Travelling vs. Career

Many people choose to wait until they are old and tired to travel, because they believe that is normal. Travel when you can, and don't let yourself sacrifice the chance to see the world just because you think that you'll never get a good job if you do. When you're on your death bed, do you think your boss is going to congratulate you for your company loyalty? Do you think anyone is going to give a fuck about "gaps" in your employment records?

>>1264704
So does that mean you went travelling when you were young and it didn't affect your employment prospects?

>>1264697
Old person here. I did not do much traveling as a young person, did not have the budget and had few opportunities. I came to travel through a hobby that turned into a semi-0business, and I now travel to 3-4 countries other than my own in a given year to participate in festivals and events, plus trying to get in a "travel just for travel's sake" trip with family every year.

In my case, I don;t see that not traveling much when young did much to boost my career or my employment prospects, and from this end of the time scale I don;t see that it would have hurt me much to have spent some time traveling. If I had tried to do too much, I'd have gone broke, I guess, but I could have done some.

When I look at my kids, grown now, who have done at least some traveling since they were in their middle-school years, and ceetainly spent more time doing that than I did at their age, I don;t see where it has harmed their career paths much -- but, neither is pursuing a traditional 9 to 5 corporate career, so maybe that would be different if they were going that route.

At the end of the day, if you can afford to travel so much it messes up your employment prospects, maybe you don't need to worry about employment prospects all that much...? But to take some time every coup0ole of years to see a bit of the world, or to take one big chunk of time once to do the same -- that is not going to hurt you much career wise, and (if you are the type to benefit from travel, not everyone is) it will help you in other ways..

>>1264697
These aren't really mutually exclusive. With a well paying job you can make your travel count even more

Being poor is fucking awful

>>1264705
For me it didn't impact it at all and actually helped me stand out in a good way. I'm a teacher so overseas teaching gave me a wider set of skills that I took with me back home.

>>1264708
This is a really great answer, thank you very much for taking the time to write it.

Okay now I have another question. I'm currently a NEET and living off my mum. I know people who have gone travelling, on their own money, and I have the money to do it myself. But I feel guilty about doing it and leaving all my shit here at my mum's place (she'd be on her own). She definitely would rather that I got a job and moved out (I used to have a job and live away, then I sort of fucked that up, but yeah).

Perhaps I should get a job and move out so I'm not being a dick to my mum? Then I guess I can try and take time off whatever job I get to travel in a year's time or something. From a selfish point of view, I like the idea of travelling without being tied to a job, because you can go for as long as you want. I read Steve Jobs' biography and was inspired by him doing this sort of thing through India. But maybe, as I say, I should be more considerate to my mum, and therefore less selfish.

Perhaps you will say this is more of an /adv/ question. Apologies if so.

>>1264734
True. Well I have the money to travel. Anyway see above about my family dilemma.

>>1264697
>I've read that they're impressed by charity projects, but NOT just aimless holiday travelling
well, obviously. You're not going to put on your resumé that you've visited this or that country and it won't come up in an interview either.

From my experience, employers nowadays don't even care about international work experience. But that may just be in my country, where lots of people have had to work overseas and then came back, it's probably different in places like the US where, from what I understand, people don't usually travel to other countries.

I'm in my mid 20s and I feel like I miss out on job opportunities due to having spent my time travelling and working shitty jobs to sustain myself in foreign countries. The way employers look at it is. But I also feel, more and more as I age, that it doesn't matter in the end. Travel if it makes you happy, don't do things you don't want to do just to please an eventual employer.

>>1264697
In my mid 20's here, no issues with traveling and my career. Always open about my travel plans ahead of time and my company and I work to plan it out. Doing a month in Japan next month and no issues with anything since I told them 6+ months ago I was doing it. Actively worked with them to train people to cover my position and worked a solution to respond to important emails if needed.

If I wanted to travel moreso than I already do around most of the USA, I'd get into contract work jobs that I can do for 6/9/12 months at a rediculous rate in the USA or outside; take some time off and get on another contract.

I have no regrets at all. My father told me I (unwisely) took my retirement in my twenties, but it all seemed to work out just fine. I'm older now, and have a satisfying career (but I was really lucky to have things turn out that way.) And I'm too tired to do the type of traveling I did when I was younger.

