Ask HN: Taking 6-12 months off work? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Taking 6-12 months off work?

26 pointsbosch_mind66 comments

I’ve been slowly burning out for the last couple years and basically have lost all motivation at work driving me to constant depression. To add on, I’ve been really sick on and off, sometimes for weeks at a time.

I’m 28 and have around 600k with maybe 65k in emergency cash. Unfortunately I live in a HCOL area in the US, but am thinking a 6-12 month sabbatical would do wonders for me both in the short and long term.

I’m just looking to get some advice from the community here. I have a stock grant coming up soon that should help cover at least 6 months of expenses as well.

I’m not really interested in finding another job first then taking a few weeks off as I don’t feel it’s the job specifically but my current state of mind and health.

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You're 28? Dude, go travel the world. Don't spend much money either. Some of the best times of my life were just hanging out with people I met traveling on the cheap.

I'd also suggest a little pet project while you travel. 6 months to a year is a long time, so it's relatively easy to spend an hour or two a week on something that you kinda wish you had picked up before but hadn't given yourself the time for.

About 2 months before your sabbatical ends, start putting feelers out there for another gig. Gives you a little bit more time to start re-adjusting

+1 to this. Come through Berlin, I'll show you around. Seriously, travel!

Couldn’t agree more. Travel travel travel. By land and sea. Did it twice, for 6 months and then 10 months. To see a big chunk of this world we live on (only for a brief period) is something few humans in all of history get to do. And then for the rest of your life, diving into the memories and telling the stories is about a million times better than you can imagine even while travelling.

I traveled and disagree with the statement. Have goals in life? Tune traveling with those. Traveling is expensive, so the rate of return should be comparable.

Main goal from my perspective would be to determining where you would like to live

Are you seriously asking that question to a bunch of strangers ? It kind of pisses me off because your issue is so first world like and ridiculously obvious. I say this with a little smile too.

Go out into the world and become a true human being. Someone that feels and watches. Someone that spends time on small beautiful things that are not tech based.

Cook, read, swim, bike, breathe. Walk, hug, love. Quit your job please.

Use at least half of the money before you return to work. Please. Use the money. They are worthless if you don't use them on seeing the world and becoming a real human.

And get some therapy. Of goodness sake find someone old and wise with a gestalt or other cognitive therapy degree.

Take it easy and live.

Some suggestions:

* Spend a little time thinking about what you're hoping to get out of this break. Try to come up with some concrete goals. Write them down. It doesn't necessarily have to involve an extensive to-do list, which might feel overwhelming. But maybe a handful of goals related to your mental or physical health?

* Do you rent or own your home? Can you sublet or rent out? Consider spending at least some of the time in a different part of the country. If there's some place that interests you and has lower cost of living, all the better.

* Let you professional network know about this. And try to find some time to reconnect with colleagues and friends during this period. This will likely help you when you're ready to return to work.

* Be mindful of the fact that you are in a position that is unattainable for practically everyone else. Very, very few people have the financial means to stop working for an extended period. Don't take the break for granted.

* Traveling can broaden your horizons, but it also has a way of helping you better appreciate what you have at home. As Chesterton wrote, "The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land."

* I'm not sure where your interests lie, but one important contributor to personal fulfillment is helping others. Consider looking for opportunities to volunteer.

* A lot of people think burnout is purely a result of being overworked. But researchers who study burnout point out that there are two other contributors: cynicism/detachment and inefficacy. Basically, if you're not finding meaning in your work, and you're not seeing the fruits of your accomplishments, that can burn you out even if you're not particularly overworked. So when it's time to return to work, be on the lookout for these things, because you don't want to go through this cycle again.

Long vacations aren't helping much with burnout and depression related - that's what I read just today and I totally agree. I'm fighting this thing for years.

If you can lower your hours/day AND if you can take few days off much more frequently - that should help in the long term.

I’m the opposite - low hours and frequent days off don’t help me with burnout - I need to forget all about work and unplug completely for a long time.

I think this is very dependent on what you do during the hours you’re not working. If you’re just scrolling your phone or playing video games, that’s probably not very restorative. A key thing would be to do other things, like exercise, take a cooking class, be social with other people, etc.

Mental and physical health are always priority number one. Do whatever you feel is required to get your health back. Try asking for a sabbatical if possible because job searching again is a nuisance in itself, and you will also have to worry about health insurance if you are unemployed.

