Sabbaticals - Have you done it?

[MVal]

I'm saving for FIRE, but don't think I want to spend 8 more years in my current job. Have you ever quit a job without another lined up in order to make a change in your life or career? I feel like I need a change of direction soon but I'm not really certain what my new direction will be. I just need a breather. I'd really like to stay in this job until my NW hits six figures and I have close to $20K in liquid savings, which will probably take another year. Maybe I'd take a few months to travel or spend time with family during that time to help clear my head.

Have you ever done something like this and what was the outcome for you?

[Blueskies123]

On this forum you will get 100 people telling you to do it, except for me.  I seem to be one of the few people that never quit a job without having a better one lined up.  If you want to FIRE you should be the best (makes good decisions) and hardest working employee at any company you work.  If you are truly a stand out employee you will be noticed.

[WSUCoug1994]

FWIW - Sabbaticals are typically paid leave.  They are usually associated with taking a leave of absence for a defined period of time while employed.  Our company has a paid sabbatical for 6 months after 7 years of employment.

I think what you want is a break ;)

I have struggled with this as I have been at the same employer for 16 years and I have never taken a sabbatical although I have qualified for two of them.  I am on 100% commission and being out of the market for 6 months would dramatically impact my income so I haven't done it but I wish I would.

[MVal]

FWIW - Sabbaticals are typically paid leave.  They are usually associated with taking a leave of absence for a defined period of time while employed.  Our company has a paid sabbatical for 6 months after 7 years of employment.

I think what you want is a break ;)

I have struggled with this as I have been at the same employer for 16 years and I have never taken a sabbatical although I have qualified for two of them.  I am on 100% commission and being out of the market for 6 months would dramatically impact my income so I haven't done it but I wish I would.

I guess that's what I mean, a break! A long time without working despite not being fully FIREd yet is what I'm talking about. I will have to check if our company even has sabbaticals.

[CanuckExpat]

Living A FI wrote a bit about why he wished he had taken a break during his career: Taking a Gap Year
I think the concept is similar to Non-Traditional Retirements, or DIY Sabbaticals or Mini-Retirements

As for personal experience, I've usually had a job or new opportunity lined up before taking something new. A few times either my wife or I have had weeks to months between starting the next endevour (her's haven't been always lined up) and we each enjoyed them. If grad-school counts, that's the biggest sabbatical of all :)

Right now, we plan on pulling the plug this fall with less money saved than we had originally plan. In terms of nomenclature, I am going with calling it a sabbatical for now.

[Guesl982374]

While I have never personally taken time off (either sabbatical or time between jobs) I have considered it multiple times but the timing with my wife never lined up. I am normally on the side of "go for it". My gut is telling me that you should keep working while you building up your nest egg.

Understand your expenses and liquid cash/investments to better understand your runway before you really need a job again. The comment about <$100K NW and needing another year to build up $20K in taxable accounts says to me you aren't financially ready.

[MVal]

While I have never personally taken time off (either sabbatical or time between jobs) I have considered it multiple times but the timing with my wife never lined up. I am normally on the side of "go for it". My gut is telling me that you should keep working while you building up your nest egg.

Understand your expenses and liquid cash/investments to better understand your runway before you really need a job again. The comment about <$100K NW and needing another year to build up $20K in taxable accounts says to me you aren't financially ready.

You could be right. I'd definitely be more comfortable if my stache were halfway done, but as I stand right now, I'm only about 15% done. $100K would be 25% of what I need and truthfully, I would really only be comfortable if the $20K liquid was over and above the $100K, as I'd be living off the $20K and would want to get back to work before it ran out. I guess what I need to do is search for a higher paying job, but I feel like I don't qualify for anything $50K+ in my current skill set. I really need to get some new training and find something that suits my talents better, but getting training/more education would probably mean going without an income for a time, so I want to have some significant savings under my belt before I do anything like that. At my current job my benefits are good, relationship with management and coworkers is good, but I'm just bored, burned out and unmotivated. I feel depressed, unfocused and fatigued daily. I feel like there's something better I could be doing, but I'm just not sure what would be worth making such a big change and leaving an otherwise good situation.

