Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee

Episode 79 - Too Busy Working to Stop for Gas? How to Evaluate a Career Break When You’re Close to FIRE Are you close to achieving your FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early) goals, but feeling completely burned out, exhausted, and ready to quit? You are not alone. In this episode of  Taking a Career Break with Katrina , career break and sabbatical coach Katrina McGhee and producer James Ham...

Episode 78 - Hitting the Career Break Wall? Don't Fall For This Midpoint Trap Feeling the urge to pack it in and go back to work right in the middle of your career break? You aren't alone. In this episode, Katrina McGhee and James Hammond dive deep into the hidden "trapdoor" that trips up high achievers around the midpoint of their break. Once the initial bucket list items and bi...

Episode 77 - Does a Career Break Mean You're Not Ambitious Anymore? Are you worried that stepping away from the daily grind means losing your edge? In this episode of  Taking a Career Break , hosts Katrina McGhee (career break and sabbatical coach) and James Hammond tackle a heavy stigma: the idea that taking a career break or sabbatical means you are no longer ambitious. Inspired by recent cl...

Episode 76 - What 10 Life-Changing Sabbaticals Proved Wrong About Career Breaks In this episode, Katrina and James catch up after the summer break to reflect on the inspiring stories shared throughout the Summer Series. They dive deep into the 10 core beliefs and fears that almost stopped 10 high achievers from taking a sabbatical—and how their real-life experiences proved every single one of thos...

Summer Series #10 – From Survival Mode to World Travel: Nicole Starling’s Family Career Break In the final installment of the Summer Series, host Katrina McGhee sits down with Nicole Starling to explore the transformative power of taking an extended family sabbatical. After facing consecutive family losses, caregiver responsibilities, and corporate burnout, Nicole and her husband decided to pause,...

Summer Series #9 – Jessica Walked Away From a 60-Hour Week and Discovered a Whole New Life What happens when you're really good at your job, you're making a difference in the world, and yet you know deep down that the life you're living isn't good for you anymore? In this episode of the Summer Series, I talk to Jessica O'Neill about one of the most incredible career-break transformations I've enco...

Summer Series #8 - Elly Quit Her 20-Year Career and Discovered a Completely Different Life What happens when the career you spent 20 years building no longer feels like you? In this powerful episode of the Summer Series, Katrina sits down with Elly, a former Assistant Dean for International Programs at the University of Illinois, elected county board member, and lifelong high achiever who reached...

Summer Series #7 - From Burned-Out School Counselor to Medical Interpreter in Guatemala | Heidi Leal's Career Break Story What happens when you walk away from a stable career without another job lined up? In this episode of Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee, Heidi Leal shares her remarkable journey from high school counselor to freelance medical interpreter in Guatemala. After more tha...

Summer Series #6 - Kisha Left Without a Plan: The Career Break That Opened Unexpected Doors Kisha Ward loved her corporate career—until burnout caught up with her. After years of leading major projects, ERP implementations, mergers, and international supply chain work, she made the courageous decision to negotiate an exit without having another job lined up. In this episode of Taking a Career Brea...

Summer Series #5 - Henriette Left a Successful Corporate Career at 55 — And It Changed Everything Henriette was a successful engineering manager leading multiple corporate teams, but behind the achievements, she was exhausted, disconnected from herself, and asking a question many high achievers quietly carry: “Is this all there is to life?” In this inspiring Summer Series conversation, Henriette s...

Summer Series #4 - Karin Quit Her Job to Save Her Health—What Happened Next Will Inspire You What happens when your body forces you to stop? In this inspiring episode of the  Taking A Career Break Summer Series , Katrina McGhee sits down with Karin Holmberg to share the remarkable story of how a planned career break became a life-changing healing journey. After years of unexplained health issues,...

Summer Series #3 - From 3AM Panic to Peace: Jon's Career Break Transformation In this incredibly moving episode of  Taking A Career Break , Katrina sits down with former client Jon, who shares his deeply personal story of reaching breaking point after decades in the IT industry. For years, Jon lived under constant pressure, waking in the middle of the night worrying about work, carrying the we...