That said, a year-long break doesn't matter at all in the long run. You should travel around and have fun. There is this quote, "in youth, we often lack money, in middle age we lack time, and in old age, we lack energy." Your circumstances are quite favorable as you have all three of them. So have fun man and come back stronger.(that is if you ever want to come back)

I took 6 months off in 1992 an it was the best decision. My wife and I did an around the world trip.

Work will always be there. I’ve been working for 45 years. But getting a chance to explore, learn, do whatever when you are young is the best. The most boring people I talk to at parties graduated at 22 and I’ve been doing basically the same job forever. If you saved that much money, you obviously know how to work hard … spend some time to make yourself an interesting person. You have a whole life to accumulate responsibilities.

My wife and I are 32, and just both quit our bay area tech jobs. We're moving to Europe for a year. Plan is to explore / adventure and spend some time thinking about what we want to do next. The way we see it, it'll be much harder to do this with kids, so this is kind of the last chance to do it. And with our work experience we can just move back and start working again whenever we want.

You're in a great place with your savings. I say go for it! You'll have the adventure of a lifetime.

Keep in mind without residency Americans can only stay in Europe (Schengen zone) for 90 days in any 180 day window.

Yes luckily we are dual citizens

Ha, doing the same with my wife this year! Happy to catch up in Europe sometime.

As nested comment said, some planning is needed to pack it in 90 day slots every 180 days :)

Edit: saw your other reply - good for you two :)

Very cool! Shoot me a note, I'd love to hear about your plans

Health is important but be careful, economically the 'no landing' scenario that is unwinding right now is super dangerous for job seekers in your sabbatical timeframe. If you're seriously considering it, have an emergency plan for moving to a LCOL place.

(There's a nonzero chance of being hit by a layoff in this time no matter what you do or where you work, so you can kind of hope it happens and take your extended time off if it does.)

Get professional help ASAP vs asking unqualified techies

Your employer is likely down for you to go part-time. Not clear if unemployment or new job will actually help, and even if so, way better to find a new job from a position of employment vs unemployment, esp as there are good reasons to think employment market will be even more brutal EOY.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to work right now or jump to your next job if you don't know what you want. Mental health and well being aside. If you need the finances then you need a job and that is a different problem. If you have the vest and you don't need the job for money, just take the break. The stigma around it why we need to justify it shouldn't exist. We afraid it makes us look lazy, etc. Some people are maybe. But don't worry about it. Be the author and creator of your own life. Posting this question is like posting "Should I wash my car?"

I've taken myself out of work 3 times. 12 months, then 6 months and now currently 24 months. Between and around those breaks worked at various silicon valley companies (nvidia, google, startups, major open source non profits)

I just did this last year. I just got my boat, which is also my home, and in terms of outgoing, it's very little. We are talking £1000 a year for license and insurance and £50 a month heating in the winter.

The problem I have is that companies will generally look for any excuse not to hire people. A year gap is a red flag, and you 'should' be perpetually 'grafting for money', and my skills (even though React, Redux and HTML haven't changed at all in the last year) are considered out of date.

Eventually I will find a job, and I'm not trying to hard. I worked on a sideproject during my time off to keep my skills active, and I'm not in a rush to back to work.

But in terms of what I got out of it, I went to a bunch of music festivals, started going to pubs and clubs a lot more, and started enjoying life a lot more.

665k plus stock grant sounds risky. Play this wrong and you could be out on the street by your mid-forties.

I have to assume this /s =) How is that risky? He is 28... a vast majority of people in their 40s have far far less than that and are not "out on the street". OP could spend all 665k in the next 6-12 months and still be in a better position than many 28 year olds.

Yeah, it's tongue in cheek. The guy is overthinking the easiest decision in the world.

If you have 600k$, you should be able to get a passive income of aprox. 2,500$ a month or more on avarage from it. If you are single, you may cancel your flat, put your things into storage and use your parents or a good friend's home as your official address, buy a small used camper-van (not too old) and start travelling. I doubt that you will need all the 2,500$ a month. When you feel that you have travelled enough or just noticed that you did not like it, you may resell the camper-van and continue your life as usual. -- I did something similar myself in Europe, except that I worked a bit from the camper-van and after some time become sort of semi-nomadic (travelling in summer and dwelling in winter, short trips in spring and autumn).

