how far would you commute/drive to work?

how far would you commute/drive to a job, given these factors:

Position:
District Technology Technician Permanent M-F, 6 Hrs./Day, 12 Mon./Yr. #345

Employing District:
xxxxxxxx Unified School District

Salary:

$17.56-$22.42/Hr. DOE

Google maps says the distance from my house to the job site is:
74.0 mi, 1 hour 18 mins
In current traffic: 1 hour 20 mins

(one way)

I drive a 2006 Toyota Tacoma truck, and it gets roughly 19/21 MPG depending. Gas prices are $3.79/gal.
I would be refueling every couple of days. I dont have any other vehicle I can use.

I will say that the pros of the job include 6hr days and a nice benefits package, and I would gain experience.

Cons are a mix of factors, commute time, would be spending a lot on gas from my paycheck, etc.

Opinions? thoughts? How far should one say its "too far" to commute to the job? I realize there are a number of factors in play here, like how much pay/salary is, benefits, etc.

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Comments

coralreefguy

Depends on the opportunity. I've considered a 2 hour commute (15 minute car ride to station, 90 minute train ride into NYC, 15 minute walk to office). I interviewed with the company three times (making three seperate commutes to the city to do so) and so I've gotten a taste of what a four-hour daily round trip is like. Not fun. Something I'm willing to do for the right dollar amount (this would be a 10k raise, but they cover my transportation / rail card, so it'd be more like a 15k raise since I essentially eliminate all travel expenses in my life). It's also a huge door opener that basically ensures in five years I'd be (senior) engineer title as long as I keep my self-studies up.

In your situation I think this isn't worth it. I don't know what you make now...but 6 hour days isn't a long work week. Driving a truck isn't great on gas. 75 mile round trip five days is roughly 375 miles, we'll round it to 380 to make it easy - at 20mpg you're going through 19 gallons a week in just commuting to work (minus your other travels for fun, family, food, etc). That's 70 bucks a week minimum (forget when gas prices go up). Let's say you get lowballed at 18/hr, with a 30 hour week you're making 540 dollars a week (before taxes). I know how I get taxed in CT as a single young guy claiming only myself, I earn about 75% of my gross. That's 405 bucks in your pocket weekly, now take away the 70 from gas in commuting. Right off the bat your net pocketed wages are about 330/week (before the price of gas goes up again in the summer). Not to mention your opportunity cost for having to drive 2 hours a day (that's 10 hours a week you're not getting paid for but feel as though you're on the clock or your time is already spent). If you could put fifty of that seventy dollars back in your pocket every week that would be an extra 200/mo - wouldn't it be nice to cover a car payment, car insurance + cell phone bill, third of your rent, etc? Just my thought on your situation. Keep in mind as well that, at 375 miles a week you're putting nearly 20 thousand miles a year on your car. That's anywhere from 4-6 oil changes, set of brakes a year, tires every year 1/2 if not sooner depending on your area, and with a 2006 pretty much ensuring that within 3-4 years you'll probably want to look into replacing the vehicle as problems become more and more expensive (more problems with higher mileage, parts are dying/wearing out).

In my opinion? Unless you're currently unemployed, not worth your time. You want to make peanuts after taxes and gas this is the job for you. If the experience is worth it on your resume to suck it up for a year then maybe go for it if you think it will open the door to other opportunities. On a plus side, 6 hours a day + commute means you still only have an 8 hour day. You can use your time to study for more certs (Microsoft, Cisco) to combine with your experience and continue to move forward.

wgroom

I commuted 149 miles a day, 3 hours on a good traffic day, but would never do it for < $35/hr. Not worth the time or effort, unless a guarantee was made that if I did my part in 6 months the pay would increase a minimum of 33%.

DoubleNNs

I'd skip it.
The only reason to take it is if you're currently unemployed and plan on making it a short term role just to add experience to your resume for a better role.

An 80 min commute could be bearable if part of it was on a bus/train where you could read/sleep/watch something. But thats a long drive for the amount of pay.

jvrlopez

That's a long commute. You're going to spend around 2 hours of your day in traffic. Couple that with the hit gas will force upon that level of pay and the fact that you will have to wake and leave earlier and also arrive home later...

We had a guy who would commute from Austin to San Antonio daily which is about 79 miles (close to your commute). He didn't mind it, but he was retired Navy and drawing a pension and had a higher salary which probably made the cost and effort more bearable.

olaHalo

For that much money I wouldnt do it unless I was unemployed or made far less.

ande0255

My work is 45 minutes away, across the main highway of the Twin Cities, and getting to work can sometimes take 2-3 hours if it snows. I make $23/hour roughly, but the experience is worth more than the paycheck. If and when the experience caps out, I'm confident I could move into a lot of different roles.

