MilesBuzz! - Jobs with frequent air travel

Hi, first let me just say long time reader, first time poster...

Guys i am 16, when im older i want to have a job where i get to do a lot or first/business flying - it is just what i love to do!

Does anyone have any good suggestions/advice for a possible career path i can take?

thanks truly for any help,
Will

PS: i cant be a pilot or F/A because i am colourblind

Welcome to FT wicked-will.

If you head over to the TravelBuzz forum and do a search for travel+career or something like that you'll find lots of useful past discussion on the topic e.g.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=785162&highlight=travel+career

Welcome to FlyerTalk, wicked-will!:)^

The short answer is that there's no one job that allows C/F travel, or else we'd all like to do it.;) Here are a few threads that you may find interesting:
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=785162
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=773528
http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=582808

investment banker...

If you just want to fly (rather than seeing different places and flying F/J), a fly-in fly-out mine job would be good one for you (become something like a mining engineer). You won't get to travel J or F much though, certainly not when flying domestic (there is no domestic F in Australia anyway), and many aircraft flying to the mines are single class config.

F travel is much harder to come by in most industries, because most government departments and many corporate travel departments don't permit 'the mere mortal' staff to travel F.

If you want to travel J/F, I'd suggest you work hard at something, and earn enough money to pay for your leisure travel by J/F, rather than look for a position that involves a lot of J/F travel. Then you travel on your own terms and you can fly in any class you like.

One way to do it:

Become a consultant, or a sales rep, and always fly the same airline. Eventually you'll get a high frequent flyer ranking, and should be able to get free upgrades. :D

JP

One way to do it:

Become a consultant, or a sales rep, and always fly the same airline. Eventually you'll get a high frequent flyer ranking, and should be able to get free upgrades. :D

JP

Unfortunately the OP is in Australia where free upgrades are quite impressively hard to come by (even points upgrade can be very hard to come by on some routes) even to top tier frequent flyers.

In whatever subject you are currently interested in.

I was a desk-side computer application trainer for a couple of different companies, years ago. And for that glorious (although brief) period, I travelled all over the eastern half of the US. After I had made the same trip 4 weeks in a row, requesting the upgrade each time, the FA's began recognizing me and would do their best to keep an upgrade seat for me. If there were people in line for the upgrade and they knew I was on the flight, they would hold if for me, but in those cases I had to pay for it out of pocket. Usually about $30-50 dollars. But if there weren't many people looking at the upgrade, I usually got it for free, (especially on flights without food service.)

Another thought, my Aunt is a medical "contractor". She's a nurse working for an agency that sends her to help out with short-term staffing needs all over the country. Originally, her assignments were 2 or 3 weeks long, but lately she's requested longer ones since she's acquired a couple of dogs and prefers to drive to her assignments now.

I second the Trainer gig - I'm a corporate trainer & everytime my company opens a new product in North America or Latin America, I, or one of my 2 colleagues go & do some onsite training. The good thing about our jobs is we can schedule when it works for us as the training that we do is specialized & happens after the location opens - also, all of our trips are about 2-3 days. Other trainers in my company are there for upto 2 weeks at a time & rarely have set schedules as they do the pre-opening training. Systems installers are always on the road too. Also, if you're really good at whatever you do, you can always try a task force position in your company where they send you to help locations that may be understaffed. That said, these positions, at my company, require several years experience, so don't expect to be on the road right away after college. The only companies I've seen send people right away are consulting companies where they have major projects that need the assistance.

Meeting planner for a large corporation. You get to travel all over the world and stay in really nice hotels and they upgrade your room because they want the business.

I would mainly like to do J class travel... do employers no longer provide this?

Not all employers provide first or business travel. Some will only allow it for international flights or long flights. Others will only allow it for senior management and above.

A point of consideration: A job with frequent travel can prevent one from maintaining a serious relationship, and can seriously damage a marriage. Some frequent fliers here have attested to this.

