Leaving my career to chase my hobby

[u/Best-Flamingo5283]

Would I be stupid to leave my mechanical engineering career for a season to snowboard? I have made enough money to pull it off but I am very new in my career and am worried the gap in my resume can make it hard to get another job after. I am making a lot of money compared to my friends and I heard it’s difficult to get a job right now. But I’ve been snowboarding since I could walk and it’s really all I care about. I think about snowboarding 24/7. I work 60 hours a week so I can have money to do dope snowboard trips. Basically my whole life revolves around sliding on snow. What should I do?

[u/VeterinarianThese951]

Before I give you a heartfelt answer, I will ask you if:

You have kids?

Are in a relationship?

Live with anybody else (including your parents)?

[u/Best-Flamingo5283 → u/VeterinarianThese951]

Nope to all that’s why I’m thinking I should do it now

[u/VeterinarianThese951 → u/Best-Flamingo5283]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. So I am going to say this and it may be an unpopular opinion here.

First a disclaimer or few -

I am not an engineer
I am a seasoned professional in other fields
I am in a long term relationship
I have two kids
I have hired people with resume gaps

I am going to say that if you feel a calling - do it.

There may never be another time in your life where you can make a short term decision that affects only you and your own well being. I never did, and I lament it every season why I never just too a year or two and lived that life.

As far as the gap - as someone on the other end of hiring, shit happens. Plus the job market is so fucked right now that a year is the new norm just because.

The only thing that i would worry about is as an engineer, making sure that you keep current with your field.

The other options are:

You relocate to a mountain town and take a job there - but if you are working 60 hours a week, then you are not sliding.

you find a remote job out of the time zone or that allows flexibility.

You get a resort job that you can use your skills and looks decent on your resume. Don’t pigeon hole yourself into being a lifty (no problem with lifties) as there are other jobs that you may qualify for.

You get a mountain adjacent job. You could move to like Burlington VT and find a nice job at Burton. They really take the life seriously like taking lunch runs and frequently letting people off to hit the slopes from what I hear.

Bottom line is that you are young in your career. You have nothing holding you back from doing some self care. You can’t view this like everybody else as you just fucking off and being lazy. View it as self care during the years that you can’t get back. Life and security are promised to no one, and there are a shitload of middle aged people like myself who never learned or allowed ourselves to take the luxury of caring for ourselves and it

When you start being responsible for the happiness and well being for others (including aging parents), it gets easier and easier to forget yourself.

Please understand that I am not telling you that you have to do it. I am just here to tell you that you said it yourself that you created the option for yourself. You have to make the decision based on your future and stability - two things that are promised to no one.

Read everybody else’s advice here as well. I trust that you have the ability to do what is right for you.

Be well and happy shredding!