11–20 of 130 posts
IMO the odds of this happening is very slim compared to you going out on your own. When you travel around you get to experience a lot of problems first hand and then solutions to those problems come naturally to you.
You are very young with, I'm guessing, no large responsibilities outside your job. You also have a bit of money. That means you are now free as you will probably never be again to do what you want. Take this chance to do so if you feel at all inclined.
The job at Google is in the end just a glorified joe-job, and it or something very much like it will still be there if you ever want back.
I can't imagine you'll enjoy working elsewhere if you're not happy at Google. If you're an entrepreneur at heart, you'll likely not feel fulfilled until you're working on your own product. I'd say stick around Google (at least for the paycheck) as your mentor suggested until you have an execution plan. Also, if you decide to find another employer in the future, it will be more difficult to explain that you quit becau…
I can't imagine you'll enjoy working elsewhere if you're not happy at Google. If you're an entrepreneur at heart, you'll likely not feel fulfilled until you're working on your own product. I'd say stick around Google (at least for the paycheck) as your mentor suggested until you have an execution plan. Also, if you decide to find another employer in the future, it will be more difficult to explain that you quit becau…
I have never regretted leaving a job. The only regrets are not leaving sooner.
If you have a good relationship with your employer you should be able to say "Hey I want to try something else for a while, but if things don't work out, I'd love to keep the doors open on both sides." I've done this before with a few jobs, one of which I went back to after I left and the other thing I was pursuing didn't pan out. In the time I was gone I learned a tremendous amount about myself and what's possible.…
When you think of it that way, what is there to be afraid of? At the end of the 2 years, you'll still be young with an improved tech skill set and in a great position to find solid employment when returning home. Maybe you don't end up working at Google anymore, but there are plenty of other opportunities out there. Don't be afraid, go for it...
My recommendation is to find a project idea that compels you, and at least one other bright and capable person that will help ground you. Most successful companies I've seen have started this way.
> My mentor suggested to stay at Google until I find an interesting startup idea to work on. This is a sound piece of advice. However, it looks like you're very keen on traveling. Maybe you can take a 3-month unpaid sabbatical from Google, and see what it feels like?