Career Change?

I have never had a job for more than three years. I've never really worked in a chosen profession for much longer than that. I think that if you add up all the time I've spent as a “writer” and/or “editor” at various jobs I've been in my current profession for near four and a half years. I've been in the travel industry for a bit over three years. If you count my time as a freelancer while living in Romania, it's closer to four.

I made becoming a writer a top priority for me. Realizing I was on a path to being a librarian for the rest of my life I purposely took myself off that path and put myself on a path to being a writer, and ultimately a travel writer. It was not easy. It did not happen overnight. There were times when I didn't know how I was going to make it happen. But I did it.

Now after all that work of getting myself to where I am now, I'm considering making another change. And I'm very conflicted about it.

Am I doing the right thing? Is this just part of a pattern of never staying at one job for too long (though not all the jobs ended by my choice!)? Is the risk I’d be taking worth it?

I am thinking about becoming a travel agent.

I believe I could be good at it, or at least parts of the job. I believe I would enjoy doing it, or at least certain pieces of the job. Is the fact that I know already I might not be good at, or enjoy certain parts of the job an indication that I shouldn’t do it.

There are certain parts of being a writer that I don’t like.

But here’s the thing. I don't know if I was born to be a travel agent, while I do know I was born to be a writer.

Of course, just because I'm thinking about becoming a travel agent doesn't mean I plan to give up writing. I want to continue working on my fiction, and continue to work as a travel writer part time. It’s just that I don’t want to do the journalist thing full time anymore.

I also like the ideas of working for myself, and helping people find the right cruise (or land vacation).

What I don’t like is the idea of being a salesperson, and I especially don’t like the thought of having people come to me to complain when they didn’t have a good vacation – which is absolutely a job requirement!

So, I’m conflicted. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if the risk is worth it when there is a definite possibility of failure.

So that’s the question really? Is fear a good enough reason to not take a risk? You tell me!

US travelers are not happy with online travel agencies

Of course I'm biased in favor of brick-and-mortar travel agents (that includes home-based agents, as well) so I couldn't resist sharing the results of a new study by Forrester Research that found that US leisure travelers are becoming more and more fed up with online travel agencies.

In fact, 15% fewer travelers enjoy using the Web in 2009 than in 2007. In 2007, the tipping point was reached when more than half (53%) of US leisure travelers enjoyed using the Internet to book their travel. For travel agents, and those of us who champion them, it was a scary figure to deal with. Two years later, the balance has tipped backwards, with nearly 46% of those same travelers enjoying using the Internet to book their travel.

Why the difference? People are fed up with the navigability and ease-of-use of the sites. They're fed up with the presentation of search results. According to the study, only one in three US online travelers (those travelers that book some or all of their travel online) feels that travel Web sites do a good job presenting travel choices. Last year, that number was 39%.

Travelers are also fed up with the information overload factor. It takes too long to plan a trip that's longer than an extended week-end vacation. They want someone to help them get through the clutter and determine what the best choices really are.

While travel Web sites continue to be good resources for booking simple, short trips, according to articles in the New York Times and on CNN.com, some of those dissatisfied travelers are turning back to traditional travel agents when booking their longer, more complicated vacations.

Because after all, travel agents are the only ones out there with the time and expertise to truly research and present all your travel options in a concise, easy to understand way.

What do you think? How do you like the online travel agencies? Would you use them for a cruise? Your 10th anniversary vacation? Do you ever use a travel agent?