1.3. "How could I get the time to travel?"
by Edward Hasbrouck
I continue to be amazed at the diversity of people who come to me to plan months-long
trips. How do they get the time? Here are some of the ways:
- Educate, agitate, and organize for more time off. Everywhere in
the world, mandatory
allowances of time for rest, and limits on working hours, have been the result of
extended
political struggle. Laws and union contracts entitling workers in Europe to 4-8 weeks
of
vacation have come about through the same processes that led to the 8-hour day and the
40-
hour week in the USA. North American workers will get the same vacation rights as
Europeans only if the labor movement and individual workers make this an issue.
- Work as a temporary, freelancer, or contractor. So-called
“contingent” workers make up
10-15 percent of the USA workforce. It’s now possible for people in almost any
occupation
or career to reorganize their work on a freelance or contract basis that leaves them
regular opportunities to travel, after finishing one job or assignment and before
starting
the next.
- Work in a seasonal job or occupation. Seasonal jobs may be more
diverse than you think,
including those in agriculture, the building trades, tourism, etc. Some seasonal jobs
even include employer-provided housing. I’ve know ski-resort workers who travel every
summer, and national park workers who travel every winter, without having to pay rent
while they’re on the road in the off-season.
- Work for a school, college, or university. Many jobs in
educational institutions are
seasonal. Part of the trade-off for teachers’ low wages (although far from a
sufficient
one) is their long summer vacations. What many people don’t think about is that
schools,
colleges, and universities employ all sorts of workers for the academic year.
Academic-
year jobs include everything from food service to word processing to computer support
to
building maintenance.
- Take a sabbatical. Periodic year-long paid sabbaticals are
standard for professors, and
common for teachers even at the elementary and secondary level. But sabbaticals
aren’t
limited to academia anymore. More and more employers have formal or informal programs
for
granting paid or unpaid extended leave. Sabbaticals improve employee skills,
productivity, morale, and loyalty. If your employer doesn’t already have such a
program,
why not suggest it?
- Take an unpaid leave of absence. Even if your employer doesn’t
have a formal leave
program, you can always ask. Pitch it to your employer as a no-lose proposition: you
are
willing, entirely at your own expense, to take an unpaid leave to acquire some of the
skills they need most to succeed in a global economy. If it’s not going to cost them
anything, why would they say no? Even if they think travel is irrelevant to your job,
they’d probably rather you come back to work for them after your travels than go to
work
for someone else.
- Quit your job. Get a better one when you get back. Even if you
have to quit your job,
there’s a good chance you’ll actually get back — if you want it — when you return.
If
not, you’ll have international travel experience under your belt and on your resume.
With
that, you should be able to find a new job a step up the career and salary ladder from
your old one.
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(From The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace, 2001)
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