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Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#61

Post by compay »

I quit my job and worked only on open source projects for almost two years. This is the article I wrote about my decision at the time:

http://njclarke.com/posts/why-i-quit-my-job-to-work-on-open-...

I never wrote a follow up to it, I guess in part because I'm still not sure exactly what I got out of it. I certainly improved a lot as a programmer - I'd say I worked harder on programming than at any time in my life, and doing almost all of my work in public held me to a higher standard than what I was used to. I spoke at several conferences and managed to get over my fear of public speaking, which was another goal of mine.

Most importantly, I also got to be a lot more present in my 1-year old son's life for that time, which I will never regret.

It did however take a big toll on my family financially, and I can't help coming away with the feeling that there are ways I may have accomplished those same goals without having gone to the extreme of sacrificing almost all income. I'm almost 40 now and given the historic ageism in our profession I worry a little about the kinds of jobs that will remain open to me over the next 20 years.

Anyway I think that if you're at the point in your life where you have enough money to satisfy the kind of lifestyle you want to live, but don't have the responsibility of a spouse and children, then absolutely go for it.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#62

Post by bwarp »

Zarathust wrote: post #42
bwarp wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK, it costs $0, employed or not, previous neck injury or not, prior condition or not! No insurance required and it's always good care from experience. Healthcare is the last thing you want to have to worry about if you are unemployed.

Do you also have dental and eye (glasses) insurance covered by the government? In Canada we don't, unless its really a health issue; your health is in peril if you don't treat your cavities or this kind of gravity.

You get free dental treatment and glasses if you are a student/unemployed.

NHS dental charges for the employed are as follows: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74&SubC... - each charge covers everything for 2 months subsequently as well.

It is not much really! In 2002, I had to have surgery to have 2 teeth removed which were growing through the roof of my mouth and 4 others removed due to my jaw being too small. It required a general anaesthetic and a day in general surgery at my local hospital, two aftercare visits and one consultant appointment. It only cost me £15 (the lower rate at the time) as it was a referral to a hospital orthadontist. That was it!

You can get GOOD glasses for £30 or WONDERFUL ones for £70 on the high street now in the UK without NHS intervention. You usually get 2 pairs for that. That includes the sight test and consultation. You can also get FREE sight tests and vouchers from your employer.

The UK is wonderful place to live for healthcare!

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#63

Post by bwarp »

stungeye wrote: post #54

In late 2003 I was laid off from my job as a hardware/firmware design engineer. I spent the next two years away from work. During this time I spent nearly a year on self-study, got married, and then went travelling with my wife in Europe and south-east Asia. We worked on and off while travelling to be able to afford to continue our adventures. If you are a self-motivated learner I would highly recommend a study break…

> Learning to live frugally and within your means is also key.

Spot on! That is one of the most important things in my mind. I live very frugally but I live very well!

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#64

Post by jason53 »

I am engaged in a one-year course of self-study. My focus is on quantitative, numerical subjects. So far I have not narrowed it any further. I was raised in an atmosphere of "well-rounded generalism." I would welcome any suggestions on how to overcome a congenital inability to specialize.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#65

Post by haraball »

I'm going to have a break doing exactly this while trying to make something out of my ideas starting in July, and I'm aiming for six months before I'll see if I need a job or have something working on my own.

So if anyone in Frankfurt wants to hang out or have some tips on available coworker offices feel free to send me an email.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#66

Post by jordhy »

I consider self-study to be a key part of entrepreneurship. In particular, extended self-study has worked very well for me whenever I've wanted to change careers, geographies or industries. Indeed a major professional change justifies this effort.

However, given the current pace of technology, it might be a better idea to develop a discipline for continuous learning and try to fit your educational/updating needs into a conventional agenda.

As far as "not earning" goes, granted, it sucks, but consider the option of doing this while freelancing, writing a book or starting a new company... there are many, many ways to skin a cat.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#67

Post by toonketels »

Nice to see others who rather take some time to study instead of only working.

