Employment is also a flywheel. Much has been written about the fact that recruiters and employers prefer candidates that are already employed and have been continuously employed for long durations without gaps. Make of it what you will but the reality is that taking two years off means that landing a job will be substantially harder than it would have been if you worked during that time. Attitudes towards this seem to be changing for the better but the last time I embarked on a job search I had several people misread my resume, ask me about an employment gap that wasn't there, then act relieved when I corrected them.
Question for international HNers: is this a US-centric phenomenon?
> the reality is that taking two years off means that landing a job will be substantially harder than it would have been if you worked during that time
When I got back from driving Alaska->Argentina I was out of money, so I went back to Software Engineering.
I put the trip on my Resume and put "Learned Spanish, learned to think on my feet, negotiation skills and quickly adapting to new information".
I applied for three positions and every one asked me in detail about the trip and how they would love to do something similar. I was offered all three positions.
But yes, also that it's developing for the better. I see sabbaticals from dedicated top-talent professionals more often now than before, it sets an example, and paves the way a bit for more mediocre people to do it without a huge corporate status impact. Some are even able to package it in a narrative that turns their year of a fun sabbatical into some self-development journey.
And I also find there's more opportunity to approximate the benefits of sabbaticals. Lots of employers are experimenting with remote work. And I see some friends who are able to play a smart game, e.g. during a 3 month period each year:
* taking a 40 hour workweek down to 32 hours
* having fridays off, having 3-day weekends and 4-day workweeks
* working remote for 3 months
* early shifts & lunch at their desks (e.g. 7am - 3pm shift)
* having the afternoon and evening off in remote location with lots to do and see
* take 1 week off every 6 weeks, or 2 every 12, to fully travel for a set of time without working.
* stay in 2-3 cities in one or two countries, and rent out their own home on Airbnb or sublet.
* avoid a bad weather season back home
* pick based on time zone differences to make early or late shifts easier
It's not quite a sabbatical, but it does allow you to detach from your routine life at hoe, travel and see a lot of the world, have adventures and meet new people without compromising your career (much).
Especially nice in junior roles to have this lifestyle remote if the alternative is to be a no-name number coming to the office every day for no reason in a big org. But if you can work under an inspiring technical talent / leader, I'd definitely recommend that instead.
I was able to gain about 300k in the span of about the last 5 years of working, saving, investing, and buying a home. I've also seen my income double or so.
I'm in my early 30s. That 300k doubles roughly every 10 years (7% annual ROI). And so those 5 years set me up for 600k, 1.2m and 2.4m respectively at 40, 50 and 60yo.
I've certainly had my fair share of fun, multiple significant relationships, travelled to each continent, great friendships, an active life with sports and cultural activities. But I never had the sabbatical lifestyle where I'd travel the world for half a year or more, 'fun' was always organized around studying and later work life, measured in hours, evenings, weekends or weeks of holidays.
I often doubt whether I made the right choice to spend these years working (sometimes more than) full time, I'll never know.
ROI amplifies money, making these conclusions even harder. A dollar today at 30 is 8 dollars at 60. But I also find the return of money measured in fun goes down as I age. At 16 traveling to Paris by train and staying in a cheap hostel sleeping in dorms and drinking 2 euro supermarket wines with strangers on the street on a summer night was amazing, now I can't get the same pleasure on that budget. Partly because I don't want to 'rough it' anymore, partly because I've already done it, and partly because it feels like I wouldn't belong with those kids in the hostel like I once did.
Anyway, fully agreed that the financial cost would've been way more than my expenses. With a 100k a year job the opportunity costs go up quite a bit, especially with ROI over time factored in. Earning 2 years of 100k at age 28 turns into close to a million at age 40, on average. That's a big opportunity cost...
I wonder how increased wages will change the way people work. Pretty much every household on my street is pulling in close to $500k / year. They’re all in their 40s and 50s. They seem to be putting excess wages into SPY. A handful of them have already retired. The rest are planning to in the next 5-10 years. I’m wondering how this will all play out.
> If you didn't work for two years, the cost was "less than a used tesla" and two years opportunity cost of missed wages
Absolutely, if having more money is the goal, then what I did (and continue to do) is stupid.
I decided a very long time ago that having more money is not the goal of my life. My goal is to have enough money to live the life I want to live that makes me and my family happy.
It turns out I don't actually have to work all that much to make that happen.
My point is not that you missed on some sweet cash. My point is that it's an example of extreme privilege and wealth opportunities that most people cannot afford. The post comes off as anti-materialism and worldly and not caring about the money. But it's really the opposite. Your particular circumstances around wealth are what enable you to do this.
I find it irritating. And phrases like this one:
> I looked around at the people that had been the 10 or 20 years and it scared the shit out of me.
> My point is that it's an example of extreme privilege and wealth opportunities that most people cannot afford
I understand what you are saying, but I don't agree.
At the time I was earning $48k CAD for a full time job. That is about $24 CAD/hr. or roughly $18 USD/hr.
I lived in a sharehouse with 4 other people. I walked to work, even in -35C winter. I had no phone, no tv. I didn't eat out, I cooked all my own meals. No alcohol. Enjoyment was a walk in the park (free).
I did all of that so I could scrimp and save for years and years until I finally had a meagre savings account, then I hit the road.
I lived full time in a ground tent for 2 years of my adult life. I ate plain oats cooked in a little camp stove for 2 years straight. I camped out in the middle of nowhere most nights which meant I didn't spend money on alcohol or partying.
I made a lot of sacrifices to make that happen, and I think basically anyone with a job could do the same, if they wanted.
