Why not just look for a new job immediately? I've never done this myself, but as I understand it the fastest way to rise through the ranks as an SWE is to jump to a different FAANG every 3 years or so with a raise and promotion.

I think there's not much point in quitting if you want to go back to doing largely the same thing in 6 months. If you really need time off you can always talk to your manager for an extended vacation/leave (churn is terrible for teams, so managers generally have strong motivation to retain you. My manager offered me 6 months leave when I quit, but ymmv)

> I just want some time to work on projects I enjoy. Maybe make some money off them. Probably not.

If you don't have a concrete idea of what you're going to work on or how it will produce income, the probable outcome will be no - In which case, quitting in hopes of having side-project income in 6 months would seem like a bad idea.

I was in a similar spot when I quit 5 years ago. It took me about 3 years and 10+ attempts before my first successful commercial product. 6 months is barely enough time to build and validate your MVP, even if you have a highly specific idea of what to work on.

I think solo-entrepreneurship is an all or nothing proposition. On the one hand, the longer you stay in your career the more invested you'll become and the more difficult it will be to leave. On the other hand entrepreneurship requires a type of experience that is difficult to acquire while working as an SWE (specifically, customer acquisition and the product instinct to make something people will give you money for). I don't think there's a lot of middle ground between these paths, but ultimately it depends on your own skills, experience and aptitude.

Personally I think the ideal strategy is to stay at a high paying job while working on your business, but not everyone can do this (I couldn't, which is one of the reasons I quit)