Business Travel

>>1253183
Traveled a fair bit with work and in general it wasn't much fun, but it varies very much with length of time away and travel frquency.

Being paid to sit around on airplanes is nice - hassle with security, immigration and plane delays when you have a problem job waiting and getting worse sucks.
Staying in decent hotels and eating out is nice - corporate chains and hotel food look much the same regarless of which country they are in.
Different nightspots and random strangers can be fun - but tired and fed up after a long day in a strange office where you know no-one is not so good.
Longer trips away may give you weekends to see some local sights - the inside of an office doesn't vary that much across the world and the only way of telling the location of a clean room or data centre is by the food in the canteen.
Travel can pay well - missing anniversaries and birthdays can get difficult.
There is no upside to jet lag ever.

tldr I would probably do it all over again but am gald I have now retired.

>>1253257
>this sounds purrfect, i wish i had this sorta shit.
Instead im working in a professional job with no travel :<

>>1253183
I haven't personally done a consultant gig with international travel but a few friends have with mixed experiences.
A lot of it will come down to the length of the job and whether your employer is cheap on accommodation, from what i hear expect long hours and not much time to explore but the money is great and accumulating flyer miles or hotel reward points is nice to take personal holidays when possible.

>>1253183
:< I just turned down a project assurance role at PWC. I did have a good think about how it would open doors for business travel later down the track but had to pursue another offer. Shame man. For sure if you work at accenture/deloitte and you look for a travel role it will be very possible. Or you can just expat?

>>1253183
US Military. Specifically Marines. A logistics/supply chain management job, in civilian terms. Almost 2 decades in. Unlike the above poster, when traveling solo you still have instant friends whereever you go ready to show you a good time.

Thanks guys, I'm pretty sure it's what I want to do, but it'd be nice if I could find a work arrangement that wasn't too high stress/hours or allowed for a decent amount of time off between projects, even if it wasn't paid.

>tldr I would probably do it all over again but am gald I have now retired.
How long did you do it and what was your job? How old were you when you retired?

>A lot of it will come down to the length of the job and whether your employer is cheap on accommodation, from what i hear expect long hours and not much time to explore but the money is great and accumulating flyer miles or hotel reward points is nice to take personal holidays when possible.
What sort of time frame were most of the jobs? I'm not expecting it to be a vacation, I'm just wondering if I'll be leaving the office around 6 pretty often or if it's mostly just enough time for work and sleep and not much in between?

>Or you can just expat?
I've done that before for a couple years in a completely different field, actually working for a foreign company that involved travel between offices in different cities so I know some of the realities of work travel, just not in this type of industry. How much do you think that experience will help me get a role with frequent travel, even if the actual work I did was completely irrelevant?

>>1253678
> Thanks guys, I'm pretty sure it's what I want to do, but it'd be nice if I could find a work arrangement that wasn't too high stress/hours or allowed for a decent amount of time off between projects, even if it wasn't paid.
If you go into it eyes open to the realities of living out of a suitcase and not merely seduced by "ooh paid to stay in a hotel" then you may last. In general though part of the reson I was paid to travel was to put in the hours and take the stress. If there wasn't stress/a problem to be solved then I didn't need to be there. But when you are away the wedding anniversary, wife being in hospital, kids concert etc. has to be relegated. My kids grew up with a picture of their dad on tthe mantlepiece and their mum telling them "that is your dad". I couldn't have done it without her support. Occasionally it was possible to stick time on the end of a trip and bring her / them out for a break but that depended heavily on itinerary. schedule and location. When you can only safely move around with a bodyguard then it probably isn't a holiday location. Likewise 9 flights, four different locations, five timezones in six days is not fun or something anyone wants to do if they are not paid for it.
I don't want to be completely negative, there were some really great times and enjoyable experiences but work locations are not necessarily holiday destinations. It was only after she had been away with me a few times that my wife understood that just being at home with home food was a better holiday for me than "going on holiday".

>>1253678
>>tldr I would probably do it all over again but am gald I have now retired.
>How long did you do it and what was your job? How old were you when you retired?
I graduated as an electrical engineer at 25 and did the ex-pat thing as a first job straight after, but I am not good with languages so gave it up after a couple of years but not before I had got my chartered engineer status. I have since had a number of jobs staying current, upskilling and acquiring new skills as I went along covering elements of engineering, IT and project management. But have always travelled, usually days or weeks away at a time occassionally longer. Retired at 61, maybe - if someone makes a good enough offer then I would possibly be tempted. Over the years I was lucky enough to do a variety of technical stuff. Generally under the heading of problem solving but including QA, hardware acceptance testing, PM for a multi site multi nation installation (where i learned far more about concrete than i realised i wanted to know), it system installation and problem solving, design issues resolution and so on. Learn and use skills, I was paid to be correct and fix things that internally they couldn't see or couldn't fix.