Travel now, when you're young. There's plenty of time to go back and fart around in museums when your older.

*you're.

Dammit.

>>1264741
>. I read Steve Jobs' biography

Walter Issacson? Great book.
Watch the film by Danny Boyle too. It works as a nice companion piece to the book

>>1264748
Good post, thank you.

>I'm in my mid 20s and I feel like I miss out on job opportunities due to having spent my time travelling and working shitty jobs to sustain myself in foreign countries.
Because you think employers see your travelling and look down on it? Is that what you mean?

>>1264749
Contract work actually might not be a bad idea. I could do that.

>>1264753
I would like to - as I said in another post I have another concern of leaving my mum (who I currently live with) by herself if I just swan off travelling. Leaving her with all my stuff here. I used to work away from here and live by myself. Maybe I should do this again first instead of being a bit selfish towards my mum. Eh I dunno.

>>1264756
Yup that's the one. Yeah I should watch the movie.

>>1264774
Yeah contract jobs are the way to go if you really want to travel and don't mind living modestly at home. IT contracts especially pay out the ass, doing a 6 month contract for 60-70k is not unreasonable. Couple that with a cheap studio apartment, and you can take months off traveling to places.

>>1264774
>Because you think employers see your travelling and look down on it? Is that what you mean?
They don't look down on travelling, I just feel like it doesn't matter to them because at the end of the day, they're just shitty jobs. I can work in a warehouse in any country, the job will be the same everywhere. There's no particular advantage in working a shitty job overseas compared to home - and being away is so common for people in my generation that it's not like the argument "I'm adaptable because I lived somewhere else" can be used to persuade an employer. The reason I feel I missed out on opportunities is because if I had stayed in my home country, I would not have worked shitty jobs and would have actually tried to improve my skills or find a "proper" career. When you're in a different country, especially if it has a different language as well, it's much easier to just go for whatever you can find that will guarantee some money at the end of the month rather than what you really want to do. All my friends who stayed back home went on to get more experience on their fields of study, even if unpaid, which made them more attractive to employers than me.

Employers don't give two shits half the time about travels, they may like to chat it up in interviews if the one interviewing has done travels.

Most an employer will care about is gaps in work history.
>Oh you went 3 months without any work? can you explain this?
Is about the most you'll get asked, if it was travel they might ask you about it to make sure you are bullshitting about getting fired but that is about it. They might like to know you traveled if the job requires relocation or travel for the position, but that isn't something I would put on my resume

>>1264741
How old are you?
Get a job, be responsible of yourself and then travel. Is not fair for your mom.

It sounds like you're in the UK, OP, and since you are, I'm gonna be a little biased in my response to you... But I'm going to say, get a job. You essentially get a month of holiday from what I know from my friends over there, even for entry level work. That's plenty of time to travel, see the sights, and get in four vacations that I would consider extremely long - all without the downside of being dirt poor while you do it. My bad if I'm wrong, though.

In the US, you're extremely lucky if your first job offers you two weeks off. You're more likely to get one, and about 3 days of sick time, which is the case where I'd say that you should travel now.

But it sounds like you're putting unfair pressure on your mom and not holding up your end of the bargain. She didn't have you so she could bankroll your vacation in your 20s.

I really have no problem with traveling at your age and am not calling you lazy or anything, I just think you should think of your mom and such before being worried about what an employer is gonna think a year down the line.

>>1264697

I'm 32 and still haven't got on with my career

>>1264705

If you are the kind of person who thinks in terms like "employment prospects" it's not for you. Just get on with your career and look forward to planning your 3-5 weeks vacation every year.

Started traveling when I was 18....

It's a big world; lots of places to go and see.

>>1264704
>>1264983
Real Travel(tm)

Mind your audience OP. Everyone is here because travel is religion to them and worth any sacrifice.

Due to compound interest a dollar saved ten years ago is far more powerful than a dollar saved today. An educated saver can retire on $2k a year in their 30s.

>>1264749
How to get contract jobs? Or where to find?

