Planning your career break

Planning your career break might sound a bit boring and difficult, but when you get down to it, it's actually quite a lot of fun. Especially when you can drop things like 'I've got to go and get my Yellow Fever certificate then pick up my round-the-world ticket' into your conversation.

There's usually quite a lot to do though, which is where this section comes in. We've got some useful tools for you to use online or print off to help you plan. If you're still at the stage where you don't know what you want to do, have a look at our Stuck? section, then come back here later.

Each printable resource (below) opens in a new window.

Have a look at the What to do with your stuff page and the Money section for more information . The Essentials section tells you about visas, insurance, tax and pensions.

Tools and printable stuff

Most career breaks, especially those involving travel, need quite a bit of time to prepare. It's hard to know which bit to do first (book ticket or get voluntary placement?). We've made a printable timeline to help you sort it out (aimed at those travelling on their career breaks).

We've made a sample What to take list. This is a standard list for the average round-the-world trip. It has things you need for a tropical climate (most round-the-world trips take in Asia, Africa or South America) but not the kind of stuff you'll need to climb Everest. There's space to write in your own things too. The long version of the 'what to take' list has a bit more about each item and why you need it, plus tips on packing.

Money

You can get the following printable resources from the Money page too.

Money owed – for you to keep track of things like insurance refunds, outstanding payments, etc
Budget worksheet – figure out how much this is going to cost
Cash maths – work out how much you could save by giving up your little luxuries, and what that could pay for

Don't know where to start?

Print off a budget worksheet or get the printable timeline. If you don't know what you want to do yet, go to the Stuck? section.

Money
What to do with your stuff
Essentials
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