Anyone travel a lot for work?

jaymind · 02-19-2006, 01:12 PM

I got a very hard to turn down job offer with a consulting company that would require me to travel MON-THUR everry week. You work 40 hours a week with FRI-SUN off.

The travel makes me hesitate, so I was wondering if any of you have or had jobs that required you to travel a lot, your opinions would be appreciated as to how it went or if it was a strain, etc....

**Trooper** · 02-19-2006, 01:15 PM

how far you traveling? If the pay is above average, so it will help offset the price of gas, id go for it.

jaymind · 02-19-2006, 01:37 PM

Travel will be all over the country, mostly midwest to east coast though. Fly out Monday morning or late Sunday night, fly back home Thursday night. Most jobs will be between 9m-3yr long going to 1 place from what I understand.

Basically, you are living out of a hotel room (or getting a cheap apartment) 3-4 nights a week.

It would hamper my gaming unless I bought a really nice laptop.

**Trooper** · 02-19-2006, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaymind

It would hamper my gaming unless I bought a really nice laptop.

get that included in the deal

Addict · 02-19-2006, 07:22 PM

When I was younger I did the traveling mon-thurs 3 day weekend thing for about a year and a half. I really enjoyed it, it was finally the stress it was causing for my wife that really got me to stop. I got to know the other consultants on the job pretty well, I liked the imersive atmosphere where I was working, I liked the pay, I loved the 3 day weekends, and the travel part never bothered me. I like to read on the plane, and can sleep anywhere.

Downsides, travelling monday morning and thursday night, still getting 40+ hours of work between it, it was pretty much all work for those four days. Much harder on my wife spent each evening alone. Everything pretty much went on hold till the weekends. Eating out didn't help the waistline(I didn't mind at the time, but I'm paying for it now...).

Still, all in all, I really liked it. Everyone was focused on the work during work hours, and you got 3 day weekends every week. Definately more of a stress on friends and family around you.

**DigitalAssassin** · 02-19-2006, 07:51 PM

I echo Bommando's comments. Personally, I travelled for 3 years all over the US and Canada with my last job and was actually gone a bit longer, leaving Sunday afternoon and returning Friday evening. Wasn't every week but probably 3 out of 4 weeks.

In retrospect, we had only been married 2 years and it didn't do any favors for our marrige, but it seemed like the right thing at the time and starting pay was double what I was making at the time. It got worse when our first child was born and I started missing some of the 'first xxx', and that was when I started looking to make a change.

I don't want to seem to come across too harsh, just remember that money isn't everything. I actually took a 20% pay cut to move to my current job but I've been there 5 years and travelled a total of 3 weeks so for me it's worth the trade off.

BaneII · 02-19-2006, 09:50 PM

I was a technician for a phone equipment company and was always on the road for work. Our service area was in geographically rural places so there wasnt much to do in the off hours. Yeah, I saved loads of money, but I didnt have much of a life. You pay rent and dont even see your place for 5 days out of the week. Also, does that 40 work hours include travel time? Mine didnt so travel time gets taken out of free time. It may be good for a short period, but I wouldnt suggest anyone make a career out of it unless they really enjoy it. Being on the road really takes a lot out of life unless you can do stuff you enjoy on the road.

Boot · 02-20-2006, 02:58 AM

I live in the US, and I spend at least 1 week a month in Europe. I also make a lot of 1-nighters throughout the US. There are definitely pros and cons to doing this much travel, and if the job feels right and gets you where you want to go there are ways to deal with the hassles.

If you decide to go for this, take the schedule head on and make it yours. Don't get lazy on the road -- the guys I know who travel best learn to travel well... eat light meals, find hotels with good workout facilities and use them, or take up running (which just requires shoes... and maybe shorts if you're modest).

Take some light comforts from home with you. I always travel with a handful of DVDs, noise cancelling headphones (man these are nice on a long plane ride), and a magazine or book.

When you get to your destination go to the grocery store and get some light snacks. You can save a lot of money on belts if you have something lighter than vending machine food to snack on while crusing the TG forums in your hotel room.

