Travel For Work

Plane, hotel, weekend, repeat! This job description centers around a collision repair company, but corporate travel’s lifestyle is universal in many ways.

If you dream of a life of free travel while making a comfortable living, this article will inspire you to seek out a company that can fulfill those dreams.

My source for today’s article has one of the ultimate unconventional careers. Ashley’s job title is Senior Integrations Operations Specialist. In a nutshell, she travels the country to train newly acquired employees of Caliber Collision repair shops.

Her mission is to set up the various software programs used by her company, train the existing staff to use them, and effectively run the entire shop. This process takes 1-4 weeks, depending on the shop’s needs and the habits of the previous owners.

She didn’t start in this position. Ashley applied for an entry-level position and worked her way up to the job of her dreams. Each week, she is assigned to a new location and commutes by commercial airlines.

Ashley comes home on the weekends (most weekends) for a quick reset and the opportunity to spend time with friends and family before she flies out again on Sunday. The company pays for all travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars, and a daily food allowance.

It sounds glamorous, and for Ashley, it truly is. It may not be for everyone, but for the right person, this is a dream job!

There are many perks, benefits, challenges, and opportunities that come with being away from home five days a week. Read on to get the scoop and decide if you want to pursue a training specialist/corporate travel career.

Skip Ahead

• Collision Repair 101
• Tasks and Duties
• Hours
• A Day in the Life
• How It Started
• Opportunity for Growth
• Perks
• Challenges
• Benefits
• Life Outside Of Work

Caliber Collision

In this case, Ashley works for a collision repair shop called Caliber Collision, the largest collision repair company in the US. Caliber went from just 68 locations to over 1200 in the last 12 years. The company is rapidly expanding, buying existing collision repair shops around the country and converting them to the Caliber Collision brand.

Ashley says the company’s success is thanks to its high standards for both employee and customer experience. They implement strict policies and procedures that include safety rules, continuing education, and team engagement activities.

Collision Repair 101

Collision repair shops restore vehicles after an accident or incident. The team works in an oversized, on-site garage.

They replace superficial pieces of a vehicle, such as door panels, bumpers, and fenders. They also remove dents, repair scratches, and paint vehicles to match the rest of the car color to complete the job.

A collision repair shop employs many employees, including customer service representatives, store managers, center managers, and regional managers.

Service advisors communicate directly with the customer and create estimates for their damage repair.

Technicians assess vehicles, repair dents, remove and replace external car parts. Paint technicians skillfully mix and apply paint for the finishing touches on the repair.

And of course, there is the training team that ensures all new acquisitions have a smooth transition into the new company. The trainers introduce the “Caliber Way,” which includes the customer experience and the team environment.

Tasks and Duties

Some of the tasks and duties involved with this job include,

Hours

Ashley’s week begins on Sunday when she has to leave home and catch a flight.

Monday- Friday, she arrives at the shop between 7-7:30 am and the workday ends around 5-5:30 pm.

Friday afternoon, she flies home to spend a short weekend before starting the process over again on Sunday.

Sometimes, if she is in a desirable location, like Florida or New York, she will plan to stay the weekend there instead of coming home.

A Day in the Life

Catching Flights

Imagine it’s Sunday afternoon, and it’s time to catch a flight. Ashley drives herself to the airport, parks in an off-site lot, and rides a shuttle to the terminal.

She travels light with just a carry-on suitcase so that she doesn’t have to check a bag or wait for it in baggage claim when she lands. The plane ride is so routine that most of the time she falls asleep almost instantly. Sleep makes the flight go by quickly.

Upon arrival, Ashley expertly navigates the airport even though she has never been there before. Since she is a premier member, she skips the rental car check-in desk and walks right to the lot, to drive off in a car of her choosing. Today it’s a brand new white Jeep Cherokee.

It’s been a long day, and she’s hungry, so she looks up local restaurants to pick up some food. At the hotel, she requests to be on the first floor to avoid waiting on elevators every time she comes and goes.

It’s time to rest and decompress! Ashley spends the night getting settled into her room and mentally preparing for the week.

Week 1- Day 1

It’s Monday morning.

Ashley has a strict fitness regime, so she does an early workout before she showers and gets dressed.

The company prefers uniformity, so she wears a company-issued polo shirt, a pair of slacks, and a comfortable pair of shoes since she will be on her feet much of the day.

Typically, the shop is within 20 mins, or less, of her hotel, so she heads out into the unknown. New town, a new shop, and new people every week never get old for Ashley.

She has yet to meet anyone at the new shop, but she has been briefed on the staff’s names and positions. When she arrives, she walks in and introduces herself, and asks for the store manager.

Sometimes she receives a warm welcome, but more often than not, the shop workers are less than excited to see her. She is there because Caliber Collision just bought them out, and they know she will shake up their comfortable routines. A lot of times, Caliber is transitioning small family-owned collision repair businesses to their large corporate brand.

Luckily, Ashley has a sunny disposition and an approachable attitude that puts the staff at ease and welcomes them with understanding and enthusiasm.

Week 1- Down to Business

Day 2. Now that introductions have been made, and Ashley has assessed the situation, the hard work begins. This job is unpredictable, and she must be ready to take on any challenge that arises.

One of the first lines of order is to get the entire shop set up and synced to the Caliber software and estimating programs. If the mom-and-pop shop isn’t up to date with the latest software, she takes the time to teach them how to use it.

