Taking a Career Break is the Best Thing I’ve Done
What I'm Up To (Connecting), What I Reflected On (Career Breaks), and What's Occupying My Mind (The Book of Joy) - all part of Allen's Friday Flights
Welcome back to my Friday Flights, and the start of Memorial Weekend!
These are a flight of personal updates from me and it’ll be centered around what I’m up to, what I reflected on, and what book (or even thing) occupies my mind. Makes sense why I’d have a different selection of topics since I often choose samplers and flights when I go out to eat and drink.
Ciao!
Allen
Inside:
What I’m Up To
What I Reflected On (from my Career Break)
What book occupies my mind
What I’m Up To:
TL;DR: Getting recharged talking to people (even though I’m introverted)
The Things:
I met Thomas Pan, the author of NFTs with TPan (Recommended if you also want to see the thoughts of a guy who quit his job 2 months ago to learn about NFTs!)
I met Hiroyasu Ichikawa, the author of Japan Climate Curation (who is focused on bringing Climate Strategies and Business to Japan’s Economy)
I learned a lot about Kava Network (and got to talk to someone there!)
I learned a lot about solution engineers and customer success managers (this might be a job for me)
I got my order of Pocket Latte today and it’s pretty good
I binged Star Trek Strange New Worlds (if you need hope, idealism, and utopia - this is it)
Kawamata Seafood in San Clemente is the best Hawaiian Poke I’m going to get that’s not directly in Hawaii. Make sure to get extra scallops and spicy tuna; avoid regular tuna since it just won’t be the same as Hawaii’s.
My Tikka Masala from scratch is fire, even though I subbed half the ingredients because I clearly didn’t have it.
Crumbl Cookie is a Damn Good Cookie
What I Reflected On
TL;DR; Plan for a career break when future opportunities presented to you are bleak, exhausting, or not at all, inspiring.
Taking a Career Break is the Best Thing I’ve Done
I’m 7 months in to my career break, electing to take one month off for each year I consecutively work (rounded up, of course). My full-time career break is going to end relatively soon, and I have been able to enjoy this time off in idleness, reflection, quality time spent with others, and tinkering about.
Here’s my story and advice on taking Career Breaks.
Background
Let’s establish a context about myself in this, as everyone’s experience will vary and everyone should take what I say with a grain of kosher salt.
I am an Asian American, born into an Immigrant family.
I am the First to go to College (well, second).
I earned an accounting degree because it was fiscally "safe"
I joined a Big 4 Public Accounting and did the grind
I was there almost 7 years
I was on a non-profit board member for 4 years
I take 6 weeks of PTO every year
Start of My Career
My career in Big 4 was one of high growth and high stress. It was an environment of consistently changing problems, high workforce turnover, and many “micro” career options. 10000 hats, all rolled into one career.
At the start of the first 5 years, I was a bright eye broke ass college graduate with no corporate work experience, willing to be a sponge and unknown of what I was capable of.
On the onset of the second 5 years, I was a seasoned white-collar worker who was jaded, even though I had to keep a face on. My POV on what my career exits could be weren’t attractive to me, but still I carried on.
To recap:
The first 5 years were exponential, and I knew it would be.
The second 5 years were not, and I also knew it would not be.
The Second 5
I netted myself an early promotion, participated in many company full-time career rotation programs, and create many initiatives on my own. I broke 6 figures base entering my 5th year.
However, even after doing all these things, I came to realize that I wasn’t getting what I needed, and I also did not know what I needed.
What was contagious optimism about the future turned into a bleak and slow poisoning state of apathy.
So I did what everyone else does: Look for a job.
Believing the grass could be greener, I started interviewing. I received 10 offers, many of them were lateral pivots into new areas. I had an offer to be a Product Manager @ $200-225k in the Bay Area.
I declined it.
I didn’t care for it.
Any of it.
Turns out, I was burnt out.
Extra Crispy
I was so burnt out that my own continuous optimism and way of seeing silver linings in the workplace was depleted. I was extra crispy, and I started to recognize that I was becoming I don’t want to be.
I like quotes, so here's one from Dune: You can't see the mountain when you're on the mountain.
Recognizing the need to heal, and see the mountains I’ve been through, I simply quit my job. I actually took PTO in Hawaii for 2 weeks, then I put in my 3 week notice.
