Careers That Travel: Dale the Cybersecurity Consultant

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Careers That Travel is an interview series where we feature people who get to travel for work.

In this post, we speak to Dale, a cybsersecurity consultant who runs the travel blog Wander Her Way.

1. What is your current job, and how does travel play into your role?

I’m a cybersecurity consultant for a major international consulting firm. As a consultant, I work with clients around the U.S. I typically travel to the client site Monday through Thursday every week.

2. What did you study in school, and what helped prepare you for this job?

I studied business. Business is a great major that will prepare you for consulting. I had a concentration in information technology and I took additional classes in privacy and cybersecurity which helped me prepare for that aspect of my job.

3. What is the most exciting place that you have traveled to for work? Least exciting?

The most exciting place I’ve traveled so far is Orlando. (I got to spend a lot of time at Disney World!) The least exciting is New Jersey.

4. What types of challenges do you face while on the road?

Some of the most frustrating challenges are travel delays. There’s nothing worse than my flight getting delayed on a Thursday night due to bad weather when I just want to get home. Other challenges are living out of a suitcase four days a week and trying to stay healthy with the constant travel.

5. Do you get to travel with a team, or do you typically travel for work by yourself?

I travel with a team.

6. How long is a typical work trip? Do you ever extend your stay for personal time?

My work trips are Monday morning through Thursday evening every week. One time I extended my trip for the weekend and took a mini-vacation. Depending on the destination, I would definitely do it again! But usually I’m able to get in a little sightseeing during the workweek and I get to try out awesome restaurants every night.

7. Do you have a home base, or are you completely remote?

I have a home base in New York.

8. How does the amount of travel you do change as you move up in this career?

At my firm, if you choose to stay and work your way up from consultant to manager, you typically won’t have to travel as much (unless you want to.)

9. Does your company offer any benefits for being on the road?

Yes! The benefits are amazing and make the constant back-and-forth travel absolutely worth it. When I’m traveling to the client site, I get to fly business class and stay in a five-star hotel. I also have get reimbursed for all my meals. And best of all, I can put things on my own credit cards and then expense them, which means I’m racking up airline miles and hotel points every time I travel.

10. What advice do you have for someone who has to start traveling for work?

I would say that you definitely need to develop patience and be flexible! Traveling often for work can be tiring, and you’ll spend a lot of time in transit. Always bring a good book (or a Kindle) with you and prepare for delays. Finally, don’t forget to explore! When you’re on a work trip, you might be ready to call it quits and head back to your hotel to order room service at the end of the day. But you’ll have a much better time if you go out and do some sightseeing and check out restaurants and entertainment in the area.

Check out these other interviews:

• Where We Went 2019
• Ravi the ADAS Test Engineer
• Careers That Travel: Sarah the Program Manager and Design Consultant
• Careers That Travel: Mikaela the Management Consultant
• Careers That Travel: Candace the Sales Consultant
• Careers That Travel: Dale the Cybersecurity Consultant