Below is a summary of my quarter life crisis.
I am a May 2015 graduate and have been working in a back office role for about 7 months now looking to make a change. Same duties at the same time day in and day out and not really learning much nor very interested in the work. I took this job knowing that it wouldn’t be great, but did it because I was desperate for money and a name brand on my resume.
During my downtime I find myself looking into real estate (interned at a small brokerage jr yr) and finding an opportunity to go abroad. Before I start my career that I am interested in, I think it would be beneficial for my personal development to go out and see the world. I never studied abroad due to various reasons and I am seriously regretting it, and I would like to amend that mistake before its too late.
I am seriously considering taking a 2-3 month volunteer opportunity to teach English at a homestay in Europe to cure this need for travel. Free housing and food and opportunities to take 3-4 days to go wherever I want. Some obvious issues of this is money; I have about 35k of student debt, but I plan on living at home the next year and half and paying it off. Another issue is finding a solid real estate job when I get back, which I plan on aggressively networking and taking some REFM courses. I live outside of a major city so I know there are opportunities. I could also do some construction work in the meantime, which can sometimes be relevant to real estate.
Any thoughts on this? Would this take a big hit in my career and ability to get a job after being off the grid for a few months? Or would it make me a more interesting person and candidate? I also don’t plan on going to HBS
Thanks
2-3 months is nothing. I know people that have taken years off to do things like Teach for America, teach English in Spain, and travel around South America. All of them were able to quickly find very good jobs when they returned to the States. If you do this, having the volunteer opportunity teaching English on your resume will help people to understand that you weren't fired when they read your resume and will help you account for your time. Good luck, I think you should do it!
TFA is not at all like the others. For one thing, it's far more prestigious and harder to get into. Not to mention it's actually a fulltime job. Kids getting into TFA are already pretty accomplished, so it's not surprising that they do well with a brand name program to start their post college careers.
Teaching English abroad is kind of interesting, but the problem is that everyone kind of knows that there aren't a whole lot of qualifications to do it, there ARE a whole lot of American kids who do it (so you aren't exactly unique or anything), and it's kind of widely acknowledged that it's essentially a continuation of studying abroad (in other words, it's cool but essentially an opportunity to mess around abroad). The biggest problem is that it's just not really relevant to anything OP is trying to do.
Anyway, maybe I'm just a debbie downer, but that's my take.
Agreed, I deliberately organized them from "best" to "least" (from a prestige and contribution standpoint). Ironically, the guy that did nothing but travel around and blog is the same one who left a Finance Manager and scored a Sr. Director gig (with corresponding jump in comp) when he came back three years later. The longest any of them were left hanging upon their return was two months and all of them were able to hold out and not downgrade their careers.
I may come across as lackadaisical, but I've seen too many people do this and be fine.
bump
" Before I start my career that I am interested in, I think it would be beneficial for my personal development to go out and see the world. "
Why didn't you do this in college? You've only been working for a few months, so I can't imagine that your financial situation is all that different today than it was in senior year.
Maybe I'm a hardass, but I really don't think it's a good idea to do what you are contemplating doing (giving up a paying job to go travel while you have $35k in debt and likely minimal savings). I understand the desire to travel, so here's what I would suggest instead.
We may have read this differently. I took the post to mean OP is considering setting up the plan now, spending the next year and a half preparing for it (paying off the debt, keeping costs down) and then going abroad. At that point OP would have been in the job for over two years which is much more palatable. I agree leaving at 7 months to do this would be a huge red flag, but I got the impression OP knows this. Two years at a reputable firm will more than carry him upon his return, and having the next year to plan everything will give him lots to look forward to while he's in the job he hates with the big name on his resume.
Ah I see your interpretation now, and I think it makes a lot more sense than mine. Good points.
@Managerette" I appreciate the response, If I were to do this it would be this March after working for about 10 Months. CHItizen What you laid out is definitely the right way to go about this. I'm going to Ireland in March for about 10 days anyway so Im hoping that trip will hold me over for a while. In the meantime I need to start finding another job because I'm going insane - quitting under a year is extremely common where I am working. Thanks for the input.
Not to hijack OP's thread. But what do you think about in sales.
Would it be possible to take 6-12 months off and go travel. I imagine I'd be able to spin it (sell it) as diversity of my knowledge and experiences makes me a better sales person but how do you explain it in your resume? Would you add a spot in there?
All good. I'm not sure about sales, but regardless most careers are sales related anyway.
I would only be taking 2 months off and I would put in my resume for volunteering as a private tutor. In interviews I would stress that the learning plateaued in my previous job, and teaching English in a foreign country would be more of an educational experience.
CRE .. you always have insightful posts.. Would you mind reading through this?..Would this be a huge red flag when applying to jobs/networking after going abroad for a couple months? Looking to join ULI as well.
My only real response is "it could" and that is because all employers are different. One hiring manager could see it as you getting a good life experience and helping people while another would instantly take it as a sign that you aren't serious. Framing will be everything and only you can quantify the personal risk/reward.
I would get a list together of companies you want to reach out to and then do it while you are overseas. "I worked at W, I am currently doing X in Y country, and when I return on Z date I would like to speak with you about ______" I think it comes off better than "I want a job but hey before that I'm heading to Europe for 4 months so catch ya later" and makes it seem more part of "the plan."
Finally, you do run the risk of coming back to nothing, and that resume gap could double or triple before you know it. Just something to consider.
Good stuff, thank you
Quit job to travel? Would this be frowned upon? (Originally Posted: 01/07/2018)
Hi all - happy new year. This is something that's been on my mind and I wanted advice from more experienced monkeys.
Would it be frowned upon if I quit my job to travel for a few months before re-applying for similar jobs?
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