I do this every few years, though increasingly it seems I'm not alone.

Do it. Travel, take up hobbies, explore side projects, potential alternative careers or just make your bed, tidy the house and get some exercise in. Try and make it a little constructive.

You've put away a decent amount of money, now's the time to take the mental pay off which that security buys. When you're ready work opportunities will still be there.

I tend not to tell too many friends or even relatives what I'm up to - many can't understand the luxury of being able to afford to it, or the feeling of needing to do it. Those I do tell I often call it a sabbatical - seems to fit within their mental model more easily then.

Life's too short.

I took a year sabbatical in 2008 and it was one of the highlights of my life. I backpacked through parts of India, South America and Africa. I had a very strong desire to travel and see more of the world so it fulfilled that need for me (without spending a lot of money). I feel incredibly lucky that I was in a position to be able to it. Career wise it didn't change my trajectory very much - I came back fresh and highly motivated again. The only caveat to this is that sometimes it turns out that work is not the core issue (although maybe it is easier to have clarity on this after an extended break) and if so probably time to think about starting therapy.

The first thing is to not turn to internet strangers but ask yourself what you want out of your life in the next 1/3/5/10 years, and how close (or far) you are from that path. If you are burning out and miserable in a tech job you could also be miserable when sitting at home with nothing to do or in the middle of a 6 month backpacking trip across random countries. There's no magic solution to feeling motivated and happy.

Fulfillment will come from meeting your life's goals. If you don't have any then, well, that's a problem you need to solve first.

Consider taking a closer look at your "constant depression" issue. Burnout may in fact be the reason, but what if you come back and realize it wasn't?

You say it isn't the specifically the job too...

Taking work off could help, but if the job (or working in general) isn't the root issue, taking time off work might not help.

You have plenty of savings to afford to spend some of it to figure out. A different question you maybe should be asking is not if you should take the time off, but how to spend that time.

I did approx 12 month sabbatical when I was 28, back in 2013. I travel a bit, spent few months in hometown I left when I was 15 and then move away again realizing why I was so happy to leave it in first place.

Looking back to that year I am happy to say that I wasted a year of my life with nothing good or productive that come from it. But maybe that was exactly what I needed to go through.

If you feel like doing it, than why not do it. Life is long and you can always revert.

Some wild suggestions below about not doing it because of the economy.

You're 28 dude. Go spend 5% of the cash you have in the bank and travel the world for a year.

I did a 1 year break that turned into a 3 year break, living out of a backpack and bike on 20K savings when I was that age. I invested decently and traveled cheap and ended up coming back with slightly more than I had when I left. Got a job teaching English for a year just as a break from the grind of travel. I have some friends that are richer than me now. No regrets.

I just turned 60. I turned a layoff at 27 into a year long sabbatical. (That is what I put on the resume) I didn't have any money and still managed to travel and do volunteer work.

I have never regretted it.

Take the 600k and go somewhere cheaper for awhile.

You'll never get younger and your health is the most important thing for the remainder of your life.

If I were you I’d move to somewhere in Europe for a year. Probably would learn a language while there. Probably would relax for a couple of months and then work on a hobby project (not necessarily writing code).

I’d also look into buying real estate for the 600k and renting it out - this could fund your sabbatical indefinitely.

Do it! The question is if you will want to get back to your old type of work. I was out for 3 months and I wanted to vomit seeing my old code afterwards. Couple years later or now I need to plan a job change and I don’t know where to start, because I don’t want to continue as a coding guy.

I offer my experience, but also proffer that any advice coming from people's prior experience (including mine) may not serve you well, given how the pandemic has changed many aspects of the modern-day relationship between employers and employees. So that should be a bias you consider when considering my own, or other people's, advice.

That caveat having been provided: I did something similar approximately 20+ years ago, and found it was to my detriment. Employers traditionally look at 'gaps' in a resume and question you about them, asking what you did during that time. It seems to be part of the capitalistic intent of wanting to make sure all of your time is spent productively. Even gaps that correspond to worldwide economic downturns sometimes are questioned by people who have short memories.