>>1264697
Depends on your country and the job. Usually nobody cares, you all worry way too much that one gap year will make you look like a hobo or that that one year of missed university is a road block on your golden path.
Some may be impressed by charity work, others wont. If youre doing charity work just to look good and not because you actually want to help youre an idiiot though. An helpful idiot maybe but an idiot. You could have spent that year at home studying, if youre that desperate for a job.

>>1265134
Its not a religion to me and not worth any sacrifice.
But thinking in terms of "What destination would look good on my resume?" seems like a completely foreign thought process to me.
>>1265004
No. Its like asking "I like this girl with red hair but would it really hinder my employment opportunities if I go out with her? I heard most CEOs are more impressed by a blond gf. In my work place enviroment a blonde would surely be more benficial?"
Sure, could be more profitable, but why would I ever ponder these questions? Money is less of a goal than happiness. Money is part of that, but wasting your young years purely on "career" seems pointless to me.
To each heir own though, whatever makes them happy.

>>1265181
>hair color rant
???

>>1264953
>She didn't have you so she could bankroll your vacation in your 20s.
No I'm not asking her to bankroll my travelling - I have money which I HAVE SAVED (making big sacrifices in being frugal for many years of working different jobs, not going out when my friends were going out, skipping extravagant purchases, I did all of this because I wanted to have money to spend on something worthwhile)

It is true that currently I am being a lazy shit, staying at my mum's without paying rent... I keep offering to get just some minimum wage job just to tide me over, but she keeps wanting me to get some desk job, which I can't be fucked to do, because I just had one, and I hated it, and I wanted to push myself to see if I could do something different in life.

So of course if I went travelling right now, I would be relieving her of a burden really. But then I'm leaving her by herself in a house filled with some of mine and my brother's stuff. And she's thinking of moving soon. So I guess I would be leaving her with all of that stuff. That's what I feel bad about.

>>1264856
I'm 26. For more details on my mum situation, see here: >>1265221

>>1264982
Hopefully I won't end up like that. No offence. I just hope I don't.

>>1264983
No mate, go fuck yourself. I mean to be honest I don't give a shit. It's just my mum wants me to get a job instead of travelling. I dunno man. No idea what the fuck to do anymore. I feel I've earned the right to travel because I worked in some shitty fucking desk job that I despised for 1.5 years. And I've put away the money to go travelling. So I really do feel like I have the right. Of course I've been staying at my mum's rent free for a while now... but that's because she says I shouldn't travel and that just pisses me off so I'm like "well fine I just won't do anything then", but I realise that's mean. If I went travelling then I'd be relieving her of the burden of me sitting around here doing nothing. So maybe I should just do it.

>>1264988
I've done Interrail with some mates a few years ago, but haven't done solo travelling yet.

>>1265134
You're right about audience but also that's why I want to ask this board, because you guys have experience with making the decisions to travel, and balancing that with real life, as it were.

>>1265211
>travelling destination rant
>???
I said the hair colour of your girlfriend is as important to the company, as the year before university, that you spent wherever. Most wont give a single flying fuck and worrying about small things like these is really just nonsense.
Sure you can dumb your gf for being a red head and sure you can waste a year in the Congo on some help project, hoping to get some good boy points at the company, but that is complete and utter bullshit.

>>1265222
You're 26 not 6, grow up and stop being so pathetic.

28 years old, started traveling when I was 27.

I wish I started sooner, if anything. I spent most of my younger years fucking around; I was going to school, being in & out of work. Nothing ever fucking worked out for me. Had I known most of my education/career pursuits would have been for naught, I would've much preferred enjoying myself overseas instead of trying a bunch of different shit that didn't work.

>>1265248
...I don't know what that's meant to mean?

Grow up and get a job?
Or grow up and make my own decision?
Grow up and realise that I can go travelling, and that I shouldn't be listening to my mum?

Like I said, I have MY OWN MONEY which I SAVED to go travelling. My friend has done the same thing. He saved up money and went travelling. THE DIFFERENCE, though, is that his parents are still together. It doesn't matter him leaving his family home. But in my case, I will be leaving my mum by herself, when she has said she wants to move house soon, and this place is full of mine / my brothers' stuff. And I feel it would be a bit mean leaving my mum with all that stuff here. Because she (and maybe my brother too) would have to move that stuff to a new house. With me swanning off around the world.

Just wondering what is proper, really.

