Would you pay for a work trip?

[Chuckanut]

As a public school teacher I paid for many training classes out of my own pocket. Nothing new here.

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting stuff...
Anyone here wanna give a guess as to what a $2000 training trip might cost a company, after the tax benefit?

Yes, depends, but assuming a moderately profitable corporation.

I'll guess... $2,000 * (1-35%)= $1,300... less if state tax applies.

 

[MatatuPuncher]

I grudgingly attended a conference in San Diego after being directed to do so a few years ago. It was a dual role of representing the company for part of one day and then "networking" for three days with a day before and day after for travel. I spent about three hours actually working and most of the other days/nights partying. All told it was well over $8,000 spent and a complete waste of time work wise. No way would I ever pay out of pocket for that.

 

[Derslickmeister]

Not only no, but hell no...

 

[chris2008]

I did some trainings on my own dime and negotiated with employer to use company car + count time as work, when I felt that the training would provide high benefit to me, improve my network or made me more marketable if ever in need of another employer.
It worked out well.
Conferences I see with mixed feelings. It might increase my visibility (but not to relevant people?), but usually the workshops are too short to be effective. They might just be sales pitch for more and costly trainings.

 

[Ronstar]

I wouldn't personally pay for a work trip. If the corp benefits from the trip, then it should pay for it.

 

[youbet]

The title of this thread is misleading since the trip OP is describing is NOT a "work trip."


To make it a "work trip," OP would need to make a proposal to management showing the benefits of his newly acquired knowledge to the company accompanied by a proposal of a project he would implement and what improvements in security and costs it would yield. Goals should be well defined and measurable. Success of the project would be a key factor in OP's performance review and merit raise.


Otherwise, rather than a work trip, it's just a "boondoggle."


The company would be nuts to pay for this or even give OP paid time off to attend.

 

[W2R]

The title of this thread is misleading since the trip OP is describing is NOT a "work trip."

To make it a "work trip," OP would need to make a proposal to management showing the benefits of his newly acquired knowledge to the company accompanied by a proposal of a project he would implement and what improvements in security and costs it would yield. Goals should be well defined and quantatively measurable. Success of the project would be a key factor in OP's performance review and merit raise.

Otherwise, rather than a work trip, it's just a "boondoggle."

The company would be nuts to pay for this or even give OP paid time off to attend.

I agree and think there may be some communication gap between the company and the OP about what is expected on a work trip.

if I had to actually go on a work trip, I would at least try to see some sights as well.

I have never actually been required to go on a work trip

Sight-seeing? Perhaps that confirms what youbet is saying. I am thinking that if you had ever "actually been required to go on a work trip", you might learn more about what they entail, and what would be required of you, and what these trips really ARE.

 

[MasterBlaster]

if I had to actually go on a work trip, I would at least try to see some sights as well.
I have never actually been required to go on a work trip

Sight-seeing? Perhaps that confirms what youbet is saying. I am thinking that if you had ever "actually been required to go on a work trip", you might learn more about what they entail, and what would be required of you, and what these trips really ARE.

Yeah really ! Some people think that traveling on business is a vacation. After a few of those trips they change their mind.

 

[MRG]

Good call on the tax deduction. I would actually consider myself mad for paying for this myself. Now, let's not be fooled, if I had to actually go on a work trip, I would at least try to see some sights as well.

I have never actually been required to go on a work trip, but I did get a trip to Hawaii paid for from a govt contracting gig to obtain a certification.

I traveled for w*rk sometimes gone for a month or more. I saw the insides of some pretty neat data centers all over the world. Spent a fair amount of time in Boston, lot of data centers there, someone told me there's an ocean around there too.

 

[Meadbh]

I once spent a week in Orlando and saw the airport, the hotel and the conference center.

 

[Walt34]

I traveled for w*rk sometimes gone for a month or more. I saw the insides of some pretty neat data centers all over the world. Spent a fair amount of time in Boston, lot of data centers there, someone told me there's an ocean around there too.

