They left their jobs in their 50s to reconnect with their kids. It helped them rethink their long-term career plans.

Pablo Slough and Karen Gilchrist quit their corporate jobs in mid-2024 to take a gap year. They were burned out and wanted to spend more time with their sons, who were growing up fast. The break allowed them to travel across Europe and Asia, and helped them reconsider their future career plans. By the time Pablo Slough and Karen Gilchrist walked away from their corporate jobs in mid-2024, their plan to quit had been simmering for a year. Over two decades of working in demanding roles managing teams around the world had taken a toll. "I worked straight out of college, and then it was one job to the other job," Slough, 53, told Business Insider. "It was always fast-paced, high stress." For Gilchrist, turning 50 last summer drove her to reflect about how she'd spent her time and what she wanted to do moving forward. "I joke sometimes that my maternal instincts kicked in late," Gilchrist told Business Insider. "But it felt like the right moment to dedicate more time to my family than to work and climbing the corporate ladder." Their oldest son, Luka, 18, is in his senior year and plans to head off to college in the fall. The other two, Mateo, 15, and Joaquin, 12, aren't far behind. Planning for a career break Taking a gap year would give the couple a chance to step away from work, travel with their kids , and figure out their next steps. But they didn't jump in immediately. The couple, based in Boulder, Colorado, hired a financial advisor a year in advance to make sure the plan was financially feasible. "We also decided that we're going to rent our house out while we're traveling, so we could get some income," Slough said. They involved their kids in the discussion As their plans to quit became more concrete, the couple talked through everything with their kids. Funnily enough, it was their sons who seemed unsure at first. "We were a bit surprised that our parents would actually do it because they have always been very focused on their careers," their second son, Mateo, told Business Insider. But one of the reasons the couple wanted to do this was to show their kids that life isn't just about work, Gilchrist said. "It's about life. It's about balancing things. It's about family," she said, adding that they hoped the experience would show their kids that life doesn't always have to follow a fixed path. The couple considered it a career break , but the plan was not to travel the whole time. "We didn't want to disrupt school," Slough said. "So we just thought we'll come back for school, and then whatever free time we have, we'll travel." The family spent the summer of 2024 traveling around Europe , a trip planned around their eldest son's three-week business course at a university in Barcelona. Their travels began in Turkey, before they hopped on a cruise through Greece, Croatia, Malta, and Montenegro....

Preview: ~500 words