Have you considered working in the airline industry and flying non-revenue? You can look up seat availability, and some airlines upgrade non-revenue after processing paid upgrades.

I would mainly like to do J class travel...

I think we all do.:D

I would mainly like to do J class travel... do employers no longer provide this?

Most employers (particularly in the US) make non execs fly steerage as much as possible to control costs. It is far cheaper to send someone overseas a day or two in advance and pay the extra hotel etc. than to pony up for business. This is not how it was when I started travelling for business in 1990, but it is how it is now.

[deleted]

Go to university, get a good education and start a career in a field you're interested in. THen with a bit of experience, you can find a job in any field that flies. Until then, you'll probably be stuck not flying much.

So if employers dont provide upper class travel, how do people fly J and F??

:(So if employers dont provide upper class travel, how do people fly J and F??

Upgrades via their FF program.

So if employers dont provide upper class travel, how do people fly J and F??

Some people pay to upgrade themselves (i.e., by paying the difference between coach and first).

So if employers dont provide upper class travel, how do people fly J and F??

Some employers pay for their employees to fly in business. Each company has its own rules and policies that its employees have to follow. Sometimes, that means flying with the company's particular "preferred carrier" (read: the company gets a rebate or discount in exchange for that status), and they invariably have rules about who is allowed to fly in which class of service on certain types of routes.

Within a single industry, these travel policies can vary greatly, and at most companies they are revised from time to time, as well. I have a feeling that within 5 years my company will no longer pay for business class for non-management employees on int'l travel (it's becoming more and more discouraged).

With regard to how one goes about entering a profession that involves travel, I think most people follow a certain track and then stumble into it. Consulting is an area in which companies pay massive sums for their employees to live one place and work 4 days a week somewhere else. There are different types of consulting, but in general its a profession that you can stumble into by just about any means.

The best general advice I can offer is
*to keep your final goal in mind, but don't let it obscure more immediate opportunities,
*do very well in school
*when you look for jobs, aim for companies that have large international divisions, and when you're hired, try to make contacts in those int'l divisions
*be very good at your job

Thanks for your advice,

do the employees score the FF miles associated with staff travel?

Thanks for your advice,

do the employees score the FF miles associated with staff travel?
I believe that is the case with most american companies, but I've heard that some companies are claiming the points/miles for themselves...

I believe that is the case with most american companies, but I've heard that some companies are claiming the points/miles for themselves...

Ahh how selfish!

I second investment banking. Work in financing, all travel is C and free choice of carrier except when I fly to the home country of my bank where we have special agreements with a niche carrier.

These days to get into a good IB job you will need good grades from one of the better universities in your own country or a top one should you chose to go abroad.

These days to get into a good IB job you will need good grades from one of the better universities in your own country or a top one should you chose to go abroad.

Thanks for your advice, unfortunately i dont know if i will have good enough university grades to get a good investment banking job...

Hi wicked-will,

You are very unlikely to be entitled F class travel as an employee, in any industry. For that frill you usually need to have sort of an entrepreneurial status, e.g. partner or co-owner, self-employed lawyer etc. In such cases you often can fly whatever you want - it affects your bottom line.

C class is still quite common for the more senior levels on longer routes. Here in Europe most employers take both your rank and the distance of travel into consideration. Therefore a young university graduate probably only gets C on very long routes, if any. This, of course, reduces the likelihood that it happens, as employers do not usually fly too many of their (junior) staff all around the globe.

Certainly an asset are language skills, especially those languages which are spoken in many places but only a few people outside the country/region speak, e.g. Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil!), Arab.

Best wishes
swiss_global

Airline pilot.

I'd add Mandarin to that list too. I have a couple buddies that are sales engineers that make quarterly trips to China.

Oh, and sales engineers is another career path :)

So if employers dont provide upper class travel, how do people fly J and F??

On points or through the dreadful (?) thing called 'paying for it myself' or 'spouse paying for it for me'.

