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.
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 totally agree. I'd be sitting there thinking about what I could be doing if I were at home and it would make miss DS even more.
One night a week in a hotel is pretty awesome. I read and hog the bed and eat out whatever I want. But I think I would hate 5 nights every other week.
Is this the kind of thing you could do for a short time and then it would catapult your career at home and/or allow you to meet short term financial goals?
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.
Thoughts? Do you love it or hate it?
I have had this kind of job for the last ten years. I generally travel 2 weeks a month. DH has a similar travel schedule but he is in a different industry. When we are traveling on opposite rotations and spending too much time apart, it gets hard. We don't have children. We could not do this with children. To do this successfully, you have to be extremely organized so that you can get the laundry, cleaning, socializing, connecting with the husband all done in a weekend. Travel delays (especially in the winters here in Boston) can eliminate a weekend. When flight delays mean you don't get home until 1 am, you don't want to get up and do laundry Saturday morning. When there is a third week in the month, it is hard. I will get lonely on the road and will "eat my feelings."
There are four things that compensate. I get a nice salary and generous travel allowances. I have friends around the country and can connect with my friends for dinner on a work trip. I have generous leave (4 weeks) and can schedule leave at a travel site. DH and I have been able to explore several cities together. DH and I get to keep any travel miles so we use these to fly to meet the other one for a long weekend or weeklong trip. We have to pick up the extra hotel and meals cost but the office will pay for the working traveller's airfare.
Post by spunkarella on Jan 23, 2013 20:26:27 GMT -5
I have to travel 8-12 weeks per year for my current job and I hate it. Hate hate hate. So much so that I start a new job next week, and my primary reason for leaving the current job is the travel. I could not imagine trying to do it with kids.
Post by Bob Loblaw on Jan 23, 2013 20:38:50 GMT -5
I travel 5-10 weeks a year and have no kids. I think that H and I have a strong relationship but when I get back from being away for a week, it takes a few days to get back into the groove with him. Back to back travel would be rough.
Once I factor in kids, there's no way in hell I would do it.
I spent 125 business nights in a hotel last year, so I traveled about as much as you would in this new position. I've had travel as a component of my job for a large portion of the last 15 years - but in ebbs and flows. One year, I had all projects in town, and I've been in town now for about 3 months.
Do I like it? It's the nature of the beast as a systems project manager for Big 5 Consulting (then) and a major retailer. I think that I just accept it. I love the frequent flier miles and hotel points - it's easy to forget about (no offense) the Hampton Inn in Kansas City (literally, I've been there) when you're trading in the points for a hotel in Rome! :-) I often found myself so worn out from travel that I would simply stay the weekend when I had back-to-back trips. There's absolutely no sense in spending Saturday morning traveling only to have to get back on a place Sunday night. Note: when I travel, I usually travel Monday AM to Thursday night; however, I have found for work-life balance and sanity, leaving on late Sunday flight and getting to sleep in Monday (no 330 AM wake up alarm!) is better overall for me.
It sucks to miss out on things during the week - and it sucks to have no energy to do anything on the weekends after being gone all week. All I want to do is hang out at home! Trying to cram life into 2 day weekends is challenging - a lot of my colleagues do laundry the night before leaving for home so that they don't have to do it at home.
We don't have children yet, but we do have a dog. DH doesn't travel - although he used to do so as part of his job. DH "gets it" - meaning, he understands travel and dinner/drinks with colleagues (who are all men) while on the road. He understands the schedule involved, so I think that makes it MONUMENTALLY easier to deal. I can't tell you how many colleagues have challenges with spouses that don't understand travel and the time committment involved, or become jealous or upset by colleagues of opposite sex (goes back to another poster's comments re: traveling being tough on a marriage). If you're traveling for work, chances are that you won't be working straight 8 hour days. No one has anything else to do...but work, if you know what I mean.
That said, even with that level of understanding that DH has, it's a huge burden on the spouse at home. They're responsible for everything - and may / may not handle things like you'd handle it. For example, I came home one week after being out of town, working 14 hrs a day, to the mail in a huge stack on the kitchen table, toilet paper rolls not refilled, no groceries, and no dishes done (for the week). I'm not ashamed to say that I had a meltdown...but that's a tangent for a different time. :-)
It's great from a career standpoint to travel for work. You gain contacts all over the organization (or different organizations, if you're a consultant). You interact with colleagues differently and get to know them differently when you travel together (due to all the time together). You get the confidence, if you don't have it already, of having to figure out travel and directions and logistics. There's also usually a salary premium associated with travel.
I also would advise you against counting on the idea of being able to chose your own hotel/flights. I've worked for 4 different major companies - and there are ALWAYS travel restrictions - either on the client side or on the company side that dictate what you can book (usually around cost or a company preferred airline). We usually can choose a major brand hotel but flights are all over the place.
I love my job - and I can't imagine having a different one.
Post by alleinesein on Jan 23, 2013 20:54:58 GMT -5
I travel for work but its not the traveling that most people do. Ours requires at least a 3 month commitment b/c we get re-assigned to our international division. Last year I spent 16 weeks in Mumbai and I will be off to Mumbai again in 2 weeks for a 20 week assignment. There is also a possibility that I will go to either Israel or South Africa for 12 weeks later in the year.
The only thing that I missed was food. Not being able to have beef for months on end is torture!
I traveled a lot when I was single and newly married. It sucked so much. I was jet lagged all weekend. I felt I missed out on random things like concerts or dinner with friends. I could not predict my travel schedule. I made good money since I got a per diem and ate cheaply. I am considering a job with some travel, but not 50-80%.
