How to get the time off from work

Really, I can't count the number of times that I've been back from a trip, showing pictures or telling stories, and heard something like the following from a friend or a coworker.

"Wow, that sounds amazing. But I could never do that."

What they're saying of course is, "Real life asks me to be responsible. How could I possibly take the risk required to pack a bag, get on a plane, and leave my job/mortgage/girlfriend/cat/shoe collection behind."

Putting a hold on many of these practicalities is not as difficult as it may seem. The shoes will be there when you get back. The cat can go to your parents. The girlfriend can come with you . And the mortgage isn't going anywhere anyway.

But what about the job?

If you live in the States you're already aware that the average job contract contains very little vacation time -- 2-3 weeks on average; barely enough time to visit family around the holidays, let alone to climb Kilimanjaro. There are however a number of ways to work around this.

1. Find a vacation friendly job. As a High School teacher, I'm privileged to have 8 usable weeks of summer vacation, which has fueled trips to South Africa and Argentina lately. While teaching comes to mind quickly, there are others as well. Most positions within the education bureaucracy and related non-profit organizations provide generous vacation packages in part to woo former teachers. Let yourself be wooed as well.

Another career with extensive vacation possibilities is nursing. With the media talking endlessly about a shortage of RNs, salaries are rising as are opportunities for overtime. I've met more than one nurse who works 50 hour weeks for 9 months a year, travels for three, and is given his or her job back happily upon return.

2. Beg your boss for more time off. While this may sound like fantasy, it can be done. I met a girl recently who worked for a government contractor, i.e. a fairly typical 9-5 jacket and tie job. During her first year with the company, she was so busy that she took very few days off and thus banked many. By the end of her second year she found that she had a full month unused. Itching to go to Morocco, she petitioned her boss to take all 4 weeks together. He said yes and the trip is history. The moral of this story? You never know how flexible your employer will be unless you ask.

3. And if that fails, quit your job. The riskiest advice of all to take, and yet the surest path to travel. No matter how scary it may feel to consider tendering your resignation for a vacation, it's not as dramatic as it sounds. It's not the 1930s. There'll be another job when you come back. Planning ahead can take care of your finances and a good travel insurance plan can take care of your medical while you're gone.

Consider the case of Matt and Noel, two good friends from Ireland that I met on the road last year. Enchanted by Africa, they quit their IT jobs, rented their apartments, kissed their girlfriends goodbye, and did a six month swing from Kenya to Cape Town. The key to their plan was setting aside enough money to finish their trip AND transition back into Irish life upon their return.

4. If need be, plan a working trip. Make your trip into your job. At this point I think everyone must know someone who moved to Japan to teach English with the JET program (Justin...) JET http://www.jetprogramme.org/ is one of many organizations that can help you find reasonably paying work in a foreign country. The web already contains countless resources on these opportunities.

Luckily, a more adventurous spirit can probably find work along the road without planning ahead. Wherever I find backpackers traveling I have always found them working as bartenders, youth hostel receptionists, and hourly English teachers. Cuzco, Peru, Grenada, Nicaragua, Windhoek, Namibia, Santiago, Chile, and Vilnius, Lithuania all come to mind. The important thing to remember is that the goal here is not to make and save lots of money, but rather to pay your expenses as you go, lengthening your trip without sacrificing your bank account back home.

So, what are you waiting for?

-paul