I'm 30, I've worked nonstop since I graduated from college with no more than 2 weeks off at any time. Really not a fan of my work. Feeling burnt out. Like I need time to regroup, come back and learn how to approach work in a healthy way again. I think a month would of doing nothing would accomplish this. Does anyone have any experience with a career sabbatical?
I've had several 'sabbaticals' from my career. I've worked at three hi-tech jobs in my life, the first being 6 years, the 2nd also 6 years and now the 3rd is at 21 years. The company I work for now gives you a 6 week paid sabbatical every 5 years. You can also add a couple weeks of vacay to that. I use my sabbatical to travel to different places in the world and not to learn some new skill in my current career (I think that's what sabbaticals are really for). Anyway, yeah they work to keep you from burning out. Take an unpaid leave if you have to.
elviejo wrote:
I've had several 'sabbaticals' from my career. I've worked at three hi-tech jobs in my life, the first being 6 years, the 2nd also 6 years and now the 3rd is at 21 years. The company I work for now gives you a 6 week paid sabbatical every 5 years. You can also add a couple weeks of vacay to that. I use my sabbatical to travel to different places in the world and not to learn some new skill in my current career (I think that's what sabbaticals are really for). Anyway, yeah they work to keep you from burning out. Take an unpaid leave if you have to.
Thanks dude. Can I ask how much you're making now?
I can tell you one thing for sure; a month will be a nice vacation but will do nothing for you. You won't feel regrouped and you won't feel any more positive about work. It will go by in the blink of an eye and you will be right back to the grind.
Some companies have this built into their benefits package: after 7 years you get a sabbatical. I wouldn't leave a good just because you want to take some extended time off. Ask for leave without pay or build up vacation time. If you are thinking of changing jobs, then that's a good time to fit in some time off.
sabatitlsj wrote:
I can tell you one thing for sure; a month will be a nice vacation but will do nothing for you. You won't feel regrouped and you won't feel any more positive about work. It will go by in the blink of an eye and you will be right back to the grind.
Much truth right there
wage cuck wrote:
I'm 30, I've worked nonstop since I graduated from college with no more than 2 weeks off at any time. Really not a fan of my work. Feeling burnt out. Like I need time to regroup, come back and learn how to approach work in a healthy way again. I think a month would of doing nothing would accomplish this. Does anyone have any experience with a career sabbatical?
Your expectations are too high. What you are experiencing is real life. That’s just how it is. I wish school and society in general would prepare us for these realities. Unfortunately, they do just the opposite. TV, magazines, instagram, educational system, etc. all paint an unrealistic picture of a life of excitement, fufillment, interesting and challenging and rewarding work with super awesome people. Sometimes it’s great, but for the most part it’s a grind, but it’s not bad if you have the right attitude.
It’s like a romantic notion of farming or ranching. Sounds great, working with your hands outside. Your own boss. Satisfaction of good honest work. However, the realities don’t quite match the romantic ideal. Not that any of those good qualities are false. It’s just overstating the good and understating the hard and tough challenges, frustrations, obsticales, etc.
I quit my job to take a six month honeymoon and travel the world (a one-way 17 segment ticket). It took me over a year to get back in to work but I managed it eventually so I'm relieved to say the trip was over of the best things I've ever done. I might feel differently if 1 year had become 2 or 3.
Is it really a 0/10 if he got you to put in all that work posting?
I can't type, this was 2009. Not 2003. I promise, I know when I got married.
Ticket was one world alliance and that was why we had to buy Cairo separately - at the time there were no flights out of Africa within that alliance to anywhere but London which screwed up the one-direction rule. It was one ticket and cost, economy, in the low 5 figures per person. I'll wait...