>>1253678
>>A lot of it will come down to the length of the job and whether your employer is cheap on accommodation, from what i hear expect long hours and not much time to explore but the money is great and accumulating flyer miles or hotel reward points is nice to take personal holidays when possible.
>What sort of time frame were most of the jobs? I'm not expecting it to be a vacation, I'm just wondering if I'll be leaving the office around 6 pretty often or if it's mostly just enough time for work and sleep and not much in between?
The longer the job away then the more likely you are to get to see stuff. But not all work locations are suitable holiday destinations, you will suffer from jet lag and be expected to work so sometimes sleeping is more importatnt than sightseeing. Also don't underestimate the amount of time absorbed by routine stuff that living away involves. Meals are on a restaurant schedule so unless its a diet of fast food you will wait for meals and spend time eating them. There will be a commute hotel to office/work site and back possibly with waits for a taxi each way. Depending on location there may be issues with security getting on and off site. Also generally walking into an unknown situation there will be non-office time reading up and checking background stuff to make sure you hit the ground running and get the most from each day away. There is a need to make sure that the next job is lined up and the last one settled, staying in touch with contacts, probably in different time zones and thus phone calls at odd times of the day. Hopefully, none of it difficult but all absorbing time that can't be used for sightseeing.

>>1253766
How much notice would you usually be given for when you would be traveling and what you would be doing at the location? Also, how do they handle things like visas and immunizations and safety for the less developed places you went? Would you usually take a full suitcase or just a carry-on ?

At my expat job with travel between city offices they'd just randomly hand me plane tickets in the morning around 10AM for flights at 6PM and I didn't think it was too bad, other than having to change plans in my social life on short notice.

>>1253301
What did you end up doing instead, and why did you choose it?

>>1253183
Worse as it may kill your love for travel, but actually you can save money living out of your employer while saving money in food and accomodation.

Probably, as a programmer, the experience would be simmilar to one an expat may have if the work trips are long.
>>1253336
I think that depends on the job, I have to work solo sometimes.
>>1253257
Actually I was to start a thread of this topic, and hopefully make it a general. I want to read some of your stories, specially about handling the employer money. I'm pretty new at this topic and I want some advice

t. field engineer in the telecom business

i do strategy consulting at one of the companies you mentioned. traveling for work is great if you're single. once you gain a name you can start to control roles/location/timing. would recommend while younger, has opened many doors for me, afforded me the opportunity to visit many countries. international assignments are good on short term, fly business, jet-lag still blows

>>1255211
Any advice for the tech side of the business? I do actually like to code and want to continue to develop those skills for at least a few more years, but it seems that role is kind of looked down on in some of these companies? Also, any tips for getting international projects, and would my expat experience help with that at all?

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>>1253183
I work for the State Dept, been to 3 different international posts over the last 7 years and did a handful of TDY trips that put me in several other different countries from as little as 1 week to as long as 6 weeks at a time. Compared to friends and family back home, my life is constantly being changed around before I can get too comfortable anywhere.

Traveling for work is fun in the sense that my career allows certain perks of convenience that you don't fully appreciate until you travel on your own dime for fun. Having a Diplomatic passport and accompanying identification is like having cheat codes for small time international hassles.

On the other hand... I've had a real challenge of a time trying to have a decent personal life and having a relationship with someone who is gone for months at a time or married to someone who is literally FORCED to move every 3 years at minimum.

i've only done very little business travel, i have a question for all of you who did more.

how do you deal with the jetlag?

like the only thing i could come up with is that next time i'll ask for the weekend before and after to be the start and end dates for the trip, so that i don't have to show up at work the day after. but what if you cannot do that?

btw when i travel for fun, i refuse to use a travel agency... but for business i find it relaxing that if shit hits the fan (plane cancelled, i'm late, etc), i just call my agent, and bam, all sorted.

>>1255683
Business class.

>>1255683
>how do you deal with the jetlag?

There's nothing you can do about being ass-tired from a long trip, however if you arrive and can spare a few hours of sunlight, try walking around as much as you can outside in the sun. Someone told me this 15+ years ago, I still do it and for the most part it works. I have a reasonable circadian rhythm in under 48 hours.

>>1255198
>I think that depends on the job, I have to work solo sometimes.

Even when you have to work solo, and this could ust be being a Marine, but you always have people at the embassy or can send up the bat signal for military expats, so having to work solo is irrelevant.

>>1255662
>. Having a Diplomatic passport and accompanying identification is like having cheat codes for small time international hassles.

This, though I only have an Official, but have partied with Embassy and Military Advisors that that had the blue, vice the brown, and the blue goes a little farther (mostly in dealing with people like shore police/whatever DOD presence is in that country, but both are about equal for locals)

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>>1256011
I feel you. What posts have you worked, btw? Curious to hear how life is in different diplo missions.

