How a world trip made a programmer's career

Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

A man sitting on a couch and working at a laptop. Photo: hobvias sudoneighm / Flickr

Planning a round-the-world trip can seem as complicated as a space shuttle launch.  There a million things to think about: plane tickets, visas, money, etc.  The hard part is that everything seems important.  Where to begin?

Alex MacCaw wrote a helpful, in-depth post titled, "How to travel around the world for a year."  Although he's mainly talking to a Silicon Valley audience, his insights and practical advice would appeal to anyone.

What struck me about his post was that MacCaw's trip was actually a boost to his career.   Anyone who's considered a career break has probably encountered some nay-sayers around the office.  They often say things like, "It's a tough economy, better hold onto your job," "You're so close to getting a promotion!" "Don't throw away your career!"  (Spoiler alert) By the end of the trip, MacCaw got a sweet job at Twitter.

How did the trip impact his employment prospects?  One of the decisive benefits was that travel afforded him a lot of free time, a scarce commodity in today's fast-paced world.  He wrote a programming book, did some coding for open-source projects, and joined e-mail lists of other developers that he met up with on the road.  All of these things contributed to his resume.

On a personal note, reading that post reminded me of the many computer and tech professionals I've met around the world.  There was one memorable occasion at a hostel in Hong Kong: every one of my roommates was either a university student majoring in computer science, or already working in information technology.  That might have rubbed off of me, since I later became a Linux user and studied web design.

Do you work with computers?  Do you work during your travels?  Please share your stories in the comments.

Original article can be found here: How a world trip made a programmer's career