career break
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: Do you have any idea what you would like to do with your life in future? Haven't a clue what I'd like to do. Never really have had. I decided to take a computing course at college about 2 months before I left school. Found out I was quite good at it (well better than the others in my class) then when the time came to look for a job, a local company was looking for people, I got the job so ended up doing web and some multimedia development. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
Suzanne Boyle wrote: Haven't a clue what I'd like to do. Never really have had. So the world domination plans[^] are hold on then? :-D Michael CP Blog [^] Development Blog [^]
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I've been pretty miserable lately. Actually I've been very miserable lately. I hate my job...not just the job but the actual work as well. I just don't care about it anymore. So I've decided to take a break. Just get away from work for a few months. I've been saving up this year for a holiday but, since I don't have rent or tax to pay, I've saved enough for me to live off for a while so money isn't a problem. So, has anyone ever done something like this before, taken a break from their career to try and get back on track. Is there anything I need to bear in mind before I jack in my job. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
I'd say go for it. I've taken a 'career break' twice now and have never had any troubles getting a job afterwards, and the change has always done me the world of good. It could even lead on to other things that you'll enjoy a lot more and would never have thought about trying otherwise (my current career break has taken me to the Czech Republic with a small freelance web project - something I never expected to be doing a year ago, after bashing out C++ for 5 years). However, I would be careful about taking a break with no definate plan. It's very easy to stop working and not do anything at all, and then discover that 8 months have passed, you're broke, and you have nothing to show for it. Any plan is better than nothing - self study, volunteering, travelling, whatever.
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I've been pretty miserable lately. Actually I've been very miserable lately. I hate my job...not just the job but the actual work as well. I just don't care about it anymore. So I've decided to take a break. Just get away from work for a few months. I've been saving up this year for a holiday but, since I don't have rent or tax to pay, I've saved enough for me to live off for a while so money isn't a problem. So, has anyone ever done something like this before, taken a break from their career to try and get back on track. Is there anything I need to bear in mind before I jack in my job. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
Things to think about.* Getting back into the saddle, how and when do you plan to do it... If you don't have a plan or haven't thought about it you are basically jumping off a cliff and expecting to find a parachute on the way down.
- Insurance Insurance Insurance. Bad things always happen when you don't think you need insurance during your break.
- Are you going to be a couch potatoe for months, or have you planned out what you are going to do? Maybe go back to school, take some courses at a tech college, get some training in something you've always wanted to do but never had time. Even if it's related or unrelated.
- Consider volunteering while you are on your break. Makes up for having to try to explain your reason for taking a break to a new employer.
- Consider doing a couple short contracts during your break to keep skills in check and to fill the gap in your resume; at least it's on your terms and you picked it so you should enjoy it.
- Basically have a plan, if you don't you'll wander aimlessly. Things I have thought about, have considered, have done and will do again, shortly. Cheers, -Erik
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: November 2003 wow, that was almost 2 years ago!! where, oh where, has the time gone? ~Nitron.
ññòòïðïðB A
startSometimes I wonder myself! So much has happened since then... Anna :rose: Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: to deal with a "major life event" (most people here will know what I'm talking about; for those who don't it's in my online journal). Couldn't that be abbreviated by "to deal with being Anna" ? :)
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygenI just think of it as a delayed second puberty. ;) Anna :rose: Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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Anna-Jayne Metcalfe wrote: Do you have any idea what you would like to do with your life in future? Haven't a clue what I'd like to do. Never really have had. I decided to take a computing course at college about 2 months before I left school. Found out I was quite good at it (well better than the others in my class) then when the time came to look for a job, a local company was looking for people, I got the job so ended up doing web and some multimedia development. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
I kinda fell into my current career too. Although I studied Electronics at Uni, that was more because I felt I could get a job in it than any vocational motivation. My move into software development in 1995-96 was purely the result of circumstance. Despite that, I do enjoy it - as long as I'm not chained to a desk and get to have some say in the way the product functions from the users perspective. That usually means talking to (gasp) users...a concept many UK companies don't seem to grasp at all well. I've often wondered what else I could do. I've quite enjoyed going through the business training this last year, and now I can feel a bit of a calling to a higher level (and more human orientated) role than I've taken previously. Who knows what the future will bring? Anna :rose: Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
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I admire your courage and I need an advice: How to do the same when: have a mortgage , a non-working pregnant wife (she is a student), a 15 month old kid,and a job that doesn't give enough income to close the month. Any advices are welcome.
