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Comment by skizm | Hacker News Reader

I always wondered what it is like getting back into a day job after taking an extended leave from the working world (6-12 mo). I was considering this, but ultimately I just wanted to program my own stuff, not start a company or even make any money. I fully intended to get a day job again in a year or so, I was just wondering how frowned upon it was to take a year off.

Anyone have any experience with that?

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Personal Anecdote: I've been on a planned break since June '16 to build stuff, among other things. I get approached by top Indian startups once a week on average and nobody seems to lose interest when I tell them I'm on a break.

I have come to love a language called Elixir while working with it during the break and potential employers take it as a positive when I mention this fact.

Before I quit, I was a Tech Lead at an early stage startup(now Series B funded) for 6 months and I'll be looking for employment soon. I do not see this being a problem in my case.

Neat, that was basically what I was hoping to hear. I'll probably build a bit more savings so I can feel secure running on my own gas for a year, but I'm definitely planning it in the near future.

Yes, definitely build up a good runway or you'll find yourself negotiating from a position of weakness when you look for a job with urgency.

Another thing would be that employer preferences differ with regional factors, so get opinions from some local friends who have done this.

Finally, as you might already know, you must realize that this is a gamble. I'd play in a way that I have some guaranteed upsides(learning, fun, experience, autonomy), bounded downsides(loss of income, loss of seniority, stress) and unguaranteed, unbounded upsides($$$..$$$).

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