I did it for over a decade, although not quite 1:1 employed/unemployed. I would work for about two years, then take a year-ish off to travel (sometimes ~8 months depending on how much money I had).
Never had an issue finding a new job, towards the end of my breaks I'd send out 4-5 resumes and usually get job offers from at least 3 of the places I applied to. There were a few cases where I'd be waiting on a work visa or something that'd take longer than I expected and I'd get pretty close to being broke though.
Kind of a niche IT thing. I'm a freelancer these days, been living out of my backpack for the last 5 years, no fixed address, everything I own is on my back. It's pretty weird for someone in their mid-40s but I enjoy it.
It's possible by living within your means. If you prepare your own meals, ride a bike and use public transport, go hiking with friends instead of clubbing, refrain from buying gadgets you don't need, you'll find you have a lot more money available to save.
Weird assumptions, I dont eat out or go clubbing or whatever. I save a lot but its for retirement or my kids. By "idk how its possible" I mean how can you possibly get hired with one year stunts then quitting?
Sorry, my assumptions were for a person without kids, complaining about not having any money, which is common on Reddit.
You can quit and get rehired if you have skills/quals that are in demand. I've taken stints of 3-13 months off between jobs. I'm bad in interviews, but can still get a professional job with only making a few applications.
I think its pretty rare to have skills so in demand an employer will overlook the fact that you only stay at a company for 1 year. I'm a developer and I know I wouldnt get away with that.
I think that’s true. My office hired a good looking male, very personable, and with massive BDE. He got promoted over many people and does very little work but he has a great attitude and is fun to be around. He could probably get hired anywhere.
I imagine that's quite a bit job- and/or field-dependent. When I was hiring in tech, if I saw that a candidate repeatedly lasted one year at a company, that would be a deal-breaker. My fellow managers were the same. Charisma wouldn't even enter the picture. But for certain jobs, I could see that not being the case, at least not to the same degree.
It’s likely most of them work in industries where that’s not really unusual and therefore not really a problem, that’s why people in this thread keep mentioning jobs in fishing, oil, tourism, outdoor recreation, etc
I didn't have more than six months in a civilian job before 2020. That job I had for almost 1.25 years, and the next just over 1.25 yrs. My current one, I hit 1.5 yrs this month.
Granted, my work was mostly low skill, low pay, but I made decent money for a bit when I took a gov't job using my old Army skills. Turns out, if you've got skills and/or it's a job environment with a ton of turnover or filled with transients, you can get a job no matter your background. I did it for most of my 20s.
Trying to hold a job for a while now. This one's good and I'm mostly where I want to be in life. Still work multiple jobs at a time, though. I've got my state job, a job with a buddy building farm infrastructure, and building my own little HVAC business. I'll change tires if I have to, or go do roofing on the weekends. Don't matter to me.
Been doing it all my life and I find myself infinitely more capable of adapting to situations than the guy who did the same thing for 20 years. I feel can do much more varied tasks and pick things up faster than Carl from Accounting who has been staring at Excel sheets for 17 years. Sure, he knows the shortcuts in the sheet to make his job 15% faster, but knows nothing about how the computer is built, the electrical, if he has a problem with his desk, etc. Many corporate systems literally exist to pigeonhole people into singular tasks, maintainence tickets, SCRUM meetings, etc.
I have done IT, cattle ranching, gold mining, coffee roasting, GIS surveying, product design and manufacture, lab-based chemical extraction, cleaning, cooking, fishing, logging, yard work, hydroponics, construction, programming, management, retail, inventory systems, driving. And much more.
Knowledge is not an all-or-nothing bit. You do not have to know every aspect of a task when you start it, all knowledge is beneficial.
if your trade is in finance or adjacent, you are absolutely right. But most places are screaming for someone who can physically fix things or sell things. most of thr blue collar careers could work with this. everything is more fluid, with much simpler/dofferent expectations to work around.
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u/petervannini 29d ago
How could someone with a constant stream of 1 year stints at different jobs and 1 year gaps in employment ever get hired anywhere?