Do you like traveling for work? [poll]

[bignateyk]

I dont understand why people hate it so much. I mean, I can see if you have a young family or something, then it might suck to have to spend alot of time away from them, but other than that...

It seems that the people who dont like it are the ones who just sit in their hotel room after work.

I travel about a week out of every month, and I love it. Last week I was in arizona doing some field testing. We worked from 2am till 10am every day, and had the rest of the time to do whatever we wanted. It was pretty much like a vacation.

Me and one of the other guys (I'm 23, he's 48 with family) I was with sat around the pool and had a few beers each night. On the weekend nights when we didnt have to wake up, we went and hit the local sports bars and strip clubs.

On top of that, all the meals and hotels are paid for. Whats not to love about that? Its like getting paid to have fun. Even the field work is more fun than the regular work.

In the next 3 months i'm scheduled to go on two more field tests (one arizona, one idaho), a trip or two to DC, and then a combat deployment overseas, and i'm looking foward to them all. We also have field tests planned for next year in italy and singapore (these are the trips people seem to despise going on the most...)

 

[meltdown75]

Depends on what I'm traveling for. I usually have to drive 3-4 hours to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) to head office for training or meetings for special projects.

I don't mind being away for a couple days... but if it is something really lame or boring, I'd rather just chill at home.

 

[K1052]

Since I usually get to go somewhere warm and sunny I don't mind, though it only happens a few times a year.

Typically my schedule while I am traveling doesn't leave a lot of downtime, especially if we are doing dinner meetings. After working all day with people, dragging myself over a good chunk of the city, and having a dinner that might end at 10:00 P.M. if I'm lucky for a few days in a row I just want to go to my room and collapse on my bed.

 

[Nerva]

the first time i had to travel for work, i was stuck at the airport all day, flying standby on every leg of the trip. the kicker is, it was my 23rd birthday, and it could have all been avoided if my supervisors had any sense or heart... they made me get on a flight when there is no guarantee that i would even be able to get on the connecting flight (which i didnt for 6 hours). bastards!!!

 

[Capt Caveman]

When I used to travel, I went to some cool places (Israel, Vancouver, BC, Mexico City). But the work days were long and didn't get the chance to go out every night. I think a lot has to do with the job and how much traveling(weekly compared to once a month).

 

[Joemonkey]

The only real travelling I've done for this job is to go to Detroit for a week, and it looks like I'm going again next Mon-Wed. I have a 2yo daughter and a wife I adore at home, so being away from them is no fun, but when I was in Detroit last time I got to meet a few ATOTers so it wasn't too bad

 

[LS20]

if im in europe for a month at a time, i start to miss things like my own couch, american television programming, my kitchen, things i take for granted like 4am Taco Bell, KFC fried chicken, etc

also, my own 6sp personal car. rentals are no good.

also, not all the places you have to go to are peaches and gravy. imagine being in oklahoma for 2 weeks. F THAT NOISE

short trips good long trips bad

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: LS20
if im in europe for a month at a time, i start to miss things like my own couch, american television programming, my kitchen, things i take for granted like 4am Taco Bell, KFC fried chicken, etc

short trips good long trips bad

I actually prefer the long trips. The only thing I hate about traveling is the getting there and back part where you sit at the airport for hours between flights, jet lag, etc...

I get more bang for my buck on the long trips.

 

[vi edit]

You are still in the honeymoon phase. Give it another few years when the novelty wears off.

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: LS20

also, not all the places you have to go to are peaches and gravy. imagine being in oklahoma for 2 weeks. F THAT NOISE

I've been stuck on a military base staying the the barracks in the middle of idaho for two weeks. We went hiking and did stuff like that, and made the best out of it. Then there were the few people who came who just sat around and did nothing and hated it.

 

[tm37]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
You are still in the honeymoon phase. Give it another few years when the novelty wears off.

I am in year three of the traveling job (which I took so I would stop traveling)

Cool sometimes usually not cool.

I have about 120K in NWA miles and I have no desire to go anywhere, so Last time I got this high I used them to fly people in to see us.

I have at least three more trips this year and I hopefully will not have any more.

In April and June I was gone more than I was home and I have to say that it sucks.

 

[evident]

only if its less than two weeks

 

[lozina]

Where is the "Hell MF'in No" option?

For me it's the tedium of airport security checks, waiting, sitting in cramped planes, checking in checking out of hotels with horrendous mattresses. All that crap that feels like a total waste of time and gets tiring quick.

 

[dullard]

I can't stand it.