But to perform yet another 180-degree turn: certain decisions shouldn't always be made with the utmost arbitrer being how it affects one's career. Health - both mental/emotional health and physical - is the utmost of importance. More cerebral people sometimes tend to shrug that aside because they have an incorrect perspective that their mind chooses where their body goes, that they are "driving their meatpuppet." In reality, the body is equally capable of calling a full-stop and has a very symbiotic relationship with our mood. It can't be ignored.

Anyway, my $0.02 FWIW.

Even with 10% of that you can permanently change dozens of lives. Go travel, like has been suggested, and make it your mission to integrate yourself into the local environment, find the overlooked silently suffering, and use what you were given to do something positive in this world.

My 6 month Sabbatical is now one month in. It's my first one after four years at my current employer.

I really enjoy my work, but I still took this opportunity to try new things and be able to really live in the moment without any responsibilities or appointments getting in the way.

What’s the plan after in current economy?

Go for it.

You have PLENTY of savings to do this. Money should not the concern. At your age, I don't see any concern with taking the time off.

If you were much younger or much older, MAYBE there would be some concern about the employment gap or experience gap, but really even that is a stretch.

You should put it all on black 28. If it doesn't roll, put 65k on 1st third. Thank me later.

I’ll repost from similar HN topic:

“Are you taking proper vacations?

I mean for 10+ consecutive days. Completely disconnected from work. No email etc.”

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34719088

If I had 600k I’d retire and work part time and I’m twice your age, take a whole year!

Did 12 months between jobs, 2020-2021. Highly recommend if you can. At the start of it I didn't think I'd ever want to be a programmer again. About 6 months of rest later I was good to go, but eased into it.

I did this in 2017 when I was 30 or so. Very similar situation to you. Ended up taking around 9 months in total off. Traveled a lot. Worked on personal projects. Picked up chess as a hobby.

Highly recommend it if you’re able to.

I did 6 months and would recommend. In my case it was much more being burnt out on the job than programming so I kept busy contributing to open source.

How were you able to accumulate 600k by 28?

Probably working in big tech and riding the wave of zero interest rates.

Pretty much this. Grinding leetcode, constantly negotiating higher pay and getting massive bonuses early in my career. I’ve invested wisely and lived a simple life earlier on

Damn I need to get on that grind too. Any tips on getting to the interview stages? Did you just message recruiters for those companies?

You don't even need to do this much. If you started as an entry-level new grad engineer at a FAANG-equivalent company at 21 you'd have 600K saved up by 28 by following the normal career progression ladder. You wouldn't have to hustle or grind, just coast. And not have obscene expenses of course.

To get in initially, you do need to grind Leetcode at least.

I went to grad school so maybe slight set back

You can do that in just 3 years at FAANG at L5+ level.

I’m doing this now. Let me know if you need some recommendations or want to meet up (assuming you’re cool).

Definitely recommend it.

Take the opportunity to address chronic health issues before age 30. You have plenty of financial margin.

I'd love to do this, and could afford it.

I'm old enough (40s) that I fear my career would never recover.

When I think about the last 6 months of tech in my field, not much has changed. What are you worried about career wise?

Age related discrimination is pretty prevalent - especially in startups for IC / SWE roles.

Exactly this. Middle aged white guy problems I guess.

In my mid-50s, and a consultant for a F500 - I've not had any issues with age discrimination. I tend to think its mostly a matter of staying up to date, and weeding out places that want to pay fresh graduate rates for experienced personnel.

I'm older than you by a good measure, and I did this last year. I came back, decided to quit my job entirely, then found a better job for more pay at the start of the year. Your mileage will vary, of course, but there are still large segments of the industry where experience is an asset and not a liability.

>> there are still large segments of the industry where experience is an asset and not a liability.

I gotta agree with this, I'm mid 50s and got 'hired' 3 times in the last 2 years (once with actual employer, twice with clients 'accepting' me to project teams). If you stay relevant, there's still a lot of work.

ask yourself, what's the alternative? just keep going forever until something breaks?

Economy is shit. Wait to get fired with severance.

Also consider that your HCOL area is part of the problem.

short answer: yes. you can do that.

you can do anything you want. you're CEO of your life. you're young. have lots of cash. just recommend to spend more on the frugal side while income is zero. theres a recession in software anyway.

Your savings are impressive for your age, so good work there

You may be overestimating the time you need to "recover"...my guess is you will be fine after a couple of weeks of low stress and a change of scenery

As to living in a HCOL area...the stress won't end, look at relocating.

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