HACKER Q&A
📣 thepaulthomson

Is it worth taking a year off?


I'd love to spend a year just experimenting with AI, building stuff, and documenting the whole thing.

My fear is it would ruin my career trajectory and I'd become un-hire-able in the future.

  👤 turtleyacht Accepted Answer ✓
Experience is cumulative. A single year is not bad. Plus it's relevant to your work or industry.
👤 blinkbat
If you can afford it and stay on top of the art, it's fine
👤 tim-tday
How would learning about cutting-edge tech ruin your career? Are you an historian?

If you’re in tech just found an LLC (legal zoom $300) call yourself founder and CEO. Declare it as stealth AI startup on LinkedIn. Even if you never release anything (unlikely) The valley loves failure so you’re fine either way.

“Founded a startup that never went anywhere” is not an uncommon story.