
Ask HN: Am I committing career suicide? - skurry
I've been working in IT as a software engineer for almost 12 years now. Half of that in Europe with J2EE, the latter half in the Bay Area as a web developer in .NET.<p>I'm starting to become more and more bored with work. I started to look around for other opportunities, but I feel it's hard to do that while working full time. Also, my problem does not seem to be with that particular job, it's with the whole corporate world. Being forced to sit at a desk the whole day. I'm still motivated to work on my own projects after work and on the weekends. I still like programming. I just don't like coding stuff <i>for other people</i>.<p>Long story short, I'm preparing to take a time out. Maybe one year, maybe two, maybe only six months. My savings could probably sustain my current lifestyle for 5-10 years, if not more. My plan would be to crank out mobile apps, maybe one every two months, see if any of them can make some money. If it doesn't work, I could use them as a reference to get a mobile dev job, hopefully at a company with a product I can be passionate about.<p>Am I crazy to give up a six figure salary just because I don't feel like being employed anymore? I'm in my mid-late thirties, will I even find a new job with a gap in my resume like this? Any first hand experiences? I'm single, no kids.
======
rwg
After a decade at the same employer, I was completely burned out -- I had
worked 60+ hour weeks for many years, with nothing resembling a "real"
vacation since ~2004. I didn't enjoy the bulk of the work. I wasn't learning
anything applicable outside of my employer's niche. I was being given projects
that I was completely unqualified to work on (but I was the least unqualified
person, so they fell to me).

After one particularly brutal day that didn't see me home until well after
midnight, I did some serious soul-searching. I gave my (pretty generous)
notice the next day.

I did the math and figured out my vacation payout + vacation time I had lost
over the years due to the yearly cutoff was about three months, so I planned
to take a three month vacation. Sleep all day, learn a programming language,
drive to interesting places, read books, play video games, whatever sounded
interesting that particular day. Recharge the ol' batteries. And that's
exactly what I did.

After my three months of R&R were up, it was time to start looking for a job.
I applied for interesting-sounding jobs that I thought I was qualified for.
Silence. I contacted some friends and asked about opportunities, then sent CVs
to the few that said, "Yes, we have positions you should apply for!" More
silence. I continue(d) to apply for interesting jobs, resisting the urge to
just scattershot resumes at everything I'm qualified for. (I think that's
tacky, and I'm not that desperate yet. Plus, I don't want another job I'll
hate and/or burn out on.)

My three months turned into six months...and then nine months...and now stands
at 11 months. I haven't been able to get a single interview -- phone, e-mail,
in-person, or otherwise. My savings and expenses are such that I'm okay for
another two years or so, but I will need an income of some sort eventually.

Maybe my skill set is crap. Maybe my CV is crap. Maybe it's my employment
history gap. Maybe it's karmic retribution. I can't be certain, but my money's
on the gap.

tl;dr: Your mileage may vary, but I'm pretty sure I Darwin'd my career by
taking time off without doing anything that I could put on a CV to explain the
gap in my employment history.

~~~
skurry
Thanks for sharing your story. I remember reading something similar a few
weeks ago here on HN.

It may be the combination of 10+ years at one company, plus a gap. It could be
something else. Have you asked those friends for an update what happened after
you sent your CV?

In my (limited) experience, even though people say there's a shortage of
qualified software engineers and it's a great market for them now, it's always
hard to find a good job. Key word being "good". Unless you're a "rock star"
that has written a book and is being hired to speak at tech conferences.
Companies are still being picky, even if they can't afford to be.

------
GuiA
Do it. Your savings exist precisely for that sort of situation.

Take time off, and figure out what you want to do. Maybe it'll be
freelancing/indie development. Maybe in 6 months you'll want to come back to
the tech world. Or maybe you'll just say "fuck it" and go teach high school
mathematics or help out with IT infrastructure in third world countries or
whatever.

The point is: you only live once, do it.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Perhaps good advice for HORRID reasons. Anyone spouting "YOLO" or any such
thing should be ignored out of hand.