As for the frequent flyer points, some organisations have negotiated a deal so that they receive fares that do not accrue frequent flyer points. Some organisations ban personal use of frequent flyer points, thus only being able to use them for the work-related trips.

By the way I'm talking from the Australian perspective.

Another problem with 'job that involves travelling' is that you can't do it on your own terms. You often don't have time to go sight-seeing at the destination. You often can't fly on the airline of your choice.


I still believe that the best thing to do is to get a job that you enjoy AND pays enough money for you to undertake plenty of travel in J or F. That takes a lot of effort but is doable and more enjoyable way of travelling because you can do it all on your own terms.

A point of consideration: A job with frequent travel can prevent one from maintaining a serious relationship, and can seriously damage a marriage. Some frequent fliers here have attested to this.

I agree very much with this, as someone who had to give up an otherwise pretty good job so that the marriage isn't put at risk too much.

Have you considered working in the airline industry and flying non-revenue? You can look up seat availability, and some airlines upgrade non-revenue after processing paid upgrades.

Non-revenue flying can be a pain (with a reasonable chance of not getting on, or the confirmed staff ticket being more expensive than the lowest fare publicly available in that class - often the case in Australia) unless you are ranked at a high priority (which you won't get so easily). I wouldn't recommend working for the airline industry for the main purpose of non-rev flying.

Hi, first let me just say long time reader, first time poster...

Guys i am 16, when im older i want to have a job where i get to do a lot or first/business flying - it is just what i love to do!


Every job is different. If you want J/C seats you need to move up the corporate ladder or win the lottery. Some people have the same job where one person is always on the road and their counter-part never leaves the building.

Personally, I am a photographer and I build a niche' for myself. A lot of photographers travel, even more never go anywhere. For me, my market is clients who need "in-and-out" work. My assignments have taken me all around the world, but I see very little. I have been to Beijing for less than 8 hours (I live outside of New York), I often go to Hong Kong for less than a day. When I do get to stay it is often where I don't want to be (three assignments in Iraq while still working as a news photographer).

I now travel in J/C because it is cheaper for my clients to have me sleep on the flight over and edit an entire project on the 10-15hr flight home than it is to wait for a production team to get the images on DVD, start to edit then produce a final product. I make it a financial incentive. I also shoot jobs for a number of airlines and their corporate communications departments, they all fly me in J/C (except Southwest Airlines which is all Y).

The kicker you can't apply for my job. You can't say "i want to do that." I build this niche while working for wire services, newspapers and magazines then decided to try and take it up one level (so far, so good). The cost of entry and the experience required for entry is not something you'll learn in school.

I do however have the greatest job on the planet! Get paid to shoot photos:D

-Fish


PS: I have done hundreds of thousands of miles, trans-pac and TATL in Y, over the past years. Many of my TATL flights and transcon flights are still in Y, trans-pac and RTW is only in J/C or F though.

I did this for a job without even bothering to finish high school...it was a technical position. a lot of it required last minute flights, which sometimes ended up as a first class seat. Eventually the company went under and I found jobs at other companies that required very little travel. It was a relief.

Business travel to places you don't really want to go at a time you really don't want to go is not what I consider enjoyable. When you get there, its not over -- the stress of the job at hand could also be unenjoyable. There is pressure to do whatever it is quickly to reduce overall expense. Hardly any time for fun. The "thrills" of sitting in first class for a couple hours simply doesn't make up for anything.

One company i know still offers business/first tickets on international flight, and maybe a week long spouse visitation if the length of trip exceeds several months.

The mileage you accrue can be used for, oh you guessed it, spending even more hours on those planes. You might even have enough miles to bring that pissed off wife and kids with you. This is a generalization, but infidelity is much higher among couples when one (or both) have heavy travel schedules.

A job with 75%+ travel requirements can be a stressful and lonely life. Its better done when you are single and for a short period of time in your life, so you can get that completely out of your system. A woman shuttle van driver asked me once "wow...are you one of those guys who has a girlfriend in every city?" I guess I could have, nobody would have known. I told her "yup..i sure do" just because the question was completely absurd.

