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Traveling Jobs in IT?

Posted by Cliff on from the avoiding-the-cube-farm dept.

wed128 asks: "I am currently a freshman at Penn State University, studying for a Computer Engineering degree. However, I look at the graduates ahead of me and many of them are cubical warriors. This doesn't really bother me, however i'd like to see the world before being confined to a cube for the rest of my life. Are there any jobs in an IT field where I can travel? How would I go about getting the right contacts regarding this? I have 4 years till graduation, so this isn't a direct plea for a job..."

7 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. lots of opportunities... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Most large companies have jobs like what you're seeking. Presales engineers usually go out to customer sites and help install and debug installations. Field-service engineers travel to customer sites to debug on-site customer problems.

    These types of jobs require an awareness of computer issues, but not so much programming as problem-solving.

    However, you trade your cubical for lots of travel and 14-hour days in customer machine rooms.

    1. Re:lots of opportunities... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes, but you don't spend all your time in the machine room. Typically, there is an overnight stay. That give you some time.

      Also, most companies have no problem with you extending your stay Friday to Sunday. Air fares typically fall with a Sat. stay, and most companies will pick up your hotel if the cost nets out equal or lower overall.

      You can do alot in a weekend, if you're organized and motivated.

  2. You will have to work to not travel. by (H)elix1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This doesn't really bother me, however i'd like to see the world before being confined to a cube for the rest of my life. Are there any jobs in an IT field where I can travel?

    You have got to be kidding me. Join most any company that has a significant consulting services or sales branch, and it is easy to see the world. Within the next six weeks I'll hit cities in four continents.... Surprisingly, the view is about the same as a cube. A card table if the client planned ahead, a hotel every nigh where you spend the rest of the evening making magic, and eating at whatever restaurant is nearby. I know where the plane is on some international flight just by the snack cart shuffling about.

    There was a point - travel is easy. If you want to spelunk the world and enjoy it, better to do it as a vacationer than trying to 'see the world' after a shift is done. I saw more of Europe backpacking on the cheap in college than I have 'commuting' back and forth.

    As a bonus, make sure you pick a career that affords you the purchasing power to see the world. Air and hotel miles are a brutal way to do it... (grin)

    --
    +++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
    1. Re:You will have to work to not travel. by PD · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I disagree completely. I travel between 20% and 40% of my time in any given year, and I've seen many things that I wouldn't have bothered to see otherwise.

      You will as often find yourself in Lizard Lick, North Carolina as you find yourself in Paris, France. The difference is that while you might go to Paris for a vacation, you'll never to to Lizard Lick on your time off.

      But if you make it a point to dig up something interesting no matter where you are, you will always be able to tell stories about that time you were stuck in Lizard Lick. Every place you visit has something interesting to see. If you rely on a big sign and a line of people with cameras and big hats to find something interesting, you'll hate it. If you can talk to people and don't mind walking out of your hotel with the goal of seeing something before you know what it is you will see, you'll like it.

      You may not be able to backpack your way down the Appalachian Trail on a business trip, but there's plenty of other ways to see cool things in Virginia if you're sent there.

      --
      If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
    2. Re:You will have to work to not travel. by drudd · · Score: 1, Insightful

      So why are you spending time reading/posting to slashdot instead of spending it with your family?

      Doug

      --
      Venn ist das nurnstuck git und Slotermeyer? Ya! Beigerhund das oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!
    3. Re:You will have to work to not travel. by (H)elix1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So why are you spending time reading/posting to slashdot instead of spending it with your family?

      Same reason I browse and post from work... because I needed a break.

      You spend thirty minutes helping a 4.5 year old practice 'twinkle, twinkle little star' on a violin, and all parties need some down time afterwards. It is all about choices - for me it's good compromise to hang out in the living room with a wireless connection while she watches House of Mouse.

      --
      +++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
    4. Re:You will have to work to not travel. by kiwimate · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed. It sounds glamorous to anyone who's not actually doing it, and, in truth, it can be a lot of fun. The fun begins to tail off when (i) you've been doing it for months, and/or (ii) you have a family at home.

      The breaking point for me, when it finally ceased to be so much fun, was when I spent two months living in the same hotel room in Sydney, Australia, and wasn't flying home for the weekends. On the plus side I got to see a lot of the area; on the minus side, living in the same hotel room for anything past about four weeks is not pleasant.

      So jobs changed, I stopped travelling so much, and then a few years down the track found myself living in the States, newly married, and was on a major project where I would get up early Monday morning, travel to New York, live there in a hotel room for a week, come home Friday night. Spend the weekend with my wife, lather, rinse, repeat ad nauseam for several months. I got to hate going to New York, and never wanted to go there on a vacation because, to me, it was just where I went to work. I never got to see anything because I'd start work early in the morning, be working after hours a lot of the time, and by the time you get back to the hotel all you want to do is have dinner and relax for a few hours before going to bed. By the way, it can be really depressing eating in a restaurant night after night by yourself, but you need a break from room service sometimes.

      I'm extremely lucky in that my wife grew up with a father who also travelled extensively and so knew what to expect, and (most importantly) had seen how wearing it was on her father and knew that it just wasn't as much fun as it appeared to be. One of my colleagues, on the other hand, was married to a woman who used to get very envious as she saw him always travelling to different locations and eating in hotels and thought he was having a great time, not realizing just how draining and depressing it can be.

      If you're going to do it, do it while you're young. Do it before you're married and have a family. I'm no longer travelling; as soon as we decided to start a family, I found a new job where I specifically wouldn't have to travel and could pretty much count on coming home every night to see my daughter.

      I'm glad to have had the opportunity; I got to see a lot of places, and it was a great way to see more of the U.S. when I moved here and experience the differences in culture throughout the country (yes, there's a big difference between Georgia and New Hampshire). And I'm very glad now to have the luxury of being home almost every night at a reasonably predictable hour; heck, just being able to go home on a weeknight, rather than having to try and have a family two days out of seven.