Depending on your family situation and assuming your travel will mostly be to the same location, think about spending the weekend once in a while and fly your spouse/SO out to meet you. It really helps the better half to understand what you're doing, where you are, and that it can be lonely out there. I actually flew my wife to Finland for a weekend and it really put things into perspective for her.

The holy grail would be a laptop that could run your favorite games. But even if you can't swing this, make sure your hotel (if you don't have better arrangements) has internet access. CNN and BBC get real boring after a while.

So unless you're afraid of flying don't let the travel alone put you off, there are definitely ways to make that part less painful and monotonous. Your current career choices, goals, and what might be keeping you at home are the right things to think of. At least your gig sounds like it's a consistent travel schedule, so you can define your lifestyle quite a bit in that context.

Good luck mate,

Boot.

jaymind · 02-20-2006, 11:24 AM

Thanks for all of the opinions guys, I appreciate it. I haven't yet decided on which direction I want to go with my career but this has given me some food for thought.

**P8riot** · 02-20-2006, 02:01 PM

You never know what it will lead to. From ages 27-28 I traveled all over the Eastern U.S. at first, then it stretched to pretty much all over the world.. I was single at the time and had a blast.

Priorities changed when I got married though.. I didn't like being away from home so much and it got to be a real chore to go anywhere. - Single and unmarried I wouldn't trade it for the world.. long term.. nahh, I don't think so.. it does kinda chew you up pretty good.

Probably the most valuable thing I came away with was the knowledge of HOW to travel. Knowing how to navigate airports, rail stations, FBOs, it really becomes a talent, knowing how to be comfortable in those environments. Seven years out of that job.. now I do something completely different, but I travel hardcore 3 or 4 times a years for 2 weeks at a time.. because I can and I'm very knowledgeable and comfortable about doing it.. does that make any sense?

**Tonk** · 02-22-2006, 02:09 AM

hmmm, tough one, your gaming fix isnt a problem at all, u could easily talk them into getting a laptop, and if u dont have anyone (wife/kids) at home, it would be a very tempting deal, but if u do have wtfe/kids i wouldnt want to put them through that, just my 2 cents

Telorn · 02-22-2006, 01:06 PM

It comes down to this:

Family first.

They aren't going to give a crap how much more $$ you may make if you're never around. Sure, at first it sounds great and everyone will be joyous about it. But time with family is priceless and any family (having an omniscient view) would choose lesser lifestyle for quality family time.

If no family, go for it! You can easily take care of your gaming on the road. Laptop for the hotel and PSP while en route. You could also invest in a DVR and LocationFree player so you can watch your DVR recorded (or live) shows from home on the road with your laptop or PSP.

Jusb · 02-23-2006, 05:04 AM

I travelled for work and did the M-Th for about 3 months this summer driving back and forth between richmond and washington DC (avg about 2 hrs each way w/ moderate traffic) and i considered it so-so. I also made a few trips up and down the east coast for a week or two at a time.

The money was great (and being single it was easy to do) but it gets very lonely on the road. I pretty much was all by myself M-Th which eventually wears you down w/ only your hotel room, driving hours to apts in a city/state you dont know well and work to keep you busy. Dining alone gets old and even working out in empty hotel gyms does too.

I couldnt wait to get home and see my friends and go out on the weekends but you also get worn down physically and mentally driving everywhere so there were weekends id wind up catching up on my sleep.

You do eat like crap as much as you try not to especially if you're not picking up the tab and dont have much else to do. Even though you're making good money and staying in a decent hotel/apt it sucks to pay rent and bills with all your stuff sitting in an empty apartment.

Overall i liked my job and i liked the travel money even more but if it was up to me i'd cap my road trips for work at 2 weeks max like every two months. I dont think i could handle M-Th every week in a new city. 3 months and i was at my breaking point.

cpl3 · 02-23-2006, 10:17 AM

Traveling is inefficient and often a hassle. But I've been doing it for over 9 years now. I totally agree with Telorn: Family first. I travel much less than I used to but...

Speaking of traveling, I'm in Tokyo this week. Seeing new places and meeting lots of diverse people, doing lots of different project work can be fun. Being away from home (especially if you are Mw/C), is painful (and more so in the long term). You get home from a trip and often want to 'cocoon', when your spouse/kids want to get out and do stuff together.

