A new breed of career gappers are leaving their jobs, embracing the unknown - and you could be one of them. You have nothing to lose but your preconceptions

Ever had the feeling that apart from the odd short holiday, there's no escape from work? It's easy to convince yourself there are no alternatives, but that’s just not true. If you really want to travel, write or make the world a better place, take a break from the day job and do it. You'll be part of an increasing number of career gappers – aged 25 and above who choose not to let commitments, age or worries about career progression stand in the way of realising a long-held ambition.

Anything can prompt the desire for change. Jo Smith was fed up with her job, had just fallen out of love and was about to hit 30; she decided to drop everything and take time out to see the world. 'I realised that if I left it any longer I wouldn't be able to get a working holiday visa for Australia. With no man, mortgage or other commitments there was nothing to stop me.' So she's off around the world, and planning to pick up some casual work in Australia to help finance her trip. She also hopes the experience will help her find a new career direction, or even a new man. ‘I’m a bit scared of the unknown and worry about running out of money and being safe. I know that if a problem comes up, I only have myself to rely on. I don’t know if I’ll be able to cope, but I’m going to give it a try.’

Ranbir Sahota decided she was ready to make her escape when she fell in love. 'A trip around the world had been on my wish list for some time but getting married finally made me do it. I think I'd been waiting for someone special to go with.’ When she and her husband ran out of money in the southern hemisphere, they started temping in New Zealand to pay for a diving course; they then emailed all the diving schools in the South Pacific offering to work in return for food and accommodation. ‘We were amazed when Allan Power, caretaker of the largest accessible ship wreck in the world, said yes - all on the strength of an email. We became lead divers on some awesome underwater adventures in Vanuatu and also designed a website for him.’

Taking a break doesn't always mean escaping to exotic places. Staying at home can take as much courage and bring as many rewards. Sharon Simonian swapped a career in neuro-scientific research to pursue her skydiving passion. Her days in the lab have been replaced by falling out of planes with a video camera to capture people’s first skydiving experiences on film. 'I first did a dive for charity a few years ago and got totally hooked. I was spending a lot of my spare time on it so decided to take a break from my regular career and do this for a while. I don't know yet if it's going to just be a gap or a complete change of direction,' she says.

Beth Partridge wasn't discontented with her life or her work as project manager for a promotional handling agency with several blue chip clients. But she wanted to do something more worthwhile. ‘I loved my job but wanted to put my energy into work that was more meaningful.’ Beth became involved with ATD Fourth World and it has meant a lot of personal adjustment. At 28, after seven years of working, having a good salary and her own flat, she's now an unpaid volunteer living communally in ATD's London house. She will soon join one of their overseas projects. ATD operate in 27 countries, working with people who live in extreme poverty. Volunteers help their clients learn new skills, regain confidence, maintain their dignity and self-respect. The scheme’s founder is well remembered for replacing soup kitchens with libraries in one of the poorest areas of Paris.

'It's been a huge change and I'm glad I made it,’ says Beth. ‘Whether I'll ever go back to the type of work I did before I don't know, but things like that don't worry me now, I'm going to wait and see how things work out.'

Taking a voluntary redundancy package without a new job lined up sounds risky, but for Susan May it was a gamble that paid off. She was an HR manager with BT in the City and her first thought was to find other work. Then she came across Raleigh International and applied to become a project manager for one of their expeditions. Quite an undertaking for someone who'd never before camped or travelled other than on package holidays. 'Once I'd been accepted to go on the Belize expedition I decided to prepare myself with an extended trip to Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The three months I subsequently spent in the jungle with responsibility for a group of 18-25 year olds, while surrounded by spiders, scorpions and huge insects, was the best thing I've ever done.'

Susan says the experience helped develop her confidence enormously: she feels capable of tackling anything and succeeding at it. Now she works for Gilmore House Associates, an HR consultancy, and is convinced her involvement with Raleigh helped her get the job. 'If you're thinking of giving up your job to do something like this, don't worry that it will damage your career, it does the opposite and opens up opportunities. I've gone back to the same sort of work but it has changed my perspective completely. I feel more aware of the world beyond, particularly in relation to environmental issues. It's also given me a huge insight into people from different cultures and social backgrounds.'

Tom Griffiths runs website, www.gapyear.com. It provides inspiration and excellent information for career gapers and students. His advice is simple: ‘There are loads of options out there and if you want to change direction or take a break you're not alone – go for it’. Whatever your situation is, whether you’ve got that wonderlust or just an urge to try something different, the message certainly seems to be: do it, you only live once.

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