STEPHEN BAINBRIDGE ON PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL:

Traveling to attend academic conferences or to give faculty workshops has definite benefits. You raise your visibility in the profession. You meet interesting people and see old friends. Often, you learn stuff and/or get valuable feedback on a project.

The costs are escalating, however. Security hassles. Long lines. Delays. Cancelled flights. Grungy airplanes. Lousy food. Surly service. Disrupted sleep patterns. Lately, moreover, I seem to come down with a cold – or something worse – after roughly every other flight.

I enjoyed my trip to Chicago, but on balance it just isn’t worth it anymore.

Yeah, I often enjoy those trips, but overall, professional travel is more of a “have to” than a “get to.”