When's the right time to take a career break?

If you're working and want to explore the world, it can be hard to choose the right time. Here's some food for thought...

Gap years are easy. You take them before you go to university, after you’ve been or somewhere in the middle. You don’t have to wonder if it’s the right time because you’re at a natural stopping point.

But it gets a little more complicated when you leave uni. All these annoying little responsibilities keep popping up. You have to think about your career, your mortgage and your future. So when is the right time to take a career break, and how do you know for sure?

It’s not an exact science

There’s no simple way to work out when you should take a career break. It won’t suddenly become the right time when you hit 27 or if you don’t get that promotion you’ve been after. You’ll have to weigh up the pros and cons and make a decision based on that.

The most obvious things to take into consideration are:

• Are you at a natural stopping point?
• Will your company give you time off?
• Are you at a point where you can put your career on hold?
• Are you looking for a change of direction?
• Do you need a break?
• Could you use your career break to progress your career?

Your finances

• Can you afford to go travelling?
• Do you have a mortgage and if so, how would you pay it while you were away?
• Would you be prepared to take out a loan to pay for your travels?
• Are you willing to work while you travel?

Your friends and family

• Are you in a relationship and if so, what would happen if you went travelling?
• Do you have children and could you take them with you?
• Have you got any relatives you wouldn’t want to leave behind because of personal or health reasons?

Your future

• Will a career break interfere with your plans?
• Are you going to use your career break to decide if you want to move abroad?

The unexpected isn’t always bad

Redundancy. No one wants it to happen to them but sometimes it does. And if you’re thinking of a career break, it has certain benefits. It usually comes with some form of payout - it might be a big or it might just be a month in-lieu but whatever it is, it could be the difference between going and staying. So if the worst does happen and you do lose your job, take a look at your finances and everything else that’s going on in your life, because this might be the perfect opportunity for a career break.

A change is as good as a break

Travelling doesn’t have to be a career break - you could turn it into a career. There are loads of opportunities out there for skilled workers, so if you’re looking for a change why not try a stint overseas?

You could even try something completely different like teaching English. All you’ll need is a TEFL qualification and a bucket full of enthusiasm and you can earn money while travelling to all sorts of exotic destinations. Which means instead of taking a break from your career, you’ll actually be starting a new one.

So has this article answered the question “When’s the right time to take a career break?” Not really. Only you can answer that because only you know what’s happening in your life. But hopefully this article will have given you a good idea of where to start.

Useful links

http://www.onlinetefl.com/

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