If you have 2-3 years of savings and are not risk adverse, I would find an issue, either in your current industry or out of it and develop a product for it. Wit

If you have 2-3 years of savings and are not risk adverse, I would find an issue, either in your current industry or out of it and develop a product for it. With that kind of runway you can develop several product therefore greatly increasing your chances of successes. I don't know what the demands are in your industry but development is not all glamorous, HN paints a rosy picture but that is because it is a certain segment of the industry. Just taking a job in the industry could place you in a job that is every bit as bad as your current one. There is a lot of ignorance of what developers do and a lot of that ignorance is willful. It can be a trial to put up with it at times. It is the reason you see a lot of freelancers on HN trying to make the transition to a product based company. If I had 2-3 years I personally would develop a product. There are plenty of good ideas floating around, pick one you like and start building it. As for the whiteboard don't worry about them, I lock up on them too. There are good companies out there that know they filter out good candidates, so a lot of people are starting to look at what you have built, not biased trick questions on a while board. If you come across one, politely decline noting that it will not accurately reflect your capabilities and let them know if it is a necessity then they can conclude the interview and that you will not take offense. Interviews are a two way street, I get an uneasy feeling from organizations that rely on the whiteboard and feel that they build one dimensional development teams, as such I try to avoid them, and generally try to bring the interview to a close as quick as possible when I see that they rely on them.