I currently have a position were I don't travel other than a regional conference or two a year.
I am looking at a job where I would be gone around 25 weeks a year. Each trip would be at least 5 days and the weeks would sometimes be back to back to back. They would pay for me to fly home on weekends.
In my new job I travel 1-2 days a week, and maybe 6-8 times a year for a full week. That's the border of what I can handle. But I'm an introvert who needs downtime at home, and DH's job also requires that I handle a lot of the logistics of our life, so that's on my plate too, and it definitely slips during my week long travel.
I don't thank I'd want to be away from my hypothetical children that long either. Being away from the dog for a week is too much for me.
That type of job would only appeal to me if I were single and without kids. I'm not sure of your personal situation. I think many of those roles (assuming this is a consultant type role) can be great career builders, but I certainly would not want to do that type of travel with children at home, and probably not even with a husband back home. I think it would be tough on a marriage.
I think the internet ate my first post. Are you sure that your travel would be limited to just 25 weeks? My position was posted as 50% travel, and it is more like 80-90%. Would this be a promotion for you?
Personally, my travel schedule is too much and I couldn't see doing it with kids.
I travel a bit over half of that, and I'll admit it's a love-hate relationship with the travel. It's neat, getting to go places on someone else's dime. But, it's a hassle to deal with being gone so often, and it puts a crimp in my social life, and it's tough to figure out when/how we'll have kids with me maintaining this travel schedule.
Is the travel all domestic, at least? That can cut down on the airtime, although it reduces the coolness factor of the travel locations.
There are tricks to make the travel easier, but it still is a pretty big adjustment.
I travel a bit over half of that, and I'll admit it's a love-hate relationship with the travel. It's neat, getting to go places on someone else's dime. But, it's a hassle to deal with being gone so often, and it puts a crimp in my social life, and it's tough to figure out when/how we'll have kids with me maintaining this travel schedule.
Is the travel all domestic, at least? That can cut down on the airtime, although it reduces the coolness factor of the travel locations.
There are tricks to make the travel easier, but it still is a pretty big adjustment.
All domestic. Most in midwest but not all. The sucky part in KC's airport isn't a hub for anything so flights can be a pain.
I traveled like that when I was single. There is absolutely no way I could do that now.
DH just got home from a 16 day trip. Normally, he travels about one week a month and expects to get stuck on site two weekends a year, so this trip was exceptional. But as the stay at home spouse, it was so, so hard. It would not work for our family at all if being out that much was normal.
I traveled like that when I was single. There is absolutely no way I could do that now.
DH just got home from a 16 day trip. Normally, he travels about one week a month and expects to get stuck on site two weekends a year, so this trip was exceptional. But as the stay at home spouse, it was so, so hard. It would not work for our family at all if being out that much was normal.
I would be able to come home every weekend without exception. Fly out Sunday nights and fly home Friday.
Post by emilyinchile on Jan 23, 2013 19:07:11 GMT -5
I have just started traveling for work, and it's exhausting. I'm "on" all day in meetings, then have dinners that keep me up late, and I have to fit in other more day-to-day work around the meetings. I was quickly disabused of the notion that I'd be lazing around my king-sized bed in a bathrobe watching TV from 6pm onward. Traveling half of the time would be too much for me personally, it would be more than I'd want for my marriage, and I think it would be lots more than I'd want for my hypothetical kids.
You have elementary aged kids, right? That's way too much time apart IMO. And I don't even have kids! But thinking of my sister and BIL, aside from the logistics of school pickups, neither of them would want to see my nephews only on weekends for half the year. And I think it would really wear on the spouse at home, who will have to do 75% of the home tasks, plus work their own full time job. It sounds like it would be really easy to strain a marriage that way.
I travel enough to reliably be gold / platinum status on my chosen airline...and that is TOO MUCH for me. My trips are usually 1 - 2 days MAX and are sprinkled throughout the year. I would HATE HATE HATE the fly out on Sunday (ruins your entire Sunday!) and come back Friday thing. I don't have kids but LOVE being able to hang out with my H before and after work, we workout together every day possible, etc.
It makes me sad and lonely even thinking about it.
That is basically every other week away from home for 5 full days - dude, I'd need to be making BANK - at least $500 - 600k reliably - to consider it.
I will say, if you do consider this job, when thinking about the compensation consider the higher costs of needing to outsource a lot more of your in-home stuff, like cleaning, and laundry and yard work, etc. Rough out the cost of having someone else take care of those things and make sure that is more than covered by the income increase. Because you will want to outsource most of this stuff with that much travel - you'll want to maximize your time at home and not spend it on housework.
I don't travel, but DH does. When he first started the position, he was gone 9 weeks (home saturday-sunday). It sucked ass. He was home for 3 weeks, gone for another 6.
He didn't get a pay raise, which we knew would happen. But he got to start driving his company truck home rather than parking at the plant, which was 40mi one way. So instead of paying almost $700/mth in gas, we only pay $200... so that was a "raise". He gets a lot more OT when he is gone vs. when he's home.
We don't have kids. IF we did, this crazy schedule would never work.
What will you do alone in a hotel room in the Midwest from 5pm until the next morning? I hate being stuck with coworkers when i travel, but I could possibly hate that more.
What will you do alone in a hotel room in the Midwest from 5pm until the next morning? I hate being stuck with coworkers when i travel, but I could possibly hate that more.
What will you do alone in a hotel room in the Midwest from 5pm until the next morning? I hate being stuck with coworkers when i travel, but I could possibly hate that more.
I do know when I travel my day will end at 5. I won't be around coworkers. I have my choice of hotels and airlines.
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Won't you miss your friends and family in KC? It just sounds so lonely to me to be by yourself after 5 pm for 5 days a week. And I am a homebody! I couldn't stand to be away from my H and dog that long.
I traveled more than that when I was in consulting. I basically spent 3 years living in hotels. I liked it for the first few months. It got old REALLY fast. The client dinners, expense accounts, etc sound nice, but nothing beats your own bed. The only positive was I still have hundreds of thousands hotel and airline miles.