Do you have a job with occasional international travel? If so what do you do?

[alma123]

I'm in a UK based role but would like a job with occasional international travel. I'm after a career change anyway so am looking for some inspiration! Thanks

[Alanna1]

Law.

[Unexpected]

So many jobs might have occasional travel though, it's impossible to narrow it down. Thinking about my friends and family and their jobs, people who travel occasionally work in marketing, IT consultancy, investment banking, property lending, event management, medical sales, motor racing, journalism, theatre, company secretarial, education - and probably more I have forgotten about. But all those roles could equally well require lots of travel, depending on which company, sector etc you work in. I don't think you can base a career change on the hope of being able to travel - never mind, being specific about the amount of travel?

[hazelnutlatte]

Clinical research - went to Frankfurt just before Christmas, saw nothing but the airport and hotel though. This tends to be the case wherever I go unfortunately!

[Ragwort]

My DH does - he is in sales.

[JeanSeberg]

I'd look at the company rather than the role. Obviously an international company will have more opportunities than one that only has offices in the uk, whatever the position.

Do you speak any foreign languages?

[alma123]

Thanks JeanSeberg, yes you are probably right. Yes, I am a Modern Languages graduate.

[ByTheSea]

I don't travel so much in my current position but used to travel internationally extensively (major European and Asian cities) as a business analyst for a major investment bank.

[JeanSeberg]

Me too which is how I got into a job with international travel.

Research companies before applying, the smaller the better in my experience. Either with an export department or offices overseas. Even if the advertised role doesn't include international work, you can guarantee that at some point there will be a phone call/email in a language that you speak and you can work your way into a role that way.

Also a good question at interview 'What opportunities will there be to use my languages?'

[4PlusMum]

Travel agent? The person we usually use is often jetting off to look at new resorts. Would need to be a high end agency rather than Thomas Cook. Scott Dunn have vacancies.

[McFox]

I've worked in marketing in various industries for 10+ years and hand gone quite a but if international travel. Beware though - if you're looking to see the world, you often don't get the chance, it's more airport - meeting - hotel - airport!

[bruffin]

Dh travelled a lot as an engineer.
I worked for a foreign company in accounts and got to travel to their head office in Helsinki a couple of times.

[eurochick]

Law here too.

[Eastpoint]

Travel PR, property catastrophe reinsurance (japan, Australia, NZ, US, Korea).

[addictedtosugar]

Colleagues round me who travel:
Science, engineering, technical sales, marketing, sales (needs to be the customer facing ones, not the input into SAP ones), senior management.

Are you sure your aware of what international travel involves? There are only so many permutations of airports, hotel rooms, conference rooms (factory - luggages probably rules this out) that exist. And after a few nights I'm fed up of restaurant food. Look into it carefully before committing. I don't find it glamorous.

[Lozza70]

A buyer for retail will have travel involved. Mainly in fashion and homeware though. Not glamorous though loads of meetings in high rise offices, was going to create a coffee table book on lifts of South East Asia at one point as that was all I had seen for a week!

[Coveredinweetabix]

What sort of travel do you want? I'm in law and go overseas two or three times a year. But it's just a hassle. It either involves a 6.30am type flight (so getting up at 4.30ish) or flying out the night before at about 8pm and staying in some soulless airport hotel. Only on two occasions have I ever been for a meal outside of a soulless hotel or offices. On one occasion, I did get to spend a bit of a Saturday in a nice European city but that's because all of the flights were fully booked earlier in the day. Having flown out on the Wednesday for a day of meetings which had overrun until late on the Friday night, I didn't have any casual clothes with me, was exhausted (meetings had gone on into the wee small hours on both the Weds and Thurs night and until 10pm on the Fri) and was missing a friend's birthday lunch.

[lekkerslaap]

PA

Ditto what Coveredinweetabix says.

Do you like getting up in the middle of the night and sitting around in airport lounges? I'd rather be in the office personally.

[bigkidsdidit]

I go away maybe three times a year - recently Uruguay, Berlin, Paris. Soon Vienna. But I am a scientist and I've just seen you are a languages graduate!

It is hard though. Working away means no tkme off, no down time, and often no weekends off as I'm travelling.

[alma123]

Hi, thanks all. Yes, aware of what comes with international travel but being in an international environment is in my DNA and occasional international travel would be a big bonus for me - I am unable to travel extensively due to family commitments. I used to work in an international environment (many years ago) and gave it up for the better pay of a UK based job. But I need to go back to my roots!