~~~
jpgvm
"You only live once" used to be perfectly fine before a bunch of kids gave it
bad connotations.

Once upon a time it used to be a way of saying that you only have finite
amount of time on earth and you should make the best of it. Somewhat similar
to "Carpe Diem" and "Momento Mori".

The fact that a bunch of kids that use it as reasoning to smoke alot of dope
and do stupid shit doesn't change the original meaning in the eyes of many
folk.

~~~
benatkin
The Lonely Island did a parody song/video about YOLO where they made it about
living well, but they took it over the top.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5Otla5157c> The YOLO phenomenon isn't
limited to getting crazy, but it sure seems to be the most common use of it.

------
obviouslygreen
5+ years bankrolled on savings from working full time? Well done. I mean damn,
well done.

You are not crazy to give it up. I can't speak from experience; I am in my
early 30's and gave up a lower rate about six years ago to good result, but
that's just anecdotal. It seems to me you have a very strong position: You
have serious industry experience and, from your description, very strong
financial responsibility. It's almost irritating that this should be
impressive, but it is: You are a whale among greedy remoras. ;)

It is certainly obvious to you that this is a risk. Being single and without
dependents does help, but that also brings to mind the question of priorities.
You're in a position, now, where you earn enough to wrap up your retirement
reasonably early, if this pace keeps up. If that is what you want, then you
might consider that starting a family -- if that's a priority for you -- could
actually make your current income sources very, very valuable in a meaningful
sense.

If your primary goal is work satisfaction... then yes, I would say this is an
excellent opportunity to step out of your current environment (calling it a
rut or anything else would paint a biased picture, I think) and potentially do
something more rewarding, in terms of personal fulfillment. I would _not_ go
into such a venture with the expectation of more lucrative results, though.
You seem to be in a good position. There are certainly many startups that
succeed, and that won't change. But the reality will always be that more fail.

Be careful. You are in a good position, and you seem to know it. My suggestion
would be to try and decide what it is you would be happiest doing, or at least
deciding on things you want to accomplish. If you can manage that, then you
will at least have something interesting to work towards. If not, then you may
need more time before you can do something new and expect it to end well or at
least satisfy you.

~~~
skurry
You summed up my inner dialog perfectly.

I used the retirement calculator my brokerage firm has on their website.
According to their Monte Carlo simulation, I have about 10 years to financial
independence (90% chance that my money doesn't run out before I die), income,
savings rate and expenses remaining at the same level. That happens to be
around $1 million in savings in today's dollars. It's tempting on the one
hand, but on the other hand: 10 damn years!! I don't know if I can do it.

It's weird, I'm hoping that the decision is somehow made for me. My company
being acquired or forced to downsize, offering severance packages... But alas,
it doesn't seem to be in the cards.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Ha! Yes, ten years feels like a very, very long time just lately. ;)

There's nothing wrong with coasting when you know you're moving in a good
direction, which it seems clear you are. In your situation, you have the
chance to sit back, observe, and carefully consider the environment (in
addition to consulting whatever oracles you consider the most wise) and then
decide when or whether you should strike out with any given idea.

Unless you're throwing yourself on the mercy of an incubator on the strength
of your resume, which in my opinion is a laughable gamble for kids who don't
know better, you will want to think long and hard on what you want to do and
how you want to do it. Once you can answer those questions for yourself (as
you are the only one to whom you answer, and you'll never find a more
forgiving situation), you'll have your direction.

