A career break or sabbatical allows you to take extended leave from work with the option of returning to your previous position at the end of your time away. Many people opt to take a career break to get a fresh perspective on things and volunteering can open your eyes to different ways of life while applying your skills to a worthwhile cause.
Some employers offer a career break or sabbatical scheme to employees as a way of dealing with a situation of being temporarily over resourced. Other employers offer it on the condition that employees use the sabbatical to gain new skills and further their personal or professional development. Some employees have schemes in place that offer financial support to staff wanting to volunteer. If your employer does not offer such a scheme, it is doesn’t hurt it ask! In any case, volunteering is an excellent opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
Volunteering with Oceans 2 Earth Volunteers is ideal as a career break. You become directly involved in an animal or conservation project while you work alongside local people and make valuable contributions. You experience the culture firsthand and get to know the wildlife indicative of that region and country. Or how focused conservation initiatives including citizen science enterprises really make a difference.
You may choose to work in your professional area of expertise or field of study, gaining valuable work experience or simply have a desire to care for some of the most exotic animals in the world. Volunteering can present you with rewarding challenges, as you adapt to a new environment and culture and learn skills you would never have imagined. Compared to just taking a holiday, volunteering gives you the time to experience a country ‘from the inside’ and to interact with the local people at a grass roots level. O2E call it ‘Travelling with Purpose.’
Which projects are suitable?
All of our projects are perfect for a career break or sabbatical. It simply depends how long you wish to go for, what activities you want to undertake to enrich your experience and your level of fitness.
