Somone close to me* is considering a career break and potentially a complete change of direction. I think they know one or two people who are posters on here, so am mindful not to give too many details away.

Anyone walked away from something to take some time out before working out what to do next?

It’s something that many of us will consider (sometimes several times a day!), but very few act on. Would be really interested to hear experiences – what was good, bad, would do again, would never do again….

*not me – I did a career change last year

I’m interested in this too as personal circumstances are forcing me to have a serious think about it.

Yes, I walked out of a job a couple of years ago. I was overseas and I thought (after first applying for a couple of jobs in the UK but not getting them) that I should just come back first and think about the job later. Not found a job since, not looked very hard. But I have enough money for a decent career break and no dependents, I’m sort of freelancing a bit but not getting paid.

It has worked out well enough so far, life is fun. I do sometimes wonder what I’ll do over the next 20y or so but didn’t want to stay where I was anyway, so no regrets over the decision. The mistake, if there was one, was staying in my previous job for so long, which basically screwed up my chances of a conventional career.

Interested too. Made redundant last month and currently having a short employment break while I think about stuff.

Don’t really want to go straight back to what I was doing before as I know what will happen – having a steady income again will take away the motivation to change anything. I’ll blink, and another ten years will have gone by.

I suspect short term the lack of income can be managed, but anything too long might be problematic.

@ghecaptain – Interesting what you say about staying in a job too long.

Yes, my career “break” was to throw a bit of flooring down here and there to help pay the bills while trying to figure out what to do with my life. It’s been a long break. 😆

Gave up my job last August as I’d just got so bored of it after best part of 30 years. Currently having a break and not really sure what I’ll do next. I’m not looking too much at the moment, but will be come the autumn. Just going to enjoy the summer first! Will probably look to buy a small business such as, but not necessarily, a b&b.

Got bored of being an IT contractor, went on holiday to Basque country and stayed for 10 years as an English teacher. Going back to UK in July, no job but going to try and get back into IT but working for myself.
Stayed here too long is the only small regret I have.

Yes left legal private practice, took 6 months off, went back to bike trade not intending to stay but 3+ years on struggling to move on, admittedly into very competitive area I am not qualified for.

Interested in your move OP?

@cynic-al – my own move was from in-house lawyer at a telco to a commercial role in the same organisation. Not exactly a radical move! Landed on my feet though and ended up promoted into the bargain. It gives me more flexibility for the future – I suspect some freelancing might be on the horizon in 3-4 years.

Bump for the morning crowd….

(Or are you all happy and content?)

Well, I’ve just handed my notice in as a structural technician to be a stay at home dad for our 2 boys for the next few years minimum until they’re both at school.

After that, who knows? Probably a bit of freelancing or professional dog walking (which I do with our mutt anyway).

Ah cool ta, I thought it might have been out of law entirely. Good it’s working for you.

Currently work in oil. Contract finishes at the end of the month.
I’ve just bought a Planet X London Road and some panniers.
I may or may not start looking for another job in the autumn. No idea if it’ll be in the same capacity or industry yet.

Not really planned, but I was made redundant from a senior position in a national practice in the recession and then formed a new company to target the same work. That didn’t work as my former clients who were interested, were not allowed to follow. Wound that company up. I took some time at that point to renovate and extend an old house. I also then helped a friend who had set up a smaller practice, then freelanced for a medium sized firm. Then moved and now freelance for large, medium and small practices.

All the same stuff, just not employed now and not really a complete change in direction as I am still in the same industry. But I do have more variety of work than before.

Tbh- it would have been unsustainable for both Mrs Yak and I to continue to work the long hours required of both our jobs with school aged children, so if I wasn’t made redundant, I would have started another similar course of action to ensure time for our children.

(Your friend may know all this ?)

Edit- We have also had a 6month break before where we handed notices in, sold up and put our stuff in storage. Went on a 6month climbing/road trip. It was great! But then returned to employment in similar jobs as we didn’t have any reason to change at that point.

I’ve got a career break planned with my employer starting in August for a year. I’ll be off to live in Bogotà, where my other half is from, so that she can get some work experience in her own language and not have to bother with visas for a year or so. I’ll be going back into the same job I do now afterwards, but back in the UK rather than here in France.

I’ll be following this thread with interest to hear others’ experiences of career breaks. Has anyone else agreed one with their current employer and gone back to the same role?

