Did this twice (never left a real job any other way lol) and it turned out fine. Both times I ended up getting a job offer before my notice period ended.
Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
51–60 of 320 posts
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#52Have done this several times and it's generally been very easy to find a better job than the one I was in.
The only thing I will say is that you are in a much worse negotiating position which can be a problem if you're heading towards the top of the payscale in your area when you quit.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#53Probably depends a lot on whether you're renting or not? (or whether your finances are solid enough that you can buy a place whenever)
For me quitting would immediately mean I'd be losing four figures a month to rent before accounting for anything else so there wouldn't be much of a feeling of a grace period; the option of traveling or whatever else would also come with the knowledge that I'd likely have to set myself up somewhere else eventually. Then beyond that I'd have to be on a salary long enough to get a mortgage.
So like... there's a lot of stuff that needs to be accounted for where if I owned a place it'd just be "do I pack up my stuff and let this place for a couple of years if I want to travel or will I return regularly and keep it as a hub.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#54I had a backpacking trip planned, so maybe I don't count.. But I've been home longer than backpacking by now, and still don't regret quitting.
Work is a conditioning program for your brain. Own your thoughts for a while. Experience your own stress and solve your own problems.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#55So far, so good. I quit in July with nothing else lined up. I took about two months off where I was just reading and taking care of our new puppy.
I've started a job board for FPGA/RTL engineers at www.rtljobs.com. The mailing list is growing at an appreciable clip and paid postings should be live early in the new year.
I've also been doing some electronics consulting work. Not much. Only about 2-3 hours a day.
I'm making about half as much as I was at my job, but with functionally no stress.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#56It went really well! I wanted to do something different in my career so I thought I had to be in between jobs for as long as 6 months. Less than 2 months I found a much better job without really looking. My wife was almost disappointed as she got used to me doing much more around the house and with our child. Oh well.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#57I quit in May, and since then have hiked the Appalachian Trail and just landed in New Orleans. I'll do a little part-time research work but my main goal is to write a lot and play music.
Before I left, I was depressed, and now I'm not. IMO everything else is totally second order to not feeling so darn bad all the time.
My plans extend to about the end of this current month, and then, we shall see.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#58I've done this 3 times in my 8 year career so far. I pretty much leave every job this way. I like to take a few months between jobs to do my own thing and take a break.
If you are financially stable enough and are in a spot in your career where you don't think you'll need to worry about getting another job too much. DO IT. Looking back at the last 8 years, those periods off are the periods I remember the most.
One time I had a tougher time finding a job (but I was also only a little over a year into my career). The other times I haven't had a problem. One time my old company hired me back with a promotion/raise. Most recently, I did some VERY easy part time contract work for about 6 months. I think these breaks are becoming much more common and I don't think it impacts my resume too much.
I wish there was a way to get a new job with a starting date 3-6 months in the future. That would be the ideal situation.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#59I did this, with a passive income cushion from some investments. I live very simply. I found travel pretty boring after a few weeks. I found whatever I was doing outside of work (YouTube and mindless browsing) filled up all my free time after I quit. I started learning web development but haven't had any ideas that stuck. I mean I had a lot of ideas before quitting but perhaps lack of motivation or discipline killed…
Same feeling with the passive time being filled with YouTube. Hard to avoid as their app captures you at every interaction point. I just want to watch YouTube videos from friends...
Try NewPipe if on Android: https://newpipe.net . You can disable comments and recommended videos, at night I just do a search on some of my favorite channels (despite everyone moaning "please like and subscribe" I think I have one channel I subscribe to, I guess I do miss a lot of things) to see if they have new content.
Re: Ask HN: Those who quit their jobs without anything planned. How did it go?
#60I quit a place once, it rhymes with brudwick wealth strategies. I was told by the proprietor that he didn't have to calm down because "he signs my fucking paychecks" in that second I realized that I didn't want to work for someone who thought like that. I told him have a nice day Barry and enjoy the extra money.
I applied for unemployment and almost lost the case but then I learned of the term hostile workplace and won. Unemployment was backpaid. During the time of fighting for it. I studied for my A+ and Sec+ certs, learned to program, and worked odd jobs from CL until every IT job eventually called me back and I had a couple to choose from. Eventually found a gig that I have been at for about 10 years. I'm happy, the organization appreciates my contributions and I'm in a comfortable place financially. I am currently looking for an remote gig in the evening US EST hours. Some sort of grunt work that someone doesn't want to do. I'm open to anything.