I've been reading through my old Outpost Magazines (https://www.outpostmagazine.com/), and I liked this article, written by Fiona Scott, a world traveller, because it talks about something that comes up here every now and then ... the question of how we can take extended periods of time to do what we want to do (in our case, cycletouring).


The article starts ...

"Spring break, Christmas break, lunch break, coffee break—we like our breaks. But they’re often pretty short, lasting a few minutes, an hour, a few days or, at most, a few weeks. For some, that’s just not enough time when the entire world beckons. More and more travel-minded people are taking career breaks. These are either a chunk of time off from a career you’ve established, or a break between two careers. It’s a laughable concept to some, a daunting one to others, but not only are extended holidays growing in popularity, they’re easier and more affordable than ever before. Bosses are warming up to the idea, and international travel is seen as valuable experience by a lot of employers. We’re retiring later in life so we need a break sooner. Our health is better than ever, and travel isn’t just for young people anymore. Meanwhile, a ‘work to live’ ethic is replacing the hardy North American ‘live to work’ ethic. Add even a smidgen of wanderlust to these shifting attitudes, and the prospect of 50 straight years of worklife just isn’t cutting it for a lot of people.

It’s understandable that the idea is a bit overwhelming—especially when you consider the added responsibilities and obligations that come with age and a career. But it’s more manageable when you break it down."

The article continues here ...
https://www.outpostmagazine.com/2008/...zz-issue-64/2/


And the last paragraphs of the article ...

"Her advice to someone thinking about doing the same is eagerly persistent.

“Do it, do it, do it before your own situation changes and you can’t do it.”

Check out Fiona Scott’s website at www.babewithabackpack.com.
For more information on planning your own career break, pick up Lonely Planet’s The Career Break Book or visit www.thecareerbreaksite.com ."


Expecially check out the www.thecareerbreaksite.com site. There are lots of good tips there. If you've got the desire to hit the road for an extended period of time ... these links and articles would be a good place to start.

Interesting; thanks for posting! I do think that due to the current economic situation, many folks (at least in the USA) are scared to take the gamble of quitting a job for a sabbatical time. Others have it forced upon them, of course!

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.

In my case, the two were linked though not in the way you might think.

I took a six week trip across the USA. I had saved up vacation and was able to do this between projects. Five months after I returned, my entire group at work was down-sized. After being downsized, my biggest focus was on finding a new job and it was winter - so I wasn't really in mode to do another longer bicycle trip. However, I also realized I had been very fortunate to have taken that six-week trip. This was an experience I'd had that couldn't be taken away...

With that mindset, I decided that a similar downsizing could happen in the future as well. I wouldn't have much say in the matter or decision of when it might happen. However, what I could control was my reaction to it. That meant a few things. One was keeping my skills and contacts up so I could do a similar job switch in the future. Another was deciding that I would simply plan my own career breaks - since that was something that was important to me.

Five years after my cross-USA trip, I took a break of 3 months. Fours years after that a break of 12 months. Five years after that another of 10 months. I'm in dreaming and scheming stages of the next break. I've been fortunate, but in hindsight I'm also happy I've chosen to use those breaks both to do extended bicycle touring and as a way to keep myself very engaged on some challenging work assignments. There are trade offs one makes such as what career path you pick, but it has been worth it.

In my case I've been able to do this by working early with my bosses, training my replacements and using it to essentially work myself out of a job. They've seen that I can come back and do some different challenging position on my return.

Another way is to ensure you always have some cash in the bank to allow you to go. This probably goes without saying, but in modern society, "saving" seems to be a dirty word. This is generally a good idea anyway, because even if you don't go for a bike tour between jobs, the money you have saved allows you to be selective about which job you take, and that, in itself, could impact on your future touring opportunities.

I enjoyed the just do it before you get to where you can't. I wanted to a couple years ago, when i lost my mother, my best friend and my job, but it didn't feel right, but ever since i keep coming back to this uber trip, having spent time in the interim working on bikes, getting another touring bike, and all the paraphernalia and doing some short excursions out into the landscape, and I love it. I want to do this in the worse way... I guess the idea that stokes me is that it will change me in the end, and I want to see what that change will be.