There's really no more advanced position I could do in my current office as we are a small satellite office of the main corporate office. If I did some other position, it would most likely require moving out of state and as far as I know, there's really no other job here I want or could do. I'm an administrative assistant in a large, healthcare real estate management company.

[SimplyMarvie]

We're planning on some 6 month sabbaticals, since that's as long as I can take without effecting retirement credits. Will it delay FIRE? A bit. But I want the time with my kids while they're still at home, and the chance to travel as a family.

[limeandpepper]

A couple years ago, I quit my job and went off to travel for several months with my partner. We waited until we were comfortable with our respective net worths before doing it. It was awesome. We hope to do another big trip like this within the next few years. :)

[cerat0n1a]

I quit my job when I was 26, to travel the world for a year. I met a British woman in New Zealand who was doing the same thing, and we've now been married for nearly 20 years. I had less than $20k saved up, even taking inflation into account, but was pretty confident of getting a better job when I got back.

[HenryDavid]

Took first sabbatical at 19 after 2 years of university.
Things learned then have nourished the rest of my entire life up to this exact moment.
Never be afraid to pause and re-direct your time and energy.
If the thought crossed your mind, there's a reason.
If you can take a thoughtful fun break without sabotaging your whole future--and you probably can--just try it.
The experience of stepping back, then returning, all by itself, is what's instructive.

[MVal]

I quit my job when I was 26, to travel the world for a year. I met a British woman in New Zealand who was doing the same thing, and we've now been married for nearly 20 years. I had less than $20k saved up, even taking inflation into account, but was pretty confident of getting a better job when I got back.

And did you get a better job when you returned? What sort of job was it?

[MVal]

Took first sabbatical at 19 after 2 years of university.
Things learned then have nourished the rest of my entire life up to this exact moment.
Never be afraid to pause and re-direct your time and energy.
If the thought crossed your mind, there's a reason.
If you can take a thoughtful fun break without sabotaging your whole future--and you probably can--just try it.
The experience of stepping back, then returning, all by itself, is what's instructive.

Good advice, I will think on that. Love your Thoreau quote too.

[Gerard]

My middle-aged brother recently took a year off, which required quitting his job with a big Canadian company, to travel the continent and camp and take pictures and sit in the woods doing nothing. He did it in a non-mustachian way (funded by taking equity out of his condo), but he sure liked it, and it led him to decide to move to a new city... where his previous company hired him back.

[cerat0n1a]

I quit my job when I was 26, to travel the world for a year. I met a British woman in New Zealand who was doing the same thing, and we've now been married for nearly 20 years. I had less than $20k saved up, even taking inflation into account, but was pretty confident of getting a better job when I got back.

And did you get a better job when you returned? What sort of job was it?

Yes, interviewed for 5 jobs (engineer in the chip industry), got offered them all and chose to join the company that I still work for today. Approx 50% higher salary than the job I'd left (more related to previous company not paying well - all of the jobs offered similar pay). The only notable thing really was that I initially applied for these jobs from an internet cafe in Jakarta, by email. The WWW was only just getting started back then. The girl who later became my wife and I wrote actual letters to each other via poste restante when I was in Australia & Indonesia and she was back home, as although I had email, very few other people that I knew did.

People taking a year off to travel before or after university, or during your early 20s is now reasonably common here, not something that employers would be particularly bothered about one way or the other, although there might be an assumption that your parents had paid for it or that you might bore your co-workers by referring to it at any opportunity.

[Lmoot]

I took a 6 month break 2 years ago, right after I turned 30. I spent 2 months in Africa and got a fun tour guide job when I got back, in the states. The seasonal tour guide job experience led to a permanent position in an environmental conservation non-profit later (part time). 5+ years in health insurance, sitting over 10 hours a day at a desk and in a car, just burned me out.

