BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello all! I just wanted to share my thoughts/feelings as I'm at what is probably the most significant transition period I've ever been at. I figure a lot of members here are in/have been in the same position as I before so I figured I'd share .

I'm graduating in May from Michigan Tech University and I'll have a BS in Computer Science. Many (most) of my friends have jobs lined up that they will be starting a month or so after they graduate, most making $65,000+. I am fairly confident that I could also have such a job, but instead I'm graduating, working a summer job for a few months then in late June taking of for SE Asia (monsoon season woo!!! ) with my girlfriend (and best friend - sometimes ) of 7 years. We'll be gone for around 4 months, or as long as $4500 (after airfare) will last us. That's where my current and future plans begin and end.

Anyway it's a very strange feeling and I can't help but feeling like I'm being irresponsible by taking this trip and not jumping into a job. It will be strange to be not making money but instead be spending it. At the same time I can't really get a full time job yet considering I have no idea when I'll be back in the states and ready to work (if we can find a temp job, perhaps the standard English teaching job, we'll stay for up to a year). What's more is the fact that personally I don't feel ready to jump into a career yet. It has nothing to do with laziness, I just don't feel ready yet.

I have no debt at the moment, and although my GF does we've saved enough to make payments for 8+ months. I'm really curious to see how/if this trip will affect(effect?) my feelings about life/work/goals. I've traveled a fair amount, including a 5 week backpacking trip across Europe when I graduated from high school but I was very young then (well, it feels that way to me - I was 18 then, 22 now). I think that this 4 month trip will be more significant to me and might change my outlook on life. I'm excited.

I have a WONDERFUL family who will be happy to have me back at home until I decide what I want to do next post-travel so I don't have to worry about living on the street or anything. I guess I really have it pretty good. I have a fairly strong degree, a good family, no debt, and a great hard working girlfriend. But I can't shake the feeling that I've got no set future (or an income) where my friends will all have solid careers (medical insurance!!) plus a good $65k+ income.

Anybody with any "comforting" thoughts or advice, or similar feelings/situations?


p.s. I know I've misspelled a lot of words, sorry about that - no spell check!

My advice is you should work 4 or 5 years first. Establish yourself, establish a skillset, put some money away and let if work for you while you're traveling, take advantage of the tax laws. Then you'll have more money to travel with, a skillset to fall back on, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by halfnine:
My advice is you should work 4 or 5 years first. Establish yourself, establish a skillset, put some money away and let if work for you while you're traveling, take advantage of the tax laws. Then you'll have more money to travel with, a skillset to fall back on, etc.

haha, not exactly comforting advice

Probably not bad advice, but I'm commited, as is my girlfriend. What's more despite my reservations I've mentioned I feel good on a whole about my decision. I've also been working for a company (in my field of computer science) for around a year, so I have a decent resume when I return.

That said I am sure that working for a while and putting away money would be a wiser option. I will be getting a job when I get back so I'll probably follow your advice once I return. It's mainly the uncertainty that is killing me! I've lived my life very "safe" and have always gone from one "right" thing to the next. High school, summer jobs, college, internship, COOP, etc, etc.

Many people travel when they get out of college. Jobs will still be there when you get home.

It is much easier to do it then, when you haven't been making money. It is tough to quit once you have started to go. Yes, some people have do it, but it is much harder!

You aren't going for very long. Just have a plan for when you return, and you'll be fine.

You sound just like I did way back when!! I made the decision to join the Peace Corps after I graduated from college. My father said that was the "dumbest decision of my life". He felt I needed to get a job and start paying off my student loans. That was the first time EVER that I didn't do as he recommended - I worshipped the very ground he walked on.

Anyway, six months after I arrived in Honduras I got a letter from my dad. "I was wrong - totally wrong. I can see now that joining the Peace Corps was by far the best thing you could have done." And he ended up encouraging my brother to go into the Peace Corps too.

So - I say go for it. You will grow a lot and have a much better idea of the world. Their will still be jobs when you get back.

I agree with your plans to travel now:
- you have some marketable job-related experience so won't be starting from scratch when you get back
- you have no debt, mortgage, kids, etc. etc. etc.!!!
- it will be hard in the future to get 4 months straight off a job!
- you are giving up less now (not having a job or having a relatively low-paying job) versus if you worked your way up and took 4 months off (since you'd have a higher salary by then - more comparative losses).
- you don't feel like entering the real world yet... that's a legit excuse!

unfortunately I can't share any similar sentiments - I am on my way down my career path and know that I will never be able to do a long-term trip like this! (I am taking solace in the fact that my higher income will let me take lots of shorter trips to the same places) It's not the hugest deal to me, but if you know you'll regret it later... do it! good luck, and record your adventures in a blog! I LOVE the SEA area and had so much fun there!

thanks for your responses everybody

I guess one of the things that really makes me feel OK about this trip (and life in general) is that I really am starting to realize how short life is. Perhaps I should wait and go later. Perhaps I should go now. Either way soon enough I'll realize I'm 30, then 40, then 50, and when those days come I'll remember my trip and hopefully won't be living in a cardboard box .

