Traveling full time (or a lot) for work?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I’m at that point as well. I have refused all air travel in favor of my RV since 2012. But I finally met my match this month. I have to make repeated trips back and forth from a flight test range to integrate some equipment, with highly variable dates (some as short as a day). I’ve been forced back into the airline/rental/motel experience again. For the last 7 years, I’ve either flown or driven myself on trips so I’m actually inexperienced at security lines, etc.

If the OP doesn’t mind a slight detour:
How do you experienced folk deal with a CPAP machine when traveling? This came up suddenly and I don’t have time to get a portable travel version. I’ll have to transport a big older model Resmed each trip.

Thanks for any advice on this. I have to carry a company laptop that I’m prohibited from checking, so I’m trying to figure out how to lug all this stuff around with me. To top it all off, part of the trip is on a regional jet that has very limited overhead space (only on one side of the plane, I’m told).

22

It’s not for everyone. I did it for a few years. I didn’t like it and other people in the office who would be more suited to it envied me for it, which resulted in some minor bad repercussions (socially) to me. So a double whammy.

23

This was one of the biggest pains for me. When I was starting my career after business school, I moved to Manhattan where my home office was located. But then I was travelling all the time so for awhile I barely got to experience living in New York, aside from having an overpriced studio apartment.

It can also get pretty lonely when you’re in a town and the only people who know you are the hotel bartender and concierge.

24

International traveler from USA, whose teams are in USA (various), London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Rome, Munich, Sydney, Shanghai, Prague, Mumbai.

First few times in each city: Amazing.

After 25 years of travel, at 51 years of age, I quit after flying Air India in coach for a 17-hour direct flight home, which was delayed on both ends, putting my butt in an airplane seat for almost 20 hours.

I am unemployed and pursuing a job with little or no travel.

My trips wiped out three weekends at home each time: The weekend I would leave, the weekend I would stay and the weekend I would return. Once home, I was in ‘catch-up mode’ and the next weekend at home was spend enjoying down time, for my health, which I hate (serious impact to four weekends). I am an ansty and hyperactive person who paces around at 5 am trying to get a few things done so I can head out and milk the day for all it is worth. Business and travel are things I had to mentally conquer daily for 25 years, as their pace and trends buck what I am naturally wanting in life.

Airline/work travel gave me memories. I’m an Italian-American whose biggest team was in Italy, and whose company HQ was in Milan, which I visited constantly. Incredible experience, but the next time I go to Italy, it will be on my terms, without thoughts of work hanging over my head. Italian business is off the proverbial rails.

I haven’t stepped on an airplane for personal reasons… ever. Every domestic and international trip was spurred by business. I take many, many road trips in my cars. They are amazing. I don’t care if I ever take another commercial airline flight. I want to boat, take road trips and explore. When I feel settled, maybe I will fly to Italy and… relax.

Hope this insight helps. I do appreciate living in Italy, taking road trips to Normandy, Switzerland and blasting down the autobahn. I loved the hospitality of the Spanish and French, and I’ve partied hard in Mumbai night clubs. But… I am done.

.

25

When I’m playing consultant:

A lot of it depends on your home airport and your proximity to it. I can leave home and be at my gate in 30 minutes. Airport pain is mitigated by TSA Pre check and having a club membership. Breeze through security, wait in the club until boarding time, then wade through the gate lice and fall asleep on the plane.

The number of cities you can get direct flights to from DC is impressive, decreasing travel time. Since I mostly only fly domestically, the longest direct flight I’m looking at is maybe 6 hours (nobody has needed me in HI or AK yet). Most are much shorter.

I’d rather have a long pair of flights to, say, central Oregon, than have a shorter drive to WV or central PA. I can read, sleep, watch movies on the plane. I think I’ve watched more movies on planes these last few years than I have at home or in theaters.

It was easier when I lived by myself. Friday and Monday meetings in San Francisco? Darn, guess I’ll have to spend the weekend getting my meals comped. These days that’s a bit more disruptive. Although I generally don’t travel on weekends. So early Monday and late Friday meetings don’t happen west of the Mississippi.

My work hours are flexible. Most travel time counts as work. If I bill a client for enough time Mon-Thu I may just stay home Friday and spend an hour or two on urgent emails.

26

for high food cost I meant when you are traveling on vacation where you have to pay yourself.

Even if my business was paying the cost I really hate the idea of paying 2x as much for food just because I am stuck in the airport - same is true for sports events, movies, etc.

27

I know many business travelers can do productive work on the plane, or in the airport, and bill the hours. My work isn’t generally structured that way.

My job is paid hourly, so if I were elected Emperor of the Universe, one thing I would change is that business travel would be paid at my hourly rate. As it is, my employer sees no difference in impact if they put me on a plane for a 1 hour trip or a 14 hour trip, it’s all the same to them! (Yes, yes, I know, I could always quit, etc. As I stated earlier, I have constantly tried to find a job off the road / at home to no avail.)

28

I’ve long given up trying to do productive work on a plane, and try to schedule flights so that layovers are less than an hour since I no longer have any lounge privilidges thanks to travel rules that require using the low cost carrier.

If you are paid on an hourly wage your employer (if US-based) likely has to pay you for buisness-related travel time. You should check with an employment lawyer, but you are probably due back pay if you have been traveling without compensation for your time. I’m exempt and our contract prohibits charging labor for travel time (great cost saving measure, guys) so unless I’m doing work my travel hours don’t count for shit. I’ll often bring a test plan or some documents to review so I can at least count a few hours against labor, but generally speaking I lose more than eight hours of nominally productive time when travelling anywhere beyond a direct flight or where I have to spend a couple hours driving out to a facility. It makes me not too inclined to give the program any extra time to meet a deadline.

Stranger

29

I’m currently in a lull, but I typically have travelled extensively for work, and that’s even after I left the Army. Mexico three times totaling 4.5 years, Canada for a year, China for five years, plus all of the travel from those locations (Germany, Thailand, South Africa, India, Vietnam, different sites in Mexico and Canada, etc.).

The trick is to stay organized, get status on the airline and at hotels, and keep a ziplock bag for each of the local currencies, SIM cards, and other country-specific stuff for each country.

Long flights are business, but you get status really fast in business, meaning that short flights will very often bump you into business.

I detest the flying experience, but that’s over fairly quickly. You have to have the ability to close your eyes and think of England.

To be honest, though, after five years of 14 hour return flights back and forth to China, those little five hours flights to Mexico are nothing, now.

30

It’s been 20+ years since I travelled regularly. Prior to that, I commuted weekly to New York (had an apartment there) and while Friday and Sunday evenings were a bit wearing, overall I spent less time travelling than when I came home and had to commute into DC every day.

Having an apartment made it much easier. I only had to bring home an overnight bag each weekend. I travelled variously by train, small plane, or large jet - and baggage was much less of a hassle than it is nowadays.

Before that project, I commuted to California weekly for 3 months. That got old, between the longer flights, and need to keep more clothing in the suitcase. The frequent flier miles were nice though.

Living out of a hotel sucks - the apartment was a much nicer option.

These days: get Global Entry / TSA Pre-check if you’re travelling in the US - it will save a fair bit of hassle at the airports.

31

Good luck. I’m interviewing for one of those mythical “end-client jobs” (still with travel, but to company locations and about half the time instead of 100%; well, they say 40% but yeah right) and I want to SCREAM every time they point out “but but but… you do realize you’ll be making less money?” Apparently they don’t realize that one, what the consulting firms get paid and what I get paid aren’t the same and two, what I now get paid includes travel, accomodations, insurance… that if they do become my employer will be paid by the company. “Goddamnit yes I can count! Can you?”