Once you take it... well, that's another story. ;)

~~~
skurry
My lease is running out in November, so that's the time frame I've given
myself to see if it gets any better. The good thing is that time doesn't run
against me. Okay, maybe opportunities for indie devs in the mobile market may
be shrinking, and it might be harder to find a job in your forties than in
your thirties, but I can wait a few months and carefully consider all the
options.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Points well taken. Yes, indie opportunity is not what it was, but it's most
certainly still there.

I can't speak to ageism in the market, though we all know it exists...
hopefully your skills speak for you. My best weapon in the last decade has
been the interview; if you enjoy and excel at that, plan on getting most of
what you want. :)

I don't know what your qualifications are, but if you are interested in
freelance web/Android work, please drop me a line. Info is in my profile. I
have nothing waiting at the moment, but I do get a fair amount of leads.

------
rolleiflex
> My savings could probably sustain my current lifestyle for 5-10 years, if
> not more.

You're successful,

> I'm single, no kids.

and you don't have obligations.

Considering these, I'd quite safely say this is a game you are not likely to
lose. While it's a decision you need to make by yourself, your worst case
scenario is better than lives of most people in the field. Plus, taking a year
or two to work on startups as far as I can see is quite normal and even seen
in a positive light in many places.

------
shepbook
I may be echoing others, but I to say to go for it.

As for the "gap", this is simple. Start a business. If you're going to be
making and selling mobile apps, you'll want a basic corporate entity behind
you anyways. Now, instead of being "unemployed guy building apps" you're
"Founder of Mobile App Development Consultancy" or something along those
lines.

Given what you stated about not liking the corporate world, that's completely
understandable. I certainly prefer smaller companies, even startup,
bootstrapping level ones. J2EE and .NET aren't strongly used outside of the
big enterprise-y corporate world. Given your experience with Java, I'd say you
might find Clojure to be a great move and still be able to leverage your Java
past.

Go for it! Get yourself an LLC or similar and build some apps. If you have 5+
years of financial runway, you should certainly be able to find something
self-sustaining in that time. :)

Jump and don't look back!

~~~
skurry
That's exactly what I'm already working on. I have a domain name secured, an
app in the Android app store, and if I do make the jump, I'll change my
LinkedIn to "Founder, <company name> LLC" or something like that.

I could use my C# skills to port the app to WP7/8, and I might even buy my
first Apple computer and learn Objective C. Exciting prospects!

~~~
tutufan
No advice as to whether you should do it, but if you do, stuff like this will
be useful to cast your adventure as "legit" if you want to return to the
standard world later. I'd definitely work on leaving a trail/portfolio of your
work as you go.

------
bearwithclaws
Do it, and come to Malaysia.

Savings that lasts 5-10 years in the states would lasts you at least 20-30
years here. Most people here speaks English fluently, and the startups/hackers
culture here are vibrant and growing.

My good friend quit his cozy programming job in Canada and spent a year
travelling and hacking in Malaysia + Singapore. He left with more money than
when he started (took very very few consulting jobs in between). Oh, and tons
of great (food) memories: <http://malaysianfoodporn.com/>

~~~
kinkora
I have to agree with Cheng.

Malaysia is probably your best bet for somewhere in between if you are looking
for a balance between the developed world and stretching your savings. KL is a
pretty laid back place to be with awesome food! And with AirAsia being based
in Malaysia, you could pretty much travel anywhere in Asia for cheaps. And if
you ever decide you are running out of money or are bored, there are a
multitude of companies/startups you can start consulting for!

Btw, bearwithclaws, how did your friend end up with more money than when he
started? I'm curious.

~~~
richerd
I occasionally did some consulting jobs. Put it this way, some people make
about $500 a month in Malaysia (which is more than enough to survive
comfortably on). When you charge $100+ an hour you can make more in a day than
the locals make in a month.

~~~
dualogy
Having been in Malaysia on and off for the last few years: you _can_ survive
with $500 a month. But you don't wanna put a guy in his late 30s in the kind
of accommodation you'd have to put up with for that budget.

