Anybody here travel for work? How long did you keep it up?

Sigogglin

Sigogglin

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I've been at my current job for almost a decade now, and for the past 3 or 4 years, my job has been mostly field support. This generally puts me out on Mondays (frequently, as of recently, out Sundays) and back on Friday, but it's not uncommon that I'm gone for 2-3 weeks at a time, which is my current stint.

I'm so tired of missing out at home with a wife and young kid. On the rare occasion I'm home for a week, it's nice to just wake up at 6, get to work at 7:30, and be home at 5:15, and off most Fridays. It's impossible to plan trips/vacations or make commitments, plus house repairs and (currently) car repairs just eat up weekends I am home.

The pay is good but not excellent and really all the enjoyment of seeing new places burnishes off after a year or two, especially when, like the Man in Black, I've been everywhere, man. Last year I was on the road for 43 weeks out of the year, and I'm on track to do a similar schedule this year if the past month is any indication.

Just sort of rambling here in the hotel. I'm curious what other's experiences are with similar positions and the time/toll it takes on your family.
 
I’ve woken up in the middle of a flight and not known where I was coming from or where I was going. It doesn’t get better and I was rarely out more than 25 weeks a year. 2023 will be my worst year in a long time.

If you’re unhappy, start looking.
 
The money is not worth missing time with your kids or your mental health. I would speak with your current company to see if there is any other positions available hat doesn’t require extensive traveling. If their response is no, then I would start looking for employment elsewhere.
 
Yeah, it's a small company and there's really nowhere else for me to go until someone retires or moves on. They needed to hire a second travel tech 2 years ago. I told them this repeatedly, but they didn't want to make the investment, just keep squeezing me for all they can get out of me. I've told my boss that I'm blocking one week a month to be home and he didn't really like that but if we'd invest in someone to split the load we could be more responsive, serve our customers better, and I wouldn't be so burned out.
I've been looking sort of casually just tossing resumes out into the ether but haven't been super serious about it. Probably time to buckle down on that front.
 
Did it for a few years. After a 3 month stint of 80+ hour weeks in Louisiana, I told my boss I just wasn't doing it anymore, and my company obliged. Thankfully the aftermath of COVID and many places going "virtual" with meetings, etc. has kept my travel to an absolute bare minimum, and I hope to keep it that way moving forward. It's flat not worth the money.
 
I was with the same company 28 years. Traveled for the most part of 21 of those.
 
Tim said:
What kind of work?
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Broadly, low voltage electrical troubleshooting and installation. Specifically, wired and wireless healthcare communications systems. There's a fair bit of networking knowledge mixed in, if I'm going to make a change I'd probably make the jump into that field. I don't have any official certs or anything, but I could start working on some. I'm also broadly interested in QA/QE, and those tend to be pretty well paid positions as well. If I were going to totally jump ship I'd probably go into GIS data/mapping, but that's probably too far out of my wheelhouse to make a smooth transition.

I did technical writing for about 5-6 years, that's what my degree is centered around but I'm not sure I'd want to go back to technical documentation again unless it was something super interesting.
 
My very first job out of college, based right outside of DC, I travelled a lot. It was fun at first but got old fast, and that was well before wife and family. I wouldn't care to do it again.
 
traveled for all my jobs...Procter & Gamble, Warner Lambert, etc.
missed my son's National Championship Cross Country meet.
but...the money was outstanding. i could not have done better.
paid for son's college tuition, rent, etc. ....
so no complaints from him.
 
The funniest, most frustrating, thing about business travel is that the wife pictures it as some super glamorous thing. Staying in noce hotels, eating out all the time, etc. I took her on a few trips, and she hated them, but she still thinks I’m enjoying this fabulous business perk.
 
JimB said:
The funniest, most frustrating, thing about business travel is that the wife pictures it as some super glamorous thing. Staying in noce hotels, eating out all the time, etc. I took her on a few trips, and she hated them, but she still thinks I’m enjoying this fabulous business perk.
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My wife thought the same. This was back when trade shows were still a thing. So, I showed her my schedule and said pick one to tag along on. My only condition was she had to “work” with me at least one day.

She could have picked client site visits in San Fran, NYC, San Diego where she’d just have to sit in an office wearing a company shirt…but nope, she chose a trade show in Vegas. After setting up, she lasted about 90 minutes of actual show time before giving up. Never claimed I was living a glamorous life after that!
 
I guess that is a side benefit of it, you can take your spouse sometimes. I told my wife to look at my schedule over the summer and pick a destination. Calgary? Nope. Spokane? Nope. San Diego? Nope. Miami? Nope.