I’ve made a career out of having career breaks and changes – if you see what I mean… 😀

Mid 20s I was working in London in a good job for a multi-national (computers), but had itchy feet so managed to wangle a year’s sabbatical and went backpacking to Asia. As it was a sabbatical I had the safety net of a guaranteed job on my return which made the decision much less risky. As it turned out my year abroad opened my eyes to so many other possibilities in life that on my return I resigned, went to live in Hong Kong, and did something completely different (finance).

Fast forward 20 years and I’m getting a bit tired of the frenetic but oh so shallow expat scene, so time for another year off and more soul searching. It’s much easier this time as I’ve done it before, and as I’ve got a bit more money in the bank I decide to tick a few things off my bucket list while I’m still young enough to do them. Cue a three months residential course for my RYA Yachtmaster, two months cycle touring round New Zealand, learning to Paraglide, and a three months crewing on a boat from Hong Kong through the Philippines and out into the Pacific, diving Subic, Truk and Yap on the way. In between all this I marry my long term girlfriend and we have a baby. One year off turns out to be three as I end up staying at home for the next two years looking after the little one as a house husband!

Now in my forties and with a young family my priorities change so it’s time to pack the bags again and move to Australia, where I go back to Uni as a ‘mature’ student and study for an MSc in a totally new field again (renewable energy)! Now I’ve got my Australian citizenship and we’re planning to settle here for good. I’m working in my third ‘career’ but as I’m really just a new graduate in it, I’m very junior and I earn about the same as I did back in my twenties! But there’s something to be said for being the office junior – the stress levels are much less and I get to spend time with my family and ride my MTB!

Would I recommend anyone else follow my path – certainly not, we’re all different, and you’ve got to make your own way in life! And if security, good money, and the respect of society that you’ve ‘made it’ are important to you, then the best way to achieve that is definitely to stick at one career and slog your way up the hierarchy.

But – I just wasn’t wired like that, and though I sometimes envy friends in that position, I also think I’ve had a very interesting life and lots of great experiences, and afterall – you only live once!

Make of that what you will….

At 28 I resigned from teaching and went round the world for about 9 months. I went with my girl friend who I think was 32. She also resigned from teaching. We bought a round the world ticket and insurance. Had about a spare grand each for treats and lived on I think £10 a day each (in 1994). So maybe 4 grand each in total

She got another teaching job when we got back it took me another year to find a permanent teaching job that I wanted. But had plenty of work in that year

It was brilliant I’m glad we did it. We had both travelled before. She’d lived in India for 6 years and I’d driven to Tanzania (from the UK)

Finding new work was stessful and we agreed we wouldn’t do it again. The along can kids and normal life. I had assumed that we would travel every 4 or 5 years for ever

Ok so we didn’t change careers but we certainly did not harm our careers at all. She now looks after dogs and I’m still tecahing. I’m not very senior but I’m where i want to be

In summary if you find a window where you can escape the go for it. People kept saying its a once in a life time opportunity. I told them it was wasn’t but i was wrong

[url=https://flic.kr/p/cnSYVj]North America-4[/url] by John Clinch, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/7mYw4V]america0024.jpg[/url] by John Clinch, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/cnT22s]Chukung Ri Gokyo Valley[/url] by John Clinch, on Flickr

I gave up a decent job to do my own thing, job was ok but so boring I often fear for the sanity of whoever is doing it now.

Been my own boss for 15 years now & would never go back to being a wage slave/commuting/sitting in an office/annual appraisals…

Although self employed you are never really in charge – your clients are, its just you choose the ones you do business with. Also, you never really switch off – but if you do something you love doing its a pleasure.

Most clients are honest,respectful, pleasure to do business with. The odd one is a nightmare – but you never have to see them again.

I’d say self employment isn’t for the faint hearted, some people like the structure & safety of being told what to do.

Interesting stories!

@ Yak – this person doesn;t know you, but I know we have people in common who have made changes!

@ perthmtb – interesting. My late grandfather had several jobs (I don’t think he’d ever have described himself as having had a career) from aircraft technician, to journalist to jeweller. He described himself as a “sipper and taster of life”. I’m rather similar in my mindset (thick Toad of Toad Hall). The person I;m describing has always been very single minded, but in reality I suspect that was more out of doing the right thing, rather than really being that focussed.

@ jimoiseau – career break is an interesting thought. I’ll ask them if they;ve considered that option.

Hmm. I’ve got itchy feet again!