Let me put it this way. A 1000$ rental gets you much more luxury than the same
amount would get you in the west. But a 500$ monthly budget is pretty poor
lifestyle in the long run even in South-East Asia, though I agree not quite as
desolate and impoverished as you'd be in Europe or America :))

~~~
richerd
I had some super interesting housing arrangements the whole time I was there.

One of the more interesting ones...

[http://richerd.com/2011/09/03/sleeping-on-the-streets-of-
kua...](http://richerd.com/2011/09/03/sleeping-on-the-streets-of-kuala-
lumpur/)

~~~
dualogy
Yeah I heard of your sleeping rough back in the day from bearwithclaws :D

So yeah we're definitely in agreement. You can survive for $500 easily -- if
you find a 'bed' that costs $0 ;P

------
TeeWEE
I only have 4 years of experience in the field. ~3 years at a big social
network in europe. We got beaten by Facebook. Then I switched to Consultancy
work, yes the J2EE weblogic corporate mangers-all-over-the-place kind of work.

But after a year I stopped and joined a startup in the mobile industry. I
coudn't be more pleased.

To you: \- Do it! \- The gap doesnt matter, if you can explain properly \-
Dont start working fulltime alone, either have a companion, work somewhere
were similar people do the same thing, or have a second job on the side. This
is mostly for social reasons. \- If you want to work in the startup world, try
to do something apart from j2ee. But I see you want to do mobile dev, good
choice!

You should think twice about what your motivaions are, do you want to become
an entrepeneur? Or you just want to be happy with your job? Dont make the
wrong choices for the wrong reasons.

~~~
skurry
> You should think twice about what your motivaions are, do you want to become
> an entrepeneur? Or you just want to be happy with your job? Dont make the
> wrong choices for the wrong reasons.

This is a great question. I think my main goal would be autonomy. Being able
to go hiking in the morning and then work through the night. I never
understood why we're forced to spend the days pent up in office buildings.

The other thing: Since I was a kid with a Commodore 64, I've been wanting to
develop games. Just small, quirky, but fun and captivating games. This might
be the chance to go after that childhood dream, as silly as it may sound.

------
polskibus
If you are risk averse (assuming you are because you have lived corporate life
for 12 years) I'd recommend working for a small company first, for at least 6
months. There are many aspects of running the company and your own product
which you don't see in a corporation. This will help you prepare for launching
your own enterprise.

------
rdl
I'd probably try to emphasize "left to go do a startup" on your resume,
whether or not it works out, whether or not you approach it as an 80 (or even
40) hour/week thing, rather than "took time off".

But, otherwise, this is absolutely _good_ for your resume, I think. Assuming
there's no huge change in the market, you should be as employable if not more.
Maybe try to stay involved in the .NET/J2EE developer community once a month
or so, keep in touch with former coworkers, etc. in case you decide to go back
to that instead of mobile, though.

------
infogaufire
Neither you are crazy nor you are the only with such feelings. I am a 3x
entrepreneur, have sold 2 companies and 25 years old. I am working for the
acquirer of my last company for last 14 months and I am already tired of
writing code for someone else. I am all set to leave my six figure salary and
keep hacking & building products that inner me wants to build. Believe me,
getting a job at the same pay scale will never be a problem for you. Go ahead
and start working on your own ideas full time.

------
tuantruong
Lets me tell you my story, I was in UK working for a small consulting company
as .Net developer, then I decided to come back to Vietnam and started my own
company , outsourcing back to the company that I have worked for. The company
has started ok with 4 people, but over the last year or so, besides doing
outsource, we stated several projects but none of them has gone well so far.
Further, the company has been hit by the economic crisis as many other
companies, so its finance hasn't been in a good state. Due to my personal
financial need since my marriage, I have once again got a corporate company
working as PM/Developer with an high pay ( in Vietnam), but at the same time
try to keep my business alive. It has been one year since I started working
here, and even though I don't think I have done a bad job with the salary
increase, but I honestly never have been enjoyed a single day of it. I am
determined to quit the job and get back to my business as it has started to
pick up again, we also preparing to launch a mobile product shortly.

All in all, I think the stories that you guys have put here is such a good
inspiration for me to get back to start up world, enjoying every day of coding
and hacking. Hopefully, one day my product will make to the top of hackernews.

------
osekkat
Do it, and make sure to use your time off wisely. You have enough savings,
you're single. If you're gonna do it, now is the time. I'm in a somewhat
similar situation. I've been working in the Bay Area as an ASIC validation
engineer in a big semiconductor company for the past few years. I'm 30 years
old. I've also gotten quite bored with work, so on the side I've been doing
some mobile development (Android then iOS). I just very recently (Friday)
started interviewing and it seems that the demand is pretty high. (I've gotten
several requests on linkedIn before even publishing any apps). The transition
for you should be even smoother since you have a background in CS. I feel that
you can't go wrong by taking some time-off, work on your own projects then
decide whether to join a company or start your own. I don't have as much
savings as you, so my goal is to quit my job and find another job in Mobile
Development, while working on my own project on the side. In all cases, best
of luck!

Here is the app that I released about a week ago (shameless plug):
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dish./id648176152?ls=1&m...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dish./id648176152?ls=1&mt=8)