I've traveled 5-6 weeks a year for several years, 27 now, making ~50K, in tech. Some industries will not allow time off (retail, middle management shit), but if you're in the right industry, your employer won't mind about a few extra weeks out of the year.

>>1265221

>No I'm not asking her to bankroll my travelling - I have money which I HAVE SAVED (making big sacrifices in being frugal for many years of working different jobs, not going out when my friends were going out, skipping extravagant purchases, I did all of this because I wanted to have money to spend on something worthwhile)


You just answered your own questions m8. At the end of the day it's your life, not your mother's life. You have your own money which you earned yourself and most importantly made sacrifices for to be able to save (eg going out with your mates). Spend it how you want

>>1265276
As I said money is not the issue. I'm wondering whether it's mean to leave my mum with all my stuff in her house, when she's thinking of moving house soon. Leaving her with all this stuff to worry about. I dunno.

>>1265258
>28
>talks about "younger"
GTFO mate

>>1265308
Nigga I'm almost 30.

I wish I started traveling when I was 18 or 19. But I started when I was 27.

It's not either or...you can do all.
What you should sacrifice is some living it up treating yourself kind of standard of living. Don't live alone if you can have a roommate. Don't blow all your money every weekend at bars. If you have time for a second income, do that too. Work on education that gets you into better positions for the more money. That's what you need to consider.
Is traveling the end all be all? Not for a dude, really. Sometimes it could make you happier to be more financially secure and getting yourself ready to be attractive for a quality mate to desire. This might satisfy whatever yearning you want. Then, wham, dual income, and things come easier in life overall, traveling as much as you wish, 4 day weekends every other week is farrr more satisfying than prolonged stays abroad living on the cheap.

>>1265313
I'm 30-something. Talking about the third floor like it isn't young means you need to eat shit and die.

>>1265288
Dump your stuff in some storage spaces, ain't that expensive.

I'm thinking about starting my career in asia

cost of living here is low and that will help me start up, and if the whole thing goes to shit I can just bury it out here.

Thinking about teaching, but truth be told I have little desire to be a teacher
I really want to get into business but I hear the bureaucracy, cut throat competition and racism make this hard; as well as chronic shortages of skilled reliable workers

>>1264704
Literally /thread

>>1265221

Lol, okay man, keep pretending like it's "muh saved money" when really it's money you would NOT have saved if your mommy wasn't being charitable as fuck to you. Most people in the real world have manned up and have moved into their own homes, and have to maintain a job to continue to have a roof over their heads. Your money isn't saved, it's just deferred, basically.

You're forcing your mom to look after YOUR shit, move YOUR shit, and PAY FOR YOU TO LIVE.

Not only that, but when you come home, it's not like you're going to come home to a place of your own, you're still going to be shitting up her house again. She already dealt with you for 18 years or more, and she needs you to get the fuck out so you can get on with YOUR life and leave her to hers.

If this was a week long trip or something, fine, but you're sounding like you're gonna fuck off for a year and come back with nothing. Stop being a leech.

>>1264739
Whereabouts are you from and where did you go to teach abroad?

Are you a language teacher and, if so, do you also teach languages at home?

>>1265732
oof, I'm jumping in, been holding off on this for a while, but it's Friday night and this is how we do it: hi, /trv/ my name is [REDACTED] and I've been in our board shitting up our threads for a long time now

this fucking kid wrecking his mom shames me! get fucked faggot who doesn't support the family, especially since you know what her heart sounds like from the inside

I have "NEETbux" from getting blown the fuck up in Iraq and being deaf in one ear and never able to run again, and, oh yeah, debilitating epilepsy. So, problems aside, I mentioned in another thread how much I make from the gubmint but I have to live with mom. Not as a condition of getting that sweet, sweet cheddar, just because #muhdisabilities. know how everyone says "I would buy my parents a house if I would the lottery" ????