Oklahoma. Blackwell, Oklahoma is where she picked.

And she loved every second. We haven't had much time together since the kiddo came along and she loved the 3 hour drive on 2-lane highways from OKC, the cows, the wind turbines, the long range views. Kinda cool seeing some "boring" place through someone else's eyes.
 
JimB said:
The funniest, most frustrating, thing about business travel is that the wife pictures it as some super glamorous thing. Staying in noce hotels, eating out all the time, etc. I took her on a few trips, and she hated them, but she still thinks I’m enjoying this fabulous business perk.
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That’s exactly what my wife thought! Then I took her on a couples trip to Kiawah where she got wined and dined just like the customers’ wives. Really reinforced what she thought 😂
Of course she didn’t get to experience the other 80% of what my travel entailed but she got a small glimpse of the not so fun part during that trip (drunk obnoxious spouse almost got us kicked out of a restaurant).
 
Slightly different experience. Took a job In Richmond, VA started Jan 03, 2008. You see where this is going and the housing market. For three years went baCK and forth between Rich and High Point. Staying in my travel trailer at a campground in Ashland. It took a toll. Especially, when my wife went back to HP and went to work so staying with me wasnt an option snd it was winter. Dark times indeed.
 
Man. We sound like exact opposites.

I’ve been yearning and searching for a change of pace that would let me travel Mon-Thur with a hybrid schedule mixed in.

Figured my business and project management skills along with accounting would make me attractive but not yet.
 
12 years working job sites in VA, WVa, GA, TN, NC, SC & KY. I’m so tired of driving and sleeping in NoTell motels.
we spent the whole winter few years ago in Myrtle Beach remodeling all the Lowe’s foods. Everybody kept saying oh you must be having so much fun, no you get done working and you’ll be so tired you go to the hotel and you sleep and then you get up and do it all over again and then you drive home on Friday. It’s not fun at all.
 
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Years ago, when I was in my late 20’s I was offered very lucrative jobs (we’re talking $250,000 dollars a year to start) to be a manufacturers rep.

The jobs would have seen me flying out on Mondays and home Friday nights or Saturday mornings.

I declined the 3 times I was offered these positions.

Why? Because I had friends that worked 80 hours a week and had no home life to speak of. I didn’t want to join them.

You don’t have many choices in life when you think about it. One of the major choices you have is what deserves your time.

If you choose your job and money you will lose in the end.

Choose your wife and kid. They are the only thing that is worth you spending time on.
 
I worked about 8 years of travel for about 8 days each month. My problem was that I don’t like people very much so I never made friends or acquaintances in any of the places that I traveled to. There were some people that I would schedule to meet for dinner in Memphis, Tennessee and Hamilton, Montana but I didn’t go to those places very often. Too many years of just working all day then going to a hotel room at night with no fun mixed in drove me out of that job and I’m now in a job where I work from home and much prefer this.
 
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Thanks y'all, I really appreciate the conversation and different perspectives here.
 
I’ve been traveling for a little over a year now working in clinical research and covering east of the missippi. I’m typically away from home a little over a week each month, around 8-10 days. Depending on the workload where I’m going, I’m usually flying in the am and back in the evening. I enjoy the travel, but if it was much more, I’d probably be looking for something fully remote.
 
JimB said:
The funniest, most frustrating, thing about business travel is that the wife pictures it as some super glamorous thing. Staying in noce hotels, eating out all the time, etc. I took her on a few trips, and she hated them, but she still thinks I’m enjoying this fabulous business perk.
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My former bro-in-law was VP of something or other for a multi-national petroleum/plastics company, he was gone a lot. Three, four, sometimes five days a week, all over the world. My sister bitched about his glamorous lifestyle, going to Paris, London, etc. So he invited her: redeye flights, 12 hours of meetings eating delivery food, catching the next flight to wherever, same thing followed by five, six hours at the hotel, up at 4 am for the flight back to the US.

My sister went on two trips like this and stopped her bitching. As their sons got older he really dialed that back so he travelled a fraction of the time so he could be home, but even then his work day was often 12-14 hours on either side of the 45 minute commute.
 
I dont know what the future holds for me, with going back to school for a MBA, but that's something that's crossed my mind, if I get a job that has travel involved.
I think Im like your wives - seems awesome! Get to fly all the time, see different places...but yall put a damper on that!
I like reading about others' lives and experiences to show how things are in different worlds.
 