I don’t know if you’d call it a “career break” but I took some time out after redundancy, and really the only thing I knew was I didn’t want to go back into the same industry. Spotted a local role that sounded interesting, in a field I didn’t even know existed, applied and got it, voila- career change. But it wasn’t really planned like that.

Anyway… In some ways it’s been a little negative, I took a paycut to make the leap and now I’m competing with people 10 years younger or 10 years more experience for the same jobs, in a fairly small scene- it’s made progression difficult. There’s some skills transfer, but mostly I’m starting again and that’s not so easy as it was when you’re in your 20s! But the benefits have been immense. The only thing I’d do different, is I’d do it sooner.

left my aerospace engineer job after 16 years, mainly to have more freedom, more time to make expeditions.. used the time off to make a really big expedition, came back to the UK, picked up bits and pieces of outdoors work for a summer while figuring out what to do next, then made the most of contacts and opportunities I spotted… started my own business, 5 years since quitting have never looked back. Free to spend around 6 weeks/year on the road so to speak & I get to ride my bike pretty much when I like. It was and still is hard work but much more rewarding and business is good. When I left my career even though i had no idea what I would do next I just saw it as an opportunity and made the most of anything that came that way. Mind set in that respect I think was a big help.

thing is, I think.. if you’ve been in a career for any length of time you’ll have skills and experience that will be in demand and that can be applied to stuff other than the obvious.. well that’s what happened with me 🙂

For those who just walked out (ie rather than redundancy), how did you manage the sense of lifestyle adjustment no income brings? This person will struggle with that, I’m sure..!

I made changes in the year or so leading up to it.. even though at the time I wasn’t certain I had a growing sense of having to do ‘something’ so started saving more, switched my mortage to interest only (I had a flexible base tracker deal that let me do that on strength of invested savings) .. I’ve always been something of a saver anyway, I think having spent a lot of time travelling my lifestyle never expanded to match my income so it wasn’t a difficult adjustment. Just needed a bit of focus…

Will follow this thread, cant afford a career break (as much as I would like one I dont think the wife would be too keen) but im currently looking into a complete career change as I find my current role, well, crap frankly.

The biggest difficulty will be the pay cut I’m going to have to take as I’m planning on retraining (and have no formal qulaifications) as a building surveyor. so not only am I planning on moving jobs Im also looking at alternate means of earning additonal money either through part time work or pimping ones self :D.

If anything lifes too short to spend it wishing you had done somehting, (which Im realy guilty of) so go do what makes you uhappy.

For those who just walked out (ie rather than redundancy), how did you manage the sense of lifestyle adjustment no income brings? This person will struggle with that, I’m sure..!

tip 1 start living like a peasant now. That’s what pays for the trip

tip 2 as soon as you stop work get abroad and start doing stuff. Get your in UK out goings to zero. Having fun abroad is way cheaper than being here

tip 3 the most expensive bit is coming home. Paying for rent getting to interviews so budget for that

+1 ampthill tip 1. Not that we have ever really lived like peasants, but we did easily save over half of our salaries while abroad, no major hobby or lifestyle expenses really. Part of the reason for walking out is that we got to the point that there seemed little purpose in piling up yet more savings. It wouldn’t have worked out this way if I had a taste in fast cars and yachts, or a wife and children to support!

Of course the free time also means we save a lot on doing DIY rather than paying someone else (bit double-edged as I’m also doing a lot that would simply not get done if I was working, but the house is better for it). I’d quite like to find a part-time salaried position (or a short-term contract) but have had a few near-misses for various reasons.

Done it twice, in 1999 and 2004. First time, I left a dull and underpaid job to travel the world for a year. Came back after the year and started a new job in something I enjoy. Second time, I left a job I’d got bored of and which had limited prospects. Handed in my notice and was persuaded by my boss to take a year’s unpaid leave. Did a season in the Alps, then went travelling, then returned to my job after a year. Sacked the job 6 months later to go freelance (I was very lucky that there was no tie-in contract when they gave me the unpaid leave).

No regrets about any of it and would encourage others to go for it if they’re seriously tempted and can manage the finances (or lack of them). Think it through carefully first though, do research, and be realistic and honest with yourself. It helped that I don’t have kids, and for the second break I was single.

Moved to Australia/Tasmania quit work at a very safe quasi government office. Had 3 months off riding bikes and applying for jobs, tried to get out of my niche but ended up selling/supporting/consulting in the software/industry that I used to be an end user for. So due to being under qualified and over specialised and too niche and on a small island I’m sort of back where I was. It’s down to your skills, opportunities and experience