I was just wondering how many people have given up their good paying job (even over 100 K) to hike the trail?
When you returned to the real world did you go back to the same type of job or did you move on to something else (totally different field, started your own business, etc.)
Crockett
Da quit a good job in 05 to hike the AT. I think he wa a little freaked out by it but felt the job was consuming him and he definitely wasn’t happy. He did go back to the company again… sometimes to his regret I think. he had some hopes of a cool job in a gorgeous area… to give up some of the money. But, when it came down to it…it was just to hard to resist the pay check… now back in the quagmire to his chagrin. BUT, he plans on quitting in 08 for the PCT… ya can save money with the good jobs… that is for sure.
yappy
Jeff and I each left good jobs. Twice. Jeff went back to the same company after each hike, and I now work as a relief vet (instead of a practice owner), when I’m feeling motivated.
If you want to hike, then just go already. The rat race will still be there when you return.
Chipper
Its very tough to leave the comfort zone of a good paying job. I finally mustered the courage to quit only to be offered a Leave of Absence. I am now back at my old job.
There is no doubt that leaving hurt me financially and probably career-wise as well. Here’s the thing though. I f I died tomorrow, a year from now or even five years from now, will I have regretted that decision? Probably not. When I’m old and infermed and unable to hike anymore, will I look back and wish that I had worked more or hiked more? I’m guessing I will wish I had hiked more.
Personally, I just don’t see how folks go year in , year out without some kind of adventure or taste of freedom. I suppose if you really love your job that would be fine but I no very few people who love their jobs that much.
striker
I quit a job I had held for 14 years to hike the A.T. this year. It was a wonderful job, but it had become unfulfilling. My employer would find a spot for me again if I wanted to return but to me it would seem like stepping backward instead of pushing forward. I am currently searching for employment and am unsure if I will return to the same industry, or even stay in the same state. After walking for 6 months the drive for more money and more stuff is not as strong as it once was. I have no regrets, I have no stress, and I have no worries that I will survive, succeed and find happiness. You have to make a decision that best fits you, but I can tell you it can be done.
Weatherman
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain
Weatherman
for me personlly I have never had " a good job "… BUT , I have had very VERY cool ones and have hiked alot of miles that the freedom gave me. No, I don’t own a home or a couch for that matter, or at least not til recently but there is NO WAY I would have been able to hike as much as I have if I had been stuck. Which is how I look at it STUCK, Ugh. I live in Alaska but when I go to the states and see everyone ( just about ) literally charging ahead , not seeing a thing I scratch my head in bewilderment. I couldn’t do that no MATTER what the money was. I couldn’t at 20 and I sure as heck can’t now !! there isn’t a mile I would trade for a dollar… not one.
yappy
I quit on the same guy four times to go hike in different places, it was good money to.
Now i’m a farmer, not a million miles away from hiking, we probably average five miles per day in the summer, so the way i see it now, i get paid to hike and be outdoors!!
Cheers
Cheers
Of course everyone on Trail Forums will say just quit your good job and go hiking. Go to a site with more responsible people and see what they have to say there.
Bedrock Bob
I quit my job with the Miami Dolphins to do my thru-hike in 2002 and I have never regretted it.
MG
When I hiked the PCT in 04 I had not quit my job - I had been fired. I had already been offered a new and even better paying job, but I turned it down in order to hike the PCT.
I can only agree with everything everybody else has already said, meaning more or less: Go and hike and worry afterwards.
But I want to add another important thing about finding a new job:
When I came back I was looking for a new job and I got the first one I applied for. The new one is a big step up from the old one.
When I came back to Germany I was so completely relaxed after the PCT that I didn’t worry at all about jobs. My plan was to look for a new position for about 4 months. If something interesting comes up, I would take it - if nobody is interested I would just go and do another thruhike.
I think it was this extremely relaxed attitude that gave me my new job at once.
Another interesting experience was the following: I was wondering how people in the corporate world would react to my thruhike. Would they think I am completely nuts? On the contrary: My new work environment was very curious and admiring about my thruhike. Even the headhunters were completely impressed and interpreted the thruhike as something positive (persistence, endurance, challenge etc.)
To summarize it: Go take a hike!
German Tourist
I quit my job in 04 to hike that summer and stayed unemployed to hike again in 05. always a little idealistic to say just quit and go for it and worry later. sounds so easy. I still haven’t caught up earnings-wise and have had a lot of trouble fitting back in. now I’m years behind my peers promotion-wise, and now I’ve got this desire to walk into the wilderness and just stay there. I can’t drive by a patch of woods without exploring anymore.
It seems like I gave up my ability to assimilate. sounds nice, but it’s hard to fit back into things. sure, part of it’s juts to play devil’s advocate to the other posters, but a small part of me wishes I never thru-hiked at all, just that I’d fit in better now. amazing how six/nine months of hiking can so change your perspective.
but to reiterate what German Tourist said, I’ve also had very positive reactions from prospective employers about my thru-hike. it means a million questions–and we’ve all got exaggerated bear stories, don’t we? so if anything, consider the employment-gap on your resume as a positive thing, if that’s what concerns potential thru-hikers most.
0101
I was very touched when I read 0101’s post - I have made the very same experience.
Since I have come back from the PCT I compare everything to the happiness of my thruhike. And of course, there is hardly anything that can compare to that, leaving me unhappy and discontent with my current situation.
Also, I have lost contact with many people - they just do not understand or aren’t intested in hiking, leaving me very much estranged.
And yes, somehow I wish that things could be a lot easier if I hadn’t done that thruhike. But this is only a small part of me thinking that - the rest of me is just greedily demanding more thruhiking.
The decision between staying/working and quitting/hiking has almost torn my apart in the last year. I was really suffering because I couldn’t make up my mind about what is best for me. Only recently I finally made up my mind and told my employer what my decision is: It’s called CDT 07.
German Tourist
I threw my job in england in 04 to hike… now i’m married and living in the usa… same type of job, different country, and living in the mountains with a wee hiker on the way…
who knows what youll get out of it after the hike! for me, it was only plusses.
Bloody Cactus