver is quick, simple, and straightforward. You can start making money in no time!

With Door Dash you get to set your own hours, and they allow you to work from any city you choose. You can work in your home city or Dash while you're traveling. Super cool!

42. Post Mates

Post Mates is another delivery service that delivers food, groceries, alcohol, and more. You can sign up to be a fleet driver with Post Mates here.

Similar to Door Dash, you get to set your own hours. And, you can choose to cash out whenever you want.

Post Mates also allows you to deliver in other cities, as long as the service is active there. All you have to do is go “online” in a new city.

43. Uber Eats

Uber Eats is Uber's food delivery service. While Uber itself wouldn't be very practical for a vanlifer… Inviting strangers into your van home to give them rides doesn't sound like fun. Especially not with the pandemic!

But Uber Eats keeps your space yours. You set your own schedule and you can work in any state you travel to. Learn more about Uber Eats here.

44. Roadie

Roadie is a super cool delivery service for travelers. They calls themselves the “on-the-way delivery service”, because Roadie drivers can make deliveries for people across town or across the country!

If you're traveling anyway, you might as well help someone out with a cross-country delivery and get paid while you're doing it.

Here's a link to the Roadie website to learn more. If you want to sign up to be a driver for Roadie, click the “Driver” tab on their main menu!

45. Instacart

Instacart is a grocery delivery and pickup service that operates in most major cities. You can do Instacart while traveling to different cities effortlessly because the app tracks your location if you're logged in.

Instacart is a popular way for RVers and travelers to make money while traveling. Learn more about Instacart here.

Jobs for Van Life

The best van life jobs are the ones that pay a decent amount and allow you to live the life you want to live.

A life of freedom and travel and most importantly: not having to worry about money.

Many of the jobs in this list are best as side hustles, but some are sustainable enough that you can do them full-time. No matter what you choose, remember that you're not bound to one thing!

Carrie Wilder

Carrie has a passion for location independence and nomadic lifestyles. After traveling full-time in an RV and living the van life, she created Making Money and Traveling to help others make the switch to a remote lifestyle. Learn more about Carrie on the About page or connect on social media below.