I had less than 10k saved (1/2 of which was earmarked for paying off 0% promo cc debt within a few months, so I really could only count on about $5k). I kept my part time job (they were willing to do without me for the time I was in Africa...which I could never expect from a full time job), so I had that, plus some rental income from renting my house out, and the seasonal tour guide position provided me several thousand dollars I was able to add to savings. I used a 0% credit card to finance my low living expenses, and to book the tickets to Africa, with the confidence that I would be able to pay it back in time when I went back to work full time.

I never made more than $55-60k in a year (and that was a high year). So it is doable. I have over $80k networth at 32 which I'm proud of for not making so much and taking that break which should have caused me to spend my savings, but surprisingly I never had to touch it and even added to it. Benefits of being accustomed to not earning a lot is I had a very cheap lifestyle which was easily covered by the rental income and part time job.

I missed saving more money so I did eventually get a full time job in health insurance. But I'm planning another break in 3 1/2 years. I figure 6 months every 5 years is good for me. To accomplish this I need to add a couple more investment properties. And eventually I hope to permanently retire from working full time before I am 50, living on seasonal/ part time gigs and rental income. I never would have had the idea or courage to have this goal without the break. Just to see that I could do it. That it was possible, was amazingly eye-opening. And I feel less dead inside the 2nd go round working, since I have something to look forward to (and actually missed working full time a tiny bit).

[pdxbator]

I was able to go to Germany for a year being the house-husband in my early 30s. It was a fantastic experience. I definitely recommend something if you can organize a sabbatical. Right now my partner and I are in our mid-40s. We'd love to do something again like that, but now our parents are aging and in their 70s and not in good health. The timing would just not be right. Do it!

[MVal]

I took a 6 month break 2 years ago, right after I turned 30. I spent 2 months in Africa and got a fun tour guide job when I got back, in the states. The seasonal tour guide job experience led to a permanent position in an environmental conservation non-profit later (part time). 5+ years in health insurance, sitting over 10 hours a day at a desk and in a car, just burned me out.

I had less than 10k saved (1/2 of which was earmarked for paying off 0% promo cc debt within a few months, so I really could only count on about $5k). I kept my part time job (they were willing to do without me for the time I was in Africa...which I could never expect from a full time job), so I had that, plus some rental income from renting my house out, and the seasonal tour guide position provided me several thousand dollars I was able to add to savings. I used a 0% credit card to finance my low living expenses, and to book the tickets to Africa, with the confidence that I would be able to pay it back in time when I went back to work full time.

I never made more than $55-60k in a year (and that was a high year). So it is doable. I have over $80k networth at 32 which I'm proud of for not making so much and taking that break which should have caused me to spend my savings, but surprisingly I never had to touch it and even added to it. Benefits of being accustomed to not earning a lot is I had a very cheap lifestyle which was easily covered by the rental income and part time job.

I missed saving more money so I did eventually get a full time job in health insurance. But I'm planning another break in 3 1/2 years. I figure 6 months every 5 years is good for me. To accomplish this I need to add a couple more investment properties. And eventually I hope to permanently retire from working full time before I am 50, living on seasonal/ part time gigs and rental income. I never would have had the idea or courage to have this goal without the break. Just to see that I could do it. That it was possible, was amazingly eye-opening. And I feel less dead inside the 2nd go round working, since I have something to look forward to (and actually missed working full time a tiny bit).

Do you remember how much you wound up spending while traveling for 6 months? I have no idea what my spending would be and I'm concerned I would spend down my liquid savings too fast. I would love to take several months and visit old friends in Europe, Costa Rica and elsewhere, but I'm not sure if I'd spend more or less than I do normally while not traveling. I mean, I'd probably stay with friends and maybe hostels occasionally, so housing would very low, for one thing.
I really have no idea what I'd do for work upon returning, perhaps work for the state department of natural resources with my sister or try to teach in English in Korea for year or two. The fact that I can't be sure there will be a great job making as much or more salary than I am now waiting when I get back makes it a harder decision.

[MVal]

I was able to go to Germany for a year being the house-husband in my early 30s. It was a fantastic experience. I definitely recommend something if you can organize a sabbatical. Right now my partner and I are in our mid-40s. We'd love to do something again like that, but now our parents are aging and in their 70s and not in good health. The timing would just not be right. Do it!