Although I can sleep most anywhere, there is no place like your own bed. I use these exchange rates for understanding my weariness from a business trip:
hotel sleep = 1/2 home sleep (this is improving with the Westin/Marriott heavenly bed setups)
plane sleep = 2/3 hotel sleep or 1/3 home sleep
red-eye plain sleep <= 1/4 home sleep
in-room massage + hotel sleep = 2x home sleep

Good suggestions from the other road dogs. In longer term projects like you described, it may be possible to negotiate doing some of the work remotely, and working on-site every other week or something like that (not always possible).

If you are young and detached, go see the world for a bit. You can also consider moving to a more dynamic area for your career, as that may give you the opportunity you are seeking without the hassles of travel.

Cheers,

--cpl3

**WhiskeySix** · 02-23-2006, 10:31 AM

one thing I found that really helped me w/ the family is video chat.. skype is free and has "video conferencing" built right in - easy as can be!!

-- Skype ? - free

-- USB WebCam? - $33

-- Watching your kid(s) play and looking your wife in the eye from 5000 miles away? - priceless

02-19-2006, 01:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
jaymind Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 650	Anyone travel a lot for work? I got a very hard to turn down job offer with a consulting company that would require me to travel MON-THUR everry week. You work 40 hours a week with FRI-SUN off. The travel makes me hesitate, so I was wondering if any of you have or had jobs that required you to travel a lot, your opinions would be appreciated as to how it went or if it was a strain, etc....

02-19-2006, 01:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
Trooper Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In my wifes house......if she says i can Age: 25 Posts: 8,886	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? how far you traveling? If the pay is above average, so it will help offset the price of gas, id go for it. __________________ that sounds like a good idea trooper. -Vulcan

02-19-2006, 01:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
jaymind Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 650	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? Travel will be all over the country, mostly midwest to east coast though. Fly out Monday morning or late Sunday night, fly back home Thursday night. Most jobs will be between 9m-3yr long going to 1 place from what I understand. Basically, you are living out of a hotel room (or getting a cheap apartment) 3-4 nights a week. It would hamper my gaming unless I bought a really nice laptop.

02-19-2006, 07:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Addict Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 413	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? When I was younger I did the traveling mon-thurs 3 day weekend thing for about a year and a half. I really enjoyed it, it was finally the stress it was causing for my wife that really got me to stop. I got to know the other consultants on the job pretty well, I liked the imersive atmosphere where I was working, I liked the pay, I loved the 3 day weekends, and the travel part never bothered me. I like to read on the plane, and can sleep anywhere. Downsides, travelling monday morning and thursday night, still getting 40+ hours of work between it, it was pretty much all work for those four days. Much harder on my wife spent each evening alone. Everything pretty much went on hold till the weekends. Eating out didn't help the waistline(I didn't mind at the time, but I'm paying for it now...). Still, all in all, I really liked it. Everyone was focused on the work during work hours, and you got 3 day weekends every week. Definately more of a stress on friends and family around you.

02-19-2006, 07:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
DigitalAssassin Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Kansas City Age: 35 Posts: 1,595	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? I echo Bommando's comments. Personally, I travelled for 3 years all over the US and Canada with my last job and was actually gone a bit longer, leaving Sunday afternoon and returning Friday evening. Wasn't every week but probably 3 out of 4 weeks. In retrospect, we had only been married 2 years and it didn't do any favors for our marrige, but it seemed like the right thing at the time and starting pay was double what I was making at the time. It got worse when our first child was born and I started missing some of the 'first xxx', and that was when I started looking to make a change. I don't want to seem to come across too harsh, just remember that money isn't everything. I actually took a 20% pay cut to move to my current job but I've been there 5 years and travelled a total of 3 weeks so for me it's worth the trade off. __________________

02-19-2006, 09:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
BaneII Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 2,424	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? I was a technician for a phone equipment company and was always on the road for work. Our service area was in geographically rural places so there wasnt much to do in the off hours. Yeah, I saved loads of money, but I didnt have much of a life. You pay rent and dont even see your place for 5 days out of the week. Also, does that 40 work hours include travel time? Mine didnt so travel time gets taken out of free time. It may be good for a short period, but I wouldnt suggest anyone make a career out of it unless they really enjoy it. Being on the road really takes a lot out of life unless you can do stuff you enjoy on the road.

