50% travel

Im getting a lot of calls for a position that wants 50% travel.
Is anybody doing this? How do you feel about it?
Can you guys give me your pros and cons?
How does your family deal with this?

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markulous

I interviewed recently for a position that had that. If I was single I would do it but with a wife and kids, I just can't. Most I can travel is probably no more than a couple weeks a quarter. Even then it's difficult because of the way our daycare is. It was for an auditing job that I really wanted but once he said that I didn't want to waste his time anymore.

networker050184

What kind of travel? In your metro area day trips, nation wide, world wide? How long are you expected to be gone if over night? Lot's of variables.

Expect

I for one thought the positions where you travel a lot are the most fun, because usually traveling is fun by itself, but once it is too often, it stops being that fun. living out of your suitcase is not comfortable and I don't find it fun at all. but I guess that's subjective...

scaredoftests

My husband travels about 2x a month. Usually to NYC, takes the train up and sometimes it is just meeting, so he is home usually by dinnertime.

dave330i

If you do travel, you need to get a TSA-PreCheck (Global Onepass if international), frequent flyer programs, hotel memberships, and rental car memberships. Best to use 1 of each, but sometime you fly to odd places. Expense account is great at keeping your personal expenses down. You can talk/video chat with the family, but it's not the same as being there in person.

NOC-Ninja

networker050184 wrote: »

What kind of travel? In your metro area day trips, nation wide, world wide? How long are you expected to be gone if over night? Lot's of variables.

nation wide and world wide.

scaredoftests

My husband did that Precheck. Great time saver. Also a dedicated credit card is essential.

devilbones

I did it for years and loved it. I have been to about 90 countries. I would say that it is easier if your spouse is onboard and able to function without you. It was easier for us when my kids were little, but now my daughter needs rides, my son needs help with his homework, etc. But I am away now and will be until June. I have missed every holiday/birthday/anniversary at least once and that is something you will need to consider also. I would prefer a job where I travel M-F and back for the weekend.

J_86

I do and I love it. But that is mostly because I don't have any kids of any real responsibility besides myself.

Pros:
- Travel paid for. I manage to still find time to do a little of site seeing or exploring between the work I am traveling for.
- Career Networking - I get to meet a lot of people from all over and connect with them. If I ever wanted to change jobs and move to another city, makes it a little easier knowing some of the contacts I have been able to make.
- I rack up a ton up hotel and rental car points that I can use for personal stuff, like vacations.

Cons
- Living out of a suitcase gets old.
- Makes staying healthy a little harder. Eating out happens a lot more when you are on the road and on the go all the time.
- Traveling to places that kind of suck, like Alaska in the winter time!
- Social life suffers. I go months without seeing some of my friends and family.

NetworkNewb

If I didn't have a wife and kid I think it would great experience to do it and sounds pretty fun.

networker050184

Personally I think 50% travel national/international is going to be very hard with a family. Especially young kids that need chauffeured around and constant supervision. I've done some travel for work, but never at 50%, and it was still hard on the family life.

Mike-Mike

if i didn't have a wife and kids I would be all over it. having a wife and kids, I traveled about 10 weeks last calendar year, and the wife gets tired of that real quick

joelsfood

With family, don't do it. Without, go for it, it's fun.

With lesser travel jobs (I think I had 20 days on the road this year), bring the family with.

scaredoftests

Before we had our son, sometimes I would join my husband on his trips. I got to go to England, San Francisco, Mountain View, and Cape Canaveral. So, that was cool.

kohr-ah

I just turned down a job that is 25% because I have a wife and kids. (only 1 week a month).
It depends a lot. Every person has different feels and responsibilities in life.

Looking to get experience early on? May be worth it.
Already established and value family time? I'd skip.
etc etc

blargoe

I would have jumped at the travel gigs 12 years ago. I won't even entertain a position that requires more than occasional (2-3 weeks/year tops) travel now that I have a litter of kids. I still may not once they are grown.

advanex1

Unrelated - I haven't been around for a while but wanted to say congratulations on the CCIE Ninja. I don't remember you having it before (yes, I've been out a while).

JoJoCal19

I was working with a recruiter during the late summer and IBM was really interested in me for a consulting job, but even at $140k plus bonus (which would have almost doubled my salary), I had to decline due to the 80% travel. I made a decision right then that there is no amount that would make me miss out on being able to attend dance recitals, school events, etc with my kids. I don't mind travel, but I would have to have flexibility in when that travel is so I don't miss out on stuff with the family.

capwap

Just tell your family, "I have a CCIE. That means the world needs me. What if Che Guevara had just stayed at home?", and then walk out the door as your theme music starts playing.

powerfool

I travel for work occasionally, it was supposed to be 25% travel... sometimes it is near 100%, other times it is nearly 0%. I will have to say that I have traveled less than I expected, but that has to do with my customers trying to save money on my travel expenses.

