4 ms·

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the ins

by astrec 18y ago

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

mynameishere 18y ago
No, it's bad advice. Without knowing a lot more about this guy, you can't just say, "quit your job" just because it sounds romantic. It's cheap advice. I notice that every time someone complains about his job the advice coming from the internet is always the same, "Quit". The world doesn't work that way for 99 percent of the population. Decent jobs are no one's birthright, and the poster may be an ordinary, mediocre person who will never make a marketable app. If he's capable of great things, he's not going to need prodding from Mr. Anonymous. In the meantime, keep your job and do what you can after hours. If you get a good idea and a year's worth of savings, then maybe think of quitting... http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39174 http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39174
- sutro 18y ago
  Great link. Should be required reading for everyone on HN.
- astrec 18y ago
  The purpose of a sabbatical need not be to create a marketable app, nor perform any great deed. In the corporate world it is literally a career break.
- wynand 18y ago
  Forcing someone to do a job he hates is no-one's birthright either. We see "quit" everywhere we look because too many people are afraid to rock the boat, but wish they had the courage to do so. Quitting means nothing in itself. It is a vice when you back out of reaching good things because you lack the courage to do what is necessary. It is a virtue when used to eject soul-destroying things from your life. There is no virtue in voluntary suffering. There is no virtue in staying in a horrible job (I'm ignoring the complexities of having dependents).
hugh 18y ago
I would say that: Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is good advice only in response to I'm bored with my job AND I have an idea I really really want to work on. Here's the idea: [insert non-bad idea here] but it's not very good advice in response to I'm bored with my job and I'd kinda like to work on something different, dunno what though
- giles_bowkett 18y ago
  It worked for me. I kinda wanted to work on something different, didn't know what though, and found out what when I stopped working on the stuff I didn't want to work on. I believe you've got it exactly backwards. The advice comes from exactly the experience this person describes, and the conditions which you think would make my advice better may actually worsen it. If you know exactly what you want to build, you don't need the open schedule factor, as you can scope it and schedule it around what you're already doing, or timebox the project between school years or between jobs. It's when you don't know what to do next that exploring different options pays off.

by astrec 18y ago

Sure. But Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

mynameishere 18y ago

No, it's bad advice. Without knowing a lot more about this guy, you can't just say, "quit your job" just because it sounds romantic. It's cheap advice. I notice that every time someone complains about his job the advice coming from the internet is always the same, "Quit". The world doesn't work that way for 99 percent of the population. Decent jobs are no one's birthright, and the poster may be an ordinary, mediocre person who will never make a marketable app. If he's capable of great things, he's not going to need prodding from Mr. Anonymous. In the meantime, keep your job and do what you can after hours. If you get a good idea and a year's worth of savings, then maybe think of quitting... http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39174 http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39174

sutro 18y ago
Great link. Should be required reading for everyone on HN.
astrec 18y ago
The purpose of a sabbatical need not be to create a marketable app, nor perform any great deed. In the corporate world it is literally a career break.
wynand 18y ago
Forcing someone to do a job he hates is no-one's birthright either. We see "quit" everywhere we look because too many people are afraid to rock the boat, but wish they had the courage to do so. Quitting means nothing in itself. It is a vice when you back out of reaching good things because you lack the courage to do what is necessary. It is a virtue when used to eject soul-destroying things from your life. There is no virtue in voluntary suffering. There is no virtue in staying in a horrible job (I'm ignoring the complexities of having dependents).

hugh 18y ago

I would say that: Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. is good advice only in response to I'm bored with my job AND I have an idea I really really want to work on. Here's the idea: [insert non-bad idea here] but it's not very good advice in response to I'm bored with my job and I'd kinda like to work on something different, dunno what though

giles_bowkett 18y ago
It worked for me. I kinda wanted to work on something different, didn't know what though, and found out what when I stopped working on the stuff I didn't want to work on. I believe you've got it exactly backwards. The advice comes from exactly the experience this person describes, and the conditions which you think would make my advice better may actually worsen it. If you know exactly what you want to build, you don't need the open schedule factor, as you can scope it and schedule it around what you're already doing, or timebox the project between school years or between jobs. It's when you don't know what to do next that exploring different options pays off.