These days I travel maybe 3 times a year. My wife travels for business about 4-6 times a year. She is gone overnight, comes back. Thats enough distance to quality for MVP on Alaska. That means a high likelyhood of free first class updates for personal trips, all on someone else's dime. I like that plan better. A job with light travel requirements.

Now, i can actually enjoy traveling for pleasure. Kids or just the wife, depends. Oh, and not traveling business/first == 2x or 3x the amount of travel possible for the same price.

Airline pilot.

Unfortunately I'm colour-blind...

Look in to Import / Export. Because you are dealing with all sorts of airlines everyday, they give you deep discount seats. My company gets 75% off vouchers from NW and KE for domestic and international flights. Few times a year, there maybe hand-carry opportunity as well.

There is nothing glamorous or fun about being on the road travelling constantly.

At 16 it seems like lots of fun seeing the world telling people you are "travelling on business" but the reality is being jetlagged waiting in security lines sitting in Y (which is where most companies put there staff on short-mid haul flights) waiting for luggage that never arrives ain't much fun. And then when you get there and your tired exhausted just want to sleep and you actually have to go and work...It can be draining and pretty boring.

Now I don't mind the occasional work related trip but I usually fly every couple of months short and long haul but I would hate being stuck on the road every week.

Choose a career that interests you, if you hate what your doing it doesnt matter how much you like flying you wont be happy.

Well, I was lucky and between my 20 and 27 years old I was producing music interviews (bands, shows, etc) and parties around the world (Oktoberfest, Rio Carnival, Tomatina, etc) for TV. Something like MTV stuff. I had travel a lot, most business class and sometimes (ok, just twice) private jets. That's over now and Im not sure if Im sad or happy.
Im 32 now and I have my business in Spain, my daughter in Brasil, my family in Argentina and friends all over the world.... so Im still living on a plane but paying myself for the tickets so mostly Y and praying for being upgrade.
And as someone says previously it gets boring. My dreams today includes having a regular house and staying more that 20 days somewhere.

Some people have the same job where one person is always on the road and their counter-part never leaves the building.


This was me at my old job, a management consulting firm. 11 month project with no travel, while the rest of the team went to NYC every week. Dealing with the time difference everyday was awful, not to mention the whole thing about wanting a job that involved travel and not getting it at all.

There is nothing glamorous or fun about being on the road travelling constantly.

.....

Choose a career that interests you, if you hate what your doing it doesnt matter how much you like flying you wont be happy.

Choosing a career for travel opportunities is like getting married because you get miles for buying diamond. The miles you get will be insignificant comparing to the potential misery.

Get a job you like and pays enough for you to travel well leisurely. That way you get to pick when, where, how, and with whom. As much as I love to travel, one trip a month is enough for me. At this point in my life, I like spending time with my family and friends. Besides, business travel does not always take you to the most desirable places. While most of my travel takes me to nice places, my last destination was polluted industrial site in a foreign country where the taxi drivers do not speak English. There was nothing within 15 minute of car ride except for a 7-11.

Definitely look at consulting jobs. Also, upper level positions or contract work for state agencies can result in a lot of travel, depending on what you do.

I work as a contract attorney for a state on the left coast, and travel all the time. Be forewarned, however, that state work is not likely to net you first class seats when you fly.

The trick is to find a position where your unique talents are needed in a variet of areas; the people who travel alot are the people who do something that a company could not cost-effectively train and pay employees to do in the areas they travel to.

One last comment:

Think long and hard about whether you would truly enjoy travelling for work. I'm sure that many of the work-travelers on this board (myself included) would tell you that being on the road constantly for work-related purposes is not nearly as fun or glamorous as it sounds.

If you're travelling for work, odds are very good that you won't get to see much of the places you travel to. Unless you get lucky, you won't see too much more than offices, conference rooms, and hotels in various cities.