I have the diplomatic black one, that little thing saves you so much butthurt at the airport/border crossings, but most of all when you're driving in a foreign country.

Being in a tax-ridden busy fucking city like London is God-send with diplomatic cover, and as long as you're not obstructing traffic or a path you can park wherever the fuck you want without repercussion or paying that congestion tax everyday. Tickets are ignored and wheel boots not allowed for Diplo plated vehicles.

I did the same thing when I TDY'd to Seoul and Tokyo and given an official car. Park like an asshole, and give zero fucks. These privileges make public transportation a laughable choice in comparison.

>>1256005
cool, i'll keep this in mind next time, thanks. i just caved in the past few times, bad idea it seems.

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>>1256018
>I have the diplomatic black one, that little thing saves you so much butthurt at the airport/border crossings, but most of all when you're driving in a foreign country.

Yeah, I have driven drunk down the wrong side of the street in front of police checkpoints and nothing happen. Also, been waived through many a police checkpoint/stop. You are good as long as you don't break the cardianl rule of not fucking with the locals. At least any important/connected ones, at minimum. Though some expat heavy countries, or particularly proud, all locals.

I have worked Norway, Spain, Bahrain, Sicily. And I have used my passport or miltary ID for leisure in a bunch of countries. I still travel on my normie blue one, but am quick to use the military ID or Official passport to jump lines and for other benefits. Like I will flash the official to use the diplomatic line, but still hand over the normal passport to get stamped.
>pic related
Haters in Thailand

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>>1256036
>Sicily
That sounds like a fun as hell place to be posted. Did you also manage to make friends or crack into social circles because of your access to a PX or commissary? Everyone wants to be your friend when you can afford to host a cookout of ribeye steaks and 'Murica in areas where beef is like 15-20 bucks/lb equivalent.

>Yeah, I have driven drunk down the wrong side of the street in front of police checkpoints and nothing happen
Kek. Jankiest thing I got away with was being drunk with a couple of other DS agents and running out on a brothel without paying. Probably be a lot harder today considering literally everyfucking body has a cameraphone now.

General rule for us is to understand is to not commit any felonies (derp), and virtually all misdemeanors you can get away with. Alas, like you said general rule would be not to fuck with the locals on a real bad basis (it may be a misdemeanor to bang a minor in a foreign country, but that may still get you ultra fucked).

>>1256051
Curious. I am nearing military retirement, about 4 years left, how late in life can you break into DS?

Sicily was cool. Cantania/Sigonella area. Honestly, I preferred Spain to Sicily in every way, but it is probably related to how much it sucks to work with Italians. Did get some awesome umpteen course meals from locals through a Navy connect that I met when I got there.

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>>1256054
You have to be hired and I believe technically enrolled in a FLETC class by your 37th birthday. Because of the way Big G's retirement system works, you may very well have an ability to get a waiver for your age, assuming you're closer to like 40-43 and not 50 (not being exact, just educated guess) by the time you retire. FLETC physical standards are a joke, a 70 year old with a solid fitness regimen could pass.

Socially-versed and well educated former-mil guys in DS are highly valued and sought after. Despite falling for the DSS James Bond special agent meme when I first got sworn in, I found thru hard experience years later that I, along with my fellow DS Agents are the poguest of pogues when we are in a hot zone. I cringed when I washed 13 Hours, because I met more than a few DS agents when I was posted in Afghanistan who thought they were cool, hot shit, but we in reality were a HUGE liability to the ex-infantry/operator State Dept contractors who were the real meat and potatoes of our security operations and details, just like in that film.

>>1256063
>Because of the way Big G's retirement system works, you may very well have an ability to get a waiver for your age,


Because of veteran preference, a lot of Fed jobs subtract your service. So if 40, and retiring after 20 years of service, my hiring age is 20. If 40, and someone did 4 years in the military umpteen years ago, his hiring age is 36. I don't know if it extends to all federal jobs, though.

As far as DS agents being super pogues, I have heard as such from my embassy buddies. Because I guess the Marines throw the best parties so DS wants to hang with them, the chicks want to fuck them, but nobody actually wants to be seen in the daylight with them, because they are like the riff raff/help.

I will be about 39 at retirement. Debating on going straight back into the work force, or going for my masters (Engineering in distribution/logistics or MBA in Business (supply chain) or a dual engineering/MBA in Supply Chain

>>1255662
What do you do for the State Department?

I'm ugly and not really interested in having a personal life, but I do like traveling and diplomatic stuff.

>>1256069
>Because of veteran preference, a lot of Fed jobs subtract your service
That's really cool, I'm glad they offer you a contingency for that for your service (thanks, btw). I've vaguely heard as such about age waivers, however I'm obviously not an expert or affiliated with HR. If you've taken the military's bureacratic schticking for 16 years, you'll do just fine and excel with State.

