| I kind of did the same thing though with slightly different results. I suspect it's probably down to timing as well as skill level (and what those skills are in). Throughout my early 20's I bounced between service jobs, saving, then extended travel (usually working in youth hostels or service while abroad as well). The last big trip was 6 months in Asia and coming back to attempt to enter the working world again in 2009 which...wasn't a great time. Through social connections, I was able to make a cross-country move, work in a new industry, and actually got decent enough to be promoted from a very low-level to actually managing a team of people on projects within 1.5 years. But those 1.5 years were lived at 70-80 hr workweeks which isn't exactly good for a person. Then the projects ended, the company moved and I was laid off. Tried to move to a different industry. Another bout of unemployment. Moved into IT and now in my third company in five years (due to being laid off). My intent, having moved, was to create some measure of stability in my life but it's not worked out like that in our modern work environment, especially at the less in-demand side of the economy where stagnant wages, reliance on employment for healthcare, and rising housing costs might keep you spinning your wheels at a job because at least it's what you have, a current paycheck. To circle back to what OP said toward the end - being able to walk away (the FU money), if you're able to get in that place - is definitely worth it. I think it's also helpful to try and assess not what makes you 'happy' at work but maybe what tips the scales for what aspects of what you're doing are enjoyable, stimulating, etc. and what you dread or dislike and, whether in your current role or future ones, try and aim toward a position that includes more of the former. My current job isn't all green grass and puppy dogs but I'm content right now, which helps me focus more energy on other aspects of my life. And maybe that's the best we can really hope for since there are no guarantees in this life. |