I'm a field service tech, I work out of my truck. We cover pretty much the entire mid Atlantic region but have gone as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Louisiana for work.
Who else here is a roadie ?
Who regularly travels for work ?
I'm a field service tech, I work out of my truck. We cover pretty much the entire mid Atlantic region but have gone as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Louisiana for work.
Who else here is a roadie ?
Ranting incoherently
I travel to large project kickoffs a decent amount all around the US and Europe. I wouldn't call myself a roadie, you probably travel 10x more than I do. I have a 3 year old, it's very tough to be gone a lot.
How far do you have to go to be considered a traveler? Today I will probably cover around 130 miles in my travels to three small towns.
I traveled quite a bit before retiring. It kept the job interesting.
I used to cover the entire southeast for sales. It is taxing to get diamond status staying in Hampton Inns. I switched over a few years ago and don't miss the travel.
when I'd go to Charleston or Greenville folks would be jealous I got to go- im like well I worked / drove all day. grabbed take out and finished emails at night- all away from then family...not so much fun
I usually spend about 30 days out of territory a year. Mostly stay in Texas but on occasion I will venture to Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, and Kentucky.
This^^^^. Totally agree. A lot of folks think business travel is just going somewhere nice, playing golf, taking clients out. They don't see all of the long travel hours, late nights doing follow up emails and other work prepping for the next day. I was turning over a company car every 2 years averaging about 40k miles a year and 75-100 nights away from home a year. Missed a lot of time with my kids when they were growing up. I regret that to this day. Not sure the lifestyle the job provided was all that worth it in the end.Originally Posted by Gthunter5
I hear you man, I was to work for IT for nursing home managment and we were coving the tristate area, when we had our first kid I decided to look for job that didn't require overnight travling. Had a ton of fun traveling but it gets old after a while, it might not have been so bad but ND and SD in small towns suck in the winter.
I did it for GM and Ford Motor Company back in the day. I hated the travel then and won’t do it now at all. I am thinking about traveling outside and cutting up a tree that the wind destroyed. It’s a long way (400 feet) but this is forced on me!
Traveling for work is totally overrated by those who haven’t experienced that grind.
800 nights in a Marriott alone in 17 years now across North America.
2021 Ranger 521C
2021 Mercury ProXS 250
3 x Lowrance HDS12's
1 x Lowrance HDS9
Active Target
Used to be a stack tester up until last year. Now work from home. It's taken some getting used to being gone at least 3 nights a week to maybe leaving the driveway 3 times a week. Love being home and getting to all my son's stuff. Only miss the hotel points when we go on trips.
He/him
Kayak fishing in a Native Slayer Max 12.5
Lowrance Elite 9 ti2
I travel 430 miles 5 nights a week 215 down and 215 back.
LOL ain't it the truth. I work the "off highway" side of the diesel industry, our specialty is marine. I've worked on everything between tugboats to 150' luxury yachts. It's all machinery space for me, which is fine. I really only need to access the "living space" to get to a control station but it's pretty much the engine room for us. We normally do 10-12 hour days, back the hotel for a shower, out for a quick bite and in bed early. Lather, rinse, repeat until the job is done. We don't skimp on lodging or meals either.
Ranting incoherently
Back in the day I averaged 30,000 miles per year. Traveled the southeast. Had to fly to sales meetings in Las Vegas . Louisiana , Fl, and NY.
Was younger and will not be doing that again. Computors and phones now. The younger folks still travel quite a bit trying to establish relationships but nothing like it used to be.
I'm a home office guy and it's much better.
We are all born ignorant but one must work really hard to remain stupid---Ben Franklin
I only travel for work 1 day a week, 350 to 450 miles depending on how many calls I can get done. Driving used to relax me but not anymore, some people are beyond stupid anymore. Glad I am not driving a semi everyday anymore. CJ
2002 X19 200HP OX66 HO Vmax,HPDI lower, it lives, thanks Hydro Tec.
My Marriott app says I have 340 nights since Jan 2022 which sadly is not the total stay. Probably another 30ish in there from non Marriott hotels
2021 Triton 20 TRX Patriot w/ 250 ProXS
16” HDS Live at console
12” & 9” HDS Live at Bow
Ghost, Active Target, Atlas Hydraulic, and 8’ Blades
Yes 20 miles from here to the lake
I spent many years working in the far North and the high Arctic. To many hours in the air and bad hotel rooms. Missed many years with my kids. I’m home now, do not want to spend anytime away from my amazing wife. She raised 2 teenagers alone while I was away. After Covid, I chose a job close to home and will never be away again. I now live 1/2 block away from my job, went from one extreme to the other.
Last edited by Larrythedane; 03-12-2024 at 11:02 AM.
I don't envy you guys at all. I had to work in Atanta for 9 weeks, leave on Sunday night, come back Friday night. Hated being gone from home. I turned down a job for a field trainer because of that previous travel experience. In my last position I had to go to our parts division office in Randleman, NC once a year which was plenty for me.
Bill, have you ever worked on a pirate ship in the Tom's River area?
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