Comment by system2 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by system2 | Hacker News Reader

Is it better to be unemployed rather than to find a crappy job that pays the bills? (AKA sucking it up while paying bills and looking for a real career job.)

I was in a similar situation and I worked at a warehouse as a loader, then at a kiosk to sell toys, and then sold necklaces at a mall (none of them were my businesses, just worked.) And I worked as a mover. Many odd jobs but I never accepted being unemployed for 2 years while depleting my savings.

Whether it is a matter of being homeless or not, I can find 1000+ odd jobs that pay for something + food from Craigslist right now. This is the reason why you will rarely see an immigrant being homeless or being picky about the jobs they find. Staying unemployed for years until finding the "best job" is a very privileged mindset. 3 months in no job? Find something to float, don't wait until your dream job appears out of nowhere.

I survived with $1000 a month for a very long time (in America, the money I earned from my jobs) while paying for a room, eating + transportation. If I had 80k, I'd buy a cheap van, live in it for free, and eat the bare minimum nutrition I need ($150 a month). I can survive with 80 for over a decade easily. God knows what this person is doing with his money. I am certain he has parents that he can count on.

These posts are extremely bizarre.

Now, downvote me to hell.

I don't think this is a universal solution. I was unemployed for around 6 months, and my parents thought it was laziness that I didn't try to get a job at a gas station or something. I used the time to develop skills that helped me later. I got a job after that which didn't pay the best for being a software position, but the skills I fostered in that time were directly helpful in landing the next one that had a 60%+ pay bump with better benefits and learning opportunities. I absolutely would not have gotten this position without that time devoted to sharpening a specific skill set.

You were a young boy living with your parents under their protection. Likely they didn't care if you find a job within 6 months while they were helping you since you are their precious child (most parents do the same). That is not the same as blowing 80k while having fun acting like you couldn't find any survivable job for 2 years.

Someone I vaguely know made the recommendation in print that, if you lost your job, get something at Starbucks the next day. Don't really agree but the one time I lost my job, I did start doing regular professional job hunting the next day which materialized in fairly short order through my network. Had that not worked out, I'd probably have done something survivable absent any particular severance package.

It was sort of a dismal time in tech in general (dot-bomb) so I wouldn't have just taken a couple months to travel even if I could have afforded to do so.

it depends, you still need time and energy to apply for jobs, keep your skills sharp, etc. not every job allows you to do that. and in some countries doing jobs like that looks worse on your resume than a gap.

None of the resumes are real anyway. You can type garbage online projects to close the gaps. After work, you can still go home and study for 3-5 hours per day. That's what I did and I know it is possible. Whatever you do though, it is better than wasting time with friends and going out for adventures for 2 years while wasting your money and time.

I don’t know if I follow. So starving yourself alone in a van is a better use of time and money than going on adventures with friends? To what end?

You can survive with 80k over 10-15 years instead of 2 and it increases your chances to find the job you want in a van. The van part was a random example and an exaggeration, but if it were down to being homeless I'd buy a van with my last money. What I mean is don't waste your money while there real and easy options out there. I just can't wrap my head around the part of the OP's luxurious trips and having fun while draining a massive amount of money and not finding any job. Just go work for McD or Ralph's as a cashier while looking for a job. I just can't stand lazy people who act like victims.

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