I'm not that guy

Tags: 

I wanted to share a bit of my philosophy with you.

In the name of work, in the name my employer, in the name of finishing projects so certain managers can save face, I've done a lot of things, worked a lot of extra hours, pushed myself pretty close to my limits.  There have been times I've worked eighty, ninety, one-hundred hour weeks (103.5 is my record) to get projects completed in time, worked two brick-n-mortar jobs where the only time I saw my family was for a few minutes in the morning before arriving home at 2am+.  I've gotten through it, we've gotten through it, learned and moved on.  But with all of this there's one thing I'm unwilling to do - extensive travel.

In 1998 I moved from Ireland to the USA to be with the woman I loved and had just married.  In 2000 I moved with her from New Hampshire to Florida because she needed to, and over the past ten years we've built a life for ourselves, have two amazing children (and a dog & two cats) and look forward to hopefully many years of happiness together.  I have a wonderful family, a lot to be grateful for - I am grateful for it and I want to be with my family.

While a large number of people world-over spend their careers driving & flying all over the country, nay world, I'm not that guy.  I'll sacrifice a lot in the name of my career, but I'd rather have a slightly less awesome job so I can spend more time with my family.


Disclaimer: I know a lot of people who do travel for their jobs, a lot of people I have immense respect for and do not think any less of them for it, but it's not a choice I can make.

5 Comments

I'd actually rather travel

I'd actually rather travel for work than work 60-100 work weeks. Traveling can be a lot of fun, seeing new places, trying new foods, etc., but that might be because I don't have kids yet.

I've had this philosophy

I've had this philosophy since before I had children.

I am not much of one for

I am not much of one for travel either, especially if it involves air travel. Once a year I have to travel to Georgia for DR testing, however, the other team members fly, I drive!

How to reply

Care to add your own 2 cents? Let me know via Twitter or my contact page.