In other words, I don't factor current earnings unless it's absolutely detrimental to my life, experience opens so many doors in job interviews. Not being a 'paper cert' just does worlds of good, worth driving hours for the experience if the paycheck handles the gas!

joemysterio

My current commute is 80 miles and 2-3 hours round trip, I fill up my car every 3 or so days (usually $40 fills me up), making $18/hour. It's to a school district as well but 8 hours a day. I'm putting in around 2,000 miles a month including personal trips. It sucks on my car but it's worth the work experience. I'll probably stick it out for a year or so and ask my employer to put me on a different project closer to where I live.

If you're unemployed and it's temporary job until you find something better, or you can relocate, then do it. otherwise, I wouldn't do it... not in a truck at least.

Essendon

Sell the truck, buy a sedan/hatch. Save on fuel and maintenance.

Xyro

This is the typical commute I am forced to do here. It was one of the main reasons why I chose a Hybrid.

You will be spending (roughly) $30/day ($150/wk, $600/mth) on gas, so if you can handle both working for a school system and putting this amount of $ out on gas then I see no other reason not to do it.

GoodBishop

I've had long commutes and short commutes to work - my personal decision is not to accept any job that is more than 45 min commuting one way.

It would have to be a ton of money for me to consider otherwise.

The amount of time you lose in the car over the course of a year is astounding. Say your normal commute is half a hour one way, and you're looking at jobs that are a hour commute. So you will be driving a extra hour a day. 1 hour time 260 business days in a year = 260 hours = 6.5 work-weeks of extra doing-nothing but sitting in the car commuting.

I know people who have 1.5 and 2 hour commutes one way, but man, they are not happy with their jobs because of it.

sratakhin

Why don't you just move closer to work?

markulous

Right now I commute close to an hour each way. Although, I do plan on moving closer as soon as I have the funds. I ideally don't like commuting more than 30 minutes. It kind of kills your day driving so much (as well as your wallet).

FloOz

My commute is sometimes over and hour and I only have to drive 20 miles

Fidelity

I commute 25 minutes each way and it drives me crazy. I'd prefer my commute was 20 minutes round trip. I don't like wasting my life sitting in a car... in traffic... yuck!

FloOz

That's why you have to keep yourself engaged. I like listening to audio books, training videos, and different kinds of podcasts. My commute, even though its long, goes by really fast. I don't even mind it that much anymore.

Success101

FloOz wrote: »

That's why you have to keep yourself engaged. I like listening to audio books, training videos, and different kinds of podcasts. My commute, even though its long, goes by really fast. I don't even mind it that much anymore.

Wow. A lot of you drive *really* far to work. Here I was thinking my drive of 30 min each way was bad. I have a friend who actually took a temp job 3 hours one way....he's making about $20k for two months of work though.

kohr-ah

Currently - 10 min drive to train station
1 hour train ride
4 minute walk to work

This is really the farthest I want to go. I dont mind having to walk to my work downtown if a bit further but my next gig after this contract is up I would like to try to get one closer to home even if a 25 - 30 mile drive per day each way.
(Took this one because of the "opportunity" I was told. It also paid more than what I was getting paid before)

ScrawnyRonnie

I despise traffic! I live south of DC and never want to drive up 95 to get to all the jobs up there. I have a 6-8 minute commute right now and it's great. I wouldn't drive that far for that pay either. I know as some have said sometimes you gotta do it, but I'm not one of those willing to give up that much of my day sitting in a vehicle.

yatesaj

I walk 5 minutes.

Ukimokia

My commute takes between 45mins-2hrs depending on how many ships are in.

It averages about 1hr both ways. Though when you work at one of the largest bases on the east coast the traffic can be terrible even though I'm 17miles away.

techwizard

sratakhin wrote: »

Why don't you just move closer to work?

I would do that. However two things:

1) I already own a home (still paying mortgage) would have to sell it, due to where I live, selling almost any kind of real estate property can take a long time.

2) There is nothing in the town where the job is. One gas station (one gas pump), one restaurant, a bunch of schools. There isn't even a medical clinic. The nearest hospital is 20 mins away, and it is very small. The more serious medical cases are transported or airlifted to another city, which is near where I currently live. Moving wouldn't make much sense.

