Taking an extended work break

[Hoosiersailor]

I am almost 50 years old and have had somewhat stressful and overly responsible job for most of my adult life. I am not at a point financially of being able to retire but am considering taking a year or so off to cruise. Of course with my job its not like I can expect it would be available when I get back so I just have to quit and hope I find something when I'm ready.

Anyone that has done this have any insight? It scares the crap out of me and excites me all at the same time. I have skills where I can re-enter the workplace but it's a little hard to just quit a good paying secure job. It's also hard to fathom getting older and not doing this too. I could wait till I'm 55 (it will be here before I know it), start planning now and most likely be able to just retire then.

Thoughts?

[MV Wanderlust]

I'm of the "plan early, plan a lot, retire and don't look back" group. To just dump a secure, good paying job and hope to find something comparable later isn't something I would personally be comfortable doing. But everyone has to decide their own comfort level. There will be plenty of people on here who will encourage you to go for it... and that's easy to do when advising someone else. Ultimately, you have to decide your comfort level.

(BTW... we're two years, eleven months, eight days from retirement. My wife and I are planning a lot right now and putting things in place to hopefully make it all come together at the right time. So, we're practicing what we preach. )

[denverd0n]

Depends on a lot of factors. I was laid off of a job when I was 50 and did not have too much trouble finding another one (I am a database administrator). It took me about five months. I will tell you, though, there is no doubt in my mind that I ran into some age discrimination in the process. I am certain that there were a couple of interviews that I went on where I was eliminated from consideration as soon as they saw my grey hair and crows feet.

On the other hand, I was able to find a short-term consulting gig to tide me over until I found a permanent position. And, like I said, I did find a permanent position (well, as permanent as ANY position is these days!) within five months, so it's not like every company out there is discriminating.

Still, expect the job search to be a bit harder than it was when you were young. Also, companies are looking for a different sort of résumé than they were 30 years ago, so be sure that you read up on finding a job in today's world.

Good luck.

[Hoosiersailor]

Originally Posted by JohnEasley

I'm of the "plan early, plan a lot, retire and don't look back" group. To just dump a secure, good paying job and hope to find something comparable later isn't something I would personally be comfortable doing. But everyone has to decide their own comfort level. There will be plenty of people on here who will encourage you to go for it... and that's easy to do when advising someone else. Ultimately, you have to decide your comfort level.

(BTW... we're two years, eleven months, eight days from retirement. My wife and I are planning a lot right now and putting things in place to hopefully make it all come together at the right time. So, we're practicing what we preach. )

John,

I 100% agree with you and that is certainly part of my dilemma.

[sailjumanji]

I agree with John. Wife and I retired at 55 and 56 yrs old, respectively. Finances are secure. Plus, if I was an employer and had someone leave for a one year cruise sabbatical, would wonder how long they were going to last before doing it again. And no way your earnings level would stay up with the guys that didn't quit for a year.

Keep your head down, cross the finish line - it's not that far away. Plus will give you time to properly plan and prepare for departure. My two cents.

[Hoosiersailor]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

I agree with John. Wife and I retired at 55 and 56 yrs old, respectively. Finances are secure. Plus, if I was an employer and had someone leave for a one year cruise sabbatical, would wonder how long they were going to last before doing it again. And no way your earnings level would stay up with the guys that didn't quit for a year.

Keep your head down, cross the finish line - it's not that far away. Plus will give you time to properly plan and prepare for departure. My two cents.

Thanks guys for the reality check...I know that's the right answer.

[dwedeking2]

I'm at the same stage. My plan is to stick out the "well paying but I don't like it" job until I'm 55 so that I don't have to go back to work, but my fall back position is to be set up financially and boat-wise so that if this job goes away earlier then I will take a break and sail the caribbean for a year or two and then find a flunky job or maybe something seasonal to bridge the years until total retirement.

Everytime I think about quitting this job I feel my dad wacking me on the back of the head "You don't leave a paying job until you have the next job lined up" but if they downsize me then it's not my fault, right?

