I'm living in Japan at the moment but will return in December to work a job that I sort of…hate. I have been trying to think of other types of jobs that I might hate slightly less than my current supermarket job and since I like to travel/plan trips for my friends/family, working at a travel agency crossed my mind.
I was just wondering if anyone here has worked as a travel agent or something similar and what they thought of it.
+1, a friend is a travel agent and it sounds about right to me.
I don't think they actually have established shift hours, just you're expected to do a number of weekday hours, and work weekends… then additional hours to make up the targets
But the travel perks are good apparently.
yeah, shes always going overseas at cost price or as part of company rewards.
Alternatively, get your own agent licence and run your own if you have customers,
You can't just wander in off the street and do that job, the systems are complicated and require training. The potential to screw up is huge if you don't know what you are doing. It's sales driven, sell sell and up-sell.
stay in Japan.
I think travel agent is a dying breed, given all the travel information available online 24/7 and all those searching/booking websites for airlines/hotels…
You are up against many many well-trained/very experience travel agents who are desperate to stay in the industry/keep their job.
Thanks for the comments guys.
I didn't expect to just walk straight into that field of work. I just thought maybe it's something I could pursue in the future. Travel perks would be good but $30,000 a year is a bit worrying.
@altomic I would stay in Japan if I could but it isn't really an option at the moment.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1705371&p…
http://whrl.pl/RebIIx
Not an easy or cushy job by any stretch of the imagination. Doesn't sound like the kind of job that you would stay in if your selling pitch is not good — Pay is low (30K base, with commissions making up the rest) and you work pretty long hours, don't expect overtime or weekend pay. But the travel perks are good apparently.
If you dislike sales jobs then travel agent jobs are not for you. They are VERY KPI-driven and unlike retail jobs you cannot really survive if your selling skill are only average.