~~~
osekkat
I just gave my resignation notice about an hour ago (no joke). Whatever you
decide to do, best of luck!

------
skurry
Some more data points and thoughts:

\- I have 23 days of PTO per year, which is generous for the US. I did several
two week trips the past years, mostly to Asia. My job is fairly low stress, I
work less than 40 hours per week. But still, as soon as I set a foot into the
office, it feels like all life energy gets sapped out of me. Maybe it's the
fluorescent lighting? The crappy HVAC that oscillates between freezing and
muggy? The open office plan we moved to last year? The constant sitting? As
soon as I'm on my bike on the way home, I feel better.

\- Worst case, if I do it: I get lazy and don't do anything during my time
off, and won't have anything to show for at the end. But that's entirely in my
control, and I won't have anyone to blame but myself.

\- I read many blogs and comments about this. A recurring theme is people
saying "I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to bring myself to go back to work after
taking such a long time off." While I can see the point, aren't they
implicitly admitting that there is something wrong with their current
situation?

~~~
eru
> The constant sitting?

Try to get a standing desk. It worked wonders for me.

~~~
skurry
I've been talking to my manager about this. The problem is, after moving to an
open floor plan, paradoxically we don't have room anymore.

I'm trying to work standing up for a bit. It does help, but of course is far
from ergonomic at a regular desk. It probably also looks ridiculous, me doing
a semi-split to get low enough to reach the keyboard and mouse.

~~~
eru
Try using a few reams of copy paper (or books and boxes etc) to prop up
monitors and input devices. I had such a makeshift setup at first.

Also, have you tried working from home? Orthogonally, negotiating a four day
work week 4x8h (at 80% pay) might help you enjoy yourself more. Managment
might not be too happy, but if you insist and tell them that the alternative
is 0 day work week at 0% pay (i.e. you leave), they might see the light.

------
stitchintime
Not sure if this is a popular sentiment, but the Bay Area is expensive. I
would probably move to a cheaper area for a while if I wanted to work on cool
stuff on my own for a while without taking a nice salary.

~~~
mehrdad
If you are smart you can live in Bay area with under than $800 per month
everything included (rent+food+bills+gas+insurance). That's what I am doing
right now and working on my start-up at the same time.

~~~
stitchintime
I guess you can start by living in one of a three-bed apt. in Sunnyvale!

------
s3b
Would it be possible to make a few apps on the side, see if they get any
traction and then decide whether or not to jump? You could try taking a month
off (without resigning) just to work full time on this. This way you could
figure out if you're passionate about mobile apps without actually giving up
your job.

