Has anybody had a job involving lots of travel? I have a choice of two jobs. One is a normal office job, five days a week at the same desk. The other would be maybe 2-3 days close to home and 2-3 days travelling the country and staying in hotels. In theory I find the travel element exciting. I love driving--it's my alone time--I really love staying in hotels, and I like variety in my job. But I wonder if the reality will be that it wears off, and the lack of routine and living out of a suitcase will get to me. I've never had a job with travel so I won't know until I try it. The other key difference is the travel job pays £5k more, because they understand it's not for everyone. But both salaries are fine for me, so this isn't a dealbreaker. Both jobs are in different departments of the same company: reputable, well established, multi-billion pound turnover. I want a long-term career there so I don't want to mess it up by taking the 'wrong' option. What would you do?
You don't have kids, right? What about the cat? Will she be okay without her momma? And how reversible is the decision? If you decide the job isn't for you, or if it's good now but then something down the road changes, can you go back to a non-travel version, or are you committed? I had a job with a lot of travel for about six months once, and I hated it, but my travel was air travel and I felt like I was spending way too much of my life in airports (which I hate) and flying (which I like, but not with all the delays, etc.). I feel like it might have been signficantly different if I were driving myself around rather than flying.
@BayView No kids. The cats will be fine, there will still be someone here full time. But of course they will miss me. I'm not sure about the reversibility... I think they'd be pissed off if I took it, trained, decided it wasn't for me, and asked to switch so they had to do it all over again. Unless I want to ruin my chances with the company, I'll be tied in for four years (for reasons too boring to explain). After the four years would be a natural time for me to move to another area of the company. Totally on your page with the air travel - that'd be a no-go. I don't mind flying but I HATE airports. I already drive two hours a day commuting, so I'm pretty sure I'll be okay with the actual travel. It's more the being away from home / living at hotels half the time that I'm unsure about. Right now it sounds like heaven but once I've been doing it a few months...?
You might enjoy the hotel hell, the horrible food, company of strangers. Or you might find yourself living five days off, two days on, the experience, breathing only Friday night through to your, and their Sunday tears, goodbye, you drive away. A strange bubble, on the road. Especially for 40k. Do it for 100k, but I never have, or did. Rather do a town[y] job for 20k, sleep in my bed.
I liked the hotels part, myself. I set up a little ritual of establishing my space - unpacking clothes, stealing toiletries, etc. I guess it would depend how long you'd be in each place - I tended to be in one place for two or three nights at least, so I could kind of move in. If you were only there for one night it might get a bit rough. And of course it would depend on the quality of the hotel you'd be staying at... most of the ones I was in were quite nice, so I had no complaints.
I had a job where a spent most days driving to all corners of California. Covered a lot of ground. I enjoyed the travel a lot.
It'd usually be 2-4 nights in the away-place, so enough time to settle in. I didn't ask but I imagine it will be Holiday Inn / Travelodge type places... not sure if you have those in Canada but they're nice enough for me. No frills and not 5* but nice, clean rooms which is all I ask. ...although now I think about it, the interviewer did mention that the hotel would be paid for but I'd have to pay if I used the spa or anything. So maybe they do book upper end places?
Were you home at the end of the day or did you stay in hotels overnight? If so did you enjoy that part of it too?
I'd go for the traveling part. But a four years contract seems too much. Shouldn't it be a bit shorter? What are the countermeasures in case you decided to break it?
I knew I should have explained that. It's not a four year contract - I'd probably have a three-month notice period like I do now. But the contract I'll be managing lasts for four years, so while they would probably be okay with me wanting to switch after a year or two, the natural time for me to move on to something else would be four years.
The difference lies in whether you have emotional ties that pain - a couple, a couple with children, and other configurations. Only in hindsight can I be winsome about the situation, but once the work was done, wandering city streets, visiting bars, and so much swimming, it's a mite, bit lonely living in your head - when life lies two hundred miles away. But, I mean, if you're a vacuous, ape type solicitor, I'm sure it is fine. This was before Candy Crush. A good thing, when you're young - to travel - we all say this...
