Interview by Prime Sarmiento

 

Sherry Ott has been working in the information technology sector in New York for three years when she decided that it was about time to quit and travel the world. That was in 2006, back then Sherry’s plan was just to take a break from a career she didn’t love, travel the world and focus on her creativity.

 

So Sherry bought a ticket to Africa and never looked back.  She climbed Kilimanjaro, took sailing classes, photography classes, cooking classes, studied Italian, volunteered in Nepal and India and rode motorbikes in Vietnam.

 

Six years and 23 countries later, Sherry’s career break has turned into a major career and life change. The self-described “corporate cube dweller turned nomadic traveler” is the travel writer, influencer and photographer behind the popular travel blog  www.ottsworld.com. She also co-founded Meet, Plan, Go! – a career break planning site.

 

In this interview with The Gypsygals, Sherry talks about her career break and the joys and gifts that she received thanks to her decision to quit her job to travel the world.

 

 

Q: Why did you decide to take a career break?

A:   I had a job that I was good at but didn’t really love and finally was able to admit with that.  I had a lifestyle that was what everyone would want, yet things weren’t making me happy any longer, and to top it off every time I went on vacation I never wanted to come home. 

I knew I needed to make a change.  I thought that if I could just get away and travel for longer than two weeks, maybe I would get the ‘travel bug’ out of my system as well as some clarity in my life as to what I should be doing.

 

Q: What were the concerns that you had to deal with while preparing for a career break?   How did you overcome them?

 A:  I knew of no one in my life who had done such a thing, so I had a great many concerns, fears, and doubts.  I had no one I could really ask about such a thing.

 In addition to the logistics of it all, there is a great deal of emotional and mental anguish that goes into preparing to leave a secure life and catapult yourself into the world of the unknown. There were very few resources back then out there that I could find which helped answer my questions about extended, independent travel  – such as insurance concerns, transportation, social pressures, visas, etc. 

I overcame these issues by simply plowing ahead.  I had told everyone verbally that this is what I was going to do so I felt like I had to follow through.  I made a big spreadsheet to try to organize my itinerary and budget, I utilized the one website that was geared towards American independent travelers – www.bootsnall.com, and I lost a lot of sleep that year!

 

Q: How did a career break benefit you?

 

A:  It opened up my mind and eyes to other ways of doing things.  It made me realize that there is not a ‘right way’ to do things or ‘one way’ to be successful.  There is no sure path to happiness – it’s different for everyone. 

The big thing is that by stepping away from my daily routine and social life, I was able to free up that mind space to contemplate new things and awaken parts of my creative brain that had been sleeping for a very long time. 

 

Q: So what are you doing now and how are you sustaining your travels?
 

A:  I do a lot of things – as a freelancer it’s necessary!  But mainly I run my own travel site. I also do public speaking, and occasionally I will do some odd jobs around social media or website consulting. 

I also have started a company with a business partner called Meet Plan Go! which is all about teaching and inspiring people to take career breaks and sabbaticals.  We hold travel events around North America so that business keeps me pretty busy! 

But the key is that all of the things I do now are around things that I love – travel, photography, writing, influencing and empowering people.  It’s a big difference form my old corporate life. 

Q:  Did you ever thought of returning to corporate America?

 

A: I don’t really think about it much any more except as a complete fall back plan.  I really enjoy working for myself.  So even if I were to go back and work in corporate, I highly doubt I would work for someone else – I would probably do it as a freelancer.  But I have no plans to do so at this time. 
 

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   Sherry 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. 

Resources:

 

 

 

 

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