As a Master Trainer working for QBS people often ask me about what my work week looks like. I completely understand the wonder. Working as a BCBA as a third-party consultant who travels around the country doing trainings is a bit, unique. So, I thought it might be helpful to put a blog out that might help all who are wondering what my work week looks like. I want to make sure I clarify before I get into it that this is not necessarily indicative of what everyone does and is specifically giving a glimpse into what a travel work week looks like during COVID.
Overview
So, first off, as a Master Trainer at QBS, I generally have three different types of workdays/workweeks. There are local weeks where I am able to travel back and forth from the training location and my house, travel weeks where I must travel to a location and then find a place to stay until the training is done, and office days where I am doing various tasks. This blog will focus on the travel weeks. Master Trainers book all their own travel so we do have some flexibility on the times, hotels, airlines, rental cars, etc. as long as we stay within certain guidelines.
A typical travel week will consist of 3 to 4 days of training and 1 day of travel (for the sake of this article we’ll say travel on Monday and training Thursday through Friday). The flights, rental car, and hotel would have been booked two weeks prior. Monday depending on the time of my flight I may pack (or this may have been done the day before). There was a time when packing for a work trip was stressful but it’s routine now down to packing entertainment for the flights and whatnot. I’ll usually shoot to get to the airport about 1 hour before take-off or so. I’ll drive to the airport and then park in the parking garage. Security is super quick (TSA pre-check is key) and then I may get something to eat while I wait for my flight.
Arrival
Once I arrive at my destination I’ll head over to the rental car center and hopefully, they have a Members Board of sorts so I can just walk to my car instead of waiting at a counter (status is key). I’ll grab the car and head over to my hotel. Usually, it’s not too bad of a drive but sometimes places can be far from the closest airport. I’ll usually stop and pick up some bottles of water and iced coffees for the fridge. If I’m being super adulty I’ll stop at a grocery store as well to stock up the fridge for lunches. Then I’ll do my best to get settled in and try to go to sleep.
The Mission
The next four days it’s just a cycle of training, shower, nap, order in delivery, and sleep. During non-COVID times I would go out to restaurants or see the local sites but now it’s basically a soft quarantine to the hotel room except for work or to pick up food maybe. On the final day of training, I’ll pack up my stuff the morning of and check out of the hotel. I’ll do my final day of training then it’s a drive to the airport, return the rental car, fly home, get my car from the parking garage, and drive home (it’s a rough commute home from work).
So, that’s it. Not super luxurious by any means (at least not during COVID). Although in better times I have been able to visit some amazing places and eat some amazing foods I may have never had a chance to experience. I should also say that the travel is rough and can also be a perk but the job itself, doing trainings, is what I really enjoy.
Keywords: Travel, travel job, BCBA training