I found it immensely easy. We developers are in short supply, so it's an employees market.
Don't hide it on your resume, be proud of it "I learned Spanish, I learned self-reliance, I had this and that side project, etc. etc."
I always say one of my greatest skills is my ability to self-educate (proven by learning Spanish, and now French) so you say to them "Sure, I'm a little rusty on x,y,z. Less than 2 weeks I guarantee I'll be up to speed."
So I don't have the salary of someone that stayed through (i.e. a buddy from university is now a Senior VP, and I was still low-level developer) but who cares - I made this choice because I prioritize life, not money/work. My buddy also works WAAAY longer hours than I did, and had a boat-load of stress to boot. As a lowly developer, I get good money, and walk out free and clear at 5:30. I didn't even have to be on call, because I was "junior". Perfect!
Don't hide it on your resume, be proud of it "I learned Spanish, I learned self-reliance, I had this and that side project, etc. etc."
I always say one of my greatest skills is my ability to self-educate (proven by learning Spanish, and now French) so you say to them "Sure, I'm a little rusty on x,y,z. Less than 2 weeks I guarantee I'll be up to speed."
So I don't have the salary of someone that stayed through (i.e. a buddy from university is now a Senior VP, and I was still low-level developer) but who cares - I made this choice because I prioritize life, not money/work. My buddy also works WAAAY longer hours than I did, and had a boat-load of stress to boot. As a lowly developer, I get good money, and walk out free and clear at 5:30. I didn't even have to be on call, because I was "junior". Perfect!