>I pull right around 4200 monthly, no taxes
>3500 goes into mom's debts including mortgage and car
>>that's cool, plenty of tenants are paying the landlady's mortgage

>next 600 is our utilities
>>hey I use those utilities too! no big deal

>final 100 is for me
>>that's it
>> including gas and tolls
>>guess who doesn't leave the house an awful lot

4chan, when I have told them this before, guessed I was a beaner, so whatever, come at me /pol/acks but srsly fuck this kid, ok, rant over

had to sell the guns and the car to support the senpai, #OldestSurvivingSon is gonna #OldestSurvivingSon and someone is going to call me an enabler

>>1265749

That's a lot of money into her debts monthly, anon, but I suppose I get it if she's also helping you with things like getting around, food, etc.

Thanks for your service.

I did it at 26 and felt fine...mid-twenties is a good time...you have more maturity at this age compared to the 19 year old German or English traveler but can still party and have fun and not seem like that old guy. I traveled with people age 19-33 during my 6 month trip and could adapt well.

Every interview I've had employers were impressed and stunned I went alone and would ask questions about it. I don't think it's a big deal but for a lot of people it seems like it takes a lot of courage to do. To me I just wanted to go on an adventure and wasn't nervous at all before embarking on my journey.

>>1264697

Hey OP, travelling has come up in most job interviews that I have done, but more of a talking point as opposed to an asset. That being said, it has generally been a very good talking point and leads to the kind of "conversational" atmosphere you want an interview to take on.

I do think that you would regret not travelling in your 20's, as it really isn't the same as travelling later in life and can be very hard to replicate if you miss it. I agree with other posters that your priority should be getting a job and moving out to stop burdening your mom. However, if the reality in your case is that you are one of those guys who has no motivation to work and you are unlikely to move out and find work even if you don't travel, then you might as well take the opportunity and travel as opposed to sitting around browsing 4chan.

>>1264697
US Soldier here. I travel on the government's dime. I just have to get blown up in Afghanistan every year or so. Worth it.

>>1265222
>Hopefully I won't end up like that. No offence. I just hope I don't.

Longterm travelling is really not for you.

>>1265732
>>1265749
>>1265828
>move out and stop burdening your mum
But if I went travelling I'd stop being a burden too.

I mean just so I'm clear - if I had gone travelling STRAIGHT after leaving my last job (instead of sitting at my mum's house), would that have been alright? So I guess I probably should have done that.

But now I am where I am, I can't agree with my mum on literally anything, I keep suggesting to her "I could do this job, I could do that" and she hates every suggestion, so we just don't even talk, it's just a toxic fucking situation and I have no fucking idea what the fuck to do, it's ridiculous

Fuck

>>1264697
Seeing the world and actually learning new things is more important than a job.

>>1264697
why not both?
>doing a PhD in engineering related science abroad

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>>1264697
traveled in my 20s and into my 30s

I work shit jobs and I don't care. You are smart if you can travel a shitload and get a great career, but it's near impossible. Yes, it WILL hurt your job prospects, regardless. When you are vacationing someone else isn't, and they will make more than you and be more successful than you. The question is whether it is worth it to you. It was to me. I'm older now and I look back at my friends that are making more than me, and I don't really care. Some o them lost everything through divorce, others hate their lives and blow their cash on drugs and booze. Then there are the ones that have a nice big house, a hot wife with kids, and a few sports cars....good for them. Will you care? That's what you have to ask yourself. Some people will never take or have taken a vacation and they will not be as successful as me, but the people that I was competing with got ahead of me while I was out "seeing the world". I'm not bitter at all, I understood the game from the beginning, make sure you do.

For what it's worth I have always traveled on my own dime, and I don't come from money. I work for what I want. The girls I date are probably about 2x hotter than what I could have had if I had gone the career path, and the food I eat is about 10x more delicious and 1/10 the price. However, yeah, I'm fucked career wise. I will be seen as a borderline vagrant by employers in the USA and they will basically give me that vacation line from Monster

vid related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sraDVyksYMs

Now I have a degree and all that, but yeah, you are going to get laughed at if you come off a 2-4 year hiatus in Nepal and think you can get a 6 figure salary in a few years. If you come from money, then maybe, but jobs that pay big want employees that love working and hate vacation. They want machines.

