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Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

joshuahu.io

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Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#131

Post by vesche »

jhu247 wrote: post #5
acconrad wrote: post #2

I'm happy for you but this is a super privileged viewpoint that most people can't really learn from. I'd be happy too if I could just take a year off and do whatever I want. Most people can't do things like traveling to different cities and trying out a new place for 3 months. It's just unrealistic and only reflects and incredibly tiny population. More importantly: has it really been the best thing you've done for yo…

Appreciate the feedback @acconrad. I understand that I'm extremely fortunate, and I try to point that out in the introduction of my article. Like @whack commented, I'm sharing my personal experience---both the good and the bad---and all the better if there's an element to it that a reader can relate to. As for your other point, does the best thing for a career have to make it _materially_ better? For me personally, t…

You severely need a splash of the real world.

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#132

Post by Maro »

patcon wrote: post #129

I've taken a couple breaks in between jobs, and I've come to realize that I have my very best work-life balance while unemployed. It's uncanny. I work hard on my community projects, and then actually go out and socialize when I'm tired of working. Sometimes that's every night, but sometimes (if I'm feeling invigorated by a task), I will work nonstop for a week, before I need a social recharge. Obviously, that is a si…

Same here. The 1-2 months I usually take off between jobs is always super productive. I do a lot of reading, write blog posts, hack out stuff.

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#133

Post by ericd »

txcwpalpha wrote: post #92
09bjb wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has "taken a lot of time off" to spend time _on_ the things I think are important, may I suggest answering the work question with "I'm currently working on _____" or "Right now I'm spending a lot of time on _____". There are a hundred ways to direct the conversation somewhere productive and fun, but "I don't currently work anywhere and am taking some time off" does sound like an embarrassed euphemism f…

I appreciate that advise, it's something I've been trying to do more recently, and I've noticed it does help in conversation. The funny thing is that, even though my original comment hints at how regretful I am now of being unemployed, it didn't use to be that way. I used to be very proud of having left my job and being unemployed! I thought I had made a great decision and it didn't even occur to me until months late…

You should be proud. It shows that you have at least some financial discipline and ability to save, which is not something everyone can say.

It really helps to work on something interesting, even if it's very part time, and purely for fun. That might also help with your recruiting woes.

Also, sabbaticals don't seem that uncommon in the Bay Area, at least among people I know. Maybe it's a regional culture difference thing that makes it seem so taboo in your area?

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#135

Post by newnewpdro »

dougmwne wrote: post #124
newnewpdro wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The jury's still out on if this was good for your career. The title is borderline clickbait due to this word choice. I don't doubt taking a sabbatical was good for you in various ways, but your career is probably not one of them as of now. I've taken numerous lengthy sabbaticals, and find them the only way to maintain anything resembling a fair work:life balance. But I am under no delusions of them being good for my…

You both seem to be making the exact same point from different directions. Being a burnt out husk is terrible for your career and work performance. You both feel like the sabbaticals are restoring the life side of the work-life balance. Therefore taking a break is actually enhancing your career. Just like sleeping at night helps you accomplish more during the day.

Sabbaticals are beneficial in all sorts of ways, and it's possible those benefits may confer benefits to your profession.

It is not safe to assume those potential benefits will outweigh the substantial negatives of not participating in the competition while your peers continue without you.

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#136

Post by negamax »

bitexploder wrote: post #111
ehnto wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the asker, but I am always interested in how people come to be wealthy, mostly because it's almost always interesting. Even "worked at google" is interesting because I am personally from a region with no tech unicorns, so it's novel to me.

Not 1%, but it tends to be some element of luck, risk taking, and a lot of hard work. Luck can be such a huge factor. Some times a lot of all three.

(You work hard -> get lucky -> take risks) => (fail, succeed); repeat

Working hard part is important and is before. Because if you get lucky first, you will lose it all and likely won't know what areas to take risks in.

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#139

Post by the_clarence »

lovelearning wrote: post #72

A "gap" seems to be almost like a crime no tech worker should dare do. I have seen otherwise rational coworkers reject resumes only for having a "gap". Most want to relax, but the same people also punish those who do just that. I thought it was a quirk of the society I live in, but from comments here, it looks like it's the norm in all countries.

Not sure I understand what's wrong with a gap. At worst it's a red flag if a company refuses to hire you for that, and you dodge a bullet.

What I see a lot around me are people quitting their job to join the new one on the following week. I never understood that either. Besides retirement it's probably the only time in their life where they can take long holidays.

Re: Quitting my job has been the best thing I've done for my career

#140

Post by ianai »

txcwpalpha wrote: post #54
colanderman wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the other 90% hear that I'm unemployed and treat me like a pariah Are you sure it's that, or could it be because they find they have trouble relating to someone who is in such a privileged financial position to do nothing for two years, when they themselves may be financially insecure? People relate through shared struggle and experience. When you say, "I don't work and I don't need to", you've dashed any sense of…

It's funny you ask that, because I was just in the middle of writing an addendum to my comment about how people will react to observations I have about my sabbatical due to my "privilege", and "how dare you complain about being financially secure", etc. It's interesting to see just how mean/jealous some people get when they hear that I'm able to financially survive without a current source of income. Like the author…

I experienced similar when I didn’t have an ability to support myself. I had nothing immediately after college and couldn’t find paying work for nearly 5 years. I had the misfortune to graduate from college at the start of the Great Recession in ground zero of it. Society really does not treat people well. I was constantly made to be aware just how worthless everyone thought I was.

I genuinely wish no one ever had to experience anything similar to what I experienced.

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