Interview by Prime Sarmiento
Solo female traveler Shannon O’ Donnell went on a career break because of a quarter-life crisis. Back in 2007, Shannon was living in LA to build her acting career while doing online marketing on the side to pay the bills. Everything was doing well, but Shannon, who has been bitten by the travel bug while living in Italy during a summer program in college, have other dreams that she can’t attain while in LA.
“ I felt like I was on a treadmill of sorts–moving toward some goals, and yet sacrificing other dreams,” Shannon said. It was her conversation with her father that finally convinced Shannon to leave the U.S. in order to travel. Her father, a wise man, encouraged her to travel, saying that Shannon can sustain her travel since she can bring her online marketing work anywhere.
She took this advice to heart and in 2008, Shannon sold her belongings, bought a ticket to Sydney and commenced a global journey that included volunteering, homeschooling her niece, and even writing and publishing her book: The Volunteer Travelers Handbook.
I this interview, Shannon revealed more about her career break and how she used it to live the dream of full time travel.
Q: What were the fears that you had to deal with while preparing for a career sabbatical? How did you manage to overcome them?
A: I have been incredibly fortunate to take my consulting work on the road with me. So, although I gave up my acting career to travel, I was able to balance traveling and working remotely. I feared internet connections the most when I left, that I wouldn't be able to keep up with my occasional clients like they would need, but that was an unfounded concern for most of the places I have visited, and I have been able to nicely balance my preference for slow travel (at least a week or two in each city I visit) with the occasional client to keep my funds topped up!
Q: How much did you save for this ?
A: I left the United States with less than US $10,000 in the bank, and that money mostly came from selling all of my furniture, dishes, etc as well as moving home for the last three months and rarely splurging on any expense that wasn't directly a part of my travel plans.
My parents were gracious enough to allow me to stay rent-free in their house while I prepared to leave; that meant I could save nearly every consulting dime I made during the last months before I left. Then, I just needed to ensure I took on a couple of jobs each month to allow my savings to last.
Q: How did you get into volunteering? What’s your advice to aspiring career breakers who want to volunteer?
Before I left on my RTW trip, I knew I wanted services to be a part of my travels; at that point I wasn't sure how I would find these places, but once I was on the road I met so many great people working on worth projects that the real issue became picking the projects and volunteering with the ones that needed my skill-set the most. For others looking to volunteer on a career break, I highly recommend leaving on your trip and keeping your ears open to other travelers.
Q: What are the benefits of going on a career break? Alternatively, do you see a downside in going on a career break?
Traveling has opened so many windows for me. A window into friendship, through the people I have met and embraced along the way. A window into perspective, as I navigate my place in this world. And ultimately, a window into humility; I left to travel for mostly selfish reasons, but people I have met, and lessons they taught me are a daily reminder to remain humble.
I don't believe there are downsides to travel. There are only a handful of careers that may perceive a career break as a setback, and if you're in one of those careers and yet have the overwhelming desire to travel, then perhaps a new career path will open up to you once you're back from your life-changing trip.
Q: What are the things that you know now that you wished you knew before you embarked on a career break?
A: That it's infinitely easier to travel than I once imagined. I was seized by all sorts of fears and planning anxiety in the weeks leading up to my first RTW trip, but that was naive. Though preparation is necessary, people live, eat, and get on with life in every place you visit — so you can too. That is to say, don't sweat the small details, prepare your life back home to be put on pause (do your taxes, take care of your mail, your stuff, your vaccines) and then just head out; the other things are easy to figure out along the way.
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Shannon is one of the career breakers that I’m featuring in my upcoming guide on how to have a career sabbatical in order to travel. If you’re interested in this, please take this brief survey and help me help you fulfill your dream trip.