>>1264697
jsut turned 27 and am planning to move to tokyo next year, doing the well paid white collar job i currently do, if i hadnt invested in my career for 3 years i would have to work as an english teacher

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>>1264697
>That one guy who I met who left home out of frustration/disappointment in life.
>Dropped his girlfriend and kid to backpack the world in his late twenties.
>Met fiancé along the way, got stuck in a middle eastern war, met famous people, went on to then travel through South America and Africa, made tons of friends, memories, king of the world.
>Settled in South Africa and got jobs through contracts in Tech
>Paid thousands upon thousands for each contract. Never spent much, the money kept piling on and on (dude's rich)
>Finally came back to his home country one day after a decade or so. Nothing had changed.
>Left the country again to never return
>No regrets.

Dude lives in White South Africa now with his wife and kids, Livin' the dream

May the Gods bless you, T.

>>1265930
Okay a couple of things. I can relate because I'm kind of in a similar situation as you.

What I think is that if possible you should get a job. Now you are a 4chan NEET, so the thing is that it's possible you will just sit around and bug your mom anyway. Evaluate whether you will actually get a job if you don't travel, and if you think you can then 100% fucking do it. If for whatever reason you know that it won't work out, then sure, travel. It doesn't sound like your mom is hugely fussed about you moving out if she keeps shooting down your job choices, so I wouldn't say it's a massive deal.

Do you want a high-paying corporate type job? If so then travelling is quite likely a bad idea. If you are okay with settling for a more laid-back though far less well paying then no one will care. If you go to an interview for a job washing dishes then no one will give much of a fuck, especially if you spin it right.

Really though, why do you care about her opinions on your suggestions? Why not just go get one of those jobs? She won't be able to give a shit when you're making enough money to move out and get a small apartment. I think you should take some more responsibility for your choices honestly, and I don't mean that in an insulting way. If you want to travel, do it; if you want to get a job, do it. If you want to move out then you need to just say fuck it and get some job, any job. Maybe travelling will help you get some motivation, just go do something rather than sit around caring what everyone and 4chan thinks of you.

I'm 39 and I regret that I didn't travel when I was young. I should have went for TESL and taught English around the world. I knew some women who did that and she lived in Hong Kong for a year. Have online friends who teach in Thailand and Taiwan. That's the life I would have wanted from 18 to 35.

I don't especially hate my job. It's deskwork and not that hard to do. I've got no savings except for the 2000€ on my bank account.

Still, I'm in my mid 20s and don't feel satisfied. I feel like something in my character is missing. I'm boring as fuck, don't have any real friends and no gf. Quite close to dropping it all, packing my backpack and just booking the next one-way flight to SEA and leaving it all behind.

>>1265744
I'm American, Olympia Washington is my hometown.

Yes I taught English in Korea for two years to kids and adults. My bachelors was in English. I saved $22,000 in those 2 years and I'm using the money for my masters in teaching program back in my hometown.

I'm getting endorsed to teach Math/English.

My endgame is professor status overseas, international schools or DoD schools. Interested in Russian speaking countries but I'm not pigeonholed into just that.

>>1266312
>I saved $22,000 in those 2 years
who would just go and lie on the internet like that?

>>1266316
Do your research. You clearly know nothing about ESL in Korea.

>>1265316
Get the fuck off 4chan dude if you think 30 is "young" the median age here is about a decade below that

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>>1266365
Not him, but my impression is that the median on /trv/ and the median on 4chan as a whole are not the same.

>>1266391
Yeah, I think /b/ dilutes the population with 14 year olds.

>>1266365
blow me. i didn't call 30 young but it's only old in Somalia

32 now, did not travel a lot between 19 and 29.

I was late to the career thing (28), messed up by being addicted to games and stuff.

I catched up on career part, even got a job that allows me to do business travel.

Started catching up on my travels, don't have to worry about budget. But I do kinda wish I traveled right after university on a budget. I feel like I would appreciate small things more or something

>>1265221
Sell your shit and get extra money
for traveling, problem solved. When you come back you can buy new shit. You only live once and you mother wants you to be happy, you can get a job after getting this out of your system.

>>1265151
Craigslist, indeed, monster, dice. Usually hiring agencies are a good place to look, IT just has the most contract work because you may only need staff for a few months out of the year when doing an upgrade/overhaul

>>1265288
This isn't a big issue. Sell/donate/throw out the stuff you don't need, then the rest can go either into storage or be left at your Mum's house in neatly packed boxes so it's easy to move it required.