I know what you mean. My dad is in his 70s and my mom isn't always in the best of health, so I feel like if I wait too much longer, I'll run out of time and have to move back to where they live to take care of them for several years.

[Fishindude]

The longest extended period of time I have taken off work in the last 35 years was one three week stretch for an extend hunting trip.   
Think I'm going to do it again this fall. 

[Lmoot]

I took a 6 month break 2 years ago, right after I turned 30. I spent 2 months in Africa and got a fun tour guide job when I got back, in the states. The seasonal tour guide job experience led to a permanent position in an environmental conservation non-profit later (part time). 5+ years in health insurance, sitting over 10 hours a day at a desk and in a car, just burned me out.

I had less than 10k saved (1/2 of which was earmarked for paying off 0% promo cc debt within a few months, so I really could only count on about $5k). I kept my part time job (they were willing to do without me for the time I was in Africa...which I could never expect from a full time job), so I had that, plus some rental income from renting my house out, and the seasonal tour guide position provided me several thousand dollars I was able to add to savings. I used a 0% credit card to finance my low living expenses, and to book the tickets to Africa, with the confidence that I would be able to pay it back in time when I went back to work full time.

I never made more than $55-60k in a year (and that was a high year). So it is doable. I have over $80k networth at 32 which I'm proud of for not making so much and taking that break which should have caused me to spend my savings, but surprisingly I never had to touch it and even added to it. Benefits of being accustomed to not earning a lot is I had a very cheap lifestyle which was easily covered by the rental income and part time job.

I missed saving more money so I did eventually get a full time job in health insurance. But I'm planning another break in 3 1/2 years. I figure 6 months every 5 years is good for me. To accomplish this I need to add a couple more investment properties. And eventually I hope to permanently retire from working full time before I am 50, living on seasonal/ part time gigs and rental income. I never would have had the idea or courage to have this goal without the break. Just to see that I could do it. That it was possible, was amazingly eye-opening. And I feel less dead inside the 2nd go round working, since I have something to look forward to (and actually missed working full time a tiny bit).

Do you remember how much you wound up spending while traveling for 6 months? I have no idea what my spending would be and I'm concerned I would spend down my liquid savings too fast. I would love to take several months and visit old friends in Europe, Costa Rica and elsewhere, but I'm not sure if I'd spend more or less than I do normally while not traveling. I mean, I'd probably stay with friends and maybe hostels occasionally, so housing would very low, for one thing.
I really have no idea what I'd do for work upon returning, perhaps work for the state department of natural resources with my sister or try to teach in English in Korea for year or two. The fact that I can't be sure there will be a great job making as much or more salary than I am now waiting when I get back makes it a harder decision.

I only traveled for 2 months, then worked part time for 4. I spent about $3500k, not including the plane tickets. For me it was a unique situation because I stayed with family in Africa most of the trip, however I also provided a lot for family as well, so it kind of evened out to be the same if I had to pay for lodging. There was also a medical emergency that ate up some cash. Other than family obligations, the country I visited was pretty cheap to eat and travel within. I also had applied to a 0% credit card offer just before quitting my job, so I used that for much of everything. What cash I needed overseas was covered by renting my house out. I had family deposit the checks in my account.

I hear you on the job thing. Personally I would have been too afraid to pursue a job in a new industry after a long break. Even though I was/am disenchanted with my industry, I knew that my years of experience, and the large quantity of companies/positions in my area pretty much guaranteed me a job when I was ready. I tried to apply to different industries but the only ones I got anywhere with, were within my work experience, understandably. Not to say you couldn't fall into a great opportunity, just that I didn't have the cash or the balls to both accomplish a sabbatical and a career change in the same year. Even though I knew I wanted to work at a different company (even if I had to stay in my industry of experience), I prepared myself for the possibility of going back to my old company and left on a high, positive note. Everyone told me to go on vacation, then quit. But I knew I would come out looking better if I let them know my  intentions before I left, rather than leaving and never coming back. I got paid out my vacation anyway, so it didn't matter.