fotographer

Being a photographer I have worked for myself for the last 22 years
As my client list grows around the world I travel to see them
Is it fun. Of course but I usually spend more time in the air then with the client
A few times I have had my wife come to where I am for a quick weekend getaway (usually india.)

Cloudship

I think that's the question. For myself, I am not sure I want to have to travel for work. That means you don't get to enjoy the travel experience. What I would like to find is a type of job where my work schedule is flexible, or allows me to work while on the road, etc. so that I can do travel in my leisure time. Or even better, allow me to work from wherever I happen to be, and still pay enough to be able to do that.

84fiero

Probably a similar set of answers as with previous times this question gets posted...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ess-class.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...er-flyers.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...what-jobs.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...re-travel.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19938343-post3.html

The last post link above has even more links within it.

My take is always, do a job you like, are good at, and that will earn you a comfortable living with good vacation/leave policies. For that matter, a job requiring lots of travel doesn't always mean the company travel policies are very employee friendly. Be careful what you wish for.

CPRich

I don't see these as mutually exclusive.

It's nice to have your company/client pay for flight, plus car/hotel for the weekend in lieu of flying home. Or have them pay for a flight to a 3rd location in lieu of a trip home (as long as the cost is equal or less). It's a lot cheaper than paying for yourself to fly on your vacation time.

And you can still travel where you want to on vacation time.


Management/Technology consulting. And I transitioned from "get to travel" to "have to travel" when my kids showed up.

JY1024

Instead of re-hashing the same discussion every few months, we've merged a lot of recent conversations about what jobs and careers involve/require travel. Thanks for your understanding. /Moderator

Edit to add: The pre-2014 archive of this conversation can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...re-2014-a.html

Plane-is-home

Banks, oil, electronics.

Cloudship

Since we have merged this...

What jobs out there allow you to work from home or while on the road, but do not require you to either a)own your own company, b)contract out, or c)have to be the worlds best expert in something?

uncertaintraveler

High-level diplomat?

Cloudship

OK, maybe one that takes at least a little bit of intelligence...

chrisl137

I know quite a few faculty in science and engineering who spend a lot of time traveling-- regular conferences, invited conferences, review panels, collaborations with other faculty, field work, and probably various other things.

I'm on the R&D side of aerospace and have had periods where I travel enough to make it up a couple levels in the FF hierarchy and other periods where I don't travel much at all.

Bouncer

Sales engineers and technical trainers frequently spend a lot of time on the road.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

chinatraderjmr

My God - there are SO MANY jobs out there that require 75% or more time travel its amazing that people can't find them. Many of these jobs are in Sames Management, Sourcing, Production, etc. Most of these jobs are middle to management and you would be surprised how hard it is for my companies to find people willing to spend this much time on the road.

We have a number of employees who must spend 50-75% of their time traveling internationally, we offer what I consider and excellent salary, all business class travel and yet, we can't find enough "qualified people"

Its not hard to find a job where you spend a lot of time on the road but bosses are not stupid. Its a JOB!!! There fact the employee does not mind traveling is great but anyone applying who spends more time in the interview talking about "where will I go, who will I fly, etc ,etc will be shown the door. Travel is secondary compared to the reason for the positioning the first place.

747FC

I have a career, not a job. I make it a point to provide service to my clientele even when I am on vacation. My wife has pictures of me on my cell, consulting while impressive scenery is in the background. While it sometimes irritates her, one phone call may pay for the entire trip, and then some.

LupineChemist

It's easy to find young recent grads willing to put in that amount of time. It's harder to find people with the experience you need that have settled down a bit.

Laura782

My husband and I work for city government, which means zero business travel (unless we're talking about a trip to Staten Island or the Bronx) but lots of vacation time and a decent salary. With strategic credit card bonuses, we travel internationally 2-4 times a year for almost nothing. Granted this is nothing compared to people who travel for business every week, but I'm very happy with my arrangement!