As for the whole travel vs career thing that's a very hard question to answer. If career success isn't your main objective in life, then it's no big deal. If it is, it can be more of a challenge. If you want to go away for more than a month you really need to do that before you get committed to a career path. it gets harder as you progress because time off means the organisation either struggles in your absence (and resents you for that), or appoints someone else to do your job while you're away, which gives opportunities to career rivals.

In your position as a NEET though I think go for it, travel can be very good for getting out of a rut because it allows you to step back from your daily obligations/distractions and really assess where you want to take your life. You may also find after a few months of being on the move you'll be ready to get back to one place and start achieving some goals again. The key is to have a solid plan for your return so you can make use of the momentum travel can give you.

I'm at a bit of a crossroads right now.

I hate my current job and I feel miserable most days. However, the company I work for is fairly generous with vacations and bonuses.

This other job I've been eyeing actually pays better, and the drive would also be much shorter! However, I haven't met the managers or workers, so I have no idea what they're like (they could be worse than my current job, for all I know). I also have no idea what their vacation policy is like. I don't even have any idea if they give bonuses. I'm reluctant to ask about vacations and bonuses at the interview; I want to convince them that I want to work for them, not ask how to leech off of them.

>>1265877
I really really just hope this isn't me in the future. No offence to you, but to me this is a complete failure as a human.

>>1267694
thus spake basement dweller

>>1264708
how did you end up making money on festivals and events?

I want to travel and go to conventions and such, so if anyone has any resources on happenings around the globe that would be real nice.

>>1267694
>complete failure as a human
>no offence

hm..

>>1264697
There's more to life than work, you hedonistic faggot.

>>1266257
/thread

>>1266307
do it, faggot

>>1264697
who gives a literal fuck about a career
every penny i make goes towards traveling, who knows if I'll settle down in the future with a wife and kids, but even if that day ever comes, I won't have a single regret.

>>1267694
it's pretty hard to judge who is a failure and who isn't these days, not sure where you are from but most countries have pretty much sent their youth out on the open sea in a sailboat without a mast

>>1267794
>Implying working equals hedonism
>travel doesn't give me pleasure

What are some IT jobs I could be doing in the Far East? I was in Shanghai for a year in college, but 5 years later, I'm keen to go back. I never got to see Japan or HK. I don't wanna teach English really. But I remember the business culture is super poisonous compared to Ireland. Did anyone do IT contract work in the Far East?

>>1264697
No and no.

Employer thought I was a weirdo and was visibly on the fence, I feel like I've had to prove my dedication over time. But I don't regret it, I look back fondly and it's kept me sane OP. Best analogy I xan give is to think of my first gf, she was the one but I could never of married her, J would have cheated and fuck both of us up terribly.

Study abroad whilr in a university program, if you go to europe you can train about during a break maybe. Or join the army.

>>1267910
>going to asia for your it job
Sounds like a great way to be underpaid

>>1266365
Motherfucker 4chan is my home, I lurked here with originalmoot when pool was closed.

I'm not going over to reddit with all those beaten-down-by-circlejerk "Well, as an older gentleman [50]"fags

>>1264705
Mate no one gives a shit. You can always resume your career where you took off.

I mean, let's not kid ourselves, it might take you a while to find a proper job again (since "proper" jobs are not always available, so you will waste some time), but no one cares about the gaps per se, particularly if you tell them you went traveling.

Let's not forget one thing here: business is made by people. And I believe most people can relate to the will to travel, and respect the fact you chose to go after it.

Furthermore, once you are back in the workforce, you never know what is going to happen and no one is going to give a shit anymore. Overall, the damage is negligible.

>>1267910
>I don't wanna teach English
the secret is to want to teach english

>>1264705
Traveling is just not for you.
You probably won't enjoy it anyway.

>>1267921
Yeah... maybe I'll just take my Yurobux and travel for a month.

>>1264856
>Is not fair for your mom.

fucking Americans treating family like a business transaction. My mom would have me stay at her house expense free for the rest of her life if she can. Giving the opportunity to your child to do something amazing since they don't have to worry about surviving is seen as "not fair"

>>1265732
It just sound like you're projecting your terrible parental realshionships and instilled american puritan ideology on everyone else. Most of the world lives with there parents for most of their twenties, especially in this economic climate. I live in the bay area, you know how fucking expensive it is? Why would I move out just to 'move out' and then burden myself paying all of my income just to pay the fucking rent on your one bedroom in a house in the shittiest part of the city?

