Investing in a career break

Katrina McGhee (MBA ’10) has made taking a break her life’s work. She is a life coach dedicated to helping others take career breaks and sabbaticals – and now she’s also a best-selling author.

In her book “Taking a Career Break for Dummies” (Wiley, 2023), she explains a formula for making a break possible. She should know.

McGhee saved $40,000 in 18 months so she could leave her corporate job for a 20-month break to travel the world. A certified life coach, McGhee’s “Break Blueprint” helps her clients realize their own dreams of a pause or reset.

Her journey to create a new career path started at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in the Full-Time MBA Program.

Having been an actuary, McGhee was well-versed in quantitative studies, but was searching for something more. When she started researching business schools, UNC Kenan-Flagler quickly stood out from the others.

At an event for a rival business school, she asked a student, “Why did you choose this program?” The answer was the importance of the school’s standing in the rankings, which didn’t resonate with McGhee.

Katrina McGhee (MBA ’10) with copies of her book, “Taking a Career Break for Dummies”

“That moment solidified something I had been feeling, which is that people went to UNC Kenan-Flagler because they wanted to be part of UNC Kenan-Flagler,” says McGhee. “I felt like a lot of the other schools were all about the rankings and pedigree. I already had learned a really powerful lesson about the importance of cultural fit: I will thrive as a whole person when I put myself in places that are a match for who I am and not just the one that looks best on paper.”

The sense of community drew her in, but there was more to McGhee’s decision to join UNC Kenan-Flagler.

“I got into several programs, but I was really impressed by the caliber of the education mixed with the collaboration and authentic connection of the students at UNC Kenan-Flagler,” says McGhee. “I wanted to be collaborative, not competitive.”

She also appreciated the opportunities and support through the Consortium and Forte Foundation at UNC and paid it forward by serving as a Consortium liaison during her second year.

One more factor ensured McGhee would choose UNC Kenan-Flagler: the ability to study in a new land: “I had never traveled abroad. I had a passport for three years with no stamps.”

Many schools talked about their study-abroad options, but UNC Kenan-Flagler opened the door for McGhee.

“UNC Kenan-Flagler had a million different ways to do it, and students took advantage of it,” she says. “It’s like being in a river, where the river is already flowing in the direction you want to go. You don’t have to paddle upstream and you don’t have to fight a current to get to do the things you want to do.”

The whole world in her hands

So she took off. Her first stop was Costa Rica after a Spanish immersion offered in partnership by UNC and Duke University. She was paired with a host family and traveled with a few others from the program.

“It was just so incredible, so scary and so amazing,” McGhee says.

There was a sense of security in making these first experiences as part of the Business School.  Next she studied Egypt and Turkey through a Global Immersion Elective.

“It was such a gift to go to places I didn’t necessarily feel confident enough to go on my own and to do it with other students while learning about business in those countries,” says McGhee. “I got to see the Great Pyramids and King Tut’s mask, which was on the cover of my fourth-grade social studies textbook and observe similarities and differences in how business is done in other countries. It was a mind-blowing experience.”

Next was a semester-long program in Spain as an exchange student at Esade in Barcelona. She spent six months studying and navigating a new country and learning more about the culture from her Catalonian roommate. She met students from all over the world, some of whom she keeps in touch with today.

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. I’m so grateful that UNC provided me with this incredible opportunity.”

The global studies programs left McGhee hungry for more.

McGhee visiting the ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan near Mexico City

A lifeline

After graduation, she headed to General Mills for a rotational program in market research. While she was there, she began to reconsider her purpose, the corporate culture in which she found herself, and the work she was doing.

“I think I put myself in a space where I loved the people and the interesting things I was learning,” says McGhee. “But I didn’t see myself thriving there. This wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”

Burned out and dreaming about her previous experiences abroad, McGhee hatched a plan to take a break from work. She had taken on debt from business school and had little money in the bank.

She tracked her spending and eliminated unnecessary expenses. She set up targets for savings. Any lump sums – tax refunds and bonuses – went straight into savings. In 18 months, she had saved $40,000, enough for her trip.

She gave eight months of notice to her bosses at General Mills that she was leaving and parted on great terms. McGhee was ready to travel the world.

Then, the unthinkable happened. A week before the scheduled start of her break, her younger brother unexpectedly passed away. It was the worst moment of her life, and McGhee wasn’t sure if she could take the break. But after considering her options, she decided to continue on.

“The break allowed me time to process my grief,” she says. “It allowed me to find joy again. My break saved my life and put me in a better place. I felt so incredibly grateful. And I learned you have to live your life when you have your life to live.”

The path less traveled

She went on to spend four months in Southeast Asia traveling without a plan, becoming a certified yoga teacher in Bali, and taking a road trip through the U.S. to see parts of her home country she had never known.

Still, this break wasn’t forever. McGhee returned to the corporate world and landed five job offers in just five weeks after coming off a 20-month break. She took a dream job in marketing research in Colorado. She paid off her debt and took a class on how to start a life-coaching business, which planted a seed for what would later grow into her business.

UNC Kenan-Flagler opened the door to global travel for McGhee. 

She has been a full-fledged coach since 2017. She helps people save money, make a plan and take time off.

Not everyone travels like she did. Some take a step back for caretaking of others. Some pause to unwind and put more thought into what comes next. McGhee relishes the work and shares her stories – and those of her clients – in content, including podcasts and videos.

She wants people to understand that taking a break is a brave and bold choice that allows time to prioritize wellness and ensure meaning in your life. McGhee also stresses that affording a break is only part of the equation. People also must value a break and view it as “an investment rather than an expense,” she says.

Her work has brought her back to UNC Kenan-Flagler: The author and coach was invited to speak at the 2024 Alumni Weekend.

“I diverted and took a hard left turn from the typical MBA path. And I accomplished so much following my own path,” she says. “And eventually I came back to the same place it all started, being invited to speak and help other people. It felt like, if ever, there was a full-circle moment for me, this was it. And that felt really beautiful.”