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re: Any Family Men here have a job with 50% travel?

Posted on 11/19/14 at 11:47 am to
Posted by Tiger Ryno
#WoF
Member since Feb 2007
103181 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 11:47 am to
thanks for the perspective guys.
Posted by alajones
Huntsvegas
Member since Oct 2005
34515 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 11:48 am to
If it's going to make you a shitload of money, it'll be fine. If you are still just making ends meet, it will add more stress into an already stressful situation. I've been in the latter position.

If you're worried about family time, you will actually spend more quality time with your family being gone that much than just a normal 40 hour work week.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89622 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 11:48 am to
quote:

Mostly national travel with some international? How does it impact your family life? what are the pros/cons of taking something like this assuming the pay is more than sufficient


The first 20 years of my marriage, I averaged 1 night in 4 away from home. Part of this was my job and part was military obligations.

There are no pros other than the pay and completing military obligations, at least for me, because I hate traveling and being away from home. I'm not really crazy about traveling with family, FWIW.

You miss so much and everything has to be scheduled around you - you feel like a burden.

Quality international travel might be a little bit better - particularly if you can tie that in with family (subsidize, essentially, a family overseas vacation) - I only got "less than desireable" international locations.
This post was edited on 11/19/14 at 12:00 pm
Posted by GulfCoastPoke
Port of Indecision
Member since Feb 2011
1087 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 11:53 am to
I travel 15-20% of the time international and have a 16 month old daughter and a boy on the way. It gets pretty damned hard to be away most of the time, I have begun disliking it strongly.
Posted by GRTiger
On a roof eating alligator pie
Member since Dec 2008
63226 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:02 pm to
Yep. It's rough. I've been local the last two weeks and it really makes me realize how tough it can be for my wife, especially since she works full time. She is working, taking care of the house, baby, dog, etc. Leaving Monday is already hard and mine is only 6 months. Having kids old enough to know dad is leaving for a few days will make it worse.

Pros are pretty job specific. I make more with this job than I would with a local one. I also really love the company I works for.

That being said, if I had my child before being faced with the decision to take a heavy travel job, I doubt I would have taken it. I'm weird, but I much prefer to be woken up in the middle of the night if it means I get to be there to put him to bed and wake him up every day, instead of convincing myself I get more out of sleeping away from the family and being left alone.
Posted by 3nOut
Central Texas, TX
Member since Jan 2013
29018 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:05 pm to
i'm not at 50% travel but i average 7-10 nights a month in a hotel room out of 20ish days during work weeks.

i maximize time with the kids on weekends. instead of watching football all day saturday, i drain my phone checking scores. i don't go out very often with friends on nights i'm home.

i facetime with them every single night no matter what situation i'm in. i facetimed 2 weeks ago with them from the Quarter, because i was in NOLA area on business.

one thing i negotiated when i took this job was to make sure that there was some compensation for nights missed with the family. not financially, but intrinsically.

case in point:

I had to miss 5 nights over the last two weeks including a Friday night where I didn't get home till Midnight Saturday morning. So, I asked to work from my family's house the week of thanksgiving, which should be minimal work. So for the cost of missing 5 nights with my family i get a 7 day holiday with them.

ETA: I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old. We are seriously considering home schooling next year. Most of my travel is in state and in such a way that i can drop them off at the hotel, get done around 7 and spend the evening together.
This post was edited on 11/19/14 at 12:15 pm
Posted by tigerinthebueche
Member since Oct 2010
36791 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:27 pm to
quote:

My wife seems to be fine with it, though she pressures me into making a definitive schedule.



Does she let you have your balls back when you leave the house?
Posted by TexasTiger01
Lake Houston
Member since Nov 2013
3215 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:30 pm to
I don't think I could handle much travel. I may be away from home 10-20 nights a year on business. I have a 6 year old son. The past 2 months I've been overseeing a project 97 miles from home, hell I miss things now because I choose to make the drive instead of stay in a hotel away from the family, Leave at 4:00AM get home 7:30PM. But I still get to see my son every night. I go in late every other Friday so I can bring him to school and grab donuts. That's the stuff I would really miss if I worked out of state. My father chased pipelines all my life, he did it to provide us with a better way of life, but he missed a lot. Most of the important stuff he would find a way to make it to though.

There is a balance if you can handle being away. Good luck
Posted by OKTiger83
Norman, OK
Member since Feb 2013
3132 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:44 pm to
The previous posts cover pretty much all of it.

