Frequent travel becomes boring and monotonous after a very short time. You get sick of crowded airports, delays, security checks, hotels, etc. And, as St Louis mentioned, it's easy to gain weight in a hurry eating out all the time.
Do you mind traveling in general? If not, and you don't have much holding you down, I think it would be a good experience. However, it's probably not something you'll be doing for a long time. Most people burn out on travel after a few years, so don't burn any bridges taking this job.
Just do it. If it pays 50% more than your current job, then give yourself a 1 year goal. When you get to that 1 year, reasses the situation. If you hate it, then you have about a 1/2 year (without losing big bucks) to look for a job like the one you previously had. If you love it, then just keep the job and pat yourself on the back.
100% travel??? Does that mean you don't even come home on the weekends? As a consultant you adhere to a Monday-Thursday out of town policy unless your company really sucks and makes you do Mon-Fri or even Sun-Fri. The Mon-Thurs isn't bad at all, since you are in town for the weekends. What would you do on Monday, Tues and Weds nights in your hometown, anyways (assuming you're not married or have a corral of ladies, like myself)?? The travel becomes routine and not a big issue. You get good at it. You'll quickly get elite status on the airlines so you'll avoid the bulk of the waiting in security. Get a driver or a cab to take you to the airport to avoid the parking mess and just get dropped off in front of the security area. That will save you a ton of time. If you have to travel the entire week, including weekends, I don't have any experience with that. I would hate that. Not seeing friends, women and other familiar sights on the weekend would suck, in my opinion. You have to have something to look forward to instead of just working, if you ask me, unless you really like your job and the people you're with.
I work for a Big 5 consulting firm and I would estimate that 50% of our projects allow consultants to fly out Monday mornings and back Thursday nights which is pretty reasonable. The actual travel doesn't bother me too much with the exception of getting up at 4:45 AM on Mondays. The most difficult part is being away from my family. I think that if a company requires you to fly out on Sunday and back on Friday night then they probably have very little regard for their employees and would probably not be a very good place to work.
I had a job like that for about 4 years. A few points to consider: 1.) No opportunity to randomly go out with your friends on a weeknight 2.) Always exhausted on Friday night after long flight delays 3.) Weekends are always rushed to take care of errands because you need to get on a flight on Sunday night and never got to take care of personal things during the week 4.) Most of the women you'll date will be coworkers or randoms you meet at the hotel or airport/airplan (with no long-term potential) 5.) It will be hard to walk away b/c you will be making so much money and it'll be difficult to find a job that will pay at the same level while providing a comfotable lifestyle 6.) Less working out 7.) You always feel like you're on the move with little permanency to life On the upside: 1.) You'll never pay for a vacation again 2.) You meet very different types of people from around the country 3.) You save tons of money b/c you're not spending and personal money while out of town 4.) You can go virually anywhere on the weekend Overall, I'm glad I did it for a while. It was right for me at that stage in my life, but I can't do it again. It got really old after a while and the perks no longer meant anything. (I quit travelling about a year ago and have so many miles and hotel points that I won't have to buy a ticket or pay for a hotel for the next 3 r 4 years). The older people I worked with had it rough, because they didn't spend enough time with their family, but their lifestyles had changed to the point that they couldn't quit without hurting their family's way of life. For me, the worst part was not really having a weekend and feeling disconnected from my friends. Think it through hard. And good luck.
Go for it!!! I'm 42 and traveled the world sometimes with my family but mostly without. I was gone sometimes for 6 months at a time. If you're not married and don't have kids, you'd be crazy not to take the job!!! Good luck whichever decision you make.
I travel about once a month and I hate it. I get sad just thinking about leaving my wife and 2 boys behind. Just tomorrow I have to go to Vegas for a show, and am missing my 6 year old's first basketball game (of the season) and it is killing me. After we launch this product I am going to take the stock and cash it all in and run..... DD
RMT, you stated that you were single. That raises the potential of enjoying the travel many times IMHO... Would your travel be soley in the US? That would be ok, but far better if it included trips to other countries. Travel (especialy to other countries) can be very rewarding and even fascinating - especially for a single guy.
One of my colleagues has an uncle who works as a globally roaming quality manager for some ritzy hotel chain. It was exciting for a while but he had a family which became important to him than the job. Go for it mate since you're unattached!
