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Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#31

Post by kovacs_x »

As a person who's done that (3x ~1 year, 3x ~3-6 months "gaps" with total 20+ years experience as well), my simple answer is- yes, do it. Every other day you're only thinking on it is a loss for you!

As for me- I travelled quite a bit, completed a game project 5 years in a making, read some books, watched lot of movies, after last one of these "vacations" moved from permanent employment to freelance, to be able to have more time "in between". Not too positive on returning "pemanent" anymore. :D

I'd say- plan for it. Leave place for unexpected, but build a list of things you want to accomplish (for yourself, for your family, for people around you, ...), this way it'll feel more meaningful afterwards.

ps. afterwards You'll be same, but different, so it doesn't make much sense trying to hypothesize about that. Just do it! :D

ps. in CV you can always list it as a "gap year" & add some projects / hackatons you did during that time.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#32

Post by captmorrel »

cl42 wrote: post #28

After my first startup, my CEO coach recommended I take a "transition period" that lasts as long as I want, to reflect, internalize the learnings from my experiences, and not rush into whatever I wanted to do next. I also used a book called "Transitions"[1] to help me with my reflection. I took about a year off, in the end... I began by reading and running... I ran a few ultramarathons, which require 15-25 hours of t…

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I have to ask, how did it feel to come back to the grind after that period (if you did)?

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#33

Post by captmorrel »

mattnewport wrote: post #11

I backed the Oculus Kickstarter and decided VR was going to be big. I quit my games industry job, moved to a ski resort for 6 months and snowboarded and did a lot of VR experiments. I decided I needed to partner with someone with domain expertise in an application area to really find a viable business model and ended up cofounding a VR surgical training company with an orthopedic surgeon I connected with on the Oculu…

This is an excellent example of how these things could not have happened unless you took a step away from the grind. I know some people would say you could do that while working, but somehow I dont think so :) Thanks for sharing!

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#34

Post by captmorrel »

kovacs_x wrote: post #31

As a person who's done that (3x ~1 year, 3x ~3-6 months "gaps" with total 20+ years experience as well), my simple answer is- yes, do it. Every other day you're only thinking on it is a loss for you! As for me- I travelled quite a bit, completed a game project 5 years in a making, read some books, watched lot of movies, after last one of these "vacations" moved from permanent employment to freelance, to be able to ha…

Thanks for the encouragement! I agree, its absolutely important to plan for it, not only for yourself, but for family and friends. This is one of the keys to it being a successful time off. I am of the slight suspicion that I might not want to get back to being permanent anymore like you. If you did move to freelance, may I ask how you handle health insurance for you and family? Or are you not in the US? :)

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#35

Post by captmorrel »

brutus1213 wrote: post #18
rusticpenn wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure how sabbatical works in your company. At least in mine we have possibility of 3 months to 6 months sabbatical where we get 75% paid during the sabbatical and 75% after until the 6 month gap fills itself in terms of pay.

Most companies also have unpaid LOA (leave of absence). Also, you might be able to talk to your boss (or bosses boss) to see if they can make it happen. I know people who quit without having another gig lined up. Haven't done it myself.

Curious, what does an LOA give you? I dont suppose you get paid or still get health insurance. Is it just a stopping of payroll/benefits and resuming it once you are back?

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#36

Post by captmorrel »

rusticpenn wrote: post #14
captmorrel wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, you can call it that but I haven't been in my current position long enough to qualify for a sabbatical. Also, the sabbatical is only like for a few weeks. I feel that doesnt fit with my notion of a longer-term break.

Not sure how sabbatical works in your company. At least in mine we have possibility of 3 months to 6 months sabbatical where we get 75% paid during the sabbatical and 75% after until the 6 month gap fills itself in terms of pay.

That's a great benefit! We do get paid during the sabbatical but they are a growing company so I don't think they feel they can afford to make it that long, but they recognize the good that time off brings.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#37

Post by captmorrel »

sp332 wrote: post #10
captmorrel wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I can understand - its a different mindset when you didn't intentionally take the break and it was forced on you. I have been laid-off and gone through the resulting emotions. I think I handle it much better now. Plus I have some runway to take a break.

Yeah the stress was at a different level when I was coming to the end of unemployment benefits (which were extended due to one of those economic disasters), but that didn't seem relevant to your question :)

Appreciate your being on point. Hope you are doing well now!

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#38

Post by edmundsauto »

Yes, I saved up and lived on my own, doing some things that interested me. I put a little effort into creating a LLC, and took a couple clients (sub $10k contracts). That let me tel FAANG recruiters (truthfully) that I was consulting for that period, thus no resume gap.

I now work at a faang. That said, I don’t think our recruiters would care about a gap. They only care about hiring enough people that are at or raise the bar. In fact, once you’re in the process, I don’t think anyone actually looks at your resume - we base it on signal from the interviews.

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#39

Post by captmorrel »

psyc wrote: post #12

I have taken several breaks lasting from 6 months to 2.5 years. They did not hurt my job prospects, but obviously I would likely be further in my career. I can live with that. Some of the time (30-40%?) I spent recovering from burnout by relaxing or pursuing musical interests. The rest I spent working very hard on tech that I care about, alone and on my own terms. I enjoyed that very much, and it played a big part in…

Thanks for the input. I am a musical person myself, trained in percussion. I very well see myself picking it back up during the break. Tech + music + language learning + (racquet) sport would be how I structure most of my days, and that would be heaven to me! Same here about monetizing, always dreamed about it, but I guess I didn't want it bad enough since I havent done much about it!

Re: Ask HN: Have you ever taken a 6-month to 1 yr break anytime during your career?

#40

Post by captmorrel »

nicbou wrote: post #15

Yes, to ride a motorbike from Germany to Central Asia. At some point during the trip, the website I run became profitable enough to live from, so I'm extending that break until it's no longer possible. I've won the lottery. There's no other way to describe it. Every day is Saturday. I wake up on most days deciding what I want to do. It rekindled my passion for programming. I travelled more, went on more bicycle rides…

Great that you are extending your break, congrats!

"Every day is Saturday"."It rekindled my passion for programming". "...constantly feeling that I am squandering that time". "I end up feeling like I should still use every single one of them". All very valid feelings that I expect to have. Thanks for elucidating this. I think the best we can do is be aware of them, and any amount of planning is not going to mitigate these. The point about friends being busy is also very valid.

Very valuable, helpful inputs. Much thanks!

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