Career Break Travel: How to Plan Time Off Without Wrecking Your Career

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At the time I left London, I was Head of Digital Design at a respected agency. Many people would call it a dream job. I downloaded a resignation template, checked I had changed the name and the watermark, and quit. Then I flew to Bangkok.

I never went back to an office. You do not have to go that far. A career break is a planned pause: a few months, or a year, of travel with a clear plan for what comes next. Here is how to do it well.

Decide what the break is for

A break with a purpose is easier to explain, easier to fund and easier to come back from. Pick one or two goals:

• Rest and reset after years of the same routine.
• Learn something: a language, surfing, a new skill for work.
• Test remote work and see if the digital nomad life suits you.
• Do one big journey you will not be able to do later.

My brothers and I once spent six weeks cycling across Spain and France. A trip like that needs a clear block of time. You can read about it in seven crazy adventures.

Talk to your employer first

Before you resign, ask. Some companies offer sabbaticals or unpaid leave, and many will consider it for good people. Check your contract and staff handbook, then ask your manager in person. Come with a plan: dates, a handover and how you will stay reachable for emergencies, if at all.

If they say no, you still have a choice. Leaving on good terms keeps the door open, and your network is where your first freelance clients often come from.

Build the budget

Add up your monthly costs on the road, the one off costs and a cushion for emergencies. Then add the costs you keep paying at home: storage, phone, any rent or mortgage. My guide to how much money you need to become a digital nomad walks through the method step by step.

Travelling slowly makes the money last much longer. Read why slow travel works before you plan a new country every week.

Sort health cover for months away

A two week holiday policy is not built for six months on the road, and your cover at home usually stops when you leave. I use Genki. Genki Traveler is a monthly subscription that covers unexpected illness and injury worldwide for up to 12 months. You can cancel after the first month and sign up even if you have already left. Genki does not publish a fixed price, so check your price on Genki and add it to your budget.

My guide to gap year travel insurance covers trips of up to a year in more detail.

Keep your skills sharp

A career break does not have to be a gap on your CV. Take an online course, build a side project or do a little freelance work. As I wrote in ten reasons to become a digital nomad, the pressure of funding the next adventure can push you to build a better portfolio than you ever did at home.

Plan the return, or the switch

Two months before the end, decide what is next. Update your CV and portfolio, tell your network you are coming back and set up a few conversations.

Or you may find you do not want to go back at all. That happened to me. If so, use the last months of your break to test remote work properly: a daily routine, a few paying clients and a monthly rental somewhere you love.

Either way, you will come back knowing more about what you want. That alone makes the break worth it.

Photo by Holly Mandarich on Unsplash.