[wooyi]

I quit my job and travelled for almost year in South America. I later spent 2 years in grad school (studying social science) as part of an extended "break" to figure out what I wanted to do. I had no grand plans, goals nor did I become enlightened from it. I did learned Spanish and met my wife during my trip, so personally, it had a big impact in my life.

Definitely, had some regrets about grad school as it was a fairly academic program. I went straight back to coding/software after graduation.

My advice is, if you know what you want to do, just do it. There is no need to travel the world or go on any journey. But if you don't, or if you haven't travelled yet, then yes, it does wonders to expand your experiences.

[caseyf7]

I had the same experience with grad school after extended traveling. The rules and administration were suffocating after having so much freedom. I also had a hard time relating to classmates and their concerns seemed so trivial compared to the rest of the world. However, this might have been the same if I'd gone back to work.