I'm posting this as I'm in a rough position workwise. I'm with my current company now for several years and have secured a decent position and seniority with them. I work in a team environment and there are several of us sharing workload. However, I'm miserable here and desperately need to start pursuing my dreams instead of just waking up every morning asking myself "Surely there's more to life?".
I need to do something that has meaning and that I enjoy. This has ultimately lead me down the path where I am now. I've basically applied to a number of positions for what would be my "dream jobs" and to my surprise I got accepted as a candidate for one of them. This being a pilot programme. This is excellent news however this means I have a number of exams and tests I need to complete, meaning I need to study if I don't want this opportunity to slip through, and spend time training.
The problem is that these programmes take several months and have several phases. I could easily fail at a later hurdle and then be left unemployed. I'd like to take extended unpaid leave however I'm intimidated how to raise this with management.
As it stands the director of the company loves me and has helped me out in the past. However one of the head managers involved in decision making is gunning for me. He's progressively becoming more erratic in neurotic decision making and is overall making the workplace extremely toxic. It's not uncommon for him to snap and start screaming and cursing at people during meetings for several minutes. He has also continually made attempts to fuck me over. I've considered quitting but the current economy doesn't look great and I've sent out a number of test CV's these past couple months with no bites.
Basically, is requesting a 4-6 months extended unpaid leave a reasonable request? I'm worried about this and would appreciate some opinions and what other people think or how they would approach it. Thanks for the help.