Being in elite loyalty programs and racking up miles/points is great, but the accomodations they provide are almost never as satisfying as being able to come HOME after a long day of work. Personally, I enjoy the accomodations of my apartment much more than 99% of the places I've stayed while on the road.


Just my two cents.

Hi,

I too am new at this and have yet to figure out how to post my own question. So, I'm piggy-backing on your question. I hope that's ok. My question deals with career advice, as well. I've already read a lot of the other threads dealing with this but was looking for specific advice.

I'm looking for a career working in Atlanta, Ga but with frequent international travel. Hopefully helping people in some capacity. If not, then conducting research. Maybe dealing with cultural aspects or the arts.Or something that would be an overall exciting experience. I've thought about Adventure Tour Guides.

If you have any information on this, how do you become an adventure tour guide/ trip planner?Can this be a full time job? Or is this merely a temporary job?

I know that my question is kind of all over the place but please help. Any advice is most appreciated.

There is nothing glamorous or fun about being on the road travelling constantly.



Depends on the person I suppose. Some people are lifelong bachelors or bachelorettes and have no desire to live in one place or settle down.

Myself I get bored to death being "home". With no SO, kids, house, or any of the regular stuff most people do it's truly boring. I'm a lifelong bachelor and likely never will either. I don't have a travel job, but I solve my dilemma by alternating periods of work and play. I'll completely immerse myself in work (80+ hours a week) for a while, save a bunch of money, then travel for a while, then repeat cycle. I quit my job in March and I'm travelling at least until the end of the year.

I'd love a job that kept me on the road constantly. I could actually get a job like this in my field, but I'd have to take a pay cut to do it from what I normally earn.

Marry a girl with a pointed hat and borrow her broom.

Will -

A lot of what you read here is good advice. Let me give you a guide however to get you to a place where you can choose a job. First, you are 16. I don't know about AUS, but in the US, learn to drive a car, enjoy some freedom (somewhat restrained by gas prices however). Date a girl. Date lots of girls. If thats not your thing, repeat except with guys. Get into a school that either is top in the field you want, or is a top university all around. This will improve your chances (not guarantee) of landing a better job. Excel in your field. You say you don't think you can get i banking grades. Surprise yourself. I partied a lot in college, and I had I-banking grades (I've recently graduated too). My highschool grades weren't that hot, but the school I got into had a great business school and I did well there. In college, so long as you are getting good grades (3.5 or higher cumulative) I say when in doubt, go out! If you are below that, allocate more time to studying. When it comes time for interviews, do your prep work for each company, the position, and most importantly the interview process. Don't forget to get internships as early as you can (and hopefully in a field you are possibly interested in. Offer to work for free if they have no money and its your dream)!

Now you should be able to select from some great positions!

My last little hint is this: flying really is fun, but the amount of fun depends on the destination, and vacation is always the best destination!

well, the last time I hit post it said ERROR and nothing else!

im a sales engineer and rack up a ton of miles in E+ in United. The key really is getting status on an airline of choice and staying loyal -- that loyalty is rewarded in free upgrades, double miles, op-ups, etc that you can use to get into C and F.

My company has never purchased a business class fare ticket for me, but my 1K status has rewarded me in spades with upgrades galore.

The only problem with my job is that im only in a city for a few hours sometimes, so I dont get enough time to enjoy myself and see some sights. I've been to Montreal 3 times but i literally cant tell you what the city looks like -- ive always landed after 10pm, hit the hotel, did an all day meeting, and left right for the airport at 5pm cause i had to be in another city the next day .

Its work though, its not glamorous. Your patience in dealing with gate lice, the TSA, and lines is tested often, but it pays the bills and I get to spend time with clients face to face solving business problems. That's what i enjoy most.

The travel was really fun to start out with, but now its just routine and part of the day to day. Still, working in first class at 30,000 feet is much better for me than sitting in a cube all day. No question.

