I know I have choices...however it is making them that is difficult!

b1513, Cloudship & the bat... how come you are swaying towards travelling. Were you guys in a similar situation at my age?

It's such a hard decision. My heart is saying go (because I'm so passionate about backpacking the world for a year) but my head is saying take the new job (because of the passion to have a career with this company).

I sort of wish the opportunity was never presented to me and that I could have continued on my way of travelling!!!!!!

Has anyone else ever been in a similar dilemma.... what decision did you make?

AA7295, I only wish I had been in that position when I was younger. Now that I am older I look back and wish that I had been able to begin traveling the world at your age. As Wharvey said, you are in a great position.

Just know that there is really no bad choice that you will make. It's a win-win either way.

You sound very mature and it appears you have your head on straight so I expect that whatever you choose you will be happy with that decision in the end.

Bobette

Travel my friend, travel.

I was given the best advice I have ever received by a teacher of mine about 5 years ago. He has since made the decision to leave us in this world, but, before he met his unfortunate passing, he offered me the following advice one day in college.

"Travel when you have the time and barely the money, not when you have all the money and none of the time. To this day I regret having never done it, and there are so many countries in this world that I would give everything to have been able to visit. Keep going, never look back."

I promised myself I would always share his advice, and so here it is.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

And even once you've made the decision, you'll likely continue to wonder, "what could have been?". Don't worry about it. Make the decision you feel is correct after talking it over with your close friends and family.

Were it me, I would take the job offer. You can always travel, and having a job will ultimately help you with that. I started working full time after high school (not sure if you call it that in Australia), and travel only became a passion a few years later. Now I have a good job with excellent benefits (including a very generous paid time off policy) that allows me to see the world and still pay the bills. I enjoy working and I enjoy traveling, and this has proven to me to be a very good compromise for me. I hope that whatever you choose, you enjoy it as well.

Perhaps you could work this extra year and see how things are going. If your employer offers you a regular position at the end of the term, mention to them how much you enjoy working for them and how appreciative you are of the trust they've placed in you, but that travel has been a dream of yours for years and you'd like to take a 3-month break. Although it won't be the same as a year of travel, you can see a lot in three months, and that is probably within the realm of reason for being approved by your employer.

Finally, remember that many decisions we make in life we may later come to regret. No decision that you make is a bad one so long as you have learned something in the process.

Best of luck with your decision!

here's another opinion - i'd keep the job. I don't know how bad/good economic conditions in Australia are, as my perspective in solely in US. I just graduated from one of the top MBA programs. it's a school from which you never worry about getting a job, but pick from the cream of the crop. this year, the situation is beyond pale. several of my friends had to scrape to get their exact old jobs back and some even took a step down (reduction in title, worse company, etc). We all had great jobs that we quit voluntarily in 2007 and did something that we thought would improve you. and yet, we find ourselves in this situation. if job market is really strong in Australia, then don't worry about it. but in 2007, job market in US was white-hot and no one could imagine it would get this bad this fast. If i took time off to travel instead of MBA, I wouldn't have a prayer at getting a job at a decent company.
also, how much annual leave do you get anyway? there's nothing magical about taking a full year to travel in one hop, rather than making 1-month-long trips (or whaterver your leave is) to different regions. I've done both (well, i took 6 months off to travel before going to MBA) and I'm just as happy to taking shorter trips to one specific region.
if you're truly interested in travel, you can easily do it on your vacation. I've literally seen the world mostly just from my vacation time (plus the 6 months i took before school started).
just my humble $0.02.

^ +1 I've done both - one long trip in my early 20's and now I work FT and do short trips (apparently there is no ban on travel after you turn 30 :p) I travel mainly in Europe while home visiting family, and much prefer these short trips, as I've enough money to afford luxuries such as visits to nice restaurants and decent lodgings.

Having said that, don't stick around in the job if you know you're heart is not going to be in it.

No, I was not in that situation, and that is why I say travel.

I was headstrong about going straight to college and work. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do and become in life. That lasted for only a year or two, and then everything changes.

I kept telling myself I will do these things later once everything settles down and I have my life squared away. Life never gets squared away, though - first it's that promotion. Then you get a girlfriend, then you have to keep payment son the house. Then the kids come. And still you never get around to doing the things you want to. In the meantime, those who did something unusual and adventurous are now coming back to compete with you for those new jobs and promotions. Only they have a more rounded experience.

As a manager, I learned how little value there is in skills. Skills can be taught. Experiences can only be gained. And it adds so much - not only in what you bring to the table, but in your outlook and your confidence. And that makes a world of difference.

I started down that path, and in a strange way was kind of fortunate that everything did fall apart quickly for me. I was able to step back and redo things in life. I have my problems now - I am a little older and can't just run around, my health is not what it was, and somehow there is not as much adventure in everything when you are older. I now have to worry about my parents and cant spend weeks on end traveling - my job simply wont let me go for that long in one time, even though "technically" I have earned that vacation time.

If you are the type of person who can make a plan and stick to it, then maybe going to work is a good thing. But you are young. The risks now are much less than what they will be later in life. And the reality is you may thing you willget a chance later, but you never know if you really will.

I'm sure that others might disagree with this perspective, and if so, I would like to hear that as well. I've never taken a year to travel, so I realize I'm not entirely qualified to speak on this issue.

But it seems to me that a year of leisure travel is not necessarily the most useful thing one can do for oneself. I'm not convinced that all the people who take a year off to travel really benefit in proportion to the time spent.

If there is some element of volunteerism, or service, or creating a business, or helping the locals create businesses, teaching English, or whatever, even if only sporadic perhaps, a year of travel seems great. A year of wandering around and drinking, with no clear purpose, with no necessary gain in linguistic skills - is this likely to have a lifetime benefit? Maybe I am discounting the benefit of a year of enjoyment - I realize that might be the case.

Also to the original poster, I don't mean to say that you specifically plan to wander around aimlessly drinking/drugging for a year. Just that some young travelers (and older ones too) fit that profile.

Maybe I should phrase the point differently - if someone is taking a year off to travel, what can this person do to make the trip an experience of a lifetime that continues to provide benefits?

Sooooo....

For those of you that gave your opinion to take the job....

I just accepted.

Let's just hope it was the right decision to make!

I know you've already made the decision, but if there's someone in the company that you trust, in a leadership position, I would have an open conversation with them.