I had that experience too, although it was Orlando, FL. In this case it was the all-volunteer teaching/coaching staff for a nonprofit group teaching computer forensics to law enforcement officers. It turned out that for fourteen years running including two after retirement, I was in Orlando for two weeks every spring. On one trip I was so busy that on the way home I realized that in two weeks I had never left the hotel building where the classes took place!

Most times were better though - spouses & SOs would fly down for the weekend and we'd go out and party, see Disney World, and the like.

 

[ABQ2015]

I have traveled some with my job and consider it a perk. If it is a nice place, I stay the weekend on my own dime. As a result, I've been to most parts of the country. Loved Monterey and saw quite a bit of the ocean. Of course there are also the work trips to the middle of nowhere and the ones with 12 hour days. The last two times I went to Vegas, I was so tired at the end of each day that I didn't make it to any of the casinos or nice restaurants and just flew home on Friday.

If I were the OP, I'd try to negotiate for my employer to pay for part of the trip and credit my attendance as work time. Then claim the rest on my taxes. Like Hermit, I can't see how IT security training would not be of any benefit to the company even if not directly related to the project.

 

[W2R]

Most times were better though - spouses & SOs would fly down for the weekend and we'd go out and party, see Disney World, and the like.

You were lucky that you didn't work for my agency - - you never would have traveled for work again! Seriously, you wouldn't and you would have been reprimanded due to not completing your work assignments. NOBODY that I ever knew (not even upper management) ever had time to do anything like that on a work trip unless they took vacation time at the end of the work trip and did it on their own time afterwards. We were getting paid too much by our agency to ever squander work time on that sort of thing.

 

[ABQ2015]

You were lucky that you didn't work for my agency - - you never would have traveled for work again! Seriously, you wouldn't and you would have been reprimanded due to not completing your work assignments. NOBODY that I ever knew (not even upper management) ever had time to do anything like that on a work trip unless they took vacation time at the end of the work trip and did it on their own time afterwards. We were getting paid too much by our agency to ever squander work time on that sort of thing.

We have two week assessments where it is cheaper (or breakeven) to stay the weekend than to travel home and back again. So my federal agency will allow you to stay over and will pay per diem, hotel, and rental car. If you then work on the weekend, you can claim comp time but otherwise you are not getting paid and can do what you like so you could go to Disneyworld or whatever. These are usually complex assessments so I generally wrk on my report on Saturday but may take Sunday off. During the weekdays, any sightseeing is done after hours. Just wanted to clarify for all the taxpayers reading this.

 

[Meadbh]

We have two week assessments where it is cheaper (or breakeven) to stay the weekend than to travel home and back again. So my federal agency will allow you to stay over and will pay per diem, hotel, and rental car. If you then work on the weekend, you can claim comp time but otherwise you are not getting paid and can do what you like so you could go to Disneyworld or whatever. These are usually complex assessments so I generally wrk on my report on Saturday but may take Sunday off. During the weekdays, any sightseeing is done after hours. Just wanted to clarify for all the taxpayers reading this.

That sounds fair. Time away from home and family is an inconvenience at best and stressful at times. You should not be expected to work constantly while away. What you do with your leisure time while away should be your own business.

 

[athena53]

It's possible to put in a full day's work while on a business trip and then enjoy dinner at an interesting place (with or without colleagues), go out for a run in new surroundings, maybe even see a show. I remember a delightful bike tour in Munich when I arrived on a Sunday. It depends; I've been in my share of windowless conference rooms in Florida and Bermuda- but overall I've been able to do my work and still enjoy a little of my destination.

Bonus: you can check out a place on the company dine and return in vacation if you like it. DH and I did get back to Munich!

 

[Meadbh]

There are also some interesting places that you could probably not visit at all, were it not for the fact that it's a business trip. I am thinking of Saudi Arabia, which discourages tourists. It was fun to socialize with Saudi friends, visit museums, eat at excellent restaurants and shop at the souk and the amazing malls, all on my own time, of course.