~~~
skurry
I have a line of Android apps that have a few thousand downloads. So far I've
made about $30 in half a year with ads. But I'm positive that it would be a
different story if I could dedicate myself to that full time.

~~~
s3b
Cool, so it sounds like you know what you're doing and you've got a pretty
long runway. Go ahead, jump. This will probably end well.

------
raarky
Oh wow, I'm actually trying to make that decision right now too. Thanks for
posting this.

I've been building something in my spare time and between freelance gigs. It's
at a good working prototype stage. I just want to spend a solid month
polishing, plugging in minimally required data, release it and see what
happens from there.

At the same time, I've just been offered a new contract which will put my
project on the slow track for a good half year but it's money coming in.

Being able to focus on something that I'm interested in is amazing. My
creativity flows and I see results occur at a pace that keeps motivated even
more.

Yet, I don't know what decision to make - Financially sound status quo or
happy pipe-dream.

but... I'm reading everyone's comments with great interest.

------
rabbitjeff
No, you don't.

I think it might help to change the way you look at this. It is not only a
problem but also a big chance to find something that fuldills you again. I
went to the same situation but with lot less savings. It was damn hard and
still isn't all sunshine, but i do not regret leaving my boring well paying
job at MS for a second. Problems will occur but they are also solved on the
way.

Read Books on the topic, make a solid plan, and then learn to trust in
yourself and let go. Might sound oversimplified but sometimes you have to make
a change in order to get what you really want in the end. You're not alone in
this. There were thousands that did the move. Best of luck.

------
ikhare
People here have given great motivating responses. But In don't think anyone
has answered the whether it would be hard to get an job again after a big gap
if you decide to get one again. It seems like you want to continue coding in
some form, so really there will be no gap of experience in your resume.

If anything finding people who have built products themselves and put them out
there is great to see and are hugely valuable to an enlightened organization.
Whenever I interview people this is always a fun part of the conversation. I
find that those people are very likely to be tuned to building great products
and are the kind of people I want to work with.

------
mendozao
I'm not an expert or anything, so take my personal opinion with a grain of
salt. If you aren't happy, do something about it. Otherwise, in a couple
years, you will wake up miserable feeling like you have cheated yourself out
of the most precious thing we can never get back - time. You are the CEO of
your own life. Enjoy your journey, take risks, and don't be afraid of being a
little foolish - so long as it is in a smart way. Good luck!

(FWIW I skipped out on traditional job offers after getting my masters to
begin a startup)

------
stitchintime
You're definitely not crazy. I am not as far into my own career as you, but I
would even say that it seems the crazy thing to do, in your position, is to do
nothing. You want more from life? Get it! You _will_ be able to find a job
later, guaranteed, especially if you kept hacking after leaving your big-co
job! (Do re-adjust expectations, though. A start-up will not pay you nearly as
much as your last job did, although you should get stock. You know all this,
but it will still be a big change.)

------
noelwelsh
Do it. The kind of people who will look down on you for taking risks are not
the kind of people you want to work for.

In general, it sounds like you've taken a very safe / corporate path with your
career. Pays well, but it's boring. That might be the problem. I did a year in
a big company and haven't worked any sizeable since. I know guys who earn six
figures a year working at banks, but the crap they have to put up with --
what's the point?

------
hardwaresofton
So just as everyone else has said in this thread -- sounds like you have
enough of a cushion to do just about whatever you damn well please for at
least 2 years (taking into the account the possibility that you decided to
live as a rockstar at ~5x above your current means)

What I do want to say -- and I'm really unsure that I should be saying it at
all (since I'm not your dad, but then again, this is the internet)

Maybe you should start at least considering settling down somewhere? I don't
mean settle down somewhere and enter a company you hate for the rest of your
life just for job security, but more like pick a place (or search for) a place
you want to be in for a long time

With IT/software skills like yours, I doubt there are many people who won't
see your value at a technical company, and that will enable you to get a job
in most places, but being transient forever (even if you're writing awesome
software) doesn't seem like a wholesome plan

I'm definitely assuming too much, and I don't know anything (outside of this
post) about you or your goals, but just figured I should at least make the
point

Also, your Honolulu-as-a-place-to-live idea sounds amazing