I think I understand now. Well then, go for it. You got good prospects concerning the general picture. It sounds like a convenient offer. In case you get tired you get to leave shortly. Give it a try at least. What job is it?
I had a sales job that involved driving to new territories each week, and some of the territories were several hours away. That part was fun, but I ended up not liking it because they had a really high-pressure sales quota culture. It stressed me out, so I lined up a new job after 6 months or so.
I have my mum, which is the major factor making me hesitant about the travel job (which I know deep down I am far more excited about). She's disabled--she's mobile, and she can go shopping and stuff, but I'm really her only company. If I talk to her I know she'll say it's fine if I'm away a lot, but will she really mean it? I don't want her to be lonely. I guess I can do something about it now, and encourage her to make some friends... but I wonder if it's selfish of me. I didn't put that in the opening post because I know it's something only I can answer. Bid manager. Ugh yes, I could NEVER work on any kind of commission-based or quota-driven job. I mean okay, I have to keep up a good bid success rate, but somehow that doesn't seem the same.
Oh sweetness, you might have to do it :/ Plenty of experience...for your wriiiting. Ambition has a strong pull on our, whatever. Things like this: follow to the nth degree, do a brilliant interview, then see?
Most of the time I was back the same night; some of the time I was in hotels. I liked that well enough, particularly if I was staying in a hotel in an interesting town. I'd go out and walk around and see new places, try restaurants etc. Some of the towns I stayed were about as exciting as watching grass grow, so those stays weren't as much fun.
There might never be a better time, really. I don't know if you're thinking kids in the future, but if they're even a possibility it would be good to have this experience before that's an issue. Does your mom use the internet or anything? Could you check in with her long distance?
Never say never but... 99% sure I'll never have kids. If I did I'd probably want a stay-at-home-partner along with them because man, I do not like kids. Yep she uses internet. I email her at work and I could call her in the evenings. But every night when I come home she's always eager to talk and I know she's been lonely
Might be good to hook her up with a social circle regardless of whether you take the job. Does she play bridge? My mom's gone MENTAL for bridge, plays four or five times a week, plans her damn life around it. "Oh, sorry, dear, I can't talk right now, I'm reviewing some ideas for the tournament." It's great!
I dunno, being some kind of homosapiens - just when buddy @Steerpike says 'I tried restaurants,' - me, I have terrible images, the memories of a table laid for one diner in some fuckin happy place, but others are more robust. Writing a story, I get great pleasure from these kind of recollections - so it is a double-edged sword.
I don't know enough about your particular circumstances to give an educated answer, but I can say that I'd take the travel job any day, especially if you only have to be expected to do it for four years and then maybe do something else for the company. It sounds like something you could get a lot of experience from, and certainly sounds like a more fun way to spend your time. I feel like sitting at a desk for five days a week would just get painfully boring very quickly, and though I don't have too much experience with boring jobs, I know that last time I had a job I hated it made it impossible for me to write well. It was like everything I wrote just came out stale and lifeless. I feel like when it comes to writing fiction, trying new and different things and constantly learning is a must, so unless the desk-job somehow offers you that, I say take the travel job.
It depends on where you travel to, and if you have any interesting neighborhoods to explore while you are there. I'd take the travel but then I've been an avid traveler since my teens. I even went into nursing after reading the book, How to Travel and Get Paid for It. But my son doesn't enjoy wandering around where he doesn't know anyone. Even at Burning Man he'd wander around and come back to camp saying he didn't think people were very friendly. I wandered around the country and Central America alone and loved it.
I'd be travelling within the UK and mostly to other cities, so not picturesque countryside or ancient Roman towns or anything like that. But I'm thinking I'd use the hotel time to sit in silence and write most of the time... bliss. A few months ago I checked into a hotel for the night just to get some peace and quiet.
When I get to the restaurant, half the time I end up talking to amiable looking sorts. More than once ended up at a table with some locals
Traveling and staying in a new place always brings the writer out of me too. But in your case (because you are going to be working in a demanding job - at least it sounds demanding) maybe you'll feel pretty tired and overwhelmed (thinking about what happened, how to move next, etc). But once you get it under your skin, I think that indeed, it stands as a very good chance to write down some inspiring stuff.
