Lol someone in r/jobs suggested I post this in anti work because I am ridiculous. I guess it’s ridiculous to try to make my employment situation work for me and not just my employer.
Next year, I plan to thru hike the Appalachian trail. On average it is 6 months to complete and I plan to take the whole 6 months. If I’m faster, great. Do not try to dissuade me in the comments please!
I am brainstorming safety plans for post hike in regards to jobs. I just secured my first personal training gig for this fall, so I can maybe leverage that and get a training job after the hike. Cool.
I currently work for a small non profit (been here 2 years) – tbh I agree with the cause but don’t care for working there. The money isn’t great. But money is better than no money. I am prepared to fully quit if they arent open to a sabbatical situation.
When I tell them about my hike I want to propose an arrangement for me leaving (unpaid) and then coming back after the hike ends. My position is low level and easy enough that they should be able to find a temp for 6 months if they choose to fill the gap in the meanwhile.
I also plan to propose my hike as a fundraiser to them. I don’t get why people donate to marathon runners for charity, but they do. A thru hike is a similar concept. Worst comes to worst they raise no money and they have no loss either because they already have a software that can do this.
Please give me any advice or things I need to think about when I propose a hiatus. I’ve never had to think about this before and I am 25/this is my first full time office job, I don’t really have experience to lean on.
Edit: thought I’d add that even if they reject a sabbatical I’ll probably still try to arrange a fundraiser with them. It’s a good cause, no real extra work for me as I’ll ask them to market it to their existing donor base. It’ll also create good terms/relationship with them for the future. It’s a not great pay job but its full of good peopl