Anyways, just to update this thread. I was interviewed 2 times for this position. They eventually called me and told me that they decided to go with another candidate. So, it looks like I wont be having to make the commute decision after all. However I do thank everyone for their input in this thread. Personally, I think the commute should not be any more then 30-45mins (one way) to work. Of course, other factors can come into play here. Pay, benefits, etc. I am fortunate that I do not live in a big city metro area or have to deal with any kind of commute hell.

nestech

techwizard wrote: »

I would do that. However two things:

1) I already own a home (still paying mortgage) would have to sell it, due to where I live, selling almost any kind of real estate property can take a long time.

2) There is nothing in the town where the job is. One gas station (one gas pump), one restaurant, a bunch of schools. There isn't even a medical clinic. The nearest hospital is 20 mins away, and it is very small. The more serious medical cases are transported or airlifted to another city, which is near where I currently live. Moving wouldn't make much sense.

Anyways, just to update this thread. I was interviewed 2 times for this position. They eventually called me and told me that they decided to go with another candidate. So, it looks like I wont be having to make the commute decision after all. However I do thank everyone for their input in this thread. Personally, I think the commute should not be any more then 30-45mins (one way) to work. Of course, other factors can come into play here. Pay, benefits, etc. I am fortunate that I do not live in a big city metro area or have to deal with any kind of commute hell.

You can put your place up for rent...

brentw722

I travel about 150 miles a day and hit traffic everyday (near D.C.). I make about 23 an hour myself and love my job. I think it just depends on the situation. I learn tons of information and get to touch everything, so in the long run I believe it will be good for me.

techwizard

yeah, that's the thing. Its not a full time job. Its 30 hours a week. I found this out at the second interview.

snunez889

If your trying to break into the IT world I would take it. But then again I like commuting, lets me get mentally ready for work.

Anonymouse

When I moved to my current residence I was making the same commute with the same pay as OP listed. I hated it. To me a job is never worth sitting in my car for 1.5 hours. Now I commute 10 miles with the choice of driving or riding my bicycle. It doesn't hurt that I make more than my last job with the monster commute too. The jobs before that I was driving 45 minutes in stop and go traffic for less money. Sitting in traffic just makes me hate life so I would never agree to a commute over 10 miles from home again.

--chris--

I have weighed in on a thread like this before, but I thought I would bring my $0.02 in again.

This is a relative subject. If you live somewhere where it takes 15-20 minutes just to go to a decent grocery store or department store, a 45-60 minute commute isnt a big deal.

However, if you are used to walking to your grocery store or driving less than a few miles and have lived near a large community/city than a 60 minute commute can seem like a waste of your life.

For me, my first job was 45-60 minutes. My second job was 60-75 minutes. Id like to find something close to 30 minutes, but the fact is 90% of the jobs around here are posted in the 45-90 minute range.

At this point, long commutes are nice. I can drink my coffee slowly, listen to some study material on MP3, catch up on sports, listen to Kenny Chesney, plan out my day, make some calls...I'm sure that will all change one day, but until I can afford to turn down jobs and put my foot down I have no choice.

DoubleNNs

--chris-- wrote: »

At this point, long commutes are nice. I can drink my coffee slowly, listen to some study material on MP3, catch up on sports, listen to Kenny Chesney, plan out my day, make some calls...I'm sure that will all change one day, but until I can afford to turn down jobs and put my foot down I have no choice.

All while driving?

I think 45 mins on train is very, very different than 45 mins driving, especially thru traffic.

--chris--

DoubleNNs wrote: »

All while driving?

I think 45 mins on train is very, very different than 45 mins driving, especially thru traffic.

Yes, while driving. Hands free cell of course, I do drive a stick

And I agree, 45 min on a train would be much better than 45 minutes driving.

techwizard

brentw722 wrote: »

I travel about 150 miles a day and hit traffic everyday (near D.C.). I make about 23 an hour myself and love my job. I think it just depends on the situation. I learn tons of information and get to touch everything, so in the long run I believe it will be good for me.

If it was full time and the top end pay of 22.42/hr then I would have most likely taken the job if offered. It would have been a really tough decision for me, but I would have taken the job and worked for a year, meanwhile looking for something closer/better. The year of exp from the job would have been a great resume booster. Point is, I wouldn't have done it for that long, esp if I had to use my own vehicle.

I thought about "what if's" and negotiating points, if they had offered the job. For example, they do have a company vehicle I would have used, but at the job site. The school has a main office however, is located at the city that is much closer to where I actually live. I was thinking of asking them why don't they allow me to just park a company vehicle at the main office (only a 15min drive from my current location) and then drive to work from there, in their company car, using their gas, etc. I think they would have to clock me in as soon as I got in the car though, and that probably would "cut into" their labor/expense budget, and they probably wouldn't have gone for it, but it was a negotiating point I was thinking of using, if it had gotten that far.