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(Editor’s note: This is the first [brief] post in a series of articles that I am going to be writing on how to take your first extended trip. Also, an update, out of the gates Jarkko Laine is way ahead of me in the Make Money Online Challenge but I will have a full post of my ideas before the end of the week.)

 
image source: ruvjet 

Do you long to take a trip that is longer than one or two weeks?

If you answered yes, there is an exotic world out there waiting for you to find it through adventure and discovery. Also, you might be surprised to know that even if you love your current job and profession you might not have to quit in order to go on a trip that is going to take two to three months, or even a year.

But, you counter:

• An extended trip sounds great, but really I don’t want to quit my job.
• Where will I find more than two weeks of vacation time?
• What about my bills?

When we first decided to try extended travel, defined in this post as more than the typical two or three week vacation and traveling for two or three months (and longer), I had a lot of unanswered questions.

We spent a tremendous amount of time sipping expensive coffee at bookstores perusing the travel section shelves and reading in libraries (this was pre-internet world domination) trying to research practical information and seeking to talk to anyone that had gone on an extended period of travel.

Because a lot of my posts tend to come from the viewpoint of someone who dislikes the corporate world, I thought for this article I would assume that I am a person that loves my office/corporate job, which should help to change things up a little.

How do you keep your career?

So, how do you go for an extended period of travel and still manage to try and keep your job, come back to a different position within the same company, or use travel as a stepping-stone for a promotion?

Let’s say for example that you would like to go to Central or South America, Europe or the Middle East, or possibly on an Australian walkabout?

What do you do?

There is a common term in retail, which is known as selling up. Selling up refers to redirecting a consumer’s attention to a superior and more expensive product and then selling them on the benefits of the higher cost item – “Selling Up.”

If you would like to take an extended trip then you will most likely need to “sell-up” the benefits to your boss.

What sounds better to you –

1. Hey boss – I need to take three months off because I want to travel to Kenya and Rwanda in Africa.

Or

2. Hey boss – For many years it has been my life’s goal to travel to Africa. I find that I am deeply affected by the current environmental situation in Rwanda and I really want to go and volunteer to help assist gorillas.

The above are meant to be very general examples but you get the general gist. Your company will most likely not give you the time off if they don’t believe in what you are doing, or if there is no benefit in it for them.

Don’t be like me! When I went on my first long trip to Ecuador back in 1996 I went to see my boss “blind” and I had no idea how to “sell” the concept of what I was about to undertake. Specifically, I marched in and said, “I am going to Ecuador for three months can I have a leave of absence?” Even reading it now, I would have rejected my request.

This initial post is meant to just get you thinking…Coming up next I will discuss the initial planning and research stage for an extended trip and in the following weeks we will look at:

• trip and travel budgeting
• Requesting extended time off with pay or no pay
• selling benefits to superiors
• packing – what should people bring
• other options – looking for work and ways of earning income while you are on the road
• in Country – tips on safety
• learning about the culture
• end of journey
• returning home and reverse culture shock
• explaining to family and friends about your trip even though they might not understand
• assimilating back into work life

image source: grrrl 

In the meantime, what are some other effective ways to seek time off from work for a trip that is longer than the vacation norm and still keep your job?