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what if my whole life is a joke?
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Is anyone facing same situation?
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I have been in technology sales for many years and have three 'older' teenagers and can tell you the time to travel - if you can make it work with coverage at home - is when they are very young and unaware of that fact that you may not be around for days at a time. It's waaaaay more important to be around when they are a bit older than the infant / toddler stages, for things like the sports games, parties, etc... This is coming from experience.
A lot of overnight travel really does mess with relationships. It's not only being away but it's the lack of interest in going out when you're home. I travelled 4 weeks out of 5 that means when I was home I had no interest in going out to eat or to a show. Also travel is boring hotels really do look the same all over the world. Some people really love the travel to me it was just part if the job. You're going to have to talk with your spouse and decide what works for you as a couple. If you decide to go with the field position i slways found executive lounges were worth the extra money for the security and perks. Also the people who frequent the lounges are also travelling a lot so they get it.
I have 3 children and when they were younger I use to go to 3 events as a speaker. My wife is a doctor and some of those trips happened while she was on service (her term for being the on call specialist). My travel then did tremendous damage to my marriage. I travel lot less now but I’m still customer facing and expected to visit my customers. So I still travel some but for customer visits I always coordinate with her and make sure the dates I choose will work with child activities. 3 kids means 3 drop offs every night. When I do these approved visits it still makes her think of the other travel I did which leads to her not liking me. If you want to take a job with more travel, make sure to discuss it with your spouse. You should also ensure that your children can get to their activities without you being home.
This is pretty spot on. Travel can be hard on kids and spouse's. Pickup, drop off, spouse working etc. Depends on your home life and money vs. Time. I try to coordinate travel at least a month in advance and miss as little of my kids activities as possible. Personally, with younger kids, I'll sacrafice making more right now to enjoy putting my kids to bed and making sure I can be at every practice and game.
Yeah I agree with the other comments. I think it has to be a decision that you and your spouse make together so you can navigate the challenges together. I grew up with my dad always traveling, but he had a lot of flexibility when he was home so it all balanced out for my family. Also my mom was able to stay home during those years so she wasn't juggling her own career on top of it. Just depends on what your family's needs are and what your spouse thinks too
I've been in sales now for 20+ years, with over 15 of those out in the field, hunting for net new accounts.
I made a decision early in my career (in my 20s) to actively turn down roles that required a lot of traveling, particularly overnight travel. I'm very family oriented and I didn't want my health to be degraded by the time I started a family, and then for my family time to be degraded because of my job.
If you care about family and kids, then wait for a better opportunity *** IF *** you cannot negotiate the amount of time you'll be spending away from home for this potential position.
(I'm currently in my early 40s, happily married with kids, making great money in sales with very little or no business travel. The traveling I do choose to do is leisure travel with the wife and kids, on my own time andnl schedule)
Having worked in the retail auto side for 20+ years,, with plenty of missed football games, bb, games, recitals , school concerts,… it takes a special spouse to handle all of that and you adapt to make the best of the time you have together.
If the position is lucrative enough, and the family (spouse) is strong enough, take the gig, work hard, but play hard too…
The memories you create will last forever, making less may give you more time at home, however, the kids will remember that trip to Disney a lot longer than that dinner at the kitchen table on that Friday night.