>but nobody actually wants to be seen in the daylight with them, because they are like the riff raff/help
Everything else you said was true, although this part is a bit puzzling. If anything, you're given the standard talk by your RSO/ARSO at a new duty post about being too personal with locals or other Embassy/Consulate personnel because of your special status. DS Agents have a LOT of autonomy compared to your other FSOs and diplomats. Remember, you are still a firearm, badge carrying LEO that is able to arrest ANY US citizen while you are posted overseas. If anything, everybody is halfway wanting to suck your dick (I'm not joking) in return for an administrative favor for you or their family in the future. One of the things I was incredibly surprised by in all of my posts was that I was to discreetly find out about the personal relationships of many FSOs, most who work sensitive positions (issuing visas). If I wanted to be a dick and had probable, shit even circumstantial evidence, I could present to the RSO that a certain someone was having an unacceptable relationship that causes a POSSIBLE security risk, and do the investigation myself.

>>1256070
Diplomatic Security Service. No one will care how you look as long as you can run 1.5-3 miles without dying, do some pushups, and hop some obstacles. However, you need to be a very good in socializing with others, quickly and with little notice of who you have to get along with. It is definitely a good job (not dream tho) for anyone who has permanent wanderlust, however like I said above it comes at a personal, social cost.

>>1256071
>Diplomatic Security Service
WTF I thought they used the marines for this?

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>>1256073
That's the Marine Security Guard. They are an Embassy's first line of sovereign protection after the host nation's external security. They operate under guidance (but it's not like I can order them around to do shit as I please) of the Regional Security Officer (RSO), a senior level DSS agent, who is the top law enforcement official assigned to the country.

DS Agents are civilian, Foreign Service Officers who are sworn law enforcement that are the overseas equivalent of an 1811 federal investigator (Special Agent, a'la FBI, ATF, DEA, etc). primarily work outside of the diplo missions offering VIP security, intelligence liasion with native law enforcement, and also internal DS investigations regarding US citizens or nat'l security.

Btw, most of the time my job is like 2% exciting and 98% normal daily shit despite all the cool shit they list in the job recruitment.

>>1256077
>98% normal daily shit
filing files?

>>1256094
For the most part. Usually building up a mundane stack of case files of people who are staying here illegally past their visas or passport fraud and abuse. Mostly telephone and paperwork trail. Then every few weeks, request local police to help us arrest some random Latin American or Euro migrant worker who 95% of the time are in tears and begging to let them stay in America. I do it with the most neutral face I can muster, to avoid additional confrontation or conversation.

To steer this thread back on topic, when traveling though and overseas or on TDY, it CAN become a fun travel job. Being dragged to pull additional security VIP in some 3rd world country on a short 1 week trip? Obviously those sucked.

But being in a first world post like the UK was interesting and I was able to live an incredibly posh lifestyle thanks to a generous per diem and government provided quarters, vehicle, and tax-free privileges. I got to see a lot of Europe for free by TDY, but that shit was 100% work, on tight schedules, and realizing that having to guard a fucking dark alley by yourself in Rome is just as miserable as guarding a dark alley solo in Paris. It just stinks different.

>>1256071
>Everything else you said was true, although this part is a bit puzzling. If anything, you're given the standard talk by your RSO/ARSO at a new duty post about being too personal with locals or other Embassy/Consulate personnel because of your special status

Meaning other DS agents didn't want to be seen hanging out with the Marines. Though they threw the best parties, and many were fucking DS female employees, but on the day-to-day everyone was more standoffish to the Marines

>>1256217
Oh.... that's a shame. 100% with you on that, sorry for misunderstanding. I guess that sort of behavior is the same wherever you go in the world. If someone can act better than an another, they fall in to the temptation.

I often found myself hanging out with them for cigarette breaks, beyond that didn't socialize much except for parties like you mentioned. Most Marines I've met are cool to you when you offer cigs or dip, latter of which I incidentally picked up from them.

I'm studying logistics/ supply chain management, I will graduate next year and my only criteria for a job is to travel a lot.

Do you know in which jobs I will most likely travel a lot?

>>1256424
It's no biggie. No one gives a shit. Most embassy guys found it interesting/humorous, if anything. They have plenty fun hanging out with each other and locals

>>1256437
logistics and supply chain management.

>>1253183
Avoid Deloitte, man
You'll be earning shit pay for the work you'll be doing and will by surrounded by fuckers from bottom tier colleges

>>1257763
That's kinda what I've heard before about the pay, especially considering the hours.

Any places you'd recommend for tech consulting that have international locations or international clients?

>>1256008
That's the problem, sometimes I have to go to the middle of nowhere.