>>1265930
I was done with school at 20, ten years ago. Learned construction in school in Norway which is 2 years in school and 2 years at the job as an apprentice and then I had my papers and could work. Immediately travelled to Italy and lived in Sardinia for a year, then moved to Spain for a year. Didn't work in Italy, just lived on my apprentice money and in Spain I spent around 4 months with a construction company and travelled around the country the rest of the time.
Then I spent 4 years hopping from country to country in Asia working the odd construction job and hiking. Then moved to Ghana for a year. Finally I've lived back home for these past two years working at a Norwegian construction company.

Point is you'll always find a job somewhere. I, personally, never had any trouble finding jobs both in companies and working for private people. Do what the fuck makes sense to you and what makes you happy. In the end family, friends, employers will respect you if you respect them. If your mom or any other close relationship doesn't respect you enough to let you do what you want, fuck them. Your relationship with your mom seems really toxic, so just go. Get your shit out of her house and just go. You obviously want to travel and experience the world so just do it. You'll find a job, bro.

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18KB, 290x170px

I've always loved traveling but recently i've been getting fucked over, I was supposed to head to Japan my 2nd to last semester but everything fell apart and needless to say my life has been pretty miserable and I just got out of college. I want to travel again but I'm not sure where to go from here being depressed as fuck all the time with no direction, any of you been in similar situations?

>>1268252
Did you finish your degree? If so, what degree did you get?

>>1268252
Can you still head to Japan after some time? I travel non stop, when I get that feeling I pick a nice spot and spend a year or two. Just continue your education somewhere.

>>1268253
It was originally business but i just graduated with a liberal arts degree, honestly I was pretty depressed and I felt i couldn't put time into trying to find something i enjoyed in school, and my school was pretty small with not a lot of practical majors.

>>1268267
How are you able to do that? Like how do you support yourself and find accommodations?

>>1268270
Ok. So useless then.

Personally I'm the kind of guy who would just run away from problems. Not gonna lie. I'd just do it and go to Japan or any other country you want to go to and figure shit out on the way. Pack some shit and just go. So this would be my instinctual advice.

However, I can only imagine how awful depression must feel so I can't really speak from experience and you might need to take my advice and dismiss it completely. Maybe speak to a therapist and see if it's something actually serious (the depression) or just do something. I think the worst trap depressed people fall into is doing nothing. I understand that while depressed everything seems like effort and you just don't want to do it, but again imo just do it. Get a job, leave and travel, get another degree or anything.

>>1268270
What kinda liberal arts degree? Literature? History? Phil? Sociology?

They're not as useless as you'd think. Tech startups are still known for looking for humanities degrees, and honestly being able to write a cohesive, sensible, and persuasive essay can still get you places. Don't give up hope.

But there's also always Law school

>>1268273
esl, lel

Nope. What I did was supposed to be career suicide. I came back 4 years later and picked up right where I left off (I moved up quickly). Now I'm turning down promotions because I don't care for the extra responsbility/marginally more pay.

It made me better-rounded as a person and most of my interviews are people just fascinated by how I fuck off and travel all the time. I just quit when I don't get enough time off and the last employer even waited 3 months for me after the contract was supposed to start.

tl;dr traveling taught me that it always works out in the end. And it always does.

I don't understand what's the deal OP, I can't see how you can't fit in your life both travel and career

Thinking that "real travels" are only the one that lasts 6 months and bring you to the other edge of the world isn't true, you can do shorter trips of 1-2 weeks, or even a weekend, and still have a lot of fun and discover new things, while at the same time having a decent job and a career. Of course it helps if you're a european, since from what >>1264953 says, in the US they have it waay more hard than us..


The longest trip I ever made was 3 weeks in south america, I had a lot of fun but I was also totally exhausted, and I was really happy to come back home into my daily routine.

>>1268282
It's actually in science, I was thinking of doing something in tech but I'm not very sure how applicable it is with the degree I have, i'll defintely try it though

>>1268299
may i ask what you do?