information makes the heart grow fonder
I’ve been doing a lot of research, at least I consider it a lot, around becoming a travel agent. You would be shocked as to how many travel agencies there are in the Minneapolis area. I emailed about 15 of them with about five questions. I wanted to keep it short so they wouldn’t think it was a waste of time yet get the answers I needed. As of today (Friday afternoon), only three have responded. I received a nice blend of answers however, which was nice.
Monique, from A1 Travel Store, has been in the business for over 26 years and is still loving it! She moved here from Arizona with 8 years of experience under her belt so doesn’t really know the starting salary (after what I’ve gathered now she guessed quite high at $32,000). Kim seemed to have spent the most time on her response, which I really appreciate. She actually recommended the Travel Academy as a great starting place, and put beginning salary at $9-10/hr. As the VP of Advent Travel she doesn’t work as an actual travel agent, but said that her agents enjoy what they do for the most part. Kim was the only one to mention that it can be a stressful position, which is expected, I know what travelers can be like at times. Rick from Northern Lights Travel says that agents aren’t really willing to train others. It’s one of those businesses where there are more people wanting jobs than there are jobs, and that creates competition. He also said that he enjoys what he does, but has been in the industry for 18 years.
Today I went to the Travel Academy for a visit and met with the owner himself, Curt Armstrong. He had a nice spiel set up for potential students, all information I had heard before through the website and brochure I had requested. Still, it was good to get all the facts. My two biggest questions about whether or not to go forward with this is if I can afford it and if the position they set me up with will pay enough for me to continue payments. I know they say that they place most of their graduates with an employer before graduation, but you have to read into these things. “Most” meaning some of the students aren’t placed in a position and I’m stuck at the same crappy job I have right now. Lets say I do get placed, is it going to give me the regular hours with better pay and a good company like I’ve been looking for? What are my chances of coming out the other end of this training and being able to nicely pay for it while still living. After a trip to the library and a little more research I decided to go for it! Although not a firm yes, because I would like to wake up tomorrow with my decision and see if I still feel it is the right one. Monday is my new deadline. At this time I will either be signing up for the Travel Academy or sending an email of regret to Mr. Armstrong, who has been so helpful this past week.
Monique, from A1 Travel Store, has been in the business for over 26 years and is still loving it! She moved here from Arizona with 8 years of experience under her belt so doesn’t really know the starting salary (after what I’ve gathered now she guessed quite high at $32,000). Kim seemed to have spent the most time on her response, which I really appreciate. She actually recommended the Travel Academy as a great starting place, and put beginning salary at $9-10/hr. As the VP of Advent Travel she doesn’t work as an actual travel agent, but said that her agents enjoy what they do for the most part. Kim was the only one to mention that it can be a stressful position, which is expected, I know what travelers can be like at times. Rick from Northern Lights Travel says that agents aren’t really willing to train others. It’s one of those businesses where there are more people wanting jobs than there are jobs, and that creates competition. He also said that he enjoys what he does, but has been in the industry for 18 years.
Today I went to the Travel Academy for a visit and met with the owner himself, Curt Armstrong. He had a nice spiel set up for potential students, all information I had heard before through the website and brochure I had requested. Still, it was good to get all the facts. My two biggest questions about whether or not to go forward with this is if I can afford it and if the position they set me up with will pay enough for me to continue payments. I know they say that they place most of their graduates with an employer before graduation, but you have to read into these things. “Most” meaning some of the students aren’t placed in a position and I’m stuck at the same crappy job I have right now. Lets say I do get placed, is it going to give me the regular hours with better pay and a good company like I’ve been looking for? What are my chances of coming out the other end of this training and being able to nicely pay for it while still living. After a trip to the library and a little more research I decided to go for it! Although not a firm yes, because I would like to wake up tomorrow with my decision and see if I still feel it is the right one. Monday is my new deadline. At this time I will either be signing up for the Travel Academy or sending an email of regret to Mr. Armstrong, who has been so helpful this past week.
Labels: job search, travel academy, travel agent
posted by Amanda at
2:23 PM
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