What Do You Want to Be When You Grow up?

by May 9, 2022

by Amanda Powell, Hiring Director, Key to the World Travel

My journey to becoming a travel advisor

I still remember my answers to this question growing up. A teacher. A famous movie star. An artist. The cashier at a grocery store. A Disney princess. 

Every year my answers changed as my interests changed. When you’re little, your answers are endearing and fun for adults to hear. But as you get older, this question of “What do you want to be when you grow up?” becomes more daunting, more intimidating. What major will I choose in college? Will I choose a trade instead? What is the most sensible choice? It’s easy to lose sight of what career we truly are interested in pursuing when it’s time to make a decision. 

I’ll be honest, I originally chose to become a teacher. I graduated college and taught elementary school for 5 years. I loved my students and my colleagues. I loved the school I taught at. But my passion, what I found myself daydreaming about during my lunch break, what I found myself researching late at night, was traveling. 

I LOVE to travel. I’m happiest when I’m traveling. I love to explore new places, meet new people, and be immersed in a new culture. I love to travel with my family and make memories with my kids. I love to travel with just my husband and reconnect from our busy lives. I love to travel with my girl friends while we laugh and stay up too late talking. 

I’m also a planner at heart and like to know as much about the place I’m traveling to as possible. I spend hours upon hours researching destinations before I travel there. 

Finding the answers to questions like:

  • Where can I find the best brunch with mimosas in the city? 
  • Where is the best spot to view fireworks from? 
  • What’s the weather like during that time of the year?
  • I should probably make a spreadsheet of our plans that way I know we’re getting the most out of our time while we’re there. But will my husband think I’m a crazy person if I also laminate it? 

Dreaming of something different

While still a teacher, my husband and I took our kids on a vacation to Walt Disney World. I had every “T” crossed and every “I” dotted for that vacation. I read every blog, listened to every podcast, and had my laminated itinerary ready to go. We had the most magical time. When we got home, I was ready to plan our next vacation. My husband and I decided we would vacation just the two of us in Costa Rica the next summer. I researched this destination like crazy too. We scuba dived with sharks, we white water rafted through the rainforest, and we relaxed on a black, volcanic sand beach with a fruity drink. The more I worked on planning our vacations, the more I realized I truly found my passion. It was the perfect meld of my organizational & planning skills with my wanderlust mentality. “But planning vacations isn’t a job, right?”, I asked myself. I was wrong. 

When you think of travel agents most people have an outdated image of a lady with an 80s perm, a phone headset, and a dusty brochure rack pushing guided bus tours of Europe on you. I’ll be honest, that’s what I thought. But I couldn’t have been more wrong about that too. 

Key to the World Travel, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner

A friend recommended Key to the World Travel to me and I started researching the services they offered. A travel planner with Key to the World gets to know their clients, making customized recommendations for vacations based on their clients interests and budget, and then works together with the client to craft a one of a kind itinerary and experience for their vacation. They’re there to help their clients if anything goes wrong and prepares them for an unforgettable vacation. And most of the time a travel planner’s services are free to their clients. Key to the World Travel is a full service travel agency that specializes in Disney Destinations but also plans vacations to other destinations all over the world. Which was perfect for me because I love Disney and I love to see the world. I thought to myself, “I could be a vacation planner. I could help people travel. I would love that!”. 

So I did. I made the leap and applied with Key to the World Travel. Over six years have passed since I joined the team. I have helped plan hundreds of vacations for clients from Disney Destinations to tropical beaches to exploring new cultures in Europe. I walked away from my career in teaching and worked hard to build a career helping families see the world. I couldn’t be happier. This position allows me to be flexible with my work hours, gives me the freedom to travel, while still allowing me the opportunity to build relationships with clients that are fulfilling and meaningful. I still spend hours of time researching destinations like before and typing out itineraries for clients but it’s worth it when I see my clients’ smiling faces on vacation making memories that last a lifetime. I never would have considered this career change or been successful in it without the guidance and support from Key to the World Travel. I LOVE what I do and I love the company I’m a part of.

Become a travel advisor and make dreams come true

If you’ve made it this far in my story then you may be thinking the same things I was when I was ready to make a career move. Does being a travel planner sound like the job for you? Are you the designated vacation planner in your family or group? Do people already come to you to ask for travel advice and tips? Wouldn’t it be nice to be paid for that expertise? 

Well, I have great news for you! You can! You can get paid to create amazing vacations for others. Key to the World Travel® is always looking for highly motivated people with a passion for travel to join our team of experienced travel planners. We provide comprehensive training and one-on-one mentoring (no previous experience required) to candidates who possess the knowledge and passion for traveling and exemplary service that we require of our travel planners. We also provide ongoing support, professional development, and a variety of benefits to our actively selling team members.

Key to the World is an industry leader, and we pride ourselves on having the best, most knowledgeable travel advisors in the business! Our desired qualifications are:

  • Excellent customer service skills
  • Expert-level knowledge of Disney Destinations and/or other worldwide destinations
  • Highly motivated and organized
  • Comfortable with technology and online research
  • Self-directed
  • Active user of social media
  • Comfortable with sales and marketing
  • Strong communication skills

If this sounds like you, and you are ready to start making magic for others, we would love to have you join our team. Just go HERE to complete our online application – this is the ONLY way to apply for a position with our company.

It’s not too late to change your answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” 

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