I was going to make some witty and funny comments, but realized I am not that funny. Although I am perfectly happy in my job (no, the boss is not looking over my shoulder), I do feel pressure because I am the sole money-maker in my family (yea, I'm the woman) and I have a kid that's a year and a half. I make just a slight bit less in a month than I need to pay everything. My serious comment to you, if you're serious in any way, is that Contracting might be an option for you - it's not permanent, always fresh, new stuff to do, and can be for a very short period of time. You make TONS more money. ***HOWEVER*** you don't get health care, and with a pregnant wife, make sure you can afford to buy it yourself, or get COBRA, or plan your health costs out well. And even if you can afford health care, some people with pre-existing conditions won't be allowed to buy health care even if you offer them $1000 a month.
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I've been pretty miserable lately. Actually I've been very miserable lately. I hate my job...not just the job but the actual work as well. I just don't care about it anymore. So I've decided to take a break. Just get away from work for a few months. I've been saving up this year for a holiday but, since I don't have rent or tax to pay, I've saved enough for me to live off for a while so money isn't a problem. So, has anyone ever done something like this before, taken a break from their career to try and get back on track. Is there anything I need to bear in mind before I jack in my job. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
I have done it twice in the 10 years ive been working. Once after my father died I chucked in my job and didnt look for another one for six months. And last year I chucked in my job and moved from Sydney to Amsterdam with the plan of working in a bar or something similar. I ended up programming over there because it pays so much better and I dont have experiance doing anything else. Being unemployed and stuck at home because your worried about spending money is no fun. Being at work when you hate it is no fun either. I think its a great idea if you do it for the right reason. To just quit because you dont like your job with no plans is not a good idea, quiting your job to do something you love is a great idea. When I started out programming I loved it. The technology, all the details, discussing the finer points of a particular language with similar people, getting really involved, trying out different things in my own time etc etc were great. Now it leaves me cold and I do it soley for the cash. If I could get paid the same amount as a green keeper at a golf course I would do it today. The funny thing is I am happier at work now than I ever was before. I come in, do my 9hrs and get out of here. I dont really care what I code or what language or platform etc. I made a big effort to develop and maintain a good social life outside of programming and really enjoy myself now that there is a well defined boundry between the work part and social part of my life. Anyways thats my 2 cents worth. Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Marc Clifton wrote: Don't waste your life doing what other people tell you to do. Do what you want to do. But there are limits to this. As the song says: "There ain't no money in poetry and that's what sets the poet free. And I've had all the freedom i can stand" A person has to make a living or be a bum and let society provide for him. Richard In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown
Richard Stringer wrote: In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown Isn't that from a George Carlin show? I was just listening to it yesterday but I can't remember which one it was, but if there are any hardcore Carlin fans in here they can tell you (Live in New York maybe?) :)
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Meh, so get out :rolleyes: I'm in Thailand now and you can live quite happily for GBP 10-15 per day. And that's in Bangkok. Go up-country and it's even cheaper. And there are cheaper places still elsewhere in the world.
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. - Harlan Ellison Awasu 2.1.2 [^]: A free RSS reader with support for Code Project.
I'm about to head of to Europe for a 2 month break. It will be interesting to see what, if any changes occur. Neville Franks, Author of ED for Windows www.getsoft.com and Surfulater www.surfulater.com "Save what you Surf"
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Richard Stringer wrote: In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown Isn't that from a George Carlin show? I was just listening to it yesterday but I can't remember which one it was, but if there are any hardcore Carlin fans in here they can tell you (Live in New York maybe?) :)
Don't know who it is from but I doubt George Carlin. The use of the words "sexism", "stupid guys" and "PMS" makes me think that the original quote was from a woman. Richard In a world of pollution, profanity, adolescence, zits, broccoli, racism, ozone depletion, sexism, stupid guys, and PMS, why the hell do people still tell me to have a nice day? --Unknown
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I just think of it as a delayed second puberty. ;) Anna :rose: Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.
:laugh: With all respect, if you make that comparison, your "first puberty" must have been hell.
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygen -
:laugh: With all respect, if you make that comparison, your "first puberty" must have been hell.
Pandoras Gift #44: Hope. The one that keeps you on suffering.
aber.. "Wie gesagt, der Scheiss is' Therapie"
boost your code || Fold With Us! || sighist | doxygenLooking back on it, it was...I was one mixed up kid, and the physical feelings I was experiencing completely contradicted my (and oddly, reinforced) emotions. I was awkward, unpopular, uncertain of who I was and ashamed of how I felt. The end result was 20 years of denial...the rest you know. 17th October 2002 - the day I started talking about who I was here - is a day I'll never forget. :rolleyes: Fortunately, the second puberty was a lot more fun than the first! :-O Anna :rose: Riverblade Ltd - Software Consultancy Services Anna's Place | Tears and Laughter "Be yourself - not what others think you should be" - Marcia Graesch "Anna's just a sexy-looking lesbian tart" - A friend, trying to wind me up. It didn't work.