Would You Travel For Work?

Your Two Cents: Would You Travel For Work?

May 18, 2009

I’ve been on my share of business trips, but I’ve never had the kind of job where I had to travel all the time. It’s always seemed sort of glamorous to me, jetting off to new locations and racking up frequent flier miles.

People I know who do have to travel regularly, however, typically find it to be a mixed bag. One friend used to travel four days a week for her job, and even though she did love staying in nice hotels and expensing fancy dinners with clients, she was also exhausted and homesick. What do you think — would you be willing to travel for work?

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21 Comments

3 years 23 weeks

I spent a year in Iraq, then returned home to find my job now requires 50% travel. Always thought I would enjoy traveling 2 weeks per month, but now it's just tedious. I pined for a year to get home, and now leave my wife every other week. It's certainly not a long-term employment solution...

kh61582 3 years 51 weeks

I'm a singer/actress so I have no choice. It's not really the kind of career that allows you to stay put but I wish I could. I'm a small town girl that just happens to want to be a singer. It's a little complicated to find a balance.

Pistil 3 years 52 weeks

I would love a job that allowed me to travel. My aunt knew someone who was a buyer for a place that sells wine, and she got to travel to wonderful places to sample wine! Of course, my dad's job allowed him a lot of business trips to northern Alberta, woohoo. It would depend.

sorrowja 4 years 1 h

Nothing beats sleeping in my own bed at night.

bluebellknoll 4 years 3 h

When I worked for a toy company, I used to travel for work for a couple weeks in the winter and early spring for trade shows and it was super fun but also exhausting. Work all day, party all night. :) I wouldn't want to have to travel all the time but it's nice to get a change of scenery every once in awhile!

Modus Vivendi 4 years 4 h

It depends. Like Whiplash said, sometimes work travel is just straight from the airport to the hotel to an office and back. The hotel points and frequent flier miles would be nice, but sleeping in your own bed would be better.

luna08 4 years 5 h

At my current job, I've tried to avoid travel. In this industry I'd end up in oil refining labs at places like Texas City...not fun.

insanitypepper 4 years 19 h

I used to travel out of town for work at least one week per month, and it was rarely anywhere good. I spent a lot of evenings eating microwave dinners at the Comfort Inn. Now I travel a few times a year, thankfully to much nicer places & hotels.

starofsorrow 4 years 20 h

Are you kidding me? I'd LOVE to travel! There are definitely some upds and downs to traveling for a job, but right now, I'm in my mid twenties, and I don't have children, a boyfriend, or anything that'd tie me to my place other than friends and parents. Traveling for a job at my age, at this point in time, would be perfect for me.

Spectra 4 years 21 h

I'd hate to travel for work because I'm such a homebody. My husband has to go on month-long business trips sometimes and it just sucks for both of us. He doesn't get to stay in a hotel (his company pays for an apartment out at the jobsite for them to stay in) and he's away from everything at home. He kind of likes the opportunities to see new things, but I think it'd be better if the trips only lasted a week max.

green socks 4 years 1 day

I want a job where I can travel a few times a year -- conferences that I can take a few extra days to actually see the cities they are held in, etc. But I wouldn't want a travel based job.

muchacha 4 years 1 day

My job requires some travel (eg 1-2 trips a month), and I agree travelling has both ups and downs. On the plus side, I keep my frequent flyer miles (some companies do not let you keep them)/hotel rewards points, I get to stay in great hotels, visit different cities, and like Dhorwich sometimes I can turn a business trip into a pleasure trip and see friends. I am in my mid-twenties and love to expand my horizons. On the downside, I often don't get to see as much of the city as I would like, and it takes me awhile to recuperate from travelling. Eventually I can see traveling becoming more of a nuisance than a pleasure if I choose to have kids.

Erika Giselle 4 years 1 day

i have a travel based job (college recruiter). when i first started out it was fun...i went to seattle, wa for the first time...however, i've been at it for 3 years and i'm kinda burned out on it; not because of the actual travel, but i wish i had a new territory or new places to go. driving to the country of south georgia where the air smells of peanuts and cell/ wifi reception is bad and not much to do is not fun at all.

ilanac13 4 years 1 day

i love business travel and i'm really lucky that i get to travel from time to time for my current client. the only downfall is that im' in NYC and they are in DC so it's not the longest trip - but at least it's travel :)

sonya ina 4 years 1 day

I wouldn't mind traveling occasionally for work, but I'd never want a travel-based job -- I'm too much a homebody, and wouldn't enjoy being away form my husband and dog!

Dhorwich 4 years 1 day

I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a job that has increasingly required me to travel and it becomes exhausting, but on the flipside I've traveled to cities where my friends and family are located so I am sometimes able to make a business trip into a pleasure one as well. Generally though traveling for work is less glamorous than I expected it to be.

WhatTheFrockBlog 4 years 1 day

I always thought I wanted a job that would let me travel until I actually got one. And it sucks. I go from airport to client office to hotel to client office to airport to home. I never have a chance to check out the areas I'm in. It's just like a regular day of work, but with a long, long, long commute.

lydialee_home 4 years 1 day

I used to love travel and have to do that a lot when I start working. Now that I have kids - I no longer like to travel. I still need to travel for team meeting once a while (probably 3 times per year). Other than that, I prefer not to travel. It's just that it disrupts my workout schedule too much, and there's a lot more clean up to do when I get back home (husband and kids did not have the same idea of clean up as me)

Kimpossible 4 years 1 day

I'm the opposite from daisyblink. I spent my 20's and 30's staying at home for my family, now that they're older and less dependent I'd love to travel and be on the go more. Plus I love to travel, and I love change.

mondaymoos 4 years 1 day

I love to travel... and I don't have a boyfriend/children to make me homesick. Matter of fact, I get bored if I'm in the same place for too long. Someone PLEASE tell me where I can find this job.

daisyblink 4 years 1 day

To a certain degree: I would love to travel because I am in my mid 20s and I believe that that's the age that wants to do things like that but I know I'll eventually want to settle down and not be on the go all the time

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