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> Especially these days, you're more marketable if you're currently working. And especially at your presumed age; you don't want a bunch of questions/suspicion

> Especially these days, you're more marketable if you're currently working. And especially at your presumed age; you don't want a bunch of questions/suspicion about why the last job didn't work out. Or, as I see now with respect to hobby projects, a job end followed by a bunch of idle time. I know you wrote a disclaimer, but as a general sentiment, this bugs me a lot. Avoiding possible shallow HR issues in the future is not worth constraining your one and only youth.

pasbesoin 15y ago
It bothered me some to write it. I tried to address that, perhaps not very well, in my closing sentences. Some people have a personality compatible with your perspective -- and a personal marketing position that will allow them to succeed from it. Others don't -- have that kind of personality or credentials that get past some of the current crap in the hiring process. For myself, I wish I'd listened to less "career counseling advice" and "HR speak" when I was starting out. It really screwed me, to some extent. I hear/read about a lot of younger workers really struggling to find work, at present. I don't know whether that might apply to the OP, especially if they take some "time off". If it were a startup effort, I might be more positive -- in part because that would look like no/less of a gap in the resume. The OP currently has what seems all to familiar to me as akin to some of the corporate positions I've held. If they are not permanently exiting that environment, meaning marketplace/ type of employer, some of the concerns I expressed about finding the next job might be relevant. Anyway, I'll further qualify what I said before as "food for thought". And also say that I screwed myself by being too attentive to others' suggestions (e.g. "pay your dues", "get along"), when I was young. P.S. Thanks for your reply. I hope it has helped/spurred me to (at least somewhat) better qualify what I said. P.P.S. Personal aside: I think I need to just shut up for a while and work on some of my own problems.
- youngblood 15y ago
  Thanks for your reply. There definitely valid points there. I guess I'm just of the opinion that most people are capable of overcoming such issues if they consciously sharpen their skills and/or do a little "hustling". Even if your career ladder does take a hit, is it such a big deal if you've managed to enrich your life in the process? Maybe I read too much HN, but it seems to me that unless you have dependants, debt, or equity, employment isn't really worth being a central pillar of your life. To also talk personally, I feel that I used the stability of my latter education and the first phase of my career to defer tackling other aspects of my life. That was a mistake.

pasbesoin 15y ago

It bothered me some to write it. I tried to address that, perhaps not very well, in my closing sentences. Some people have a personality compatible with your perspective -- and a personal marketing position that will allow them to succeed from it. Others don't -- have that kind of personality or credentials that get past some of the current crap in the hiring process. For myself, I wish I'd listened to less "career counseling advice" and "HR speak" when I was starting out. It really screwed me, to some extent. I hear/read about a lot of younger workers really struggling to find work, at present. I don't know whether that might apply to the OP, especially if they take some "time off". If it were a startup effort, I might be more positive -- in part because that would look like no/less of a gap in the resume. The OP currently has what seems all to familiar to me as akin to some of the corporate positions I've held. If they are not permanently exiting that environment, meaning marketplace/ type of employer, some of the concerns I expressed about finding the next job might be relevant. Anyway, I'll further qualify what I said before as "food for thought". And also say that I screwed myself by being too attentive to others' suggestions (e.g. "pay your dues", "get along"), when I was young. P.S. Thanks for your reply. I hope it has helped/spurred me to (at least somewhat) better qualify what I said. P.P.S. Personal aside: I think I need to just shut up for a while and work on some of my own problems.

youngblood 15y ago
Thanks for your reply. There definitely valid points there. I guess I'm just of the opinion that most people are capable of overcoming such issues if they consciously sharpen their skills and/or do a little "hustling". Even if your career ladder does take a hit, is it such a big deal if you've managed to enrich your life in the process? Maybe I read too much HN, but it seems to me that unless you have dependants, debt, or equity, employment isn't really worth being a central pillar of your life. To also talk personally, I feel that I used the stability of my latter education and the first phase of my career to defer tackling other aspects of my life. That was a mistake.