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For those of you on long breaks or have been unemployed for a 6+ months, what do you do with all your spare time? I resigned from my position in Jan 2022 and ha
by euix 4y ago
For those of you on long breaks or have been unemployed for a 6+ months, what do you do with all your spare time? I resigned from my position in Jan 2022 and have been developing a computer game in C++ as a way to level up my programming skill and release it as an (eventually) paid product. The process has been very satisfying and I am learning a lot. I keep to a 9-5, Monday-Friday schedule and treat it like a job.
I have a some life events coming up next year so I have started to turn the gears on my network and contacts but I am pretty much only interested in consulting and contract jobs that can be worked remotely. Right now, I primarily see it as a means to raise some cash, so I can make the occasional splurge purchase. I have honestly thought of doing DoorDash.
Someone in the thread talked about the importance of a runway and I totally agree. I spent 6 years doing a STEM PhD and about 6 years working in industry on okay but not great salaries and even at that rate I have a runway of about 10+ years of savings before I run out of money (living frugal).
After my last job I think I promised myself to never just take a job because I am offered or out of prestige - I am turning mid-30's and I feel like I can't waste anymore time just doing time - i.e. waging for a paycheck without a higher purpose.
This causes tension with my partner and probably my future father-inlaw doesn't like me but long term I intend to be my own boss and run my own company. Especially since the pandemic I feel increasingly the urge and need to be the master of my own destiny - especially with regards to income.
- jongjong 4y agoWhich country are you from? I don't see how it's physically possible to save 10 years of runway with a PhD's worth of debt and only 6 years of work. I did 10 years of labor with only a Bachelor degree's worth of university debt and my net worth is only enough to get me through 2 years if I liquidate everything... But my startup shares are illiquid (pre-ICO) and all my cryptocurrency is locked to earn forging rewards so in practice I only have about 2 months of liquid runway.
- yolovoe 4y agoPhDs, at least in the US, are free. They actually give you a stipend, usually under $80K/year, but more than $50K/year I'd wager.
- mjjjjjjj 4y agoThis depends highly on the program you are doing. Often, STEM grad students will get paid a stipend but 50k sounds pretty high for a Bio major, and it could include having to do a lot of teaching. I’d guess CS PhDs and especially industry-friendly fields do okay. But other fields don’t make anywhere near that much, if their phd is even paid at all.