It Might be Time for a Career Break

Where are you at in your life? Are you working in a career that you know is clearly not for you? Have you spent your days since college in a cubicle working in a job you feel no passion for? Or maybe you actually love your job but the long hours and little vacation time is burning you out? Have you dreamed of leaving it all behind for a while to travel and experience the world?

If this is you, then consider taking a career break, a sabbatical, or a leave of absence from your job. If you live in a country like the United States that doesn’t exactly embrace this whole philosophy, realize that while it may be challenging, there are plenty of others like you who have done it, are planning to do it, and are dreaming of leaving their jobs behind for a while to traverse the globe.

BootsnAll recently had an entire week dedicated to career breaks. If you have dreamed of taking a career break yourself but are worried about how it will impact your career, why don’t you take take advice from those who have done it before. The vast majority of people who take career breaks come back more inspired and more focused on what it is they want out of their lives. And most who have taken that plunge come back more confident, finding it to be a positive on their resumes. A contributor to the article Why a Travel Break Can Be the Best Career Move You’ll Ever Make, Nancy Sathre-Vogel, says, “I added a special section to my resume called ‘Proudest Moment’ and have our bike journey to the ends of the world explained there. I feel it’s a huge benefit to others so want to make sure it’s prominent. Anybody who doesn’t want to hire me because I spent four years biking around the world is somebody I don’t want to work for anyway.”

Check out the whole article: Why a Travel Break Can Be the Best Career Move You’ll Ever Make

If this is a topic that interests you, then you definitely need to check out what the folks over at Meet, Plan, Go! are doing. They are hosting their second annual event in 17 cities across North America on October 18. The events are meant to bring people together who have taken career breaks, are planning one, or simply want to find out more information about doing something that’s so uncommon in our society. If you are near any of these cities, you should get your tickets now and get ready to be inspired by like-minded people:

For more information on career breaks plus all the tools to help you prepare for the trip of a lifetime, don’t forget to sign up for BootsnAll’s monthly RTW Travel Newsletter.

Posted by | Comments (2)  | September 17, 2011
Category: Notes from the collective travel mind


2 Responses to “It Might be Time for a Career Break”

  1. Shen Says:

    I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that everyone who’s been working
    4-5 years could do with a sabbatical.
    I decided to quit my job to do a 6-8 month trip around Europe and South America
    and it’s probably one of the better decisions I’ve made in my life.