Ashley spends time with the shop manager and makes sure they know precisely how to run the shop. The manager should understand each employee’s job description to maintain an effective and productive business, and keep team morale high.

Safety is one of the most critical aspects of the company, so Ashley hosts a safety meeting on Wednesday. She emphasizes the importance of safety gear that is required at all times while in the shop.

The new rules sometimes elicit groans, and people tend to push back if the rules were lax with the company’s previous owners. But the use of safety glasses, face shields, and earplugs is mandatory, so Ashley clarifies their use is strictly enforced. 

When Ashley feels confident that the new team is equipped to run their shop effectively, she completes their training and moves on to the next shop. Mission complete! Ashley has built relationships with many of the people she has worked with over the years, even after spending just a week or two with them.

How It Started

Ashley is the ultimate example of “started from the bottom, now we’re here.” She took a job at a body shop when she didn’t even know what a bumper was (her words), and now she can explain the collision repair process front to back.

She started as a customer service representative at the front desk six years ago and quickly moved up through the ranks.

A manager position opened up within a few months at the front desk, and Ashley was promoted. After a year or so as a manager, she applied to be a service advisor.

As a service advisor, she created estimates for damage repair and was the primary contact for the customer. She ordered parts needed for the repair and worked with insurance companies to get the best outcome for her customers.

At Caliber, the service advisor job was a salaried plus commission-based position, so there was a sales aspect. The commission encouraged the advisors to get cars in and out as quickly as possible to meet the regulations of insurance companies.

Ashley first had to learn the repair process front to back, top to bottom, to get where she is now. She learned the official names of each part and how to identify them. She learned how to assess damages, communicate with insurance companies, and manage a team throughout the process.

After a year or so as a service advisor, the company opened up positions for a training team to facilitate conversions of new shops. She dipped her toes in for a trial period and decided it was the job for her right away. She’s been traveling now for over three years!

Perks

Ashley’s dream was to get paid to travel around and experience the world, which is now exactly what she does.

On top of that, one of the coolest perks of this job is the massive amount of money saved.

Caliber Collision, and most other companies, pay for all travel expenses including, flights, hotels, rental cars, and a food allowance.

AND the company allows her to pay for these expenses with her personal credit cards and receive reimbursement checks. This practice enables her to rack up big points that she uses for individual travel and costs.

She told me that she hasn’t paid for ANY Amazon purchase in years because the credit card points cover it all.

In addition to credit card points, she racks up thousands of hotel points. She constantly takes personal vacations because she gets free hotel stays with all of those points. And, since she stays at a hotel five days a week, she is awarded VIP service, free meals, and free parking.

As a frequent flyer, she qualifies for airline perks such as lounge access and companion passes that allow friends and family to fly along with her for FREE.

Rental car points add up and offer her free rentals around the country, which is also a huge, money-saving perk for personal travel.

In addition to ALLLL of this, her monthly bills stay low. Her electric and water usage is limited to weekends. There is no need for cable at the house, so she only pays for streaming services. She stayed with a roommate for years because she was barely home.

The convenient living situation allowed her to amass significant savings and down payment on a brand new home. She recently purchased a new car, but she didn’t own one for years on account of using the rental perks.

Challenges

As with any job, there are some challenges. For Ashley, maintaining a healthy diet is one of the biggest challenges on the road. Most hotels do not offer kitchens, so the go-to is fast food and restaurant meals. It isn’t easy to meal prep and stay on track.

Weather is often unpredictable when you travel all across the country. Especially being from Texas, it’s hard to imagine how cold it gets in the northern states. Of course, Ashley checks the weather before she goes but still sometimes finds herself in an unexpected climate.

Of course, time away from home can be a challenge for some. It could certainly be hard on a young family. But for Ashley, it’s not a challenge at all. When I asked her if she gets lonely on the road, she said, “There is no time to get lonely!”

After a long day at work, often hours on your feet, it’s easy to come back to the hotel exhausted and be in bed early.

Opportunity for Growth

It is entirely possible to start in an entry-level position and move all the up to be the company’s CEO. The current CEO of Caliber did just that, and Ashley intends to do the same.

Caliber, as a company, offers all new job openings to existing employees before they post the job publicly. Internal growth is highly encouraged and allows employees to move upward or outward to ensure job satisfaction.

Benefits

Corporate jobs typically offer excellent benefits plans, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance. They also provide supplemental insurance like long-term disability, cancer leave, and other emergency coverage.

Another benefit is the option to work from home occasionally to take a break from being on the road.

The company holds parties and events for holidays and team engagement activities. And they provide handsome bonuses throughout the year when certain goals are met.

Life Outside of Work

Ashley spends much of her time away from home, but that hasn’t hindered her comfortable lifestyle. On her income alone, she just bought her first brand new home. She drives a brand new car. She furnished her entire house. And, still has savings to spare.

She takes a lot of free vacations, using all of the travel perks and points. She prioritizes family and friendships as well as her health and makes time to balance it all.

Overall, Ashley lives a very comfortable and fulfilling lifestyle and highly recommends this job to anyone free to travel regularly.

What Do You Think?

Everyone’s reality is unique, so please keep in mind that this is only one account, one perspective, and one life. But now you know the basics and possibilities!

So tell me, do you think a career in travel is for you?

Let me know! Your feedback is welcome, and I would love to know what else I could add to make this as thorough and interesting as possible.

We are happy to answer your questions and fill in any gap. Ask away!

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