To add a little perspective on the glamour of traveling/flying…left Charlotte yesterday evening on the way to New Bern, got all the way there and had to turn back due to fog. Delay, delay, delay, delay…no hotel voucher, no rental cars available, get a hotel on my own, get to hotel at 1am, flight leaves at 7am. Get to airport at 0530, delay delay delay…. .if the fog lifts I’ll be home by noon.
 
JimB said:
The funniest, most frustrating, thing about business travel is that the wife pictures it as some super glamorous thing. Staying in noce hotels, eating out all the time, etc. I took her on a few trips, and she hated them, but she still thinks I’m enjoying this fabulous business perk.
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Dining out every meal is nice ***** for about 3 weeks. Then it gets old. Best meal I had on one trip was when the parts manager at one location took me to his house and fed me spaghetti. It was wonderful.
 
The travel working life is a tough go for someone with a young family and I wouldnt recommend it long term, time is short with kids. Seen many end up single over the years. It can work but is really hard.
 
Jp8819 said:
The travel working life is a tough go for someone with a young family and I wouldnt recommend it long term, time is short with kids. Seen many end up single over the years. It can work but is really hard.
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I actually don't really get static from my wife about it. She's always insisting that I'm not missing anything and that it's fine that I'm gone, but on the rare occasion that I'm home for a week, I realize that while I might not be missing big events, it's just the time and connection I get from being home, and that can't be replaced.
 
I am(until Friday) on one of the US Army's Cyber Protection Teams(CPT), specifically, the one that goes to dam and power plant sites. So, usually go on site to a dam for a week, do collections, come back to do analysis. Usually spend a third of the year traveling, mostly in the US, but some other places.

Its easy being single, but is a lot harder for those that are married. Good thing is we have weeks or months notice usually. Only had a few with only 72 hours notice.

I hate to say it, but you are probably in a bad spot right now, for the next 4 or so months. Until the economy does its kah-flooey, there's a lot of uncertainty, so no ones probably hiring. A few months after it happens, it'll be possible, but not just before. On the other side of the coin, with things hitting bad, your company will probably either start cutting back your work(as they get less work), or start wringing you dry for every ounce of work they can get out of you. Like I said, bad spot. :(
Just my opinion, though. Maybe I'm wrong.

Personally, if it were me, I'd spruce up that resume, get on linkedin and start networking with recruiters, and see let it ride for a couple of months until the bad times hit their bottom.
 
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I've been in my current position for 4 years. I travel ~50%. But I have great leeway in when and how much. There are certain trainings, corporate events or seminars/trade shows/etc., that will also dictate when and where.

Plus side, no one is breathing down my neck demanding that things are done on a certain schedule although I do have deadlines for some things. Both my direct supervisor and our boss are also way overworked and don't really have time for micro managing.

With a few exceptions, I pretty much set my own schedule. When I was hired for this position, my boss made it clear that my salary was based on 40 hours/wk. That's what they get. As a general rule, I'll travel Mon - Thur. I try my hardest not to travel on Fridays. If I get stuck somewhere, it's going to be on their time. If for some reason, other than personal, I am out on a Saturday or Sunday, I get to take time off to make up for it. If I go over 8 hours, I'll sometimes make up for it.

Once I leave my house, every meal, snack, hotel, etc., is on the company card. I'll expense a $1 bottle of water. I save my hotel points so that my wife can get free rooms somewhere when she visits her sisters.

Down side is that we have to use our own vehicles. We're trying to change this but it is an uphill battle. I do get a monthly vehicle allowance plus a mileage reimbursement but I still come out on the short end of the stick. My 2021 that I drove out of the dealer lot at the end of July '21 with 10 miles on it now has over 48,000.

I cover 26 offices, ~60 plants, 18 managers, ~400 employees, in PA, MD, DE, and VA. That's my primary area of responsibility. Mostly occupational health and safety. I have other job tasks though that include OSHA, PHMSA/DOT/FMSCA, and DHS compliance for 350+ locations, 2000 commercial vehicles, and ~3500 employees, in 27 states.

I'm doing the jobs that would take about 4 or 5 people to do effectively. Dollar for dollar, not counting inflation, I'm making less money now than I did 10 years ago.

I've told my supervisor that I'm not actively looking - yet - but I'll answer the phone if it rings. I have feelers out and contacts keep me informed of what's out there.
 