~~~
skurry
Your assumptions go in the right direction. I think the Bay Area is an amazing
place to live, not the worst place to raise a family. But somehow I don't have
much luck with the dating scene here (living in the South Bay). San Francisco
might be a bit better, but it's almost impossible to find an apartment at the
moment. And even here it gets a bit too cold for my taste sometimes, which is
weird to say for someone who grew up in central Europe. Maybe another move
will make me a more interesting, well-rounded person. Maybe an environment
that's not dominated by technology might be a good place to recharge my
batteries. At the very least it's an adventure and a cool story to tell.

~~~
hardwaresofton
Yeah, I've only visited the Bay area & California in general, but definitely
finding a place you want to be in is what I was going for -- it seems you're
already thinking about that, which makes sense.

Maybe some places that recently had tech booms might be good idea? Though I
don't know where you'll find better general weather than California --
Seattle? Austin? New York? Dallas? Chicago?

I live in Texas, but I do have to warn you, it gets cold here from time to
time when the wind blows in the winter. sometimes

[EDIT] - Of course, outside America might be a good fit too, there are so many
places, and it seems like you've got pretty much free reign -- you've got a
pretty rare chance I don't think many people get (though we all decide our
daily lives, I don't think many people get as clear a decision point as you
have right now), enjoy it

------
covertgeek
I don't think you're committing career suicide. Sticking around indefinitely
while you're miserable will not only suck the life out of you, but your drive
to do well at work.

Might I recommend a book called Quitter by Jon Acuff? He's done a couple of
books about making the leap from the corporate world to a more fulfilling
"dream" job. It was a good, quick read.

If you've got the savings and a decent plan, I'd say go for it.

------
pbreit
If you are a decent programmer, you should be able to find some sort of
satisfactory-paying work even with the "gap" you describe. And if you truly
have 5-10 years of savings, you have more than enough cushion to try working
for yourself for a year. Try to retain some discipline as you go. If after a
year or two you're not able to make anything work, consider looking for a boss
again.

------
macarthy12
Come live in Asia for 6 months. Cut your costs, have a break.

Word of warning - Its easy to take a break and end up getting nothing done.
Set boundaries.

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revathskumar
I am right now going through the similar stage that I wanna do something for
myself. I am just 4 years in this carrier and have no savings. Still I thought
to take a chance, but my friends didn't allowed me to do it.

So right now I am working for myself during the nights, sacrificing some of my
sleep.

If I where you or have some saving, I will definitely go for it.

------
makaimc
You're absolutely not crazy. I'm 30 and in the midst of traveling the US
meeting with software developers for 5 months. Every minute, both the ups and
downs, have been worth it. Check out my site codingacrossamerica.com and shoot
me an email if you're interested in figuring out whether this is the right
path for you.

------
carsongross
Relevant:

[http://lionoftheblogosphere.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/sucks-t...](http://lionoftheblogosphere.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/sucks-
to-be-an-old-engineer/)

[http://blogaborty.blogspot.in/2013/04/no-country-for-old-
pro...](http://blogaborty.blogspot.in/2013/04/no-country-for-old-
programmers.html)

------
waterlesscloud
Ask yourself this- Do you want to work for anyone in the future that would
hold this against you?

You don't sound like you do.

------
schumacher
There will be no gap in your resume as long as you can exactly explain what
you have done in these years. Get a business registration and try the self
employment. If you fail your new employer will appreciate your "research" time
in development and learning.

------
ronyeh
Here's a dude who took a year "off" with his family and cranked out an iPhone
app.

[http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/183910777/seeing-the-
northern-...](http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/183910777/seeing-the-northern-
light-a-temporary-arctic-retirement)

~~~
skurry
Thanks for this link! I've been reading a lot of blogs lately, but haven't
seen this article. I've seen the TED talk mentioned in the article, and it was
an inspiration to my idea, along with the Four Hour Work Week of course.