Here is the one thing that is frustrating, but often can be skirted, is that travel policy usually requires you to use a company credit card and their travel booking site. I use my own credit card so that I can get rewards and it has never been a problem. A few times I have booked directly because I didn't think I would be staying overnight (truth was, it was cheaper to book directly and I got hotel rewards points for it whereas the booking site "deals" sometimes made it impossible to get rewards.

If you travel, get some personal benefit out of it. If you have a family, it makes it rough.

pinkydapimp

I was traveling 100% for about 8 years. I loved it. And would do it again. However its not for everyone. A few important things.

1. the percentage travel really doesnt tell you much. I have seen 100% travel but its not overnight, so you may just have to drive an hour or two to meetings.

2. You need to find out more about the travel required. Is it overnight? How many nights per week? Per month? How flexible is this? Do you make your own schedule?

3. Travel policy is the difference between heavy travel being fun or not that bad, and being dreadful. If they force you to stay in motels or limit your food expenses so you have to eat ramen, then you may hate it and tire out quickly. However, a good travel policy makes everything much easier. For me, i could stay in the hotels i wanted, closer to airports or midtown which allowed me to get more sleep and such. I could block off a day for travel and not travel at night or on weekends if i didnt want to. It makes a huge difference.

4. Perks? hotel and airline points for me was a nice perk and i counted that as compensation because those points add up. I basically didnt have to pay for vacations during that time. And i always got to fly business and stay in the best hotels for free. Not to mention, when your traveling and not paying for anything, thats less you pay for at home. WHen i was single, my food budget at home was slim because i expensed everything. Bills were much lower as well because i wasnt home. Also, if you like to travel it can be awesome to see places ont he company dime you wouldnt otherwise get to see or travel to. Also, the networking benefits are nice.

5. Family. This really depends on your situation and you need to make that judgement call.

For me, i loved it. i was on the road monday through friday traveling nationaly and internationaly. I Look forward to another high travel role. But i understand its not for everyone. Good luck.

UncleB

If you have not strong ties then do it - there are few opportunities that will take you to so many places and pay for them.

I did this for a year and was sent all round Latin America in comfort (well until the emerging markets crash in '98 then it became economy) and got to see loads of interesting places from Mexico to Argentina and in between.

You get to see new cultures, different ways of life and of course, lots of interesting ladies (or men if that is your thing). I met and married a Brazilian girl and still regard the time there are one of the high points in my life.

It looks great on your resume as you have to be resilient, flexible and self reliant to cope with a constantly changing environment and the challenges of being on the move.

One thing I should have done in hindsight is to arrange for someone to look after my house when travelling so much - it would have been nice to have someone check for break-ins, leaks etc and to have some food & milk in the fridge when coming back from travelling (plus the heating running) as I was rarely getting home at sociable hours. The same went for my car - it was kind of suffering from not moving for months at a time in a British winter.

Be aware that the cost of living tends to be much higher than you may expect as you will often find yourself with an opportunity to, say, take a day out to visit Aztec ruins in Mexico (if you worked near there) when you have a day off and you are not likely to do this again off your own back. The extra cost of these events can be high, plus not having your own facilities available means you buy a lot more stuff from convenience stores or restaurants than normal. Careful planning is needed to avoid this costing more than you make sometimes.

Overall I would recommend it as a chance to broaden your horizons if nothing else.

Good luck
Iain

Russell77

I have had some travel work over the years. Like others have said be careful of that 50% estimate. A lot of times that will creep up to 75%. Try to get a clear idea of what they really need people to do and get a read on how long you will be out. Compensation goes in 3 stages. Local travel by and overnights by car is worth less than a person who travels on a national level by plane which is worth less than an international traveler. You can add a layer to the top end if it is undesirable countries where few want to work. Like any job it is what you make of it but make no mistake it can take an unexpected toll on family life. I know a manager who says almost everyone of the guys in his department are divorced mostly due to extensive travel. It is a good way to make a lot of money.

yellowpad

I love that kind of job.....send them my way, collect referral fees if you don't want it

FloOz

I do consulting so all of my time is spent either traveling or working from home. Most of my projects are in the Northeast area so I usually can drive to my customers with the occasional hotel stays. Personally I could not do the world travel. I love traveling on my own so I can enjoy the experience and not because I have to work with a customer on a deployment.

Robertf969

I travel, and I have kids. I love it. Typically I fly out on Monday and am home by Thursday night. But I also come from a Military background so traveling for 2 weeks a months at 3-4 days a week is peanuts compared to deploying for 12 months every other year and on the years we were back we spent about 5-6 months in the field total.

Pros
Get to meet lots of people
See lots of different environments
Rack up tons of frequent flyer miles/ hotel points / rental car points.
Work from home when I'm not traveling (currently in Jeans and a T-shirt with no socks and haven't shaved)

Cons
Sometimes my credit card gets up their while I am waiting for reimbursement
People are either scared of auditors or expect us to jump through hoops to help them become compliant (there is a difference between getting audited and hiring a consultant to help you with compliance)