- Working in tech sucks
- Burnout (rate?)
- Mental health
- Toxic work environments
- Constant need to upskill
- Tech changes all the time (AI???)
- Ideally
- Quit and live in the woods
- But is that really practical?
- Instead
- Take gap time off
- Sabbaticals, leaves of absence
- Different leave types
- Guarantee of work
- Adobe sabbatical/leave policy
- General Mills sabbatical (every 7 years -- but it's not a rule)
- Target (13 weeks -> 10 weeks -- personal LOA)
- Calculate your runway
- Monthly expenses * number of months you want = runway needed
- Take-home pay per month - monthly expenses = savings
- runway needed / savings per month = save for N months
- Borrow from your future self, not recommended
- Target's bonus covered our entire summer
- Plus child tax credit
- Resources
- Adobe's handbook
- HR isn't your friend, read your policies in your benefits portal
- Savings rate calculator
Are you f****** tired?
Mini Retirements
Gap time off between jobs or taken as a leave of absence while working
Sabbatical
An unpaid leave of absence that guarantees you will be able to return to work
"Our bad, you can't work in France..."
Everything worked out.
Benefits
Bring new skills or knowledge back to the company
Reduce stress-related issues at work
Feel more satisfied with work
Lower turnover by coming back
For those outside the US...
| Country | Minimum Leave | Total Leave |
|---|---|---|
| France | 5 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Denmark | 5 weeks | 8-9 weeks |
| Sweden | 5 weeks | 6-7 weeks |
| Ireland | 4 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Australia | 4 weeks | 5 weeks |
| Netherlands | 4 weeks | 5-6 weeks |
| US | 0 (2 weeks avg.) | 3-4 weeks avg. |
😣
😍
Unpaid Personal LOA
An unprotected, unpaid leave of absence that you can request for any reason
Bringing Back Summers Off
10 weeks in Summer 2021
No, I didn't lose my job
I actually made more after that
Let's talk logistics
Check your benefits portal
Runway Needed (R)
Monthly Expenses (E) * Months Off (M)
M = Vacation Months (V) + Buffer Months (B)
| Monthly Expenses | 3 Month Runway | 6 Month Runway | 1-Year Runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | $15,000 | $24,000 | $42,000 |
| $5,000 | $25,000 | $40,000 | $70,000 |
| $8,000 | $40,000 | $64,000 | $112,000 |
| $11,000 | $55,000 | $88,000 | $154,000 |
Assuming a buffer of 2 months
Savings Rate (\%) = \frac{Total Savings}{Total Income} \times 100
\text{Total Savings} = (\text{Savings Account} + \text{Investments} + \text{Debt Repayments}) - \text{Expenses}
\text{Total Income} = \text{Salary} + \text{Rental Income} + \text{Dividends} + \text{Side Hustles}
Offense: Increase Income
Defense: Decrease Expenses
Harder. Side hustles, freelancing, gigs, new job.
Easier. Unsubscribe, cut, downsize, minimize.
| Savings Rate | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks | 120 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 24 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
How many weeks will it take to save for a summer off?
Sept-May ~= 40 weeks
Work normal year
Half the time
In reality, you likely need less.
Year-end bonus
Advance Child Tax Credits
Additional income and spouse's salary
Used some paid vacation upfront
Benefits???
Pay medical premiums out-of-pocket
No contributions to 401k or HSA
Had to reinstate some benefits
No vacation accrual
Now go recharge!
Developer lifestyle and personal finance tips at
kamranicus.com/newsletter
Growing a developer tool? Learn how I can help at kamranayub.com
kamranicus.com/money
Tired of Tech? (React Summit 2023)
By Kamran Ayub
