When Meet, Plan, Go! co-founders Michaela Potter and Sherry Ott took career breaks to travel several years ago, the term “career break” wasn’t even common lingo yet. And there certainly weren’t many, if any, resources, advising them about how to prepare to take a year or more off from work to see the world.

Times have changed and there are an increasing number of resources out there for those who dream of escaping the cubicle – from negotiating a sabbatical to downsizing your belongings to seeing the world by housesitting. And a new book by former career breaker Jeff Jung aims to provide an overall roadmap for taking a career break to travel.

Jung, the founder of Career Break Secrets, recently published The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook, one of five books in the new Traveler’s Handbooks series from several notable travel bloggers.  He was kind enough to send us a copy so we could provide a preview for our readers.

There was a lot to like about The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook.  It was well organized and Jung opened it by explaining how his own personal situation led him to take a break. From there, he provides a bit of a pep talk, explaining that taking a break to travel is not selfish and can be done, despite the naysayers.

The real heart of the book comes in the planning section. Jung lays out a lot of information in the form of bullet-pointed lists of things to consider. He definitely touched on a few things that many people may not think of – like obtaining repatriation insurance and creating a will and living will in case anything happens to you.  He also provided some good tips about finding information and making connections before you go, like using Google to search for blogs, specific Twitter hashtags to search for and Twitter chats to participate in. Jung tells you everything you need to think about, but mostly stops there, leaving you with more research to do.

The third section focuses on making the most of your career break trip and again, Jung includes some great ideas, ranging from volunteering to educational courses to active endeavors.  He also provides some examples of epic journeys to undertake, like hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain or the Lycian Way in Turkey. Finally, Jung touches on re-entry, where he gives an overview of things to think about as you return and look to get back into the 9-to-5 world, like updating your resume, explaining your travel to potential employers and budgeting for the time it takes you to find a job.

The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook provides a good checklist of things to consider when taking a career break to travel.  If you are just starting to think about making an escape or are in the early planning stages, it can be a great resource to get you started!