I have mixed feelings about travel some of it I missed, such as the airplane/rental car/hotel discounts and perks (some of which thankfully I still get as a retiree). I loved it when Megacorp went to the per diem system - on a 5 day trip I could easily pocket $100-$150 and that added it. Meeting and interacting with "celebrities" (and at times being mistaken for a celebrity, with potentially "interesting" results
) and other interesting people (the plane ride with the exotic dancer is still a humorous highlight) were enjoyable. Being able to take DW or the entire family at times was fun.
What I do not miss about travel was the frequency. It most of my Megacorp job roles, not only did I have to travel frequently (e.g. Brussels, Miami, Shanghai, Toronto 4 weeks in a row, home last Friday or early Saturday, back on the plane Sunday), but many times it was last minute ("A situation has come up, you needed in location XYZ as soon as possible). Every airport, rental car, and hotel looked the same. I got very little sightseeing in (beyond the location business area) as my schedule would be packed to the hilt.
I did enjoy the pay and personally thought I was overpayed for what they wanted of me. I would still have been happy at half the pay. But I liked technology as a hobby, could quickly become proficient in many areas, (particularly in "technology integration" scenarios) and loved to solve problems, and Megacorp clients saw that as valuable. Of course, that drove much of the frequent travel I had to do
.
I loved the free access to It hardware and software. Megacorp had some many agreements with vendors, and I had a role that required access to many of them, that I was able to get whatever I wanted for free, or get the budget easily approved for it (I did not go overboard from my management's view, so everybody was happy).
I do miss the people, interacting with them on business terms. I got along with most everyone, as I did not have a work "ego" - I had what several co-workers and clients described as a "steady, calm, confidence", maybe because I enjoyed my job a lot. I had a set of travel buddies, also in jobs requiring frequent travel, that we would try to get together on the road.
I enjoyed mentoring others coming through the business. As a minority in IT when there were very few minorities of my ilk, I got the chance to speak at many schools and colleges about my career, as well as help others (both minorities and non minorities) who joined Megacorp navigate their careers.
The awards were great. Not just the bonuses (which often got into 5 figures), but the bonus trips - several to Hawaii, many more to resorts around North America - fully paid for both me and DW.
However - I do not miss them to the extent that I want to go back to work. They are pleasant, fun memories, ones that I like to think about and recount with other co-workers when we get the chance. But retirement at this time in my life is so much more enjoyable
.
