About career breaks

What is a career break?

Aside from the obvious? It's an opportunity to do something different. You might treat it as a gap year, using the time to travel, or learn new things, or take some time to try to figure out what you really want to do. A career break is not just sitting about not working. That's called being unemployed! For it to be a career break, you have to plan to go back to work at some point.

Why take a career break?

Many people take career breaks simply because they can. You might be bored in your job and wonder if it's really right for you. Even if you love your job, perhaps you never got a chance to travel when you were younger, and now seems like a good time. If you've decided to switch careers, you might need a break to retrain. Or you might have an enforced career break, having to look after your kids or an older relative.

What can you do?

Have a look at the What to do and Where to go pages. They have an overview of the options, plus you can search for an opportunity that fits your skills and interests.

What about getting back to work afterwards?

The Your job page gives you information about how to leave your job and get back into work afterwards.

Who does career breaks?

Lots of people, but they tend to be aged 25-34 and from a professional background. Many career breakers are at the point where they're going to change jobs, and want to take some time out before they start working again. A lot of people go travelling after a relationship has broken up.

What do you want to do now?

• Look at What to do or Where to go
• Go to the Your job page
• Back to the Homepage
• Back to top