Work and Travel jobs: positions, industries and states

Work and Travel jobs are seasonal positions that come alive in summer and put you in touch with Americans every day. Hotels and resorts, restaurants and cafés, amusement and water parks, retail stores, visitor facilities in national parks, and pools and beaches are the workplaces you'll see most often.

What these jobs have in common is constant contact with guests, customers and teammates. So you earn in dollars and build real-world English at the same time. Every position is reviewed and approved by the sponsor organization running the program, and students from Türkiye have this approved job offer in hand before they apply for the visa. For the big picture, visit our Work and Travel 2027 page.

Work and Travel is a cultural exchange program, so jobs are expected to be seasonal and to connect you with Americans. Some types of work fall outside that framework and aren't part of the program:

• Domestic work in private homes, such as childcare, elder care, gardening or chauffeuring
• Jobs that involve driving vehicles or operating boats that require a license
• Patient care and jobs that involve providing health care
• Jobs done mainly between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Services involving physical contact, such as massage, tattooing or manicures
• Commission-only sales jobs with no guaranteed minimum wage
• Factory, construction, agriculture, warehouse and e-commerce fulfillment jobs, as well as traveling carnival jobs
• Jobs that require a license, are hazardous or are in the adult entertainment industry

Rest assured: your sponsor reviews each position against this framework before approving your job offer. We also go through the offers you receive with you and focus on options that fit the program.

The best Work and Travel job isn't simply the one with the highest hourly wage; it's the one whose hours, housing and commute suit you best. When reviewing offers, we look at four things with you:

Weekly hours

Your weekly hours shape your earnings as much as your hourly wage does. The estimated hours in your job offer are the foundation of your budget.

Housing

Does the employer provide housing, or recommend it? Rent, deposit and roommate arrangements should be clear from the start.

Getting to work

You should be able to get between your housing and your workplace easily, whether on foot, by bike, by shuttle or by public transportation.

Local cost of living

Rent and grocery costs vary between popular vacation areas. We explain the balance between earnings and living costs in detail in our Work and Travel earnings and housing guide.

Work and Travel jobs are found through sponsors' online matching platforms, video interviews and job fairs. The employer reviews your profile and your introduction video if you have one, then holds a short interview with you in English. An employer you find yourself can also be part of the process, with sponsor approval.

If the interview goes well, you receive a job offer listing the position, hourly wage, estimated weekly hours, dates and housing details. Once your sponsor approves the employer and the offer, your DS-2019 is issued and you move on to the visa. See the whole journey on our Work and Travel application process page, and what to check before you apply on our requirements page.

Once the hours at your main job are settled, you can add a second job. The only conditions: the second job must also fit the program and be approved by your sponsor, and you can't start working there until it's approved. For students with free hours, a second job means both extra income and a new experience.

If you want to change jobs, your sponsor supports you through the process, and the new position starts once it's approved. Just remember to report any job or address changes to your sponsor. You can reach us while you're in America, too, and we'll plan these steps with you.