I think you're handling it in a responsible way. My major concern would be debt, and you've already thought that through. It's non that uncommon for someone to take a little time off after graduating - congratulations on having the options! Good luck

I went from college to grad school and then traveled, and then (at the time) who knew..?

You're off to a good start. You already have direction: you know what jobs are out there, now just prepare your resume. That way, when you get back, you're all set; and who knows, you could even get some good experiences to add while on the road.

Bottom line: follow your heart. After grad school, I took a break for a month and traveled extensively through Europe with two buddies. It ended up being the greatest experience of my life (so far), and I hold no regrets. After all, when getting back I was looking to embark on a career in radio and broadcasting. I had my doubts and couldn't help but think that I should take another internship, just to get some more radio experience. However, in all my double-thinking, I knew in my heart that this trip was the right thing to do.

As I continued to plan for my trip, I also planned for my arrival back home. I got my resume together and did a job search to see what kind of jobs were out there. I even applied for some jobs, just to see where I stood at that point. While I was in Berlin, I got an email from a radio station in New York that wanted me for a sales position. Then I knew I had the right kind of experience and skill-set to get a foot in the door. However, I wasn’t looking to get into sales, so I was able to reconcile declining the interview (it was also funny to add to my reply that I was writing from a hostel in Berlin). When I got home, I knew what I needed to do, and I had a clear mind to get everything together and actively search for a job.

I’ll end on this note: About a year after my trip, I was dealing with some major car problems. My father pulled me aside and said that he would have gladly bought me a new car for my graduation, instead of the Euro-trip. I told him, a car lasts 8-10 years, if you’re lucky; but a trip like that lasts a lifetime.

I'm one of those who's done the responsible thing. Finally, after graduating college and teaching high school for six years, my husband and I are taking a year off to travel.

And the funny thing is, we've been called irresponsible, too. Lots of "concerns" about giving up salaries, benefits, and our cheap apartment. Whatever. Many in Europe and Australia take gap years off right after high school. You've completed college first. I'd say that's responsible. For some people, completing college and working your arse off for six years still makes you irresponsible. That means it's never a good time, or the right time, or the responsible time.

These are generally the types of people who either have no interest in taking time off to travel, or who have lots of interest, but can't, or won't, due to fear, money, or any number of issues.

Just do it. And have a fantastic time.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(oh no, I think we hit a nerve)

I am definitely one of the "irresponsible". I am 18, and doing a gap-year. I have been traveling independently since I was in high school. Thank god my parents understood the value of it and let me do that. They didn't understand or support the gap-year. No one did at first. I know that even some my own class-mates and freinds who've run off to their fancy colleges look down on me for not doing the same. Yet, I have done things and a been places that I wanted to go. I live my life, and think everyone should since you never know when it is going to all be over, and it would be a shame to go without know what being free and happy feels like.

That said, it is good to balance things. Although independently traveling to a couple dozen countries while in high school I did manage to graduate, with some college credits and a near-perfect GPA. I am taking a year off spending that time traveling extensively and without plans, running a local political campaign, renting my first apartment and I have continued to pay for everything myself by working at jobs that have enlightened me about the working class and the flaws and perks of our society. I have also done a bunch of other things like learned how to drive, voted for the first time, co-managed a coffee shop, founded an effective activist group, made a website, improved my language skills. I am more self actualized than most college freshmen, have more insight and understanding of life and I can still graduate college at the same time of all of them if I do so choose (that is, in fact, my plan right now). The point is: you can take this trip and what you learn will change (at least your self-perception) and motivate you to be able to either still get that job that pays so well, or you will know what you could do instead and know better how to use the skills you have learned to do that. Things can easily go the other way; I have met plenty of travelers leaching off their parents, simply going from party-town to party-town.

You need to figure out what you want your life to entail and where you want it to happen. Don't be a sheep and fallow the crowds for lack of courage. Be open to the traditional path, but understand that its not for everyone, and that most people die with regrets. I try to reduce the number of regrets I would have every day. You have to know if not having worked those four months and not having made those few thousand dollars is really going to matter to you in the end. I hope it wont.

I am sort of in the same boat. I am graduating in may with a degree in international area studies. In november I am going to China and then traveling overland from beijing to london. After that I will probably go back to waiting tables until I can find a job teaching english somewhere and then with that money saved I aplan on taking my RTW. but after that i don't have any plans and the only thing i can put on my resume is restaruant work so I might have some trouble getting a job. I think I might end up teaching and coaching somewhere in the US though. shoelessone you have no debt which is awesome and you seem to have a good chance at getting a job when you return. I think it is better to travel now that you don't have anything to hold you back. So uh..good luck

Well, put yourself two three years in the future, would you be more satisfied that you have traveled and experienced the world or accumulated some more stuffs through a decent salary? I think if you have the desire inside of you, sooner or later you'll set off for your journey. And it's not now or never. I went straight through undergrad, grad, and worked for seven years before taking off to see the world. Your goal in life (not just career) changes and you might discover something other than a decent-paying job to work on when you come back. Follow your instinct.