extended vacation or absence 4

[sqrrl]

Hello,
I’m considering a long vacation (~6 months) to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) sometime next year (March 2009 – Aug 2009). I have just passed my 2 year mark at a first position out of grad school, and don’t want to make a foolish move that will threaten my career.

Have any other engineering professionals taken an extended leave or extended absence from a career to travel extensively or explore non-career interests? If there are any AT thru-hikers who completed their hike after taking a job please let me know about your experience. Specifically, how do you deal with:
* getting rehired or having unpaid vacation
* insurance while hiking through employer’s plan
* school loan deferral
* mortgage / sublets for housing
* storing stuff
* maintaining professional competence (continuing education or updates)
* explaining the gap in employment to future employees (if not rehired)

thanks,

sqrrl

 

[KENAT]

sqrrl, perhaps any mothers, or I suppose fathers, that took extended maternity/paternity leave would also have useful input.

As to the gap, if you only list the year on your resume there wont be a gap;-), unfortunately you may have to fill in month in some application forms.

I had a year or so gap when I moved to the states, while it's a simplification I've always blamed the INS. My current employer accepted it.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[TheTick]

* getting rehired or having unpaid vacation
whatever you can negotiate

* insurance while hiking through employer's plan
COBRA is a ripoff, 3x-5x more expensive than self-bought major medical insurance

* school loan deferral
rotsa ruck!

* mortgage / sublets for housing
What do you have, a mortgage or a lease? Bank won't care about mortgage as long as they get paid on time. Renting? Don't plan on returning to same place.

* storing stuff
storage places are everywhere. PODS will deliver.

* maintaining professional competence (continuing education or updates)
What will you miss in 5 months?

* explaining the gap in employment to future employees (if not rehired)
The truth, perhaps? Maybe embellish w/ story about being chased by a bear. If you actually do get mauled by a bear then you can just say you were hospitalized for an extended period.

 

[ctopher]

That is a long time for a leave after 2 years. When you were hired, the manager and HR probably were hiring you full time with sick days and vacation. If you need a leave of abscents, have a talk with your manager and HR for approval, and to make sure you keep your position open.

Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 08
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

 

[berkshire]

sqrrl
Remember the employers first rule, " If you were not needed, you would not have been hired."
What they do with a request like yours, depends on how much they value your contribution to their company.
B.E.

 

[tygerdawg]

I'd be surprised if your employer granted anything to you especially after two years. Sabbaticals, leaves of absence, etc., or typically granted after years of service. They hired you to work at their convenience, not yours. Save your money, fund your own fun.

The flip side of this is that you should do it anyway (or something similar) while you are young, unattached, and still can. The gap won't matter in the long run if you're honest. If you try to sleaze your way through it, somebody will find out and burn you.

I blew off working after a couple years and went to Europe on a solo bicycle tour of the continent. I learned much more doing that than cooped up in some dysfunctional excuse for a company.

A college buddy quit his major accounting firm and toured Europe for six months. When his money finally ran out, he was in Switzerland. He walked into the local office of the firm, asked for a job, and got one almost immediately. He still lives in Switz and is high up in the organization.

Whatever you do, DO NOT do like some GaTech idiot I read about once. He hiked the AT thru like an engineer: as fast as he could, strict inflexible schedule, planned to the millisecond, and completely nerded out. What a waste of time and effort. The Carolina / Tennessee / Virginia mountains are sublime and should be savored. As should be the "kindred souls" that you'll meet on the trail.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[civilperson]

Save enough money to make up for no income for the six months hiking and the six months looking for a job and then ENJOY the Daniel Boone Trail! I took leave in 1988 and came back in 1994 with a renewed spirit and a need for gainful employment. I encourage everyone to take little bits of retirement in each decade of life.

 

[DKirkham]

As an employer I would be sad to see one of my employees go.

However, I would be sadder if they left one of the boxes on their bucket list unchecked. If your boss doesn't understand, it is probably time for a new boss.

A couple of years ago I had an employee that told me he wanted to leave as his dream was to be a NASCAR crew chief. He asked me what I thought. I told him he was CRAZY and there was no way on earth he would ever make it. I told him about how hard it would be. The odds were against him. The competition is too hard, the hours are too long, there are just a few slots for a million applicants. His chances were greater of ice skating with Lucifer.

Then I looked him straight in the eye and told him everything I said was the truth and if he didn't throw all caution to the wind and follow his dreams he was a fool. He left our company, moved the North Carolina, and walked into a team garage he had never seen with a broom in his hand. He now works on a NASCAR truck team--he is working his way up the ladder.

Although business changes, if you were a good employee, I'd hire you back if I could.

David

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com

 

[sqrrl]

There was another part of my plan that might help out. I’d like to invest in rental property for a first purchase, a 3 bedroom townhouse. This way, I could practice managing for a few months, and then rent out my own space for the time I’d be away. It would also solve the problem of storing my minimum of stuff (laptop, clothes, and paper files). For my trip, I have family in the Midwest who might be willing to oversee 6 months of rent collection and make calls for repairs. Alternately, I could hire a property management company for this absence. *Collecting* rent is even better than *not paying* rent, especially while I’m out on the trail having fun. Any other suggestions for managing property while gone?

Thanks for the warning, TygerDawg. You just described how I typically do things, including vacation. Planning and recording events has become a benign compulsion, with its benefits of generating a record of what works and what doesn’t.

 

[plasgears]

Reminds me of my leave of absence during a stint in the Army. I was expected to be gone for 6 mo, then I got extended for another year. I returned and got my job back. I took it for granted, but I was waiting in the outer office for a rather long time. As it turned out, there was an upturn in the economy, and I got a better job when I returned.

 

[TheTick]

Military reserve deployments are different. There are laws protecting your civilian job while you are gone.

 

[Henneshoe]

I would suggest against the rental property investment part of your plan. When you own a house you are responsible when something goes wrong. This is doubly true when someone is renting from you as they will expect it fixed immediately. Is your family going to be OK with going to your townhome at midnight because the refrigerator is on the fritz and the renter is pissed their ice cream is melting. The property management firm will be happy to take their cut and manage the property, but every service they provide will cost you. Final point, will you know your renters? If not, I would not suggest storing your personal stuff there for 6 months while you are gone. Oh, that and financing. In today's market I wouldn't count on 100% financing.

My suggestion, save enough to live for a year. Drop your lease and go without worries. You have plenty of time to rake in the big bucks.

 

[DKirkham]

I agree with Henneshoe on the rental part.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com

 

[jistre]

Jesus, DKirkham, are you hiring?

 

[DKirkham]

jistre,

Right now, no...but there is a small chance we will in a couple of week if we get a new project.

David

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com

 

[macmet]

I can't answer any of your questions but I would say you should go for it. Especially if you feel that you will quickly find a new job when you return.

I would also check out the thread titled "Leaving the first job and dramatic life decisions" in this same forum. It is a similar situation.

 

[xJAyx]

I am pretty new in the field, I've been out of school for 7 years and during that time I have twice quit my job and taken 6 or so consecutive months off to persue other things. It can become a burden after a little while, having a patchwork resume, but I had more than valid reasons for leaving my jobs and that helped a lot when interviewing for new jobs.

When you are early in your career it makes sense to try out new things. If you don't get your current position back, it will only benefeit you in the long run, having an extra company's perspective under your belt.

 

[spongebob007]

If you take 5 years off after graduation to "find yourself" it will be DIFFICULT to get back into engineering. If you take a job for 5-10 years right after graduation, it will be IMPOSSIBLE to up and leave to go "find yourself".