Quite a few people seem to be able to make a living as indie developers. But I
wonder how many fail, without making their story public. People like to read
about success stories, but not about failures.

~~~
ronyeh
I've also read Ferriss. Interesting ideas but I'm not sure how applicable it'd
be. I like the idea of work hard for 10 yrs and take "off" a year or two
better. :-)

If you ever want to meet up and chat, feel free to ping me. I've been doing
indie development for ~3 yrs.

------
sliverstorm
I can't tell you where to go or what to do, but if you just hate what you do,
might as well try to find something different.

Many people in this world do not enjoy their jobs, but you appear to have the
resources and the freedom to try to find the job you like.

P.S. Here's an idea. Have you considered going back to school for a Master's,
if you don't already have one? That could give you more personal time to
explore side projects (as well as hopefully working on something cool for your
degree), handily explains 2-3 years of gap in employment history, and you come
out with a degree. Thus allowing you to hedge your bets in case you have to
rejoin the corporate world later.

~~~
skurry
I applied to SJSU, they have a Master's program with emphasis on mobile
development. But after the budget cuts they seem to be really struggling,
bureaucratically. I haven't heard anything from them other than "we received
your documents, we'll process them within a week". That was two months ago. I
haven't really followed up with them and asked what's going on, which I guess
is a sign that I'm not really passionate about that idea...

------
webdisrupt
Sometimes you have to take a few steps back in order to achieve or figure out
your so called dream job. Bare in mind cash is a limited motivator as it will
never fulfill the drive and passion you have to achieve more. Don't take me
wrong money is important but personally I would prefer having a mediocre
salary for a while and know that I am on the way to achieve the "real" thing.

You sound like you are having the usual symptoms of wanting to do your own
thing. Remember that if you don't try you will never find out. This is me
speaking from experience. Best of luck!

------
pathik
Maybe. But if you don't do it now, it'll just become harder and you'll regret
not doing it all your life.

I did something similar, but I did it much before 30. Haven't regretted it so
far.

Go for it.

------
schiang
I think you should go for it.

I'm currently in a similar situation. I started learning how to program about
a year ago and even got a job at a startup. I really want to learn iOS dev
because just being a RoR dev will limit my career path real soon. I quit my
job a few weeks ago and have been spending all my time learning iOS dev. My
goal is to find another job after I'm comfortable with iOS.

------
noonespecial
I can't speak to the resume "gap", but I can promise you that this will make
you a better developer by a ridiculous amount.

------
_pmf_
> I'm in my mid-late thirties, will I even find a new job with a gap in my
> resume like this?

Certainly not at a big company.

------
mehrdad
I'd suggest quitting your job and traveling around the world for a couple of
months. Go to unfamiliar countries such as India, China, Japan, Korea,
Peru,....

It will open your mind and give you life changing experiences. Stop working on
some app...Go for something big. it will come to you

------
jakedahn
If you've got that much money saved, you should be working for yourself,
making awesome applications and changing the world.

Don't worry about a gap in your resume, you'll probably make something notable
on your own that could carry your career/life into a new direction.

------
thesmileyone
Do you think you would fare well at designing and coding app's for the iPhone
or Android? It would be a shame to waste your skill, but you could put it to
good use and make some $$$ at the same time, at your own pace?

------
bertjk
If you have 12 years of experience, are in the Bay Area, and can do mobile dev
work, you should have no trouble finding a new job paying six digits if your
entrepreneurial plans do not pan out.

------
jfoster
This might help. The Jeff Bezos regret minimization framework:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwG_qR6XmDQ>

------
bdreadz
You know how to code. Take time off if you have savings. You will find a job
if you desire going back to work for someone else.

------
lucidrains
if anything, i feel like you should be more employable if you decided to
pursue mobile development rather than continue on with .NET.

------
bobrob
a change is as good as a holiday....also sounds like there is a dearth of
stimulating conversation at your current gig.

------
merusame
Who, if not you (!!!), should do this?

