What Are 'Mini-Retirements,' and Who Takes Them? | Hacker News Reader

What Are 'Mini-Retirements,' and Who Takes Them?

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45 pointsjanandonly29 comments

I "retired" when I was 42, with a plan to finally study for a degree (Open University), write some novels, etc. I had saved enough money to get me through 3 years without support. Like many of the people quoted in the article the early deaths of my father and brother, who never made it to their retirements, were also a significant factor.

3 years turned into 7 years when I struggled to land a full-time job. Stacking shelves on a zero-hours contract wasn't part of the dream ... but rent doesn't pay itself. It turns out you have to be hyper-adaptable and resilient when life doesn't go according to the plans you make for it. But I think that's true of everything, yes?

This is difficult in most high income industries sadly, as an extended vacation/mini retirement is considered a death sentence to your career even if the reality is your skills do not become stale.

Mid 40s and considering a year sabbatical to focus on some skill upgrades. I can afford the time off but am very hesitant to do it for fear of having a hard time getting back into a similarly high level role even with a skill refresh in hand.

For what it's worth, I took a year-long sabbatical in my 50s and did not suffer any noticeable ill effects to my career on my return. Your mileage may vary, of course.

A year is barely noticeable, especially if you can fill the empty space with some learning projects.

Is it a death sentence or do the higher ups just want you to think that? If many people start doing it, the people hiring will just have to accept it. When I was a kid, they said people shouldn't get tattoos because you'll never get a real job. Now everyone has tattoos, even people with real jobs.

> When I was a kid, they said people shouldn't get tattoos because you'll never get a real job

I'm from such upbringing and then after exiting the study and full time job marathon in mid 30s, I realized that everyone have tattoos including doctors and policemen. Nowadays the first thing kids want when reaching age 17 is tattoo. Some major cultural shift happened when I was stuck in libraries and offices. Now after few years and with gaps in CV I'm the unemployable.

So, what tattoo are you getting?

Thinking about becoming a tattooless villain.

I think most people consider the "social" impact rather than anything else. Other commentors basically boil it down to "if you can explain it as a useful endevour" it's fine.

I did it three times, in 2007, 2010, and 2012. Each of these were 8-10 months. The key is that you can't spend your time on the couch. You need to have a story. Live in a foreign country. Write a book, even if it doesn't get published. Spend some time working on an open source library that you've always wanted to help out. Walk the Appalachian Trail. Ideally, you're spending 5-10 hours each week (after an initial decompression) keeping up with the industry and keeping your programming skills fresh.

When you start, make sure to write down all of your stories and accomplishments so that you can come back and interview like you never left.

And have twice as much money in reserve as you think you need, because your job search after the fact will take a little longer. However, you will find a job again.

This, as long as it led to something genuinely interesting/useful and/or relevant to the work, and you can demonstrate it somehow, no one serious is going to perceive it negatively after some questions and answers.

I have not found that to be true; twice now I have taken a year off, done something completely different, then gone back to my career (software engineering).

A lot of people do it these days - earn money for 1-2 years, then live in a cheap LCOL place outside the US for 2-4 years.

This is primarily possible because the rat race COL in America is so so darned high that just getting out of America is enough to retire for someone who managed to save $100k-$200k.

I’m currently on a mini retirement myself. I didn’t know this turn of frases existed though.

I would just tell people I’ve stopped working. When they ask me if I’m looking for another job i tell them “No. Not yet.”

I recently a friend who’s hoping to sell his company next year. He wants to retire indefinite. I don’t know if it will work out for him. Most of us are not used to doing nothing. It gets boring quickly.

I was already tempted to take a simple position somewhere. Just to work 1/2 days a week. Just to have a bit of a schedule and some people to be around with. I wouldn’t want to work from home. I want it to be in an office, with coworkers in adjacent offices.

This is what I'd like to get to - I think I would be bored stiff being fully retired, but I don't want to need to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. A day or two would be ideal. There are numerous permutations of "FIRE" but I think this is called "Barista Fire"

Same. Unfortunately, it's difficult finding part time work in tech right now.

What business does your friend operate

> I didn’t know this turn of frases existed though

Last time I called it “funemployment”. A lot of my hobbies progressed. About three months in I got pinged by a recruiter and ended up accepting an offer at an aerospace company.

It surprises me that so many people, when they are not working, do “nothing.” I think it's mostly a matter of the need for validation, which, in my experience, is particularly prevalent in the United States. People need reassurance that they are somehow competent, that they are needed, and that they are somehow contributing to a group, a small society, which most of the time is--isn't that crazy--a corporation. If that validation is not there, they think they are doing "nothing".

A question I often ask people is, “If they paid you the same salary you earn now, but without working (i.e., you don't work, you can do whatever you want with your life, but you can't be compensated for your work), would you take the deal?” I'm surprised, maybe bewildered is a more appropriate term, that many people say they wouldn't, and they explain it by saying they like what they do, their colleagues, etc. And maybe I'm the odd one out, the eccentric one, but there are so many languages I'd like to learn, races I'd like to run, places I'd like to visit, sports, and skills and crafts I'd like to become proficient in. And I couldn't say no to all that for what, an IC, a middle manager position that one day is there and the next day is eliminated by the CFO/CTO/C-whatever? A position where they would barely remember my name a week after I left?

But many strongly feel this need for validation, which they never seem to have overcome in their younger years, when the ancestral fear of not being appreciated by their parents and thus being abandoned took hold in their souls.

Have you tried having time on your hands to do all the studying you want to do? Before you know it, it’s been a month of “I’ll start tomorrow”

I am doing a lot, but I would like to do more. To become skilled at something, and not just to read a Wikipedia article about it, one has to spend time, energy, effort, and sometimes money. Having the money, more time and energy would increase the number of sports, activities, crafts, and skills I would like to explore and become proficient in.

> Just to work 1/2 days a week. Just to have a bit of a schedule and some people to be around with. I wouldn’t want to work from home. I want it to be in an office

This is an ideal. And it's the future too. But nowadays how do you even start to look for this kind of gig ? (Pardon my ignorance.)

I didn't know this had a name. I highly recommend it, btw.

I usually do 1-2 years of intensive work, followed by 2-4 years of "chill".

If you manage to make those work years enjoyable (I haven't) you're pretty much on perpetual vacation.

Would such recovery from burnout be necessary in the first place if one didn't find the need to do intensive work?

Depends on the person. Some people can not turn it off anyway, even with fewer hours, it always feels like you want get as much done about your projects as possible, as quickly as possible or it is kind of eating your soul and you can not relax anyway.

I would prefer a shorter period of intensive work, then no responsibilities at all, compared to some responsibilities always.

Oh, but burnouts are not the reason why I take breaks. I feel it's the other way around, I take a break from "chilling" when I'm too bored and/or money is running low.

I have burned out in the past and it had to do with other factors; anxiety, low income, ...

I wish we could all live like this, but realistically out of reach for most people who live paycheck to paycheck. It would be great for the economy, more people out vacationing, spending money, would create more jobs.

we had quiet quitting now we have quiet layoffs /s.

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