[belizesailor]

I had originally planned to take a sailing sabatical and then return to work on a seasonal basis. However, I failed to consider how hard re-entry to an intense work environment would be...in the end I never made full re-entry...I fired myself for poor performance and returned to cruising! Its good to be the boss. [emoji6]

Its hard to judge in advance how you will respond to re-entry, but it is something to consider. Some do it just fine. Many seasonal cruisers work part of the year and cruise part of the year (that was my original plan, but didnt work for me).

Another option to consider is contract employeement. Is your skill set something that is viable to do on a contract basis? If so, contract out on projects and go sailing in between. Many do this too.

Also, discuss with your employer. I did, and had two former employers offer me seasonal employeement, at the same full time salary and benefits, in an effort to keep me on board...very sweet deal, but in the end it was just time for a change for me.

Thinking outside of the traditional employee/employer model opens up a lot more options.

[Captain Puget]

I was at your point 3 times before pulling the trigger ... tech industry and startups, with family issues added.

A factor to consider is your and your family’s health ... be secure, but don’t wait so long you (or your partner) can’t do it physically.

I ended up taking a very nasty “last job” for ~ 3 years until I hit 59 1/2 and could access funds without penalty. This coincided with taking care of aging parents, so it worked out,....but that last job was a soul sucker!

Use the time to learn, plan and start getting out more to gain experience.

[weldon555]

Offering my thoughts for your consideration: I can certainly understand your feeling of having a stressful position, and desiring to take a year off to cruise. At your age, finding another position shouldn't be too difficult upon return, however, my thoughts would center around "what if I don't want to go back!"

If I try to put myself in your position, my feelings would lean to waiting for a "very close" retirement at 55, and acquiring my cruising boat in the meantime, as well as learning/practicing/using it for a couple of years prior to "taking off". I would venture to say that once you've left the "stress" behind, and lived a cruising lifestyle for a year or more, it might be very difficult to bring yourself back to the world of high stress and high pay.

BTW, I retired at 60 (last year), and am very happy having left the stress behind. No desire to repeat.

[S/V Alchemy]

I assumed when I clicked on this that the question concerned the morality of taking a break from refitting one's boat...

[cyan]

There should be a support group for those of us looking at the retirement finish line from a weekend cockpit. It's really good to hear from others in such a position. I was recently looking at early retirement, then aging parent issues happened. Life comes a you, sometimes. A sabbatical years ago for me, say around age 40 might have been a better choice. My hindsight is good: almost 20/20.

If I see another one of those damn financial TV commercials that keep asking "will I have enough for retirement", then my head will explode. Apparently I should be really concerned about only $2M because $4M is a better goal.
F that.
A better goal should be to see the world using wind power when/while you can. Now I just need to take my own advice.

[Halien]

I saw a meme today that said something like: "The most dangerous risk of all is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet that you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later."

Of course you need to be smart and plan for the future--and yes, age discrimination is a real thing--but if you need a sabbatical, take it. My stepkids' dad dropped dead from a heart attack, with no warning signs, at 52. What if that happens to you, and your last thought before you die is that you should've taken that year off?

Security is an illusion. Don't trade your dreams for it.

[sailorboy1]

We quit our jobs when I was 56 and my wife 55. We think if everything works out we have enough money (started with about $500k assets). But I realize that it may not work and/or we feel like working a while and for years prior to quitting work I've been practicing for my next "career". Let me try it out on you to see how well I'm doing with my training:

Clearing my throat a few times

"Welcome to Walmart can I help you find something?"

We sold everything land based so even if we need to go back to work we don't need a high paying job, because that's like ........................................ work!

[Mike OReilly]

I and my spouse left good paying positions (her’s a job, mine self-employed) when we were 48 and 53. We chose time and greater freedom over financial security.

I have good sailing friends who (apparently) have the same cruising plans as we. They lament the fact that we’re out there while they’re still working. They claim they cannot leave financially, yet they already have way more income and wealth than I will ever know. They could leave if they wanted to, but apparently they need more certainty.

Each of us must make our own calculation as to what we need, and how much certainty we require about the future. I am a cautious person by nature, and do like to plan things out to a certain degree. But early on in my life I learned (the hard way) that the only certainty in life is today. Tomorrow is a crap shoot. I choose to live for today.