26 single male, 2.5YOE 230k L3 at Google MTV. US citizen. Feel like wasting my 20s sitting in front of desk all day, losing interest in everything in life. Plan: quit early April 2025, then get a job Q4 2026. 1.5 years to explore my art passion and grow existing side business. Pros 1. Leave this damned company and team. No promo head count, 1% minimal raise, cliff coming, and increasing workload all suck ass. 2. Get yearly bonus in March to max out 2025 401k match + get a new job in 2026 to get that year’s match. 3. Already reached a super conservative coast fire number (3% SWR) and can chill in a overseas/LOCL with family on <$1k/month for >2 years 4. Already growing side art business to make a small passive income while doing nothing (~$100/month). If this takes off as I put full time effort into it, I might just quit tech altogether. 5. Healthcare covered by ACA/family insurance since AGI will be controlled low for 2025 Cons 1. Market still bad so idk if I’ll get a good mid-level job in 2026 2. G taught me nothing about system design so job hunting will be painful (so much to learn!) 3. Opportunities cost of losing 200k income in 1.5 year, which can compound into a large sum 4. Away from tech for a long time idk if I’ll still be relevant What do you think? Has anyone done the same? #tech
26 male . Hell yes good idea to step out.
You don’t have enough savings
He is so young and he is a male. No worry at all. I bet since he is single he should have savings . So jealous as a close to 40 working parent never did that before
Yea that’s a big concern for me :/ I only reached coast fire which is my minimum FU money (NW $400k+). What do you recommend me for getting enough savings?
Bad idea. At least from the facts i have so far What i dont know: are you good at interviewing? Is it hard for you to land interviews? Idk about your financial/social standing but being able to land on your feet after taking a break is very important I do think at 2.5 yoe and L3 is bad timing. I would consider if you are L4 or equivalent with at least 5yoe under your belt
Good point! I passed quite a few new grad interviews so leetcode is fine (have got offers from places like DoorDash, Coinbase etc), but I know nothing about sys design which is harder. I have tons of friends for referrals at places like citadel, Apple, Meta, etc. L4 is real hard now cause manager already hinted no heated for next 10 ish months and changing teams internally is impossible with Google layoffs. What do you suggest me do? Stick it out for some more time?
keep piling more yoe and continue grinding for promo. The time taken should also prime you better whether taking a 6+ month break is right or not
Sounds like career suicide to me.
Oh. 400k, yeah I’d say do it. I will do the same if laid off or pip
For L3 promo, you don't need headcount. In fact L3 promos are the easiest.
Dude. Go. Live . If you start bankrupt at 28, you will still be fine! Opportunity cost only goes up every year and tech moves so quickly that there will be something new to learn in 2 years anyway. Go live life.
26, great age to explore your passions.
Actually it's the worst time. Ageism is real and if you explore your passions to early you will be unemployable one you figure out your path.
Yea ageism is also a big concern for me :/ But I don’t want to waste my 20s coding useless crap all day without a break to pursue something else. It’s so hard to figure out the balance…