It came as a shock to 5% of my network at the company, with everyone asking the same question: What are you going to do next?
Nothing.
I’m literally going to do nothing.
That “high performer” that “exceed all the marks” and “got paid in bonuses for it” - that was me. I led teams. Engaged clients. Built things. Impacted others. Coached many. Grew and deepended my company network. I got a “5” (out of 5) every year.
And I left what is basically a safe job to do nothing.
It’s been the best thing I’ve done so far.
In my time of doing nothing, the fog around my head lifted and I was able to realize a few things.
Here are the top 3 things I learned about myself:
I had a work identity problem.
I have an idleness problem - I fill my idle time with things.
I didn’t know what I want to do.I didn’t know what I wanted
If any of these relate to you, and you’re thinking about quitting - do your best to recognize what your environment does give you, and what it doesn’t give you, and seek counsel on how to figure out what your work appreciation language is.
Spoiler alert:
it’s not money. That’s inherent. You should get the best salary though.
Another things to consider is to understand 20% of the job you do like, 20% of the job you don’t like, and whether or not the 20% of your job you don’t like is taking out the remaining 60% of the job that you tolerate.
If you are considering a career break, which I 100% recommend, here’s my advice:
Advice
DREAM JOB: If a dream job came up, would you be in your dream state to take it on? Probably not if you’re having this conversation about career breaks.
TIME: Give yourself 1 month for each consecutive year you worked. So for me, ~7 years of straight working, so 7 months off.
EARNINGS: If money and savings is an issue, how about this - was your current job helping build wealth for yourself fast enough? No? Then what makes you think staying is going to get you there faster? The next job will earn you more money than your previous job. Probably.
CAREER: If career prospects are what is paralyzing you, interview for a bunch of jobs, decline all the offers. Take the career break.
STRUCTURE: Under no obligation do you need to fill your time. Just be "Ready to Whatever" instead and find things to recharge you.
EXISTENTIAL CRISIS: Be prepared for the emotional roller coaster. Because it's a mix of existential crisis, and redeveloping that relationship to yourself. If you've never been idle, this will hurt a bit, but consider it a healing pain. I had the luxury of having a therapist.
JUSTIFICATION: You don't need to justify to anyone (besides your partner) about what you are on a career break or "funemployed". Most times, you will get questioned with envious looks, or from places of care. But other times, you'll find new people who want to talk to you because you are no longer busy.
CONNECT: Quite literally talk to people, once a week, for the sake of talking to people. Be curious. Let their curiosity refuel you and respark your possibility engine.
What book occupies my mind
TL;DR: These two have significantly more patience than I do.
The Book of Joy
“You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.”
The first book I read in 2022 was audiobook of The Book of Joy, a conversation on lasting happiness between the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
While it is a book that is drawn from spirituality and religion, it is not a book about either. Its a discussion and reflection between two spiritual leaders of their own respective denominations, coming together as friends long-lost.
If you find comfort in the quote from Mr. Rogers regarding tragedies, and looking for the helpers, then you’ll find some solace in what this book has to offer.
Here are some quotes
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”
“There’s a Tibetan saying:
‘Wherever you have friends that’s your country, and wherever you receive love, that’s your home.’
“If you are setting out to be joyful you are not going to end up being joyful. You’re going to find yourself turned in on yourself. It’s like a flower. You open, you blossom, really because of other people. And I think some suffering, maybe even intense suffering, is a necessary ingredient for life, certainly for developing compassion.”
Often people ask me for the quickest and best solution to a problem. Again, this is impossible. You can have the quickest or you can have the best solution, but not both.
“Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely. But if you have an open heart and are filled with trust and friendship, even if you are physically alone, even living a hermit’s life, you will never feel lonely.”
How to experience it:
I picked it up because I was exploring audiobooks and wanted a well narrated experience. This one is it.
The audiobook version is structured as two gentlemen talking to each other and reflecting on their decades worth of experiences across suffering, oppression, change, and joy. There is a host, Douglas Abrams, which I’ll be honest - you can pass his sections. I have found the best way to understand the book is to understand as a collection of short-stories and dialogues, with one theme dominant for each chapter.
Where to get it (Affiliate links to me <3):
Amazon: Kindle | Audible | Book
Ciao.