Taking Advantage of Career Transition

So, I have to admit that I feel lucky in how early an appreciation for international travel hit me. As a senior in high school (over a decade ago now!) I ran with the study abroad crew for a while. With friendly faces from 2 continents, I stayed in touch until college when I went to Spain and Brazil on trips to visit old friends.

I intensified my travels in college with the help of lots of Delta-employed friends. And so the travel bug grew bigger.

By the end of college, travel was my LIFE. I mean, if I had a 5-day weekend coming up, I would grab a friend and fly standby to Ireland for $250. FIRST CLASS. It was amazing.

What I came to realize about myself was that I traveled because it gave me a sense of freedom and joy that nothing matched. It refreshed my soul like nothing else could. And it’s a drug I’ve been on since.

People can be separated into two groups – those that think that traveling for 4 months is a life-must and those that think that traveling for 4 months is irresponsible. As a member of the former, I have chosen to travel during career transitions more than anything. This fine website is dedicated to growing the sabbatical in American business, something I wholeheartedly support. But how I’ve made this happen is key.

Traveling during career transitions can occur before a job, after a job or any other time where you have a major new life step coming along, including starting or leaving college. And the key to traveling during career transitions is successful, long term planning. A year and a half before undergrad graduation, I had started the planning of my 4-month around-the-Pacific trip.

Planning for career transition travel allows you to keep yourself immersed in something that brings you joy and happiness. In fact, I’m not convinced the best part of travel is the research and conversations that happen in the months preceding. Just look to Twitter. Most of the members of the travel Twitterati have PLANS to travel. The anticipation, the lead up to leaving, is now more important than ever.

So, take advantage of transitions in your life and make sure you start preparing EARLY. I’m not saying plan every detail, but the earlier you decide, the more cash you can save up, the cheaper your flights will be, and the easier it is for you to immerse yourself in the travel Twitter space (a must).

Don’t be afraid. Take the step. It’s the first along a life of travel being your most intense passion. Which is a good thing.

(PS – Check out HostelDog.com for shirts that help you remember daily why you’re going on that huge trip!)

Garrett will be an expert panelist at Meet, Plan, Go! on the evening of September 14th in Atlanta at REI. The event is free but registration is required. Come join us!