Finance Whiz Fully Leverages His Career Break | Sabbatical Success Stories

When Brian’s girlfriend (now wife) enrolled in a year-long graduate degree program in Costa Rica, he decided to leave his high-stress finance job to tag along. While decompressing and starting some new hobbies, he also took the opportunity to earn a degree online and leverage that into an exciting new career field.
Read more from my interview with Brian about his successful sabbatical, below!

Sabbatical Guy: What prompted you to take a sabbatical?
Brian: The catalyst was my wife (then girlfriend) getting into a graduate program in Costa Rica. I had been working at a financial services firm for five years, and I was in serious need of a break. I was working 70–80 hours per week, which left me no time to exercise, cook my own meals, or take care of normal everyday things in my life. And there was no end in sight; I saw people at my company who were 10–15 years older than me who were still putting in 70–80 hour weeks. I knew that I couldn’t do this lifestyle forever, and I needed to make some changes.
To be honest though, I probably wouldn’t have taken a break if my wife had not gotten into a graduate degree program in Costa Rica. It just wasn’t something I saw many other people doing. I probably would have just switched jobs. But I’m so glad that I took a sabbatical instead.
What were your goals for your sabbatical?
Brian: At the beginning, I didn’t have any goals besides completing the real estate Master’s degree program I was taking online. I needed a few months to recover from several years’ worth of high-stress work. During this time, I started exercising again and I caught up on my reading list. I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I looked and felt healthier.
But after a while, I started to get antsy. The Master’s classes were only once per week, and I could log on from my apartment. I wanted to meet people, and there were some hobbies and skills that I’d always wanted to learn how to do, like working on cars and gardening.

How did you plan your sabbatical?
Brian: There were three areas I was focused on to plan my sabbatical: budget, housing, and my professional reputation.
I was glad to be enrolled in a Master’s program so that there wouldn’t be a gap in my resume. I work really hard and take my career seriously, so it was important to me that my time away wouldn’t hurt my career goals.
To account for the year that I wouldn’t be earning income, I started saving money six months before we left for Costa Rica. My girlfriend moved in and we put what she had been previously paying in rent into shared savings. We set a monthly and weekly budget for Costa Rica and really stuck to it. Sometimes her classmates would go out to dinner and we would eat rice and beans, but we felt good about that because the sacrifices enabled us to travel at least once per month throughout Central America while we were there. Sticking to a budget was a new thing for me. It’s a skill that we both got really good at while in Costa Rica, and which we continue to do well now, three years later.
Housing was difficult to plan for. I wanted to ensure that we had a roof over our heads when we arrived there, but it was hard to find a decent place within our budget. I learned that it would have been a lot easier to figure out while on the ground in Costa Rica. And we didn’t need a car because there was decent public transportation and I could walk to the market.

How did you feel during and after your sabbatical?
Brian: I knew that my pre-sabbatical job had me working more than most people, and I thought the work demands were unusual, but since everyone around me was putting in the same hours I didn’t know what my alternatives were. When I got out of that environment, the release of stress during the first few months was huge. It was like a complete reset for my mind. I went from having a very high level of stress to having very little stress in my life.
I found that the experience strengthened our relationship, too. It was actually easier to navigate life’s challenges when we were away from the pressure and stress of our full-time jobs and everything else we had to manage in our lives back home.
I also learned that I value my time more than money. I had been working a very demanding job where I could eventually be making millions of dollars per year, and switched into a career where I could make a comfortable six-figure income but while working normal hours. I’m happy with my decision.

How did you transition back into your career after your sabbatical?
Brian: When I came back to the United States, I started applying to jobs in real estate. Since I was doing an industry switch, nobody seemed to care that I had taken a year off from work. Interviewers mostly wanted to know why I was changing industries. When they asked about my time in Costa Rica, I described it as an international enrichment experience and shared that I had learned a lot of Spanish.
It didn’t take me long to find a job at a great company, and I’ve been there now for almost three years. I really enjoy the work that I do, and the hours enable me to have a lot more free time.
If you could give advice to someone who is thinking about taking a sabbatical, what would it be?
Brian: I think there are a lot of Type A people like me who need the type of experience that I had. But if we’re stressed out in our job, we’re more likely to rush into a new job than to take time off to reset ourselves. You can’t really decompress during a four or five-day vacation. You need more time than that.
For people who are taking a sabbatical, I would recommend getting involved in whatever community you are living in. I was kind of a hermit for the first three months, but once I started seeking out groups of people doing things that I was interested in, I quickly met people and made friends.
Thank you Brian for sharing your story!
If you are reading this and curious about how you could use a sabbatical to advance your career, leave a comment or send me a message! I would love to help you figure it out. You can reach me at Break for Your Life here.
To a happier life,
Charlie, the Sabbatical Guy

