I just recently had 5 months off between jobs. I was already being recruited for other jobs so I never worried about finding a new one. I relaxed and also studied different things that I always wanted to but didn't have the time.I basically wanted to enjoy a summer with no stress for the first time in a long time. I would have taken 6 months off but my car had issues again so I decided to answer some of those recruiters. I had a new job in 2 weeks making almost double what I did before. But I say that with adding the caveat that I was underpaid at my last job.
Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
51–60 of 76 posts
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't you read posts here? If you have a pulse you send an email or two and have a new FAANG job paying $400K in a couple days. Somewhat annoyingly (but not really), the one time I had 6 weeks or so off I did spend it job hunting. [This was during dot-bomb by way of context.] Somewhat annoyingly because the conversation I had with a company owner I knew literally about a couple of days after I was laid off led to an…
> And the job after that was the usual case of "How soon can you start?" That's when I would normally say that I've been planning a trip so I can start in 2 months. Then you can relax with your next role lined up. It actually works really well for negotiation too. While interviewing say that you've been planning a trip/something else and that you weren't even really looking for a job but the position you're talking a…
That's all fair. But, in this case, it was a role that was created specifically for me and they really did want me to get started right away.
And I did somewhat split the difference. I had drawn up a short list of vacation spots and, as soon as I got confirmation of the offer, I booked a trip for 2-3 weeks.So it's not like I started the next day. (I also needed to ramp down in my then current position.)
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#53I had three months off between jobs a couple of years ago. I did absolutely nothing, just sleep in, stay up late, read a few books, watch movies and play games. After three months I almost felt like a human being again. That feeling was gone 2 days into the new job.
That's...alarming. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I think you might be in the wrong line of work if that's the case. Work can suck, but it shouldn't be that soul crushing.
Yep. I actually like Mondays
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#54I had three months off between jobs a couple of years ago. I did absolutely nothing, just sleep in, stay up late, read a few books, watch movies and play games. After three months I almost felt like a human being again. That feeling was gone 2 days into the new job.
That's...alarming. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I think you might be in the wrong line of work if that's the case. Work can suck, but it shouldn't be that soul crushing.
Oh, it's not the wrong kind of work, it's just having a job at all. I'm autistic, having to be among people is just so exhausting. It's the cost of acting like a normal person.
Fortunately my current employer is very understanding, I work from home at least one day a week or more if I need it. I can tone down the act a little here, which is very helpful. Unfortunately I can't completely turn it off (I wouldn't be able to function that way). If it were up to me I wouldn't leave the house at all, unfortunately I need to eat, pay the mortgage, etc.
> Work can suck, but it shouldn't be that soul crushing.
Every job is soul crushing. Not because of the work, but because of the fact that you have to do it. The fact you have zero say in how you spend your time. The fact that you have to interact with human beings. etc. There's no way around it.
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#55This actually happened to me before I started my current job. I was leaving a senior-level role as a .NET developer, and was moving over to be a standard-level developer in Ruby and Python. I left mid-way through November, thanks to a ton of holiday I had booked for Christmas, and decided to join in January instead of at a time when everything winds down in a lot of companies.
My Python knowledge was non-existent, so I spent most of my time sleeping in, and working my way through a set of Python books. I worked through Learn Python The Hard Way, and Data Structures and Algorithms in Python, and although I've not done much Python this year it gave me the best of both worlds. I was able to relax through the two months off, but keep my mind in code and get over the initial impostor syndrome I'd get from joining an established team with zero experience of their tools in anger.
Frankly, I still feel like my Ruby and Python skills are beginner-level, at best, but those two months helped me hit the ground running at my new job, and nearly a year later I've come to appreciate different languages as similar in many ways. I feel that I can start a new non-trivial project and (if given enough time) I can write working code in either to achieve a task - something I didn't feel before, which I put down to the two months holiday I took.
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#56Two months is a long time. It's great to sleep in and stay up late and all that, but it can get old fast. Now is the perfect time to take care of some items on your bucket list. Don't have a bucket list? Great time to make one! On a tight budget? Take the time to catch-up with friends and family. Be a tourist in your area. Take some day trips to nearby areas. Seize the free time so that when you start back to work, you don't look back on it as a wasted opportunity!
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's...alarming. I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I think you might be in the wrong line of work if that's the case. Work can suck, but it shouldn't be that soul crushing.
Oh, it's not the wrong kind of work, it's just having a job at all. I'm autistic, having to be among people is just so exhausting. It's the cost of acting like a normal person. Fortunately my current employer is very understanding, I work from home at least one day a week or more if I need it. I can tone down the act a little here, which is very helpful. Unfortunately I can't completely turn it off (I wouldn't be abl…
>Every job is soul crushing.
It really isn't for everyone. If I decided to pack it in tomorrow, I'd still do a lot of the same things I do today albeit with more pure pure leisure mixed in. I realize I'm in a privileged position in that regard but nonetheless that's how it is for me.
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh, it's not the wrong kind of work, it's just having a job at all. I'm autistic, having to be among people is just so exhausting. It's the cost of acting like a normal person. Fortunately my current employer is very understanding, I work from home at least one day a week or more if I need it. I can tone down the act a little here, which is very helpful. Unfortunately I can't completely turn it off (I wouldn't be abl…
>Every job is soul crushing. It really isn't for everyone. If I decided to pack it in tomorrow, I'd still do a lot of the same things I do today albeit with more pure pure leisure mixed in. I realize I'm in a privileged position in that regard but nonetheless that's how it is for me.
> If I decided to pack it in tomorrow, I'd still do a lot of the same things I do today
Same here. The problem is not the core of the job, I love writing software. What kills me is meetings, having to sit in an office surrounded by humans (the sound of people talking especially easily causes sensory overload), having to work during the day (I'm a night person by nature and bright light is problematic for me), having to stay in the office for 8 hours even though I'm spent after 5, bullshit social events (I usually skip them, but you can't skip all of them), having to work with others (sometimes I spend more time convincing others of how I want things done than actually doing them).
Programming is great, having a job isn't.
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Every job is soul crushing. It really isn't for everyone. If I decided to pack it in tomorrow, I'd still do a lot of the same things I do today albeit with more pure pure leisure mixed in. I realize I'm in a privileged position in that regard but nonetheless that's how it is for me.
> If I decided to pack it in tomorrow, I'd still do a lot of the same things I do today Same here. The problem is not the core of the job, I love writing software. What kills me is meetings, having to sit in an office surrounded by humans (the sound of people talking especially easily causes sensory overload), having to work during the day (I'm a night person by nature and bright light is problematic for me), having…
As I say, I'm fortunate. (Also I'm not a programmer.) I work mostly remotely and actually don't have a huge number of meetings etc. I travel a lot but a lot of that is to conferences, etc. most of which are on my own volition and I actually enjoy.
Re: Ask HN: If you had two months off between jobs what would you be doing?
#60With enough notice and time to prepare I'd drive the PanAmerica Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia South America camping along the way. Only thing stopping me right now is time away from work. Might take more than 2 months though.