CHAPTER 1
WELCOME TO YOUR CAREER BREAK
Is This Book for You?
If you've ever found yourself dreaming of doing something differentin your life that will take longer than your annual holiday allowance,then a career break may be right for you. Consider the followingquestions.
• Is there something you want to achieve that isn't beingfulfilled by your work, relationships, or home life?
• Are you thinking about taking your life in a new direction?
• Do you want to challenge yourself and step outside yourcomfort zone?
• Are you looking for something more meaningful in life?
• Do you flip through magazines and wonder what it would belike to experience what you see in the pictures?
• Do you like the sound of doing something different with yourlife?
• Do you think about contributing to society?
• Are you looking for more work–life balance?
If any of these resonate with you, then it may be that you need acareer break ... now! So this book is definitely for you!
In an ideal world you could just quit your job and start planning yourbreak without a care in the world; however, you and I both knowthat unless you've won the lottery, you're going to have to put alittle bit more thought and planning into extracting yourself fromthe clutches of society and everything in your life that ties you towhere you are now. But that is all part of the process and a journeyyou have to take, so you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.
If you're like me, or many of your friends, you've probably gotproperty, furniture, pets, plants, debts, and a whole host of otherpossessions you've collected over the years. Not to mention a career,friends, family, and maybe a romantic relationship. You may be stuckin a rut, fed up, regretting never having had a chance to travel whenyou were young, thinking about changing jobs and needing a breakin between, wanting to contribute to society and longing to dosome volunteer work or perhaps to work abroad and gain someinternational experience, or you might just want to travel and seethe world independently. Whatever your reason(s), this book willhelp motivate you to turn your career break dream into a reality.
Career Break Statistics
Did you know that more and more people today are taking careerbreaks? Around 90,000 people in the UK each year are taking acareer break or a sabbatical, compared to 230,000 young people ona gap year (www.gapadvice.org/index.php/career-breaks). Gap Yearfor Grown Ups, the leading gap provider, has seen record growth inbookings - up 300 percent since 2005. Traditionally, gap years havebeen perceived to be the domain of school leavers, but the Gap Yearfor Grown Ups customer base now tells a different story; 61 percentare between twenty-five and fifty, 27 percent are over fifty, andonly 12 percent are under twenty-five (www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk).
According to research undertaken by Santander Credit Cards (4September 2010), "Britain has seen a 14-fold rise in the number ofpeople taking gap years, sabbaticals and other lifestyle breaks sincethe 1970s, including a remarkable spike since the recession began in2008." The research reveals that the number of people taking timeout from work and education has risen from 270,000 in the 1970sto four million between 2000 and 2010. Interestingly, 1.2 million ofthese lifestyle breaks have taken place since the recession began in2008 (www.everyinvestor.co.uk/personal-finance/savings/recession-drives-spike-in-gap-years-and-sabbatical).
Santander go on to say that "just over one in ten (12%) UK adultshas taken a lifestyle break in the past and a further four million (8%)Brits are currently planning one for the future" (www.everyinvestor.co.uk/personal-finance/savings/recession-drives-spike-in-gap-years-and-sabbatical).
Despite being common in many countries, such as Australia andthe United Kingdom, career breaks, life sabbaticals, "gap years,"and other forms of extended travel are not as common in America.It seems to be a common assumption that only a small number ofAmericans hold passports. Reasons vary as to why this is the case,and in his article "How Many Americans Have a Passport?" MattStabile notes that the cost of taking a family abroad may be oneof the main reasons that Americans are reluctant to travel (http://www.theexpeditioner.com/2010/02/17/how-many-americans-have-apassport-2/).
Wikipedia also notes that, given the size of America and how farinternational borders exist from most states, people tend not totravel abroad, which could be attributed to the lower numberof passport holders in relation to the population. The number ofpassports issued in America peaked in 2007, with over 18 million;however, for the next three years numbers decreased, seeing justover 13 million issued (including 1.3 million passport cards) in 2012(http://www.theexpeditioner.com/2010/02/17/how-many-americanshave-a-passport-2/).
Some weight is also given to the theory thatdistance from national borders directly impacts on the numbers ofpassports held, as North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming heldthe lowest number of passports issued, and California, New York,and Texas, all states close to international borders, held the highestnumber.
In the period 2008–2009, issued passports dropped by 2.7 million. Nospecific reason is stated for the decrease over the one-year period,though it may be fair to suggest that the global financial crisis and,as noted by Matt Stabile, stricter air travel requirements affected thenumber of American citizens making passport applications to travelabroad. It might be worth noting that the only other dip between theyears 1974 and 2009 was during 1989–1992, which may be attributedto the economic recession, more specifically, the savings and loancrisis in America, which created the greatest banking collapse sincethe Great Depression in 1929 (www.useconomy.about.com/od/grossdomesticproduct/p/89_Bank_Crisis.htm) and jeopardised thefinancial well-being of millions of Americans [Wikipedia]).
Whilst career breaks might not be an American birthright, thefounders of Meet, Plan, Go! (www.meetplango.com) – Sherry Ottand Michaela Potter are on a mission to change that. For the past 3years they have been speaking and writing about career breaks ontheir website. In addition they schedule events and meetups acrossAmerica aimed at individuals contemplating a career break. SherryOtt comments on her observations of the events: "People cometo Meet Plan Go! events in order to be a part of a supportive travelcommunity, and get inspiration and advice on how to do extendedtravel as mid-career adult. A career breaker is different than a gapyear traveller. Career breakers often have more invested physicallyin their life; house, kids, pets, cars, aging parents, and a career.
Therefore they have special concerns around how to put their lifeon hold and travel. In addition, by surrounding themselves by otherswho have experience or want to experience extended travel on theircareer break they are more likely to achieve their goals and staymotivated to work through the hard planning times".
Meet, Plan, Go! is passionate about encouraging those thinkingabout a career break to take the leap, give them the tools on how,and help them achieve their dreams! For more information on theirevents and resources, visit their website, www.meetplango.com.
As for Australia, 49 percent of the population hold passports(http://www.traveltrends.biz/ttn555-record-number-of-austra