02-20-2006, 02:58 AM	#8 (permalink)
Boot Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Wisconsin, USA Age: 37 Posts: 1,414	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? I live in the US, and I spend at least 1 week a month in Europe. I also make a lot of 1-nighters throughout the US. There are definitely pros and cons to doing this much travel, and if the job feels right and gets you where you want to go there are ways to deal with the hassles. If you decide to go for this, take the schedule head on and make it yours. Don't get lazy on the road -- the guys I know who travel best learn to travel well... eat light meals, find hotels with good workout facilities and use them, or take up running (which just requires shoes... and maybe shorts if you're modest). Take some light comforts from home with you. I always travel with a handful of DVDs, noise cancelling headphones (man these are nice on a long plane ride), and a magazine or book. When you get to your destination go to the grocery store and get some light snacks. You can save a lot of money on belts if you have something lighter than vending machine food to snack on while crusing the TG forums in your hotel room. Depending on your family situation and assuming your travel will mostly be to the same location, think about spending the weekend once in a while and fly your spouse/SO out to meet you. It really helps the better half to understand what you're doing, where you are, and that it can be lonely out there. I actually flew my wife to Finland for a weekend and it really put things into perspective for her. The holy grail would be a laptop that could run your favorite games. But even if you can't swing this, make sure your hotel (if you don't have better arrangements) has internet access. CNN and BBC get real boring after a while. So unless you're afraid of flying don't let the travel alone put you off, there are definitely ways to make that part less painful and monotonous. Your current career choices, goals, and what might be keeping you at home are the right things to think of. At least your gig sounds like it's a consistent travel schedule, so you can define your lifestyle quite a bit in that context. Good luck mate, Boot. __________________ Boot. In Soviet Russia, TV watches YOU. Last edited by Boot; 02-20-2006 at 04:13 AM.

02-20-2006, 11:24 AM	#9 (permalink)
jaymind Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Sioux Falls, SD Posts: 650	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? Thanks for all of the opinions guys, I appreciate it. I haven't yet decided on which direction I want to go with my career but this has given me some food for thought.

02-20-2006, 02:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
P8riot Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bradenton, FL Age: 38 Posts: 2,842	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? You never know what it will lead to. From ages 27-28 I traveled all over the Eastern U.S. at first, then it stretched to pretty much all over the world.. I was single at the time and had a blast. Priorities changed when I got married though.. I didn't like being away from home so much and it got to be a real chore to go anywhere. - Single and unmarried I wouldn't trade it for the world.. long term.. nahh, I don't think so.. it does kinda chew you up pretty good. Probably the most valuable thing I came away with was the knowledge of HOW to travel. Knowing how to navigate airports, rail stations, FBOs, it really becomes a talent, knowing how to be comfortable in those environments. Seven years out of that job.. now I do something completely different, but I travel hardcore 3 or 4 times a years for 2 weeks at a time.. because I can and I'm very knowledgeable and comfortable about doing it.. does that make any sense? __________________ Age of Conan: Tharashk (Taxiarchos), Thaumiel (alt), guild Ars Tactika - Cimmeria XBox360 GamerTag: P8riotOne (but it might also be my son playing - he can game with TG tho!)

02-22-2006, 02:09 AM	#11 (permalink)
Tonk Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Luck, WI USA Age: 22 Posts: 3,026	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? hmmm, tough one, your gaming fix isnt a problem at all, u could easily talk them into getting a laptop, and if u dont have anyone (wife/kids) at home, it would be a very tempting deal, but if u do have wtfe/kids i wouldnt want to put them through that, just my 2 cents __________________ -Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely, in an attractive and well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, a beer in the other, body totally worn out screaming "YEEEHAW, WHAT A RIDE!!!" - my grandpa -My New Rig: cpu: AMD 6400+ 3.2ghz dual core mobo: Asus Crosshair ram: 8gb (4x2gb) geil exotera 4-4-4-12 video card MSI 8800GTS 512mb (g92) Vista:x64 Laptop: Dell i9300 2.16ghz-2gb ram-6800-17" 1920x1200 -Toasty/Tonk/Chair http://tgtonk.notlong.com

