You’ve arrived at my blog post because you want to quit work to travel. These thoughts have crossed your mind a lot lately.
I get it… You might want to see how or why others have done this.
There’s a big, wonderful world out there to see! I’d rather trek the globe than sit behind a desk.
Do you feel the same way?
Hold on now… you spend all this time and money getting that degree or training. It pays the bills, or in my case, barely paid the bills.
You desire to travel or have the flexibility to do the things you enjoy, but you need money.
Maybe you plan to quit work to travel the world, so you save up. In my case, my career path changed… or, let’s say, evolved.
I finally landed a job that gave me more money and security, but it sucked up all my time. Much needed time to travel…
So, I pivoted…
Big dreams early on
I knew early on that I wanted to write and travel. Reading and writing were my superpowers—as were sewing, crafting, and drawing.
I was a creative, as they say in advertising.
On the other hand, I contemplated a career as a flight attendant or travel agent. They seemed like fun jobs.
In college, I hosted a radio show with my roommate. We named ourselves L Luv and Lady J.
Ugh… those names!
Our topics ruffled a lot of feathers. Guests with no filters came on our shows and rambled.
People called in, either yelling or cheering. The audience grew in a very short time, with fans and haters alike.
How exciting and fun…
We had no scripts—just a passion for talking about issues around campus. But the radio show ended when I moved out of state and went on a traveling binge.
Plans with different friends to start TV shows never panned out. Everyone, including myself, seemed to have big dreams but no time to execute them.
Exciting journalism job
While studying journalism, I fell into broadcast TV. How exciting!
The lights, the camera, the action… the potential for travel…
I landed a position at a government-access TV station and then with a CBS affiliate. TV production taught me a great deal and gave me many skills.
The long hours kept me busy. Early on, I had one intense boss, but my co-workers made the job tolerable.
And I got to travel locally and shoot film. This made the job more fun.
Paying me pennies
My jobs in TV did not provide enough money to pay the rent. However, I did put money aside to do a lot of train travel.
Broke or not, I couldn’t shake the travel bug.
I thought my college degree would get me a job with great pay. The return on my investment didn’t look good.
I’d need more than one job at this rate.
You can always depend on the bills to come in on time despite having barely enough to get by. Everyone wanted their money, and I was stressed over this.
How would I pay off the thousands of dollars I owed for student loans? This left me with no choice but to move on to another job.
So, I looked for something in the creative field.
Advertising seemed fun
A friend of mine landed a job at a big advertising agency. She told me they planned to hire, and within a few months, I got a job there.
They paid a much better salary with full benefits. For the first time in my life, I bought a car. Then, I flew to Bermuda and visited friends.
I bought a new car for the first time in my life and treated myself to a vacation overseas.
What a rite of passage!
With my new car, I could go on road trips.
So I thought…
I wasn’t doing exactly what I wanted to do, but I worked on projects with the creatives. Within a few months, I got stressed due to the long hours.
There was no time off—no time for travel.
Long hours were not fun
I worked under an intense executive who called me every minute of the day. He buzzed me for dull tasks, such as picking up copies from the printer right next to his cubicle.
Other times, he called me down from the creative floor to fix the stapler on his desk. Ha!
Talk about power-tripping…
Looking back, I laugh at that ridiculous guy. But they rated me entry-level on the corporate totem pole.
It would take years to climb that pole and tell someone else to fix my stapler.
The other employees looked weary. I overheard them at the copier talking about working until midnight, short deadlines, and budget cuts.
The friend who got me this job talked about the stress. She looked for other jobs, which led us to her aunt, who worked at a school district.
Education seemed secure
She got us jobs in the school district. We were so happy to have security, benefits, a pension, and whole summers off to travel.
Perhaps I could jet set across Europe during breaks, right?
However, I quickly realized that teaching had its setbacks. I never considered going down this path.
The time spent at home planning and doing other work tasks took a toll on me. It’s not surprising that some teachers leave the field.
During my first assignment, I co-taught with a teacher who did nothing all day. Students and staff avoided her.
She sat in her chair collecting a paycheck and did not care one bit.
The principal ran around like a chicken with its head cut off and had no time for trivial matters. The school was unraveling at the seams.
I thought I had made a big mistake.
Grabbing those copies off the printer for that overbearing executive didn’t seem that bad when the students were wilding out.
Should I return to advertising?
Stress was too bad
I still worked long hours, but this time, I dealt with angry parents and unruly students.
Luckily, two veteran teachers came to my rescue. They talked me off the ledge, gave me lesson plans, and helped me manage the manage behaviors.
Without these two saints, I would have quit within a month. But I ended up staying in education for quite some time.
It at least allowed me time to travel, and I am grateful for this.
Did I quit work to travel?
I enjoyed working with some students (the nice ones) and used my creativity in education. Yet, I realized it was time to pivot.
During my breaks, I reflected on what made me happy.
I kept writing, but I had strayed far from what I really wanted to do.
So, I got to the point where I could no longer see myself working in education. All I could envision was traveling and writing.
Are you at this point right now? Do you want to quit work to travel or do something else?
Well, I did it—dare to watch my YouTube video.
Updated: November 18, 2024
