In 2013, I quit a 10-year job in the HFT/trading systems industry and went to work for small non-profit that developed web/mobile systems for humanitarian and human rights agencies. One of the best the things I ever did. What came out of it:
1. Completely upgraded my outdated skill set - from C++/Oracle to ES6/React/Redux/Node.js etc.
2. Completed a life-long dream of writing a full length science fiction novel (not yet published, sadly)
3. Developed computational psychology model (pet interest) that might one day be the basis of a paper
4. Learned proper leadership skills, public speaking skills and people management skills
5. Much better health - exercised, got plenty of leisure time (worked only 30hrs/week)
6. Networked through pro-bono consulting
It was financially punishing for me, but ultimately it was more than worth it. Last year I returned to the industry full time (a different industry this time). The additional skills/experience in the resume opened up a lot more higher level opportunities that I would never have been able to pursue 3 years ago. Right now I'm in a management level position doing exactly the kind of work I want to do, and I doubt if I'll ever have to worry about finding a job...
By the way, for anyone who asks, those 2 years were easily the happiest in my life.
That sounds amazing! I would love to know which industry you returned to, how the exactly the experiences you had in the break contributed to finding higher level opportunities, and the impact on personal finances...
2. My previous job was 10 years of mostly proprietary tech. Had no time to pursue other things seriously. Dealing with the newer technologies in a production setting (in the non-profit) helped more than any other learning process would have. Also, going from a small fish in a very big corporate pond to a big fish in a very small pond meant having to take a lot more responsibilities for product, delivery, strategy and HR. It was like a mini skill incubator. I also had enough time to do some serious consulting work, which opened up a lot of opportunities.
3. Quite bad. Savings are quite low currently. My living standard is still somewhat lower than my peers. But opportunities within the next 2-5 years are huge. Had I remained in my old industry, I'd have been a technological fossil by the time I'm 40 (I'm 37 now).
Could I ask what alternative careers you've looked at and specifically how to break into them - recruiters, networking, speculative application? Honestly, I'm constantly terrified of what happens as I near that age with responsibilities and an inevitable redundancy because of the silent ageism in our industry.
1. Completely upgraded my outdated skill set - from C++/Oracle to ES6/React/Redux/Node.js etc.
2. Completed a life-long dream of writing a full length science fiction novel (not yet published, sadly)
3. Developed computational psychology model (pet interest) that might one day be the basis of a paper
4. Learned proper leadership skills, public speaking skills and people management skills
5. Much better health - exercised, got plenty of leisure time (worked only 30hrs/week)
6. Networked through pro-bono consulting
It was financially punishing for me, but ultimately it was more than worth it. Last year I returned to the industry full time (a different industry this time). The additional skills/experience in the resume opened up a lot more higher level opportunities that I would never have been able to pursue 3 years ago. Right now I'm in a management level position doing exactly the kind of work I want to do, and I doubt if I'll ever have to worry about finding a job...
By the way, for anyone who asks, those 2 years were easily the happiest in my life.
Edit: cons: be ready to be poorer!