Traveling for Work

For one of my internships back in college, I had the opportunity to travel to universities across North America. I worked out of the Bay Area so I visited UC Berkeley and Stanford. Then I traveled to New York for Columbia University, Chicago for UIUC, and then Pittsburgh for Carnegie Mellon University.

The first two months on the job had me traveling constantly, an exciting opportunity since I never traveled extensively alone. My employer paid for flights, hotels, and meal expenses. I had a blast the first month, but the second month began to take its toll on me. The novelty of frequent travel wore off. I was tired of airport security, I was tired of moving Airbnbs every few days, I was tired of eating out for every meal. I started to understand why my older colleagues, especially those with families, didn’t necessarily enjoy traveling for work.

I just got back from my third work trip this year — this time to Arizona. While I don’t travel extensively for work, I do get the chance to see places I wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to. I’m grateful for the privilege of flying for work, something not everyone can do.