Find a different job.... 'hiatus' is for rich people dude.
wage cuck wrote:
I'm 30, I've worked nonstop since I graduated from college with no more than 2 weeks off at any time. Really not a fan of my work. Feeling burnt out. Like I need time to regroup, come back and learn how to approach work in a healthy way again. I think a month would of doing nothing would accomplish this. Does anyone have any experience with a career sabbatical?
every 5-6 years i take a 1 year break and travel with my wife. I've done it twice and am about to do a 3rd. Best thing possible for yourself and you totally figure out what you want to do, like to do, who's important.
put stuff in a storage unit and boom. it also forces you to purge your unnecessary stuff.
a month isn't enough. you need at least 2.
if you can't make this happen at 30 years old, you never will. the time will be gone in the blink of an eye and people will tell you you're crazy but you'll realize how incredibly easy and simple it is. seriously, if you don't feel comfortable taking 2-6 months off, you have some other issues in your life, espeiclaly if you're not takign time to leave a crap job
go stay with some family for a few weeks, travel for a few weeks, see some friends, travel some more, stay with more family, go somewhere amazing. keep that going - you'll feel good and your view of the world will get bigger yet simpler
good luck.
I'm actually planning to take 12-18 months off starting Spring of 2020. My gf and I are going to travel around the world and just see where we end up. It definitely helps to save money knowing that there is a trip in the future. We're figuring we'll need about $40k.
For context, I'm 31 and will be taking the trip when I'm 34. I don't know if I'll settle back down in my current city or find somewhere else, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm also in a career where I can find a six figure job pretty easily, so it makes it easier to leave.
I did 3 round the world trips in 2009 using the OneWorld Explorer. They were definitely 16 segment tickets then
1WE X are still max. 16 segments, but these are revenue tickets
https://www.oneworld.com/flights/round-the-world-fares/oneworld-explorer
For FFP RTW redemptions, things have gotten much tougher. Even Gary Leff provided the useful info in 2015.....
John Utah wrote:
sabatitlsj wrote:
I can tell you one thing for sure; a month will be a nice vacation but will do nothing for you. You won't feel regrouped and you won't feel any more positive about work. It will go by in the blink of an eye and you will be right back to the grind.
Much truth right there
Nah....I had a six week break and traveled, dealt with some home repair issues, and spent time with family, just generally kicked back. It was a bubble-bath and I returned in great shape to do more years at my job, which is a pretty fair deal.
no winners in the rat race wrote:
wage cuck wrote:
I'm 30, I've worked nonstop since I graduated from college with no more than 2 weeks off at any time. Really not a fan of my work. Feeling burnt out. Like I need time to regroup, come back and learn how to approach work in a healthy way again. I think a month would of doing nothing would accomplish this. Does anyone have any experience with a career sabbatical?
every 5-6 years i take a 1 year break and travel with my wife. I've done it twice and am about to do a 3rd. Best thing possible for yourself and you totally figure out what you want to do, like to do, who's important.
put stuff in a storage unit and boom. it also forces you to purge your unnecessary stuff.
a month isn't enough. you need at least 2.
if you can't make this happen at 30 years old, you never will. the time will be gone in the blink of an eye and people will tell you you're crazy but you'll realize how incredibly easy and simple it is. seriously, if you don't feel comfortable taking 2-6 months off, you have some other issues in your life, espeiclaly if you're not takign time to leave a crap job
go stay with some family for a few weeks, travel for a few weeks, see some friends, travel some more, stay with more family, go somewhere amazing. keep that going - you'll feel good and your view of the world will get bigger yet simpler
good luck.
I definitely applaud this way of thinking as this was my approach to work life in my twenties. However, now that I'm in my early thirties, I'm worried that if I approached my current employer with this long of a break they would A) Tell me to pound sand and B) and more importantly, I would have a very difficult time getting back into the job market upon my return.
From what I can tell, employers don't exactly have a soft spot in their hearts for people that work for a few years, then abruptly leave their current company to goof off for a year, then come back and expect another company to just welcome them with open arms and pretend like you aren't going to do the exact same thing again in a couple years.
I have had to answer consistently for past periods of travel in my resume that lasted even for only a month. I can't imagine an employer giving the time of day to an applicant where there are multiple extended travel breaks on their resume. Why would they invest company resources in this type of person?
I took 23 months off from my job in banking. I had been doing it for 12 years. I went to Costa Rica and basically ran in the mountains at altitude. It was an incredible experience but it didn't make me rich monetarily. What's life without experience though?
By the way, an extra month I would have lost my licenses...