[pct-l] 1st post / what to tell the boss....

[Scott]

I was in almost the exact same position.  My job was scheduled to end this
August (a 3-year research gig), so I thought leaving in March wouldn't be a
big deal.  Two weeks ago, before I told my boss anything, he offered me
another year's funding to do a new project.  When I told him that I was
leaving to hike the PCT instead, he looked utterly shocked and said he'd
have to "think things over."  I went home wondering if I'd be fired the next
day.

The next day he comes in and offers to let me go on leave for 6 months while
I'm hiking, come back and finish my current project, and then do the new
1-year job.  Oh, and he wants to pay for my health insurance while I'm
hiking.  I was thinking that he'd be so upset that he'd refuse to even be a
reference for me.  Now, he's sort of helping to fund my hike.

So, my advice would be to just be honest about it.  It sounds like your boss
likes you, which helps.  Were you planning to quit your job, or do you want
to come back?  If you want to come back, then say so (I did).  Sometimes
it's easier for an employer to let someone go hike for 6 months than to
train a replacement who might turn out to not be as good.

On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 8:34 PM, Andrew Jones <a.freddy.j at gmail.com> wrote:

> Greetings all!
>
> This is my first post - I've been lurking for a few months - my wife and I
> are planning to thru in '09 - and really enjoyed the discussion on gear,
> planning, etc. I've got a question/topic that I hope will help change the
> subject from eating poison oak/ivy, which has to be the dumbest thing I've
> ever heard.
>
> So my boss comes to me today, with the most impeccable timing, gives me a
> raise, and informally offers me a promotion - literally two weeks before I
> am going to tell him I'm through hiking the PCT and he should never expect
> to see me again after March. (I'm not down with the whole leave of absence
> thing - we're just as likely to move across the country as to come back to
> where we're living now.) So what has everyone else told their employers in
> the past, or this year, when it came time to deliver the news? I mean, I
> guess I'll tell him the truth - but what kind of reactions/responses/well
> wishings/anger has everyone gotten? Just curious.
>
> Andy
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