Coming back and working

[The Raven]

Hey Folks,
It's been a long time since I was here and active on 2 wheels. Years ago I used to be very active here when I had my G/S but after being booted from ADV and losing my motivation network kind of let the passion wane. I ended up with a Ural but life happened and decided to travel in my Landcruiser 80 instead. While I would ask about this question over on Expo Forum, it seems the "overland" lifestyle is becoming a big fad and doubt I would get decent answers.

For those of you who take off of work for several years and once the trip ends, how do you manage to come back and pick up where you left off? How do you find a job? Settle somewhere? etc etc. We are planning on settling somewhere out west next year but do not know where yet or what we are going to do. We hope to make connections and fall into something...but not even sure how to make those connections.

Please help!!

[The Raven]

95 views and no suggestions. That's too bad.

[mark manley]

I can only speak for myself in saying having a trade or skill that is in short supply has helped me, I did an apprenticeship as a toolmaker and have always worked in engineering as a machinist or fitter. By being flexible and updating my skills I have always been able to find another job on my return often with a former employer several of whom I have worked for more than once. I have quit my job and come back about 10 times now.

[markharf]

Depends largely on your specific field....if you have one. Some lend themselves to short stints of work interspersed with time off, and some are perpetually seeking skilled and motivated workers. Sometimes, both are true of the same field.

OP's question comes up a lot, and not just on traveler's forums like this one. I gather that in some fields it's considered highly suspect to have taken long periods to travel, but I can't say it's ever gotten in my way. I used to do construction labor, then various skilled trades; I'd work three to twelve months, then take a month (or six) off. I lost ground financially, but I was never terribly ambitious in that realm anyway. It didn't stop me from progressing from the very bottom to somewhere within reach of the very top within my little world....following which I took five (5) years off to go to college, then grad school.

These days I'm a licensed professional. After my last long trip--a couple of years of intermittent travel and little honest work--I found a job within a few months of my return, and stuck that out for 3+ years before setting up my own business. Now, almost 4 years later, no one cares about any of that. Why would they? I'm measured by my performance--or at least, by my customers' beliefs about my performance.

It all changes if you're supporting other people, especially kids. It all changes if you return home to a major recession, or if you've chosen to live in an economically-depressed area, or if you're in a field for which there is little demand. And of course it's more difficult to get your footing in an area where you don't know anyone or have any previous employment history. But the main thing is the nature of your work and your level of skill. If you happen to be a skilled carpenter, you could probably move to my town and have a job within a week regardless of your travel history. If an art history major just out of college, maybe not so easily.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[mollydog]

For construction trades it's now easy pickin's here in Nor Cal. With the Fires in both Northern Cal and now Southern Cal, THOUSANDS are trying to rebuild houses. All related trades busy across the state. BUT Expensive to live here.
Many live in an RV or camper.

Cost of materials has gone way up and no one can get guys to work. Many tradesmen seem to be gouging a bit, but any skilled building trades ... or even laborers ... are getting work without much in the way resume' or real skill.

So, it's the Wild West again here. Tradesmen pull up to the job in their $60K 4 wheel drive truck with all the Bell's and Whistles. But trades can be tough and hard to find ones that takes you into your 60's and beyond.

The IT kids in San Fran and Silicon valley are killing it too. But very competitive from what I understand.

As said above, really depends on what skills you have. Also consider going down to Mexico or Cent. America and peddle what you have there. Boy, do they need "real" Plumbers and trained Electricians.
Good luck!

[gatogato]

There is some good advice in this thread.

One life lesson I would comment on is, "Follow the Money." (To a certain extent of course) To follow the money you need to be flexible with your plans and not afraid of what others think.

There have been a couple times when I walked away from a potential opportunity because I was afraid about what others might think of me doing that career. In hindsight, it was a mistake.

It seems like a lot of people are afraid to relocate to a new state because they think it is a boring state. They stay in their same area where there is no opportunity and complain for years about it.

Another thing is to always measure the return on investment of the education. A nursing or physical training degree has a great return on investment. Other degrees have a pretty sketchy return on investment.

[ta-rider]

Originally Posted by The Raven

how do you manage to come back and pick up where you left off? How do you find a job? Settle somewhere? etc etc.

You cant. Travelling makes addictiv. There is a saying: You cant change Africa but Africa will change you so after i have visited more then 80 countrys with my bike i did not WANT to go back to Mercedes and work a waste my live time doing a normal 8 hours job. Insted i keep traveling and work as a tourguide: Motorcycle world trip from Russia through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic

[brendanhall]

Originally Posted by ta-rider

You cant. Travelling makes addictiv. There is a saying: You cant change Africa but Africa will change you so after i have visited more then 80 countrys with my bike i did not WANT to go back to Mercedes and work a waste my live time doing a normal 8 hours job. Insted i keep traveling and work as a tourguide: Motorcycle world trip from Russia through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic

There is definitely something in what he just said, travelling is Very addictive, it is like being unplugged from the matrix for a while, you see such amazing stuff, it changes your perspectives on life. I think in a good way!

There is so much of the world I have not yet seen and I don't have long enough left to see it!