13 Travel Experiences That Are Useless for Your Career
Travel broadens your horizons, and opens your perspectives, which are valuable skills for personal growth and may create many memories, but, not all are ‘career-enhancing’.
These are the kind of trips that fill your soul but leave your LinkedIn profile as empty as it was before you left. You’ll come back with stories, and maybe a few souvenirs, but these trips won’t impress the hiring manager in your next interview.
Trying to Surf in Bali
Surfing may seem exciting but it won’t help your career skills unless you’re going to be a pro surfer. Trying to conquer the waves in Bali is more wipeout than wisdom. It’s exhilarating to balance on a surfboard, but outside of the beach, it’s not a transferable skill to an office environment, unless your job requires balancing in a tumultuous environment.
Chasing the Northern Lights
Iceland’s Northern Lights are magical, awe inspiring, and unfortunately have no place in a job interview. It’s worth every second of spending hours out in the freezing cold waiting for colorful lights in the sky, but the experience doesn’t exactly scream “career potential.” It’s more likely to make you jealous than to give you any substance to your résumé.
Backpacking Through Southeast Asia
Backpacking is a great experience and it teaches you resourcefulness and freedom. Unless your future job involves living out of a backpack and haggling for hostel prices, this trip isn’t going to help you on the road to career success. Yes, you’ll find out a lot about yourself, but not much about teamwork or project management.
Napa Valley Wine Tour
Wine tours are all about a good taste and relaxation in a beautiful vineyard. You may leave with a sophisticated palate and newfound appreciation for wine, but this experience doesn’t exactly give you any marketable skills unless you’re looking to become a sommelier or wine critic!
Hiking to Machu Picchu
Hiking to the top of Machu Picchu is a bucket list experience, and it’s a breathtaking destination. You’ll get stunning views and a great sense of accomplishment at the summit, but this epic trek doesn’t really add much to the résumé. You may have conquered ancient Incan paths but there’s no box for ‘overcoming altitude sickness’ on job applications.
An Overwater Bungalow in the Maldives
A stay in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives is a dreamy, romantic getaway for relaxation, but not a great place to grow your career. Recharging on crystal clear waters is great, but won’t help you in problem solving or leadership. You’ll come back refreshed, but this isn’t the place to network or learn a new skill.
Going to Oktoberfest in Germany
It might be a fantastic cultural experience of beer, bratwurst, and Bavarian outfits that could help you build cultural understanding, but it’s unlikely to leave you with any career-enhancing skills. This celebration is only for personal enjoyment unless your job requires knowledge of traditional German brews.
Sea Turtles in Costa Rica Volunteering
Volunteering abroad is good, but sometimes the skills you learn helping sea turtles don’t translate to the boardroom. You’ll be fulfilled and inspired, but the hours spent caring for baby turtles or protecting their nests are more about you than your career.
Island Hopping in Greece
Greece is the ultimate escape of island hopping, beaches, sunsets, and little Greek tavernas by the sea. Pure bliss, but not exactly job-ready skills on this journey. This trip won’t do much for your career, and your workplace is probably not interested in your knowledge of Mykonos beach clubs.
Yoga Retreat in India
Relaxation, mindfulness and self discovery are the things you get from yoga retreats, but you don’t learn career based skills. You’ll come away feeling centered, but your newfound flexibility or meditation techniques won’t set you apart in most job markets. It’s about inner peace, not outward professional achievement.
Exploring Temples in Thailand
Exploring temples and ancient ruins can be very rewarding, however, if you love centuries-old architecture, that won’t necessarily help you in a business setting. It’s not about building skills for a fast-paced work environment, it’s about quiet reflection.
Great Barrier Reef Diving
When you dive into the Great Barrier Reef, you are diving into a new world of vibrant marine life. It’s not an easily transferable skill to most careers beyond the thrill and wonder of the dive. This experience is strictly a personal adventure unless you aim for marine biology.
Road-Tripping Across America
A road trip won’t do much for your career growth unless you’re after a job as a travel writer. You’ll see some amazing sights and pick up a few stories, but there’s no real professional advantage to getting lost on Route 66.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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10 Best African Photo Safaris You Must Experience
Even if you’ve been on a safari in the past, an African photo safari is something you want to experience or at the very list add to the top of your bucket list.
But first, what is a photo safari? The phrase “photo safari” is not a common sentence structure but its meaning can be deduced easily. An African photo safari in general context means going on an adventure with the sole purpose of taking high-quality pictures.
10 Best African Photo Safaris You Must Experience