I was too young and naive when me and my wife were traveling for work. Didnt know how to play the game. Needed to have all the frequent flyer memberships and admiral club cards and early boarding access perks. My wife traveled every week for 2 yrs and sometimes wasnt even home on the weekends. And on top of that when she finished the assignment effing GE tried to lay her off. It was a mergers and aquisition assignment and when the assimilation was complete, they tried to tell her they didnt have a job for her anymore. She raised hell and they found a job for her and then about 5 yrs later laid her off. No way in hell I would do it now with as screwed up as the airline industry, FAA and TSA is. I would want too much money and I still wouldnt want to do it. Always better to look for a job when you have one. I got the chop one time and it took me 18 months to find another full time job with equitable pay. Ask for more money and less time on the "road". All they can do is say yes or no.
 
dlee12 said:
To add a little perspective on the glamour of traveling/flying…left Charlotte yesterday evening on the way to New Bern, got all the way there and had to turn back due to fog. Delay, delay, delay, delay…no hotel voucher, no rental cars available, get a hotel on my own, get to hotel at 1am, flight leaves at 7am. Get to airport at 0530, delay delay delay…. .if the fog lifts I’ll be home by noon.
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My current employer has some rule about if a destination is more than 'n' miles you have to fly; if less than 'n' miles you can drive. I had to go to a class at Shands medical center in Jacksonville, Fla. Well, you can't fly from here (RDU) to there; you fly to Tampa to connect. Going down was OK, but coming back we were delayed in Tampa for weather, not getting to RDU until 1 am after a 11 am (the day before) flight out of Jacksonville, a 14 hour travel day. I bitched to my boss about it; it's, what, a 6 hour drive from Durham?

Fast forward, I was asked to present at a conference in Louisville, Ky. They wanted me to fly. No direct flight, any combination of connections made it a 12 hour day. I did research, found that a rental car would be cheaper and faster, even comping every meal on the road. He had to take it to the VP of HR, but it got approved. It was so much better.

One of the risks of flying is weather, delays, and cancellations. I realize driving doesn't work if it's transcontinental or across the country, but if I can drive within a full day, I'd much rather do that than fly.
 
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Traveled the US for 10 years or so setting up Lowe’s hardware stores. Gone for months at a time but did have a good time. My wife joined me for the last few years. Eventually she wanted to have kids so we came home and here were are.

I think it’s the perfect job for couples if you don’t have any kids.

I’ve been offered jobs back on the road but have realized my family is more important than money. I hope you find what you’re looking for op.
 
Chuckman said:
My current employer has some rule about if a destination is more than 'n' miles you have to fly; if less than 'n' miles you can drive. I had to go to a class at Shands medical center in Jacksonville, Fla. Well, you can't fly from here (RDU) to there; you fly to Tampa to connect. Going down was OK, but coming back we were delayed in Tampa for weather, not getting to RDU until 1 am after a 11 am (the day before) flight out of Jacksonville, a 14 hour travel day. I bitched to my boss about it; it', what, a 6 hour drive from Durham?

Fast forward, I was asked to present at a conference in Louisville, Ky. They wanted me to fly. No direct flight, any combination of connections made it a 12 hour day. I did research, found that a rental car would be cheaper and faster, even comping every meal on the road. He had to take it to the VP of HR, but it got approved. It was so much better.

One of the risks of flying is weather, delays, and cancellations. I realize driving doesn't work if it's transcontinental or across the country, but if I can drive within a full day, I'd much rather do that than fly.
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Exactly, we are allowed to drive if it’s less than x number of miles, but if it takes me longer to fly, I just drive. Though I will rethink blasting a rental car through Jersey and Philly again….sheesh
 
My boss asked me about going to California last year.

Nope. This fat guy don't fly. You want me there, I need a week to get there and I'm renting a car. Not driving my own that far. He found someone else
 
The other gripe I had when traveling for the company is the overtime or your personal time lost that you were not compensated for. I had a work mate that refused to leave his house before 730am on a Monday to catch a flight and come hell or high water he was going to be on the ground in Raleigh by 5pm on a Friday. The boss took him to HR about it one time and they were always walking around on egg shells anyway from getting dragged into court over stupid $#!T their managers did. They came down on his side. In the long run it didnt matter. THey started firing everyone in our divison from the top down. Every 3 to 6 months somebody got the chop till there was nobody left but women working for a woman boss. We could have all sued but if you wanted the 1 yr severances they were handing out, you had to sign your rights away. Working for a living has always sucked.
 
As others have said, you can’t get that time with your wife and little one back. I’d find a job that let me be home regularly during the week. This coming from someone who traveled a fair bit for work when the kids were younger….
 
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