Yep, I took off nearly a year to hack on an interesting project I had been working on. It was actually doing that work that helped me get my next full time job

Yep, I took off nearly a year to hack on an interesting project I had been working on. It was actually doing that work that helped me get my next full time job. And they later supported me in taking some time off so I could do a proper release of the project. So, for me, it worked beautifully. Obviously I cannot say for sure what would happen for you, but I think if you are working on things that help you grow, it will not be wasted.