Software Engineer Business Travel Tips

If you are an engineer, odds are you are traveling to do one of three things:

#1. Gather requirements at a customer site

#2. Fix a problem

#3. Demo something or deploy a solution

The good news is that most of the time you'll be doing #1 and #2, so you can get away with a lot fewer clothes than a salesman.

If you want to pack light, men should bring three blue shirts and two pairs of khaki pants. Top it off with a blue blazer and semi-casual brown shoes and you are ready for almost any business casual environment.

For women, stick with basic blacks and whites. Bring two white blouses and one black blouse. Then pair those with 1 black skirt and 1 pair of black pants. Top Need a blazer for a presentation? Buy a basic grey blouse. If you think you'll be cold, bring a light grey cardigan. For shoes, basic black Clarks work well. If you need to wear heels, bring chunky heels to minimize fatigue. For a pop of color, bring a few scarves.

When you travel, travel "Grey Man." Don't wear clothes with colleges or sports teams that could indicate that you aren't a local. You could be setting yourself up for a robbery or pickpocket if you fail to heed this advice.

Use your cell phone as a hotspot instead of using public WiFi. Public WiFi can be a cybersecurity threat to your work computer.

If you are renting a car, bring an air conditioning vent phone holder. Most states have hands-free driving laws and you will need your phone GPS to navigate to the client. If you get a ticket, at a minimum you will have to pay a fine and be late to the customer site. At most, you may have to come back and go to court.

Don't let your Per Diem dictate where you eat, try to enjoy local food and culture, but if you are going to be on the trip for more than a few days, consider buying some healthy microwave meals.

Finally, take pictures of every receipt and upload them to the cloud. If possible, do your expenses as you go instead of when you return. This helps prevent you from forgetting an expense.