I took a short career break in 2004, and have no regrets. In fact, that decision set my life off in a whole new and interesting direction. If I hadn't gone for it, I would likely still be doing the same thing I was doing back in Winnipeg. I certainly wouldn't be married to Rowan and living in Australia!!

The article talks about dealing with your job situation ...

"The Job—This has likely become a big part of who you are. Do you want to take a break for a bit or do you want to leave it forever and change career directions once you’re back? Can you get time off? How important is moving up in the company to you? Will an extended break hinder your goals? How will it look on your C.V.? More importantly—how will your boss take it?

If you plan to leave your job and not come back, you don’t need to worry so much about it. That said, don’t just take off one day without warning. You don’t want to ruin any relationships or burn any bridges.

If you do want to come back to your job, be prepared to negotiate with your boss. Know what you need and what you want; do a lot of the thinking and planning for your boss. How can you minimize the effect of your absence? What skills or attributes will you bring back from your travels? Once you’ve worked out a mutually beneficial plan, get the agreement in writing."


In my case, I opted to "leave it forever and change career directions". I resigned my position, and when I returned to Canada, I started University to get another degree. Doing that did take a few years of preparation. I had paid off my debts by 2001 which gave me the freedom to do what I wanted to do ... although at that point, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Then I spent a few years collecting the things I needed to do an extended cycletouring trip, living a thrifty lifestyle, and saving money for the trip and Uni.

I went into a bit of debt again during Uni but I graduated in 2009, got a job as soon as I could work here in Australia ... and Rowan and I are debt free again now. We're into saving mode for our next possible career break, and we're already starting to talk about plans.

The article talks about the financial aspect of a career break too, and one of Fiona's recommendations is, "Start planning and saving your money as early as possible." I would agree. It might take 2+ years to get everything in order for an extended career break.