Good luck with your future endeavors

was about to throw my 2cents worth in but then noticed the mention of QF ...

not sure AUStin based experiences translate at all to AUStralia other than much beer is consumed in both places ;)

OP, joining sales force for a foreign company might work for getting the miles (or kilometres). I had a gig doing field technical stuff in NA requiring bi-monthly trips to Paris. found out leaving for CDG on Saturday generally saved about US$1k and gave me chance to knock around Paris for an afternoon and evening. :-)

HTH,
benzguy80

PS: made PLT on AA in 14wks after starting above job

Diplomatic Courier

http://www.state.gov/m/ds/career/c8857.htm

Thanks for your advice, unfortunately i dont know if i will have good enough university grades to get a good investment banking job...

Dont worry about going to college, get into the Internet industry, get good at a particular area (mine was search engine marketing) and become a global consultant on your own. Start with small clients, get on the speaking circuit and speak about your successes at conferences around the world. The conference circuit takes you to mainly interesting locales and allows you to pick up clients in cities around the world where you speak. College didn't do a thing for me and my major had nothing to do with what I do. Now I've seen the world and had a lot of fun while I was at it and never had to wear a tie. I chuckle when I board an airline in t-shirt and jeans and a bit of scruff and get upgraded past the suits who then type away at their laptops while I watch movies on my ipod.

Note - this only works for people with a lot of determination and confidence and are willing to take risks with an above average level of intelligence, but I'm guessing since you are already thinking about this at your age, you might be one of the few.

Dont worry about going to college, get into the Internet industry, get good at a particular area (mine was search engine marketing) and become a global consultant on your own. Start with small clients, get on the speaking circuit and speak about your successes at conferences around the world. The conference circuit takes you to mainly interesting locales and allows you to pick up clients in cities around the world where you speak. College didn't do a thing for me and my major had nothing to do with what I do. Now I've seen the world and had a lot of fun while I was at it and never had to wear a tie. I chuckle when I board an airline in t-shirt and jeans and a bit of scruff and get upgraded past the suits who then type away at their laptops while I watch movies on my ipod.

Note - this only works for people with a lot of determination and confidence and are willing to take risks with an above average level of intelligence, but I'm guessing since you are already thinking about this at your age, you might be one of the few.


wicked-will,

I completely agree with EquityMind on the matter. College is wonderful for many individuals, but it is not for everyone. Do not feel discouraged if you don't go to the best college or even college at all for that matter. Many of the most successful individuals you see today are college or even hs dropouts. If you are able to get into a university and feel its a right fit for you then go for it. If not, just remember to work hard, never feel discouraged, and be honest with yourself and others. I never went to college, and let me tell you that my thick skin has gotten me further than most of my college graduate friends. Flying J/F may not be something you will see immediately if you join a company that involved frequent traveling. Typically J/F is flown by execs that have outstanding tenure with their companies. Even then not all execs get to fly J/F. Also know that having a job that requires frequent traveling is not easy on your personal life. I'm only 22 and am already seeing the toll constant traveling takes on the relationships with my family and friends. Its fun to travel for work when you are young and I encourage that, but dont develop an obsession.

Should you be certain that a traveling job is right for you, become a teller at a local bank, work your way up to private banking, and eventually start with a smal private investment consulting firm of your own. Eventually after climbing the ladder you will have the opportunities to travel for work related reasons on J/F. Just dont try to skip the steps along the way.

Best of luck on your endeavours!

with the use of web training and web communication .... a lot of corporations are using these services and cutting down on travel to save $$$$

Diplomatic Courier

http://www.state.gov/m/ds/career/c8857.htm

Seems interesting!

I've been thinking about chaning my major to Economics and Business Administration - Finance lately. Law doesn't interest me that much lately. And I know a consultant generally travels quite a bit. ^ I want to be a road warrior!

Just dont try to skip the steps along the way.

this might be the sagest advice I've read on FT^

I'm struggling to find myself right now, and am re-evaluating what I'm doing and why. I have to come to realize that there are no short cuts to achieving what I want, so I just need to slug it out!