One perk though, be sure to collect all the hotel, airline, and rental car points you can. Believe me they rack up fast and I use these for free vacations with the family when I am in.

Good luck, it is a different lifestyle
Posted by 3nOut
Central Texas, TX
Member since Jan 2013
29018 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 12:58 pm to
quote:


One perk though, be sure to collect all the hotel, airline, and rental car points you can. Believe me they rack up fast and I use these for free vacations with the family when I am in.


hellz yes.

my 10 year anniversary is coming up and if i can cram enough in between here and December I should be able to fly my wife and myself to NYC, stay 3 nights in hotels, and get 2x$100 prepaid cards for food in the spring without spending more than $20 dollars on the mandatory airline fee. that's after a year and some change of living the traveling lifestyle.
Posted by CHiPs25
ATL
Member since Apr 2014
2904 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:21 pm to
Perks are nice. I have about 750k in hilton points and about 300,000 points between United and Southwest. I keep hoarding them for some vacation that I don't have scheduled nor even planned.
Posted by yellowfin
Coastal Bar
Member since May 2006
97719 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:25 pm to
quote:

If it's going to make you a shitload of money, it'll be fine. If you are still just making ends meet, it will add more stress into an already stressful situation. I've been in the latter position.


Most people will just adjust their lifestyle to what they make, people always want "just a little more"

Posted by 3nOut
Central Texas, TX
Member since Jan 2013
29018 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:26 pm to
quote:

Perks are nice. I have about 750k in hilton points and about 300,000 points between United and Southwest. I keep hoarding them for some vacation that I don't have scheduled nor even planned.



i haven't been gone that much.

i think i'm just short of Gold with 60kish Hilton points and have about 30-40kish SW points.

My Brother in law got a job within the same company that made him move from Abilene to Houston. Company will pay for one year of hotels until you sell your house and it took him 8 months to sell the house and move his family. He was a diamond Hilton member in 2 months. fricker will always send me pictures of his point balance when he reaches a milestone.
Posted by Vlad
North AL
Member since May 2012
2605 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:27 pm to
I did up until my son started with sports. I took another job so that I would not miss that. You can always make money, you can never replaced lost time.
Posted by LloydChristmas
in a van down by the river
Member since Nov 2009
2829 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:45 pm to
I do it now but it is only temporary until relocation is complete. I have been doing it for 4 months now and it is tougher on my wife and youngest child to not have me at home every other week. I have friends with kids who did it for a few years, racked up lots of miles and hotel points and now travel with family for free.
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
140741 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 1:57 pm to
I do it at certain times of the year. It sucks but it's what I do. Flying any more is awful. Always was really.
Posted by specchaser
lafayette
Member since Feb 2008
2593 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 2:03 pm to
I could never do it especially w/ kids.

I travel but never far and usually 1-2 nights a month. It's perfect because I get some peace and quiet on occasion but not gone long enough to miss the kids or miss out on anything significant.
Posted by DWaginHTown
Houston, TX
Member since Jan 2006
9882 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 2:04 pm to
Take the job. You don't even like your family, baw.
Posted by JAXTiger16
TBD
Member since Apr 2013
2228 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 2:37 pm to
I have no choice, it's called deployment. Missed my kids first birthdays, first anniversary and many holidays over the past few years. It pays out in the end though.
Posted by HaloWarriors
Murfreesboro, TN
Member since Feb 2010
3351 posts
Posted on 11/19/14 at 4:51 pm to
I have traveled almost weekly all over the country for the last 12 years or so.

Cons - Takes time away from your family. That is the only downside I can think of.

Pros - being gone for 3 or 4 nights a week is tough, but my and my wife's anticipation builds up incredibly high. Wild monkey sex is going to happen when I get home.

With all of the Marriott, Hertz and Southwest points (I now have a companion pass for my wife) pay for all of my vacations - this alone almost makes it worth it.

There are other things, but those are the top 2 for me. The way I see it, my kids are going to be at school or doing some activity after school or homework or whatever - they are always too busy to miss me. As long as I am home by midday on Friday and I don't leave until Monday night or Tuesday morning - we are all good.

We are empty nesters now and my wife goes on a lot of the trips with me - as long as it is somewhere cool - NYC, Miami, Vegas, etc...we are having the best time of our lives right now. We are still young enough to really enjoy it.
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