I have been working at a job that is very physically difficult (basically construction) for the last two years. It does not pay very well, so I have also been basically living paycheck to paycheck. I have been working through several issues in my life and now I am in a much more stable position. In addition, I have been working through FCC recently and am now I am totally committed to pursuing software development as a career in my future.
I am going to quit my job in mid-September and sell my motorcycle. Once I do this I should have enough in savings to last until the end of this year. I am also considering selling my 2014 Honda Civic in order to generate more cash. I am considering this because it will buy me many months of free time to devote completely to improving my skills, and I think if I do this I will be able to obtain a better long-term outcome career-wise. I am willing to sell my car and buy a much cheaper used car if need be. If I do this, and even if I buy a new car, I think I will have sufficient money to last until next summer before I begin to really need more cash.
The alternative would be not selling my car and finding more temporary work, however, I personally do not like this option because I would still be living in a situation of financial instability like I am now. I am very stressed out currently due to my job and finances and this is not ideal for my learning process.
The advice I need is basically concerning my car, should I:
###a) Sell the car, buy more time:###
PROS:
- Gaining near-term financial stability and lots of time to devote to studying and taking care of myself.
- By the time I am job-searching, I am much more stable (read: not desperate) and have developed my skills very sufficiently.
CONS:
- I lose a car that would otherwise last me many more years.
- I risk buying a cheap used car that may require unforeseen, expensive maintenance.
- If somehow I can’t find a job anywhere I will have to then find a new job at the point where I run out of money.
###b) Keep the car, but get a temporary job:###
PROS:
- I keep the car which will last me many more years.
CONS:
- My life is still financially unstable in the near-term.
- I have less time to learn and my learning process is less efficient because of stress.
- I will feel more desperate to just ‘take any job I can get’ rather than a job that is really the right fit.
I should also say that personally, the stress issue is very important to me. I have been extremely burdened by my current job and am partly quitting simply because I have frequent back and neck pain as a result of it. I really need some downtime to just take care of myself and not be stressed about being able to pay for things.
My long-term goal is to find a job I will love in software development, and I am interested in making a choice now that will best allow me to reach that goal. Also, regarding my progress in FCC, I have only the Dynamic Web App projects remaining before being eligible for the Non-Profit Projects. I think I will be able to finish these back-end projects by the end of August, at which point I will:
- Begin working on the Non-Profit Projects
- Begin trying to contribute to open-source (starting with FCC)
- Continue reading programming books
- Continue building more projects on my own
- Take more online university courses
- Continue to improve my algorithm solving skills
I think that if I do sell my car, I will gain enough free time to make substantial progress on these goals to where in a period of time of say, 6 months, I will be in a very good position to begin applying for jobs. Also, it’s worth mentioning that I am definitely planning on relocating for the job, meaning I will be applying in other cities. I am not very interested in trying to find a job/internship in my current location (largely due to lack of opportunities) but do have a lease here lasting until next July, meaning it would make sense to try and stay here until at least next spring.