02-22-2006, 01:06 PM	#12 (permalink)
Telorn Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Georgia Age: 27 Posts: 2,187	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? It comes down to this: Family first. They aren't going to give a crap how much more $$ you may make if you're never around. Sure, at first it sounds great and everyone will be joyous about it. But time with family is priceless and any family (having an omniscient view) would choose lesser lifestyle for quality family time. If no family, go for it! You can easily take care of your gaming on the road. Laptop for the hotel and PSP while en route. You could also invest in a DVR and LocationFree player so you can watch your DVR recorded (or live) shows from home on the road with your laptop or PSP. __________________ Telorn

02-23-2006, 05:04 AM	#13 (permalink)
Jusb Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Las Vegas, NV Age: 29 Posts: 893	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? I travelled for work and did the M-Th for about 3 months this summer driving back and forth between richmond and washington DC (avg about 2 hrs each way w/ moderate traffic) and i considered it so-so. I also made a few trips up and down the east coast for a week or two at a time. The money was great (and being single it was easy to do) but it gets very lonely on the road. I pretty much was all by myself M-Th which eventually wears you down w/ only your hotel room, driving hours to apts in a city/state you dont know well and work to keep you busy. Dining alone gets old and even working out in empty hotel gyms does too. I couldnt wait to get home and see my friends and go out on the weekends but you also get worn down physically and mentally driving everywhere so there were weekends id wind up catching up on my sleep. You do eat like crap as much as you try not to especially if you're not picking up the tab and dont have much else to do. Even though you're making good money and staying in a decent hotel/apt it sucks to pay rent and bills with all your stuff sitting in an empty apartment. Overall i liked my job and i liked the travel money even more but if it was up to me i'd cap my road trips for work at 2 weeks max like every two months. I dont think i could handle M-Th every week in a new city. 3 months and i was at my breaking point. __________________ Long Live the 2nd BCT and 1st MIP

02-23-2006, 10:17 AM	#14 (permalink)
cpl3 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tampa, FL Age: 41 Posts: 27	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? Traveling is inefficient and often a hassle. But I've been doing it for over 9 years now. I totally agree with Telorn: Family first. I travel much less than I used to but... Speaking of traveling, I'm in Tokyo this week. Seeing new places and meeting lots of diverse people, doing lots of different project work can be fun. Being away from home (especially if you are Mw/C), is painful (and more so in the long term). You get home from a trip and often want to 'cocoon', when your spouse/kids want to get out and do stuff together. Although I can sleep most anywhere, there is no place like your own bed. I use these exchange rates for understanding my weariness from a business trip: hotel sleep = 1/2 home sleep (this is improving with the Westin/Marriott heavenly bed setups) plane sleep = 2/3 hotel sleep or 1/3 home sleep red-eye plain sleep <= 1/4 home sleep in-room massage + hotel sleep = 2x home sleep Good suggestions from the other road dogs. In longer term projects like you described, it may be possible to negotiate doing some of the work remotely, and working on-site every other week or something like that (not always possible). If you are young and detached, go see the world for a bit. You can also consider moving to a more dynamic area for your career, as that may give you the opportunity you are seeking without the hassles of travel. Cheers, --cpl3 __________________ \|TG\|cpl3 96th Assault Group

02-23-2006, 10:31 AM	#15 (permalink)
WhiskeySix Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gillette Stadium, Section 309, Row 12, Seat 24 Age: 33 Posts: 8,520	Re: Anyone travel a lot for work? one thing I found that really helped me w/ the family is video chat.. skype is free and has "video conferencing" built right in - easy as can be!! -- Skype ? - free -- USB WebCam? - $33 -- Watching your kid(s) play and looking your wife in the eye from 5000 miles away? - priceless __________________ *PoE2 Version 2.5 Overview \| Get started with PoE2 (for free!)*

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