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For those thinking of doing this: what's your plan? Travel? Apply to jobs immediately?

Arrath 5y ago
So, this is something I've done for most of my working career. Though I work in heavy construction (first as union labor, now an engineer) rather than IT or the like. Construction jobs will naturally come to an end, and I take that opportunity to take some time off and travel in between gigs. I've also done it on jobs that lasted multiple years but had shut down periods (like a project in Alaska that couldn't proceed during the winter). While my work/life balance may not be entirely healthy during the work periods...okay, it really isn't at all, I can get all the R&R I want between stretches of work. I'll admit and fully own up to having a good amount of privilege that allows me to do this. I've got experience in a niche side of the construction industry, clearances, checks and licenses to go with it, and the project/contract oriented nature of heavy construction in general means that gaps in the resume are usually glossed over. On top of that, I have ins with the good-old-boys club to the point that, generally, I'm not actually looking for work, I get called up. I do think I know my side of the business, am good at it, and put in hard work, and that is why I continue to get calls. Case in point, my current gig. I was fresh off the plane from 4 weeks in New Zealand, just starting to unpack, when I got called up. I wasn't planning on looking for work for a while longer, but when called I didn't want to endanger that networking relationship by passing on it. In short, my plan would be to travel for a decent period of time, and begin to put out feelers for work as that winds down. I've never been to Greece1, and summer is coming...in fact I was just talking to my dad and he saw round trip tickets to Istanbul for ridiculously low prices. 1Pandemic allowing, of course. Life is too short to spend it all whiling away at work. You must find time for yourself, for your family, for your mental health. Slow down, smell the roses, all that. There is just too much world to explore, in my opinion. It seems to me that the pandemic and lockdowns have caused more people to come to that realization. I'm actually seeing a lot of turnover in the engineering and management staff at my current project, which I think might be related.

So, this is something I've done for most of my working career. Though I work in heavy construction (first as union labor, now an engineer) rather than IT or the like. Construction jobs will naturally come to an end, and I take that opportunity to take some time off and travel in between gigs. I've also done it on jobs that lasted multiple years but had shut down periods (like a project in Alaska that couldn't proceed during the winter). While my work/life balance may not be entirely healthy during the work periods...okay, it really isn't at all, I can get all the R&R I want between stretches of work. I'll admit and fully own up to having a good amount of privilege that allows me to do this. I've got experience in a niche side of the construction industry, clearances, checks and licenses to go with it, and the project/contract oriented nature of heavy construction in general means that gaps in the resume are usually glossed over. On top of that, I have ins with the good-old-boys club to the point that, generally, I'm not actually looking for work, I get called up. I do think I know my side of the business, am good at it, and put in hard work, and that is why I continue to get calls. Case in point, my current gig. I was fresh off the plane from 4 weeks in New Zealand, just starting to unpack, when I got called up. I wasn't planning on looking for work for a while longer, but when called I didn't want to endanger that networking relationship by passing on it. In short, my plan would be to travel for a decent period of time, and begin to put out feelers for work as that winds down. I've never been to Greece1, and summer is coming...in fact I was just talking to my dad and he saw round trip tickets to Istanbul for ridiculously low prices. 1Pandemic allowing, of course. Life is too short to spend it all whiling away at work. You must find time for yourself, for your family, for your mental health. Slow down, smell the roses, all that. There is just too much world to explore, in my opinion. It seems to me that the pandemic and lockdowns have caused more people to come to that realization. I'm actually seeing a lot of turnover in the engineering and management staff at my current project, which I think might be related.