 

[W2R]

I suppose that on a work trip, that after getting to the meeting/conference at 8 AM each day, working all day, meeting again at 6:30 for a working dinner that lets out around 10, one could have a jolly old time seeing the sights! Well, if one did not have to prepare a PowerPoint for an unexpected presentation to a room full of people the next day. Luckily the latter did not happen every day.

ABQ2015 was right, in that if I had time to kill over a weekend before or after, I could sightsee. Well, often there was a welcome buffet starting around 4 PM on Sunday, and sometimes I was so tired from the flights that I just wanted to rest, but otherwise the weekends were usually free if/when I was at the destination.

You know, I don't miss work travel one bit, I must admit. IMO they are a tremendous waste of manpower and money for interactions that would be just as effective over the internet.

Did I mention that I walked uphill both ways to elementary school, barefoot in the snow? Honestly I thought everybody's work trips were like this.

 

[FI by 2024]

I suppose that on a work trip, that after getting to the meeting/conference at 8 AM each day, working all day, meeting again at 6:30 for a working dinner that lets out around 10, one could have a jolly old time seeing the sights!
...
Honestly I thought everybody's work trips were like this.

What kind of work trips were you on? Most of mine are 7am-4 or 5pm, then free for the night. Occasionally there will be planned events at night, but those are almost always limited to 2 hours and usually take place at a touristy area because the hosts understand we will want to sightsee.

IMO they are a tremendous waste of manpower and money for interactions that would be just as effective over the internet.

While there is no doubt this is true in many cases, when dealing with high context cultures in international agreements there is no substitute for drinking some tea face to face. Sometimes the airfare and hotel fee are the most valuable expenses and any training/conferences fees are formalities.

 

[SDHiker]

I just retired after 30+ years with a civil service local government. In the early 90's there were a few professional meetings (conferences) that some of us really wanted to attend, but as our budget had ZERO dollars for travel and professional development, if we wanted to attend, we had to foot the bill. (Some of you will be very happy that your tax dollars weren't spent on developing public employees.) We were given "release time" if we could write a justification that was approved. This just meant that we did not have to use vacation time to go. I did this probably twice for national meetings and several times for local professional organization meetings. This was not training per se, but I got so much out of it to help with the job, methods & techniques, making us more efficient, and making valuable contacts with others in the field. I was never able to take a tax deduction for any of these, but I made a great decision to do it and don't regret it at all. (and I had not lost my mind.) It really depends on the situation and what you get out of it for your career.

 

[kcowan]

DW was sent to Orlando for a 5 days convention. I was scheduled to fly to Kuala Lumpur the next week. So I flew from Vancouver to Orlando on Friday and we both left on Sunday.

Her company saved because her fare was over the weekend. My company saved because I flew economy rather than the approved business class.

Also convinced our host in another life to host the conference in Cancun rather than Mexico City since people were coming from all over the world and many could fly to Cancun cheaper. She had already held one conference in DF, so this acted as an incentive to improve attendance.

 

[kgtest]

I suppose that on a work trip, that after getting to the meeting/conference at 8 AM each day, working all day, meeting again at 6:30 for a working dinner that lets out around 10, one could have a jolly old time seeing the sights! Well, if one did not have to prepare a PowerPoint for an unexpected presentation to a room full of people the next day. Luckily the latter did not happen every day.

ABQ2015 was right, in that if I had time to kill over a weekend before or after, I could sightsee. Well, often there was a welcome buffet starting around 4 PM on Sunday, and sometimes I was so tired from the flights that I just wanted to rest, but otherwise the weekends were usually free if/when I was at the destination.

You know, I don't miss work travel one bit, I must admit. IMO they are a tremendous waste of manpower and money for interactions that would be just as effective over the internet.

Did I mention that I walked uphill both ways to elementary school, barefoot in the snow? Honestly I thought everybody's work trips were like this.

Brrr. hehe. Thanks for the responses folks. My employer did approve attending a local workshop so they passed the test in terms of "are they willing to invest in me."