Comment by keeptrying | Hacker News Reader

Comment by keeptrying | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

You have 2 very big problems happening at the same time: 1. You don't have a job 2. You are transitioning to a new career

Acknowledge this is very difficult situation. Usually people can deal with 1 problem at a time but its still very stressful. 2 is really hard. If you can deal with 3 you are a mensch. (eg: dealing with new baby, starting a company, deal with aged parent all at same time).

What you can do:

1. Work at your skills. Create a 40 hour schedule for yourself filled with job applications, becoming better at skills (educative.io is a great resource for indepth technical topics and interviewing skills ) .

2. Enjoy this break. Weird as this sounds - you have the rest of your life to work. What you can do is workout, get back into the best shape of yourlife. Travel either locally or with spouse - make sure she is happy.

3. Help others. Helping anyone will help your mental health tremendously. It can be at a soup kitchen or anywhere else. Help friends in similar situations. Write a blog for others in similar situation.

OP, to add on to keeptrying, to the extent that you can afford to, and feel up to it, I recommend showing some work in public. Write something about your journey and your learning, every week, either on LinkedIn, on dev.to, or on a personal blog. This practice can help show progress: to yourself when you feel down; to friends, colleagues, and supporters when you talk about your struggles; and show consistency, initiative, commitment, and skill to interviewers and managers as you apply to new employers.

Don't do it so much that it becomes burdensome, but write a little about what you encounter and learn. It's important to have incremental goals that you can focus on day to day, while you pursue bigger goals. You are clearly already skilled and connected, may attending to your fears guide you to the more secure future you hope for.

^^^ this is great advice.

For some of us (not all) taking a long break makes stuff worse because we are so identified with the whole work/money axis. If you’re like this, find ways to stay busy and make some income, even just a little, like driving Uber or cooking in a restaurant or whatever you might have up your sleeve. Remember that simple jobs can still be super satisfying when done well.

The advice about serving others is especially good. Acts of service have pulled me out of all kinds of dark places over the years, and surrounded me with people that remind me of how much real goodness there is in our otherwise cynical world.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com