If the idea of hiking in the mountains among clear streams fills you with tranquility and not a panicky desire for antihistamine, adventure for you might consist of wildlife conservation, eco-tourism, or scenic recreation.
For you, adventure might consist of extreme sports, outdoor endurance activities, or exploration.
For you, adventure might be archaeological research or journalism. It might be culinary, historical, or artistic. Also consider anthropology and sociology, if you’ve an aptitude for research.
Humanitarian and philanthropic adventures are right up your alley. Consider legal or medical fields.
Scientific research adventures are for you. Consider biology, zoology, paleontology, or geology as potential fields.
If you’re interested in scientific adventures, study biology or other related life sciences. Chemistry will keep you in the lab and on the computer, while marine biology will get you into the field. If you’re interested in travel, hospitality and tourism programs would be a smart investment. Study a foreign language as an added bonus in marketing yourself down the road. If you’re interested in outdoor sports or other activities that involve being in nature, ecology programs with all sorts of specialities are available all over the country. Talk to an academic advisor to find out what’s right for you. After graduating, you can apply for Fulbright Fellowship or other grant program to fund a research or teaching experience in another country. They field all manner of different project ideas, from teaching music forms in Russia to poetry in South America. If college isn’t in the cards for you, never fear. Keeping yourself informed about your intended adventurous field doesn’t necessarily need to be any more complicated than getting a library card and doing the work yourself. Developing a good set of skills, like videography or photography can likewise be a particularly useful skill. Someone needs to know how to operate those high-definition video cameras in the arctic. Why not you?
Combine Peace Corps work with your own side travels over the course of your time there to make the most of it. Take a weekend to jaunt up to the Mediterranean and explore the cuisine, or to check out the scenic Scandinavian hiking trails. It’ll leave you rejuvenated and ready to get back to the hard work you’ll be doing.
Staying in close quarters with a family is a great way to learn the culture and language, too, as well as building a long-term relationship with a family that you can follow up on later in your adventuring career. If you work in Germany with a family for a year, that’s one friendly group of folks you’ll always know when you’re passing through with a backpack and need a warm place to sleep.
This can be especially great for anyone with an interest in humanitarian work, though you’ll be at the mercy of a travel group, which may end up on the touristy side of things. Plan side trips and create your own fun.
When you get back from your adventure, use the experience as an “in” for getting a job. now that you’ve got DIY experience, you’re a much more marketable adventurer. [5] X Research source
If you’re getting paid to teach other people about what you love, every day can be an adventure. Get a job at a ski resort teaching snowboarding lessons, or work your way up at an aquarium. You don’t necessarily have to be a marine biologist to work with animals.
National Geographic provides a variety of funding for research proposals, from the media-driven to the hypothesis-driven. Explore your funding options on a trip-by-trip basis and work on publishing or selling the results when you return. If you write a best-selling book about your cross-country train journey that was paid for in the first place, you’re in great shape.
Selling freelance photography or your videos is one of the best ways to get a foot in the door for a full-time job with a publication or media service. [6] X Research source Got great pictures of the great horned owls you saw on a hike? Try sending them to magazines. If you’ve got a great story about your time in Istanbul that needs to be told, try to get it published. If it’s marketable, you may get a job offer.
Many agricultural areas will hire seasonal labor, picking fruit, pruning grape vines, or doing other outdoor work. It can be challenging and low-paying, but if it allows you to move around, pack up, and leave on a regular basis, it may satisfy those adventurers with wanderlust.
Alternatively, try getting a job that you can do from anywhere. Telecommuting work, like copy editing, programming, and other online jobs will allow you the ability to work from home, from abroad, or from wherever you like. Gather together as many opportunities as possible and make your own hours.