1) I work on my work trips, as do many other people in other businesses. For me, that is 16-18 hours of work per day and I've never been paid to stay a weekend. All I want to do at the end of the day is crash in the hotel. And even then I can't do it as I'm working to fix whatever went wrong during the day or making a presentation for the next day. Often 2-3 hours of sleep is all I get. Exporing the city/surroundings is impossible.

2) It means days (weeks for other people) away from friends and family. You must skip anything you wanted to do at home and leave it all. After a few years of it, you'll see that friends/family time is far more important than hanging out at a pool/bar with strangers.

3) Combine #1 and #2 and you get a 100+ hour work week. Who wants that? I want to have as little time as possible working and as much time possible with my friends/family.

4) Who likes the airport experience? Getting up at ungodly hours to catch your flight, long waits, layovers, delays, cancellations, baggage frustrations, etc.

5) Some people are social and can have fun anywhere - even alone as they befrend others. Now imagine being shy and afraid.

6) Work trips tend to pop up suddenly and at the worst possible times. That means you can never plan anything you really want to do. Want a two week vacation of your own? Too bad, you might have a sudden work trip appear. Have nice romantic plans for an anniversary? Too bad, you are away at work. Want to see your son win the football championships? Too bad, you are off working.

7) Hotels suck compared to the comfort of your own home, you own bed, etc.

I could go on and on.

 

[Uppsala9496]

I don't mind travelling, but if I can avoid it I do.
The expense report BS pisses me off. Then there is all of the time wasted at the airport. Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I could understand how it could suck if that was basically all you're ever doing. I, OTOH, never get to travel for work so it would be a nice change.

 

[krunchykrome]

I love it. You get to visit different places. Everything is paid for. Per diem is great!

And you rack up points on the AMEX corporate card.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: bignateyk
I dont understand why people hate it so much. I mean, I can see if you have a young family or something, then it might suck to have to spend alot of time away from them, but other than that...

It seems that the people who dont like it are the ones who just sit in their hotel room after work.

I travel about a week out of every month, and I love it. Last week I was in arizona doing some field testing. We worked from 2am till 10am every day, and had the rest of the time to do whatever we wanted. It was pretty much like a vacation.

Me and one of the other guys (I'm 23, he's 48 with family) I was with sat around the pool and had a few beers each night. On the weekend nights when we didnt have to wake up, we went and hit the local sports bars and strip clubs.

On top of that, all the meals and hotels are paid for. Whats not to love about that? Its like getting paid to have fun. Even the field work is more fun than the regular work.

In the next 3 months i'm scheduled to go on two more field tests (one arizona, one idaho), a trip or two to DC, and then a combat deployment overseas, and i'm looking foward to them all. We also have field tests planned for next year in italy and singapore (these are the trips people seem to despise going on the most...)

Under the circumstances you describe, I think most people would like traveling. Especially Italy and Singapore (been to the latter and had a blast). The exception would be if you're completely insular and anti-social, in which case being forced to try something new or leave your comfort zone would be excruciating.

 

[j00fek]

50/50

 

[NuclearNed]

My wife and I travel for pleasure all the time, and I love it. Still, I hate travelling for work. I haven't had to do it in several years. When I did, it usually meant going somewhere I didn't like (home office/factory in a ghetto part of Chicago), with someone I didn't like (low IQ idiot from the Quality Dept.), to see people I didn't like (hostile IT guys who thought they had the big brains just because they worked at the home office), to get training that was irrelevant and uninteresting to me (seminars on ISO9000 quality standards).

The one consolation was that my boss encouraged me to go wild with my expense account when it came to meals. I had bills that were well over $100 for a single meal and nobody cared.

 

[skim milk]

what kind of job would allow me to travel internationally?
I'm graduating next year and I want to work at a company that will give me the opportunity to go abroad
I would love to visit south america, asia, europe, etc.

 

[LS20]

Originally posted by: fritolays
what kind of job would allow me to travel internationally?
I'm graduating next year

a tad too late to switch careers no?

 

[bignateyk]

Originally posted by: fritolays
what kind of job would allow me to travel internationally?
I'm graduating next year and I want to work at a company that will give me the opportunity to go abroad
I would love to visit south america, asia, europe, etc.

I dunno. I do defense contracting, and we implement and test our "system" in many parts of the world, some fun, some dangerous, some both.

 

[PingSpike]

Combining the hassles and stress of traveling with the hassles and stress of work? All in an unfamiliar location where none of my friends and family are? It does sound appealing, but I must decline.

 

[piasabird]

I went to a class in March or April for a few days and the town was an old railroad town in northern Illinois. There were 2 sets of tracks in town and you constantly got stopped by trains. There were almost no good places to eat either. It was like going back to the 1950's.