6 months contract/save £, 6 months holidays/travelling, repeat - do you do it?

[motoukenin]

Nice idea but as a few have said a CV with 6 months working and 6 months holiday on it is going to look pretty suspect, why not look for work in another country and do site seeing at the weekends ?

Canada
China
Holland
USA (Hard to get visa right now)
Switzerland
France

All countries that I have worked in and apart from France that require some french speaking, places that are easy enough to find work

[smit0847]

It's doable but it's hard to chuck an offer of another 6 months wedge back on the table.
You have to be disciplined to just say no thanks I am off.
SOME people are in very high demand and have brilliant contacts, they can pick and choose and there will always be work for when they want to get back to it but they are very rare and you can use up the goodwill by bailing when an offer has been made. Yes, I know there should be no bad feeling at the end of a contract, I am talking about human nature being affected by the renewal rejection/maybe even jealousy that you are off travelling.
I had a summer off a couple of years ago after one ended, I had an offer (not a renewal) which I turned down and I really enjoyed the time off.
I was hoping for the same this year because the whole dept is toast but another 6 months has turned up out of nowhere. I have negotiated a 4 day week (maybe 3 at a push) which I think I can live with but it is nothing like being fully off.

Well that’s what I’m already thinking about. I wouldn’t accept a permanent role here if offered at the end of the contract for numerous reasons (they would want me to start immediately, it would be a big pay cut and it’s not somewhere I see myself long term). If they offered to extend my contract by another 6 months the £££ would be very enticing (and I could then have well over 6 months off after that) however I’d be working right through summer and would finish up in the dead of winter which is not desirable at all.

What they might do if I say ‘no, sorry, I’m off’ is to ask me to stay just one month longer. That I might say yes to, just to put the cherry on top of my savings. But then they might say at the end of that extra month, just one month longer. That’s taking me to the end of summer and travelling around Europe is much less fun in October and November than it is in July and August! I’ll need to draw the line somewhere. There's no point earning lots of money if you have no time to spend it.

#firstworldproblems

[stek]

Are you a BC?

[smit0847]

Are you a BC?

BC being British Citizen? No, but on 5 year Ancestry Visa.

[stek]

BC being British Citizen? No, but on 5 year Ancestry Visa.

Would have to think about absences then if BC is a goal...

[smit0847]

Would have to think about absences then if BC is a goal...

It's not. I'll do another 18 month - 3 years in UK then probably do a stint somewhere else (warm!) then eventually back to Australia to settle down.

[RonBW]

Does anyone actually do this? Is there a magic number you’ve needed to earn/save in order to have extended tim off? It seems to good to be true but I’ve done my sums very carefully!

It's hard to manage - leave it too long and agents will worry what's "wrong" with you because you haven't found work for a while. They struggle to understand that you can pick and choose when you work.

If I was you, I would make sure I never had to face a cold winter ever again. Contract Sep - Mar in Australia, then contract Apr - Aug in the UK. Repeat as necessary.

[northernladuk]

IMO the OP is just looking for a quick money injection to fund his lifestyle. Contracting isn't going to be a good option. He might get lucky occasionally bit on the whole the two models dont support each other.

[SueEllen]

It's not. I'll do another 18 month - 3 years in UK then probably do a stint somewhere else (warm!) then eventually back to Australia to settle down.

You may fall in love with a Brit or European. Met plenty of Australians who have. Some are here while others are in Oz.

[smit0847]

You may fall in love with a Brit or European. Met plenty of Australians who have. Some are here while others are in Oz.

Moved over here with a dual citizen (AU/UK). Could potentially get married if desperate to stay. Cannot see myself here (very) long-term regardless of what happens though. Lifestyle in Australia is pretty sweet (only moved because I was bored).