I studied business and landed a job as a Project Manager. Meeting developers, I felt the urge to learn to code and become a programmer. While doing Project Management work at day time, I used my evenings to practice and learn coding. I loved working with developers because I could learn from them.

But there is only so much you can do working full time, taking care of your other stuff in life and find as much time to learn and practice coding. I thing it's easier if you can focus full time on something instead of the learning being too much spread out.

So I talked to my boss and asked to work 4 days a week and have three days for learning and coding (with less salary of course). I did this for five months and my skills really improved.

After five months, it was clear for me I was ready to earn money from developing. So I stepped down as a Project Manager, had to give in some more salary and started as a programmer (junior).

It was one of the best decisions in my life.

For me, it's not relevant for the moment to stop working and study, because I learn so much working as a dev. But I can imagine myself stop working for a couple of months if I reach a plateau and want to focus and learn in a specific field.

It is a lot of fun to be able to focus on something and improve fast. So if you can afford it and you want it, I think you should do it. It's not only a lot of fun, but you probably be worth more on the job market.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#68

Post by losvedir »

ken wrote: post #51
cletus wrote: post #4

Good question. I've done this a couple of times. Self-study can be incredibly useful. Being able to do it within the "distraction" of a full time job can also be extremely rewarding. I have a very conservative financial point of view in that if I got fired tomorrow I would want to be fine for the next year without working. This has in the past allowed me to work on my own stuff a couple of times without much worry (a…

In the US if you quit your job you can buy the same health insurance plan you had, for up to 18 months ("COBRA"). It's not going to be the cheapest thing in the world, but if you're talking about taking a year off, you're probably not on the verge of going broke. (It looks like it'd be far less than what I pay for rent, for example.) Another option could be to take a part-time job. A fair number of stores seem to off…

When I quit my job last year to join a start-up the cost to continue my COBRA benefits would have been $700/month (and I'm a healthy guy in my 20s). Fortunately, I'm in MA with its private health insurance market, and I was able to find a plan for $200/month. I still had to go without health insurance at all for a month, though, to make myself become inelegible for COBRA and therefore eligible for the other plan.

"Not the cheapest thing in the world" is quite an understatement.

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#69

Post by petercooper »

bwarp wrote: post #62
Zarathust wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you also have dental and eye (glasses) insurance covered by the government? In Canada we don't, unless its really a health issue; your health is in peril if you don't treat your cavities or this kind of gravity.

You get free dental treatment and glasses if you are a student/unemployed. NHS dental charges for the employed are as follows: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74&SubC... - each charge covers everything for 2 months subsequently as well. It is not much really! In 2002, I had to have surgery to have 2 teeth removed which were growing through the roof of my mouth and 4 others removed due to my jaw being…

You're right. I'm gravely pessimistic about the UK in many areas but healthcare is an area I'm really happy with. Due to shortages at the time, I'm "private" for dentistry, and even private prices aren't onerous compared to those in the Americas.

I've paid £30 for a checkup, £400 for a root canal and crown, and £40 for an extraction before. Fillings are between £50-£150 depending on complexity. And then I hear of insured Americans who've paid $300+ for an extraction AFTER their insurance company paid the majority of the bill! :-)

We certainly have it good here. Unless you have cancer and want to get a radical new treatment, of course..

Re: Ask HN: Have you taken 6 months to 1 year break to do self study?

#70

Post by dekz »

Every morning (or almost every morning) I get up at 5am for self study. Then finish up and go to work from 8-5. I find myself less motivated to work during the night after work. I've still been able to put in a few hours every other day. There has been 3 times where I snuck in some study during my lunch hour but I find that harder to 'get into'.

I have no kids so that might be different from your situation.

You can perform self study while still working full time hours, you just need to be motivated and find the time out of your day. You need to focus on the long term goal, which shouldn't simply be 'Finish AI lectures' but something potentially life altering, 'Finish AI lectures to better my chance at a job for Y/to create Z'.

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