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Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

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Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#231

Post by osrec »

shnock wrote: post #145
osrec wrote: post #12

I quit my investment banking job in 2017 and set up my own SaaS. Very tough for the first two years, making little to no money (but I had a good amount of savings). Four years since quitting, I'm better off (many times over), both financially and in terms of how much time I have to do the things I want to. Not for the faint hearted, but I definitely recommend it.

What is your business model?

We have a standard "fremium" model, and then do custom deployments for larger clients. 95% of our revenue now comes from the larger clients.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#232

Post by patrickdavey »

jrumbut wrote: post #224
taliesinb wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It also looks like you should have a strong plan to do something (hobby, hike, or work in another capacity). If you don’t, you may just stagnate and waste some of your prime years for growth and development. Having been on this journey too, I provide this reassurance for those on the edge of quitting: trust in your superego. Your superego is always there, always watching, always asking: "is this what you should be…

Being in a situation where you only have yourself to blame, when you can't say "oh if only I didn't have these coworkers and that boss and my family and everything else holding me back (holding you up, really)," it's a different kind of fear. It's probably healthy, but surprisingly intense. You're totally exposed and get to see exactly what you're capable of accomplishing. It's like that machine in The Hitchhiker's G…

The total perspective vortex (the machine in hhg)

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#234

Post by Damogran6 »

throwaway743 wrote: post #230
brianrice wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what's the reasoning to never quit on a Friday?

Good points mentioned by others at this level of the thread. I'd also assume that it may be that having the weekend could put one in the mindset of relaxation and cause procrastination at the start of what could be an intense process that requires drive (depending on individual's circumstances). Or maybe it's kinda the opposite where if one were to quit on say a Monday instead, there's a good chance that the work wee…

Changing a job should be the result of measured, long term, reflection. Any one given Friday at the end of a bad week is not the best time to make a snap judgement.

If you still want to quit on Monday? Go right ahead...but a lot of times the stuff that seemed insurmountable on Friday, don't look quite so bad with a bit of reflection. Unless they still suck.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#235

Post by corysama »

mgkimsal wrote: post #175
mxuribe wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is the only reason that I don't take (often higher per hour paying) contract roles. Also, i'm a great wingman for sales but not great as sales lead or generating sales, else I'd have gone into business for myself. (And, no, skipping health insurance is not an option at all for me.)

I understood that mentality, somewhat, in the past, but what is preventing you from purchasing a plan under ACA?

That's what I did when I took a couple years off. If you think of health insurance as disaster coverage, the "cheap" ACA coverage has a better worse case than the premo platinum offerings.

Under https://www.coveredca.com/health/coverage-levels/bronze/hdhp... coverage for an individual 40 year old making $150K/year will cost you $6k/year with an out-of-pocket max of $7K/year. Not great on either end. But, not disaster either.

But, if your income is $30K/year, the cost drops to $0.0 to $1200 per year.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#236

Post by taliesinb »

jrumbut wrote: post #224
taliesinb wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It also looks like you should have a strong plan to do something (hobby, hike, or work in another capacity). If you don’t, you may just stagnate and waste some of your prime years for growth and development. Having been on this journey too, I provide this reassurance for those on the edge of quitting: trust in your superego. Your superego is always there, always watching, always asking: "is this what you should be…

Being in a situation where you only have yourself to blame, when you can't say "oh if only I didn't have these coworkers and that boss and my family and everything else holding me back (holding you up, really)," it's a different kind of fear. It's probably healthy, but surprisingly intense. You're totally exposed and get to see exactly what you're capable of accomplishing. It's like that machine in The Hitchhiker's G…

Very well put!

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#237

Post by ipv6ipv4 »

I’ve done it twice so far. Both times were great for me. I am on the cusp of doing it a third time. Hopefully, permanently this time.

Keep in mind, I have an advantage of being a decent software engineer in the biggest industry boom in history. So it has always been easy for me to step back into the market when I wanted.

The first time was for about 6 months to welcome a child. I had had enough of my job at the time and decided to stop without a plan. It was great and possibly planted the seed of future breaks. After 6 months I was ready to start again and got a job within a week or two.

The second time was for 4 years. I moved my family to another continent. Eventually, moved back for personal reasons and so had to find employment again. This time I found a job through connections.

I’m now financially at the point that I likely don’t need to work anymore and I’m itching to break free again so I’m likely to do it in the near future.

My advice is to have enough saved up for at least a year and to jump. It’s liberating.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#238

Post by walktheplank »

mlac wrote: post #87

After skimming half the thread and only seeing one view (DO IT! It’s GREAT!), I’m going to throw this out there: - You will have heavy selection bias here (people who did not succeed might be working at a crappier job and unable to comment at this moment) - You will also have confirmation bias among those who willingly quit (“of course it was the right move”) - You are asking a very unique set of people with very val…

>Quitting to do your own thing, as long as you show employers why you did it in a year or two, shouldn’t be a detriment for getting rehired. That said, hiring managers may question if you’d quit again in a year (depending on your past employment tenure)…

It shouldn't be a detriment for getting rehired, period. If you are qualified for a role and pass an interview bar, there is no reason a potential employer should care about a break you took from working. I treated being asked about this as a yellow flag, as it may indicate the employer thinks you should be living to work.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#239

Post by stjohnswarts »

If you're in tech, saved a rainy day fund, and good at what you do it's fine. I prefer contracts this one. Couple months off between 1 and to 1.5 year stints are fantastic. If you love your job and your team and your pay/benefits, I would highly suggest sticking it out and seeking "life fullfillment" elsewhere. Don't just join the "great resignation" just because it's there. I am someone who gets bored easily with the same people and company, so I move along every year or two and don't take full time, salaried positions deliberately.What works for one person doesn't mean it will work for others. That doesn't fit everyone's MO though. Talk it out with your friends and family.

Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?

#240

Post by stjohnswarts »

walktheplank wrote: post #238
mlac wrote: post #87

After skimming half the thread and only seeing one view (DO IT! It’s GREAT!), I’m going to throw this out there: - You will have heavy selection bias here (people who did not succeed might be working at a crappier job and unable to comment at this moment) - You will also have confirmation bias among those who willingly quit (“of course it was the right move”) - You are asking a very unique set of people with very val…

>Quitting to do your own thing, as long as you show employers why you did it in a year or two, shouldn’t be a detriment for getting rehired. That said, hiring managers may question if you’d quit again in a year (depending on your past employment tenure)… It shouldn't be a detriment for getting rehired, period. If you are qualified for a role and pass an interview bar, there is no reason a potential employer should ca…

My breaks have mattered “occasionally” with a few companies but by and large what you say is correct and it barely made people scratch their chin more than a few seconds, and I've had breaks (intentionally) of anywhere between 2-4 months every couple of years.
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