Summer Series Ep 2 - Summer Series #2 - Juliana Left a Six-Figure Job to Finally Live Her Dream Many of us dream about taking a career break—but fear, security and other people's opinions often stop us before we ever begin. In Episode 2 of our Summer Series, Katrina sits down with former coaching client Juliana Moreira, whose career break journey proves that the biggest transformation isn'...

Welcome to the very first episode of our new  Taking A Career Break Summer Series! Throughout this special series, Katrina sits down with former coaching clients who have taken courageous career breaks and sabbaticals to hear what really happened after they stepped away from work. Our first guest is  Brittany Coleman , whose story is one of the most remarkable transformations we've ever shared...

Episode 75 - Do you really need a coach for your career break or sabbatical? In this milestone 75th episode of  Taking A Career Break , Katrina and James tackle a question many aspiring career breakers ask themselves: Do I need a coach to take a successful career break? Katrina pulls back the curtain on what career break coaching actually looks like, sharing powerful client stories and explaining...

Episode 74 - Behind the Scenes of a Career Break Entrepreneur: Katrina McGhee’s 9-Year Journey Nine years ago, Katrina took a leap that made absolutely no sense on paper. She left behind a successful corporate career, launched a business helping people take career breaks, and stepped into a space that barely existed at the time. In this special behind-the-scenes episode, Katrina shares the real st...

Episode 73 - The Hardest Parts of Taking a Career Break (And How to Get Through Them) Taking a career break can be life-changing, but it's not always easy. In this episode of  Taking a Career Break , Katrina and James break down the hardest parts of stepping away from work and explain why so many people struggle at the same points during their break journey. From making the decision to leave y...

Episode 72 - How to Start Living Your Career Break Before You Quit Your Job What if you didn’t have to wait until your career break or sabbatical officially started to begin changing your life? In this episode of  Taking a Career Break , Katrina and James explore the powerful idea of  living your break life early . Through the story of one of Katrina’s coaching clients, they discuss how gaining cl...

Episode 71 - 7 Warning Signs You Need a Career Break (Before Burnout Takes Over) Are you feeling burned out, emotionally drained, or questioning whether your career still fits the life you want? In this episode, James and Katrina unpack the seven warning signs that it may be time to step away from work and take a career break. From burnout and chronic stress to losing your spark, feeling disconnec...

Episode 70 - The 8 Stages of a Career Break: Your Step-by-Step Sabbatical Roadmap In this episode of Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee, Katrina and James break down the complete 8-stage career break journey and explore what it really takes to move from burnout and overwhelm to a more intentional and fulfilling life. The conversation walks through the three major phases of taking a career b...

Episode 69 - How to Explain Your Career Break (Even When You Don’t Have All the Answers) What do you say when someone asks, “So… what’s next?” during your career break — and you genuinely don’t know? In this episode of the  Taking a Career Break Podcast , Katrina and James unpack one of the biggest fears people face when stepping away from work: explaining your break when you don’t have all the an...

Episode 68 - The Hidden Cost of Staying in a Job Too Long What happens when staying in your job becomes more dangerous than leaving it? In this powerful episode of  Taking a Career Break , Katrina and James dive into the hidden cost of overstaying in a career that no longer serves you. From burnout and anxiety to damaged relationships and lost creativity, this conversation explores why so many hig...

Episode 67 - Why You Should Stop Waiting for the “Right Time” to Take a Career Break (Fear of Falling Behind Explained) Is there ever a  right time  to take a career break—or are you just waiting forever? In this episode, James Hammond and career break coach Katrina McGhee dive deep into one of the biggest mindset traps holding people back: the belief that you need perfect timing to step away from...

Episode 66 - Debunking Career Break Fears: What’s Really Holding You Back? Thinking about taking a career break—but your mind is spinning with  what ifs ? In this powerful episode of  Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee , we’re debunking the most common fears around career breaks, sabbaticals, and quitting your job to travel or reset your life. From financial anxiety and job market fears to...

Episode 65 - Should You Take a Leave of Absence Instead of Quitting? Pros & Cons Explained In this episode of  Taking a Career Break with Katrina McGhee , we tackle a question that’s coming up more and more:  should you take a leave of absence instead of quitting for a full career break? After seeing multiple clients face this exact situation—being offered a leave of absence after handing in t...