OP, a job with lots of travel sounds glamorous at first but it can be the job from h...l. Remember, someone else is often dictating where, when, how often, and how you will travel. Better off, get into a lucrative field and eventually into a position that provides you the cash and the time to travel as you desire (with some business travel thrown in).

From reading FT, you will learn that most of us gain elite status and from that elite status we obtain upgrades. The top elite status by far offers a better level of benefits than lower status levels. Most airlines require 100,000 actual flown miles (some airlines are 75,000 miles) within a calendar year to obtain status.

My advise is also to listen to your own reality check. Remember, it is human nature to be self serving and many times superiors or people in more authority may give you "friendly advise" when may serve them well but not you (like being told not to transfer to another position/department). Also, be willing to take calculated risks and always have a Plan B ready to go.

I finally have gotten to a place in life where I earn very good money, have a boat load of paid time off, a fairly minimal amount of job stress, do not need to kiss anyone a..., and overall have a very enjoyable life. I just wished that I had done things differently earlier on that would have allowed me this lifestyle when I was younger.