u/Front_Cup8779

Hey all

32M in IT considering a contract/travel “portfolio” lifestyle instead of returning to traditional office work — anyone living this long-term?

Looking for perspective from people who’ve actually done this.

Background:

I’ve been in networking / infrastructure for almost 10 years. I have smart hands / field deployment / network engineer experience from earlier in my career and honestly… I loved it. Travel, autonomy, project-based work, points, being left alone to execute — it fit me much better than office life.

I’m about to start a 2-month smart hands travel contract (deployments, up to 3 sites/week, home weekends), and it has me seriously questioning whether I even want to go back to a traditional office career.

I’m very introverted, low expenses, very frugal, large savings cushion, and I’m honestly not very drawn to the standard “go back in office 3–5 days a week forever” model. No kids or major family obligations, so travel flexibility is unusually easy for me

I also have enough financial cushion that gaps between contracts wouldn’t be a crisis.

So I’m wondering…

Has anyone built a lifestyle around chaining contracts / field engineering / deployments / smart hands work on and off throughout the year?

Maybe:

contract for 6–12 months

take a break

pick up another project

repeat

Questions:

Is this realistic long term or am I romanticizing it?

What are the hidden downsides people don’t think about?

Does travel fatigue eventually outweigh the freedom?

Is it possible to make a decent living doing this without chasing a traditional “stable” role?

Has anyone preferred this over conventional corporate life and stuck with it?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are more autonomy-oriented / don’t love office politics.

I know there are retirement/benefits considerations, and I’m thinking about those too — I’m more asking about the lifestyle itself.

Would love honest takes, especially from people who’ve actually done field-heavy contract work.

Hey all

32M in IT considering a contract/travel “portfolio” lifestyle instead of returning to traditional office work — anyone living this long-term?

Looking for perspective from people who’ve actually done this.

Background:

I’ve been in networking / infrastructure for almost 10 years. I have smart hands / field deployment / network engineer experience from earlier in my career and honestly… I loved it. Travel, autonomy, project-based work, points, being left alone to execute — it fit me much better than office life.

I’m about to start a 2-month smart hands travel contract (deployments, up to 3 sites/week, home weekends), and it has me seriously questioning whether I even want to go back to a traditional office career.

I’m very introverted, low expenses, very frugal, large savings cushion, and I’m honestly not very drawn to the standard “go back in office 3–5 days a week forever” model. No kids or major family obligations, so travel flexibility is unusually easy for me

I also have enough financial cushion that gaps between contracts wouldn’t be a crisis.

So I’m wondering…

Has anyone built a lifestyle around chaining contracts / field engineering / deployments / smart hands work on and off throughout the year?

Maybe:

contract for 6–12 months

take a break

pick up another project

repeat

Questions:

Is this realistic long term or am I romanticizing it?

What are the hidden downsides people don’t think about?

Does travel fatigue eventually outweigh the freedom?

Is it possible to make a decent living doing this without chasing a traditional “stable” role?

Has anyone preferred this over conventional corporate life and stuck with it?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are more autonomy-oriented / don’t love office politics.

I know there are retirement/benefits considerations, and I’m thinking about those too — I’m more asking about the lifestyle itself.

Would love honest takes, especially from people who’ve actually done field-heavy contract work.

Hey all

32M in IT considering a contract/travel “portfolio” lifestyle instead of returning to traditional office work — anyone living this long-term?

Looking for perspective from people who’ve actually done this.

Background:
I’ve been in networking / infrastructure for almost 10 years. I have smart hands / field deployment / network engineer experience from earlier in my career and honestly… I loved it. Travel, autonomy, project-based work, points, being left alone to execute — it fit me much better than office life.

I’m about to start a 2-month smart hands travel contract (deployments, up to 3 sites/week, home weekends), and it has me seriously questioning whether I even want to go back to a traditional office career.

I’m very introverted, low expenses, very frugal, large savings cushion, and I’m honestly not very drawn to the standard “go back in office 3–5 days a week forever” model. No kids or major family obligations, so travel flexibility is unusually easy for me

I also have enough financial cushion that gaps between contracts wouldn’t be a crisis.

So I’m wondering…

Has anyone built a lifestyle around chaining contracts / field engineering / deployments / smart hands work on and off throughout the year?

Maybe:

• contract for 6–12 months
• take a break
• pick up another project
• repeat

Questions:

• Is this realistic long term or am I romanticizing it?
• What are the hidden downsides people don’t think about?
• Does travel fatigue eventually outweigh the freedom?
• Is it possible to make a decent living doing this without chasing a traditional “stable” role?
• Has anyone preferred this over conventional corporate life and stuck with it?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who are more autonomy-oriented / don’t love office politics.

I know there are retirement/benefits considerations, and I’m thinking about those too — I’m more asking about the lifestyle itself.

Would love honest takes, especially from people who’ve actually done field-heavy contract work.

Hey all—dealing with mice in my apartment and I’m pretty sure my cat’s feeder is part of the problem.

He eats from an automatic feeder but doesn’t always finish his food right away, so there are times where it’s basically just sitting there. I don’t want to constantly micromanage it (taking food away, putting it back, etc.), especially since he sleeps most of the day.

Has anyone found a good solution for keeping mice out of a cat feeder? Either a specific brand (like microchip feeders?) or some kind of setup that prevents it from turning into a free buffet when my cat isn’t eating?

Appreciate any ideas.