Work Bag

As a para professional I've been required to do work at home.  Because of this I am in need of a bag to carry to and from work.  Due to me being a para professional I can pick any bag and no one says anything to me about my style or it doesn't look awful in a suit I don't wear.  For Professionals a soft leather case is the way to go, sorry no back packs for you.  Your bag is probably the most important thing as it is what people will see, therefore you want to represent yourself to the world as you know what the hell is going on even if you don't.  The second most important thing is what you put in it.  It doesn't matter if the farthest you walk is a few hundred feet from your car, if you have to carry things you will be seen and people make assumptions based on what they see.  So don't give people a reason to doubt.  

Your Bag:

  Lets face it, people judge, especially in competitive environments.  To make yourself above approach you need to look the part.  This is why the bag needs to represent you.  I preach a good day back in the 35L - 40L range of a good make.  If you are flamboyant there are plenty of styles out there for you.  If you are reserve a dark solid color is the way to go.  If you not sure they have something out there for you.  Spend the money because a good bag will last you for years.  I don't like sling bags or messenger bags as it doesn't distribute the weight and they look like purses, and men don't wear purses no matter what the Europeans and current fashion says.


What goes in your bag:

 As every professional knows a laptops are for primary use and tablets are a novelty.  If you are effective with a tablet or wish to be I give you props.  My hands are just to big to type on those little keyboards.  If you are old school  a Leather zippered portfolio is a good option.  Personally I keep one in my bag when I have to transport files and hard copies, they tend to fit tablets as well without to much fuss.

  The remainder of the things in your bag support your primary equipment (laptop, tablet, etc).  You will need to include chargers for your phone, tablet, laptop and whatever electronics you carry.  If you are wise you are trying to double up on your products to reduce cords.  If you have a windows tablet and an iPhone you need two cords, but you only need one plug in as most chargers are USB cords plugging into a base.  You should have a male to male 3.5mm jack, a good set of headphones, flashlight, a multi-tool (if work permits), 2-3 pens, 2-3 pencils, pink pet, lunch and a bottle of your favorite pain killer (Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, etc, vitamins, tums, etc), along with a minimum of a 4g flash drive unless you deal in large volume data than you might want to have a portable hard drive as well.  Last but not lease you want laptop sleeves that are thick.  I know that many bags have these pockets but I've not found one I'm comfortable with, double padding can't hurt.  (If you are a backpacker you need to find one's with the opening on the end, messengers on the side.)  Many of the bags padding will make uncomfortable to use because of their placement in the bag and not enough padding make it feel fragile on your back.  Also you want a sleeve for your tablet as well which will more than likely go in the main compartment.  If you have a nice leather bag these sleeves are going to be important to make sure your life doesn't end up in pieces.

  Depending on your laptop, lunch and tablet your bag shouldn't weight more than 10lbs.  This is key based on your physical health.  Your bag should not be weighed down by useless things.  Your bag is a representation of you, not a burden.