I spend a few weeks a year traveling. It can be anything from a full month gone plus random weeks, or lots of little two or three day trips. I could not travel as much as the position you said. All the restaurants get old. Sleeping by yourself is only fun the first day or two, then I just want cuddles before bed.
Post by fortmyersbride on Jan 23, 2013 21:09:24 GMT -5
DH and i worked in different cities for a year when DS was a toddler. We saw DH 2-3 weekends/month when he flew home, and he would be home Fri night-Sun night. I'm very glad it was only a year. I missed DH a lot but it was much harder on him to be away from both DS and me. Also, I let a lot slide around the house. It was a total mess except for when the cleaners came and DS and I lived off of fast food and pre-prepped food from the grocery store. I also took him to TRU way too much to buy new distractions.
I realize that his schedule was worse than what you're looking at, but we only had to do it for a year. I think over time it could be just as bad, the solo parenting on weeknights can get really draining. And it's not really a full weekend together when you have to fly out Sunday night. I was always waking up Sun morning thinking about what time he had to be at the airport. 25% of the time during the winter months his flight home Friday was delayed or even canceled to the point where he didn't get home till Sat.
I used to travel extensively for work probably slightly more than the 25 weeks that were mentioned. I would caution that 25 weeks may turn out to be more than that. There are perks to travel but there are a lot of downsides as well. Lack of a personal life is a big negative, you miss out on many things when traveling, but earning the points for free travel is a plus. On the other hand when you travel so much for work the last thing you want to do when you have time off is get on a plane and stay in another hotel.
I was also the SO of somebody who travelled almost 100% of the time for work. It was a challenge, communication suffers, making plans and having to change them since a flight is delayed or a last minute trip comes up is stressful, not to mention feeling like you are responsible for everything at home.
Generally the money is better when you travel but it comes with strings.
I used to travel a lot for work. It's fun for a few weeks and then it gets old. I was actually miserable to have meals by myself in restaurants after a while and traveling a lot almost ruined my marriage. I will never go there again and I can't imagine it with kids. Ask yourself this...can you imagine not seeing your kids for 1/3 of the year?
I was a corporate trainer and traveled a ton after I just got married. It was great for the first six months and got old really fast. My flights were always delayed and spent a night sleeping on a airport floor since it was shut down due to storms and hotels were booked. Most of my travel was from the west coastto the east coast so I had to travel on Sundays to be there Monday morning. I was also able to fly home on weekends but it was a hassle since I would fly home late Friday night and have to leave early Sunday. I missed many Birthdays, Holidays and my social life suffered.. I got so sick of prepared food and gained a lot of weight since I never had a home cooked meal. We didn't have children so I can't speak to that but it was hard on my husband.
I only lasted two years. I will never take a job that requires that much travel ever again. It was fun at first but very isolating.
You say your DH is ok with whatever you decide. Does he really understand, though, what this means for him? Is he asking people who are the "at home" spouse how that works? I'm on that side of the coin now and it's HARD. I have a feeling your DH may not understand the full implications of this.
No way. I travel 60%, but in 1-3 night chunks. 3+ nights away from home starts making me twitchy. I did two weeks last year of a 4 and 5 night trip back to back and it was awful.
If you could leave Monday morning and come home Thursday night it would be much better. Friday afternoon flight homes with connections are going to be delayed more than average. You'll have all day Saturday and half a day Sunday at home. Not enough IMO, especially of you have kids.
I am required to travel for certain site setups, but its not a lot. maybe 3 weeks a year or an extra with some sort of training. There are people on my team that travel 2-3 times a week,but the pay doesn't compute the traveling. I don't feel travelling is any fun, especially for business. I would make sure your H is on board and he fully understands this requirement. It can be tough at times. DH hates that part completely because when I am gone, he has to do more end of the chores and most of time there is not enough hours here to do just that. I would imagine if you have kids, it be pretty difficult, but I do know guys that do travel just to get away from their kids...
Even if you're making it home on weekends, it will be a whirlwind, especially if you're expected to travel on Sunday. You'll be doing laundry, savoring your bed, then packing up to do it again.
When I was traveling, I was all over a four state region around Denver. If you're staying around KC, i imagine it would be similar. Staying at Hampton Inns and eating by myself at Applebee's sucked. All the developers would joke that this was the reason they hired kids right out of college to do that job, no one else would find it worth it. And even if your day ends at 5, what are you going to do, wander around Target? It may sound amazing right now, but it will get very old and quick. Also, getting stuck for weather and cancelled flights is no joke. I had a company car and made a significant amount of money for my education and experience level and it just wasn't worth it.
I was still traveling when I first got married and even that was infinitely harder than when I was single. When DH travels now, it is SO hard on him to be away from the kids. Good luck with what you decide.
Did you find out how much they are offering CJ? This is a ton of travel when you have school aged kids at home. Do you guys have family that can help your H at home while you are gone? Definitely make sure that the money covers all of the outsourcing you will do just to be able to travel so frequently.
Post by runblondie26 on Jan 24, 2013 9:46:10 GMT -5
That sounds like a lot of time away. Does your DH work full time too, and how does he feel about having your LO's by himself? It'll have a big impact on him as well. My DH is only away 3-4 days out of the week, and it's hard on both sides. I have a lot of respect for single parents who have to go it alone all the time.
Things like Facetime help in closing the distance a little bit though.