Traveling Consultant Job

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I’ve been offered a nice, very nice job as a computer consultant type. Everything pans out very much in my favor except for the travel which could be up to 80% Monday morning through Thursday evening. Fridays are worked from home (paperwork). The company touts a nice life work balance culture and has many programs in place to support such; however I’m still concerned about the travel as I do have a wife and 6moth old child.

Has anyone done it, what did you like? What did you dislike? Would you do it again? Do you have children?

Thanks for taking the time to provide some input – the demographics are huge on this site and I figured there’s got to be someone on here that’s done the consultancy thing.

np

[Morrison79 0]

I have been at a job were I travel quite a bit.
Last year I spent a little over 180 days in a hotel
room. I have not been doing it for a real long time, I have only worked here for 3 years. I do not have any children and I am not married.

The things I like about it are you get to see new places and experience different cultures, if your traveling overseas. Plus the perdiums never hurt!

But it can get very boring, you will miss lots of time with family and friends. Everyone always thinks that you are on vacation when you travel for work. It is far from that.

If I had to do it again I would have chosen a more conventional job. It really sucks when all your friends and family are getting together to do something and your stuck out of town.

[NWFlyer 2]

I've done it, without the spouse and kid.

It's fun for a while, then it wears on you. At first it's fun to rack up your airline and hotel miles, and you think "oh, cool, I can stay somewhere else on the weekends and skydive," but pretty soon all you want to do is sleep in your own bed and be able to eat a bowl of cereal in your own kitchen rather than deal with the effort it takes to get breakfast in a hotel lounge or restaurant.

Every few years I think I'm ready to get back into the road warrior lifestyle, and I do it for 12-18 months and completely burn out. Personally, I'm just not really made for that much time away from home. I like some travel, and the job I've just accepted has a moderate amount of travel. But it's all in the same time zone, the flight's about an hour, many of the trips will be day trips, or just one night, and I probably won't have to make the trip every week. That amount of travel is cool with me because I'm spending much more time at home than on the road.

When the only number that matters anymore is the number of miles you have in your frequent flyer accounts ... life's pretty sad.

[PhreeZone 14]

I've looked at it a few times and turned down a few chances at it. When they say 80% travel it is usually at least 80% away from home and depending on the gig closer to 90%. Look at the travel to see if its local or distant. If its distant usually the travel home is not figured in the 80% away so that means you are leaving home either stupid early Monday or more likely Sunday afternoon to fly to the site and then hoping you catch your flight Thursday evening or else you fly home Friday morning and spend the entire day doing the work and have Saturday to pack for the next week away from home again on Sunday. I work with a good group of consultants that do exactly that, it works well for most of them. You find out in the first 2-3 months they told me if you are cut out for it or not. Most of them are single and don't have anything tying them down so they will even stay over the weekends on some gigs and just enjoy the city they are in, the married ones are the ones that have it rough since they are only home 9-10 days a month.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[yardhippie 0]

Not so suprisingly, Im writing this from my hotel room cuz I am struggling to complete some edits for my team.
My job description says 50% travel, but its more like 60%.
Somewhere in the area of 40k flying miles, and 90 days in hotels this year.

I am marries, but not kids. You need to really like travel, and your wife needs to be able to stand on her without you even in hard times as you probably wont be there.

Think about worst case scenarios and can you deal with not getting home for up to 24 hours.

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[happythoughts 0]

I used to fly out on Sunday evenings and back on Friday evenings. If we wanted, we could stay the weekend.

I got used to seeing the same people on the flight in,
so we got together on Wednesday evenings for dinner.

There is something to be said for not having to clean, and eating at a decent restaurant.

You just have to be comfortable with being by yourself and not watching tv as entertainment.

[RhondaLea 3]

Before we were married, my husband did it for a year or so, and he hated every minute. Now he commutes 10 minutes each way, and he's much happier.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[Nomad 0]

Here is a different point of view; I was the the with the traveling parent. All my life my dad had a traveling job, when I was young( till 10) it was as much as a week or two at a time.. But the majority it was gone 3-4 days home 2-5days, or some random combo. I still call him on his cell and it always " where are you.. at home no.. ok". I don't even try to keep up anymore.

I can say it never negatively affected me. Some of my only solid memories before the age of 5 are of running out to greet him as he'd come home. Yelling " DAAAADDDY"S HOME" and latching on to his leg to be dragged up the porch steps and into the house <3. Those are great moments i'll always think fondly on. I do remember wondering on Sept 11th where he was, i knew he always went to NY in Sept for a trade show.. so that memory is not one to treasure... but you can't blame a dad for a national tragic right? Turns out he was in Vegas and had to hoof it home since there were no planes.

He made, to an extent, his own travel plans in the later year which helped him to be there for important events and birth etc. I only remember one time he wasn't at a performance and it wasn't work; but to take my brother fishing in Canada(ok... after it was after I told him it was ok to miss it). If it mattered to me he made it.
But be warned.. you will have very independent children if it follows my families model. I graduated high school weeks after my 16th birthday and moved from TN to Hawaii right after my 18th and proceeded to move overseas and all over the country before settling here in AZ. My brother is USAF, pilot training living away also. And now my dads traveling has been wonderful, he gets to come see me where ever I land; some times i'll meet him on business trips(he's east coast i'm west)
I don't remember the times my dad was gone as a child; i remember what he did when he was home. Little things like telling me i had to go take trash to the dump with him but at the last min U turning to go get frozen yogurt together instead. Find small things with your kids that they will remember. I can't speak from a wives point of view, but 27 years and my parents are still married. :) and their kids are well adjusted pilots/skydiver... wait is that an oxymoron???

All that is gold does not glitter, Not all who wander are lost.

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Thanks for all of the stories, opinions, and advice. Its a huge decision; I've been pondering since the offer came through Friday morning and I fell no closer to a decision than I did Friday evening.

again thanks.

np

[eeneR 1]

Let me pose this question. How does your wife feel about having to take on most if not all of the house work and child reearing in addition to you being out of town all the time?

Her true feelings on this can make or break how it goes for you in the long run. Traveling jobs are fine for some families while not for others. The same goes for the people, some people can handle living out of a suitcase for long stretches where others cannot.

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[pwln 0]

I've been traveling for 8 years. I have a wife and an 18 month old girl at home. I'm out of town Mon-Fri or Wed-Sun depending on the week. It's great and kind of sucks at the same time. I spend about 250+ nights a year in a hotel and I drive (company van) whenever possible, up to 600 miles 1 way.

If it pays good and you think you can spend the time away from your wife and child, do it, at 6 months old is when they start to be fun.

[marcandalysse 0]

I travel Mon-Thurs. Stay home 4 nites/3 days a week. Sometimes you might be able to work from home, or be 'on the bench' at home....

If I had kids I wouldn't do it. What's the point of having kids if you can't be with them? But if you need the money to raise your family, that's another story.....and as others mention, your wife needs to be independent and sign on 100% to your traveling.

"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton