I am in my early thirties with no kids or mortgage. I have been working in tech for ten years and have decent savings. So in practical terms, I am OK.
However, I am having trouble feeling good about my decision. I rent a very affordable place that I really like in a very high COL city, so I will have to sell my stuff and shut down my home. I am worried that I will seem less attractive to future employers when I return. I am concerned about losing a year of salary. And part of me feels like I am pushing myself to travel not because I am truly excited about it, but because I fear I may not have such an opportunity again in the future (frankly, I am not really even sure where I would even go).
On the other hand, I am feeling a bit burned out and unmotivated, so the time off would do me good. I have lived abroad before and enjoyed it. I also have plenty of side projects I've been itching to work on. And I have a tendency to overthink things.
I realize this is a truly first world problem, but I am hoping the HN community can give me some good advice. What would you do?
It will, however, with near 100% certainty reduce your bank account balance, and will potentially put you in a jam down the line unless you have something to show for it at the end.
I spent a year traveling in South America in 2010. I was aimless. It was one of the best experiences of my life. However, if I'm really being honest with myself, it cost me a career trajectory that probably would have meant retirement type money by now.
I depleted my savings, my knowledge became obsolete surprisingly quickly, and it was a slog to get back into the groove when I got back. I can't say I regret it, but I definitely would have done it differently in retrospect.
> 1. part of me feels like I am pushing myself to travel not because I am truly excited about it..
> 2. I also have plenty of side projects I've been itching to work on.
> 3. I rent a very affordable place that I really like in a very high COL city
You aren't crazy about travel. You're burned out on your job, but NOT on your side projects. You have a nice place in a nice city.
To me it's very clear. Quit. Stay home. Veg out until you feel ready to play at your side projects. Play with your side projects when you feel like it. You have all the makings of an awesome "staycation", if people are still using that word. Like you, I enjoy working on my own stuff and I've made a great living at it. Even if you don't, you're looking at some low bandwidth time off. Feel free to contact me to chat. I've been in your place.
If you are a decent software engineer I wouldn't worry about employment. Mid way through my year of travel I received a job offer, and negotiated that my start date would not be for another six months.
Also, this does not have to be an all or nothing decision. Why not sublease your place for two to three months, spend that time traveling, and then re evaluate at that point?
> I am worried that I will seem less attractive to future employers when I return
That's not my experience at all. Me and many people I now have huge gaps in their work history, either from travel or startups, and it hasn't hurt anyone.
Also, it's not a black and white decision. Start taking time off and go travel. If you decide it's not for you after a few months just go back early.
And it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing situation. You might find that you are looking to get back to work a week after traveling. In fact, take a two week trip somewhere. Pretend you will be there for a while. Come back home and consider whether that is what you want from your life for the next N months. The rest will fall into place.
Safe and happy travels, and remember, no matter where you go, there you are.
While it took me about a year to find work after coming back, I still don't regret it. I was travelling for about 15 months in total. After returning, I did a bit of contract work, but took almost a year before I started full time work - but I am now living in a different country, and sorting out a visa took about two of those months of the year in limbo. To be honest, a part of why I took so long to return to work was my own resistance towards it, but now that I am working, I'm learning the stuff I want to learn.
Before you go, perhaps set yourself a limit. I had a budget in mind - about half of my savings - where I decided I would pull the plug if I reached that point and go home. I ended up returning before that point.
As many have said here, having a long sabbatical on your CV won't necessarily be a red flag. My current employer was very enthusiastic to bring me onboard.
Visit a college friend, family, see a live sporting event or concert in another area of the US.
Do you like hiking/camping/beaches/museums? Plan a trip to do something you'll enjoy.
Plan a short trip to one of those places. A 3 to 5 day get away.
Come back and reflect on where you want to go next/if this is something you want to do.
Experiment with a few trips like that before you sell your stuff shut down your home.
Next choose a destination in Europe and go for a couple weeks to test it out.
You'll get a feeling if it's something you want to do for 3 months, 6 months or a year.
I wouldn't worry too much about it being a red flag on your resume. Taking 6 months or a year off to travel is reasonable. Plus if you have the talent and experience and you're a good fit a company will hire you. And if taking time off is a red flag it might not be a company you want to work for.
Good luck, have fun. YOLO!
Dude, life is a long. Work will always be there
Another way to do this is to buy the house first, and rent it out while you are away on travels.
You have two options: travel or not travel.
Looking back, which choice might you regret least? Choose that one.
Moved to Australia, not only because I've always wanted to visit, but also use it as a hub to Asia Pacific. I have one side project I am working on. Also by random came across a cool part time job for a start up in Melbourne. It wasn't part of my plan to be employed but again I have an open plan. The new gig is adding to my professional and personal growth. Also, have plenty of time to live, work on my side project, and also work on my personal goals. I'm not worried about my career. As others have said, if you have the skill set you'll be fine. but your new road may lead you to something better.
If your gut is telling you travel is something you need to do right now, don't have your mind talk you out of it. Do it and if it doesn't work out you can always go back home.
Some of your worries I wouldn't worry about so much -- if you want to keep some of your things, you can put them in storage or give them to a friend you trust, if you know someone with some spare room. Ditto for the place, if you want to keep it you could most likely sublease it to a friend or someone else for the amount of time you'll be gone and get it back when you return. I wouldn't worry about future career prospects; when you're interviewed, of course you'll be asked about it, but you can spin it in many positive ways. One year of salary loss is probably the only important issue in your third paragraph, so I would be careful and conservative with your calculations. And the feeling that you're doing it because you can rather than being truly excited about it is a real one, and is maybe partly due to the length of time you're considering, but it is something you really should consider if you are planning to have a family (especially with kids) in the future.
If you're worried about the length of time (although you didn't mention this directly in your post, it was one of the reservations I had and a feeling that crept into me as I started a 6 month journey traveling to a few different countries) you could most likely feasibly travel for 2-3 months to somewhere new, while keeping your apartment. Then if you want to travel for longer, you can figure out what to do from there.
On a more philosophical note: don't live to work, work to live. Your career is not in jeopardy for traveling for a period of time, the only thing that you're going to be missing out on is an income during that time. Your career will be there when you get back, and so will your friends, family -- plus you'll have a lot of interesting stories to tell.
I would sublet the apartment if possible, but if you can afford not to, that's fine too.
I don't know about the US, but as a Scandinavian my adventures in the my mid 20s certainly didn't hurt my employability. On the contrary I suspect that I've often been shortlisted because my résumé stands out. So make sure to do really interesting things! The main reason for that is of course that it will make YOU more interesting too.
So just do it, don't hesitate. Go for two years if you can afford it, there's plenty of time for working later. You will not regret it, but you will of course regret not going while you could. Once you have a family it will be much more expensive and complicated.
At present, I do wish I had spent more time on trying to make products. I do not really see what traveling got me, other than a way to impress certain people. To me, experiences are fleeting, and memories might just as well be daydreams. I can have those for free.
If you really, really want to extend your trip, you can do that, but 2 months in, say, Thailand or something is an amazing experience.
Don't leave your great apartment, just sublet for 2 months or just keep paying rent.
You will never regret this trip and you'll learn way more than you think you will that will help you in your career. If you're really worried about your career then spend some of the time working on new skills.
You'll also have ups and downs but learning to manage these times will help you so much in your life.
I've been a hiring manager and I love people who do things like this. Shows independence and initiative.
Hope it's a blast.
Write down the good scenarios.
Evaluate them, and keep in mind the worst-case.
It's probably not very bad. I hope you go.
It doesn't sound like you really want to travel for a year. I'd suggest taking a month off to reflect and decide what you want before you commit yourself.
It's good to do something while you travel, as it gives a focus.
I spent time away learning graphics (ordinarily I do back-end). It was really good and at it meant when I came back I could put what I'd been up to on the gap in my CV.
TBH the my original plan wasnt nessacarily to come back, but it turned out to be a year.
(edit) of course you don't need to do something tech related when travelling anything will do
This is not a situation where you need to make some big, final decision today.
Which regrets do you prefer?
Worked on some side projects, saw different places.
Picked up light weight contract work (think... like 15 hours/month of website/app maintenance for $1500/month)
It's gonna be tough to pass the recruitment process in a year from now for so many reasons. The competition is stronger than ever and will increase over time. Everyone applies for dev jobs today. Add-up a lack of practice, being outdated and wanting to take a year off. All these are red flags for recruiters (not even interviewers). Personally, it will feel even worse when you'll start re-applying if you're burnt out today. Dev interviews are ridiculously annoying now and require a few months of practice.
If I were you I'd do that if you have a strong plan coming back and not simply applying to jobs. Or, if you're planning on building products while traveling, you won't carry that one year gap in your resume.
