Career break Guide

Thinking of taking some time out from the daily grind, or fancy developing your career prospects by doing an internship abroad? Let’s have a look at your options.

Get a life

Are you happy? Is life really good? Or, do you find yourself gazing out of the window at work wondering “is there more to life than this”? Perhaps you spend your Monday-to-Fridays clockwatching and dreaming of a new challenge. Or perhaps, although you like your job, you just want a break from the daily grind.

The good news

There is a way out! It’s right here, right now and is open to everyone. So you CAN escape to the real world and join the grown-up gapper revolution heading off on a sabbatical, career break or post-career trip.

It’s all in the timing

There’s no right time to take a career break. Some people take one after a couple of years of working to find career direction while others take a break in between jobs or as part of a career plan. Some people may be bored at work and just want to distinguish themselves from the competition by doing something different.

Excuses, excuses

With no more jobs for life and a desire to explore the world, you’d think we’d be more comfortable with embracing the uncertainty of a career break and taking the risk to go travelling. So why do we find ourselves thinking “I can’t go?” Excuses, that’s why. Here are the most common ones we hear.

• I’d like to take a career break but I have no-one to go with All the more reason to take one then! You’ll meet far more people if you go away than if you stay at home. From dozens of other travellers to the village waiting to welcome you, you won’t be alone for long.
• I have a good job If you already have a good job, taking a career break isn’t going to damage it. You’ll be able to bring back transferable skills and a fresh approach as well as increased confidence and independence; all things an employer is bound to notice.
• I’m too old This is a good one! Don’t forget 40 is the new 30 and 60 the new 40! No-one sits on their death-bed and says “I wish I’d spent more time at the office”. Forget the slippers, pipe and bus pass; grandparents are some of the biggest globetrotters these days.

The nuts and bolts

If you’re going to step out of everyday life for a while you’ll need to do a bit of the mundane stuff too. Yep, those things like money and mortgages....

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Money

If you don’t have savings or equity in your home to draw on, how can you fund your career break? Many people just work like mad at as many jobs as they can handle. You could try and get hold of The Money Diet by Martin Lewis and even subscribe to his newsletter at www.moneysavingexpert.com. Believe me it works.

Budgeting may sound boring but it’s at the heart of sound financial planning. It’s simply about analysing your incomes and outgoings and identifying where you can make savings. When you are deciding where to go and what to do, consider how far your budget will go in different countries. For example, countries like Asia, Africa and Latin America are expensive to reach but cheap once you get there. Check out cheap flights at www.travelsupermarket.com and www.skyscanner.net and use Lonely Planet guides to work out the different cost of living in each country.

Mortgages

What are you going to do about your house while you’re away? If you want to keep it, renting it out may mean tenants can cover the mortgage bills. But remember, that’s taxable income. It’s worth going through a letting agent who can deal with any problems. If your mortgage advisor knows that you intend to take a career break then terms can be negotiated in advance which could also mean a payment holiday.

Tax

Whether this is an issue depends on how long your career break is going to last for and whether you are self-employed or not. Individual tax allowance in the UK is around £5000. If you work abroad and don’t earn money in the UK, you may be due for a rebate. Leaving mid-tax year and returning after the start of the next may help. www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/cnr can give you help with the basics.

Existing policies

You may be able to take a pension payment holiday, stop altogether or lower your contributions while you’re away. For any existing policies, such as life assurance, critical illness cover and disability protection, check the policy to make sure it’s valid in your travel destinations. You may need to change insurers.

Real world to real life

Life won’t feel the same after a career break and in the long run it will be better! First though, you’ll go through an after-shock. After all, it’s bound to feel a bit strange coming back to stare at a laptop and talk on the phone about sales targets when last week you were cuddling a lion cub in the African bush! You’ll either be coming back to a job or looking for one, but either way, you’ll return re-energised by your trip.

So take the plunge and escape to the real world!

Useful links

Other career break articles-Career Breaker’s guide to Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America

• http://www.i-to-i.com/career-breakers-guide.html
• http://www.i-to-i.com/tefl
• http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
• www.travelsupermarket.com
• www.skyscanner.net
• www.moneysavingexpert.com

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