It has been nearly four months since I left my previous salaried job and gained complete ownership of my time. This break from full-time employment is the first time in over 20 years that I’ve taken a step back, and I have found it to be quite refreshing. Before analyzing the pros and cons of my career break, here’s a brief summary of what I’ve been up to since leaving my previous job.

I have achieved my dream of starting my own investment management venture, which required several important steps, including establishing an audited track record of investing success over a period of 5 years, developing a clear vision for my investment philosophy, creating an investor presentation pitch deck, hiring a lawyer to compile legal documents for the investment entity, hiring a CPA to manage accounting and taxes, identifying a custodian brokerage firm, and soliciting investments to start a fund.

I have had the opportunity, on my own time, to delve into the latest advancements in machine learning. I have immersed myself in the technical underpinnings of cutting-edge concepts such as transformers, large language models, diffusion models, advanced generative adversarial networks, and neural codecs, among others.

I have thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with both kiddos, driving my son to competitive swim meets and chess matches, and walking my daughter to and from school. I have helped my spouse with household chores and made myself available whenever needed.

I have also been able to catch up on some reading– here are some books that I finished in the last 4 months,

• • What I talk about when I talk about running, by Haruki Murakami— book has inspired me to attempt at least one marathon in my lifetime.
  • How to get rich, by Felix Dennis, a cheesy title for a book with lots of wisdom on the path to riches.. most important being the attitude of mind and the utmost desire to make it big!
  • Winning the losers game, by Charlie Ellis, lots of useful nuggets, such as– investing is like a casual game of tennis, he who makes less mistakes wins– though the basic premise of the book, not something that I necessarily agree with, is, active investing is a waste of time and energy.
  • When breath becomes air, by Paul Kalanthi, this book reminded me of the book, “Being Mortal” by Atul Gawande. Its an emotional book that forces us to think of our own mortality and allows us to reflect on what we should really focus on as truly important in life

As evident from above, my career break has been quite productive. However, it has not been without its challenges. The absence of a regular paycheck, a robust healthcare plan for my family, and the luxury of frivolous expenses have taken some getting used to. Additionally, overcoming the fear of not finding another job if needed and explaining to my kids why I don’t go to work have also presented challenges. Despite these hurdles, I am glad about my decision to take a career break.

Although I have enjoyed the freedom of taking ownership of my time, I do miss the structure and routine that come with traditional employment. The predictability of a regular paycheck and the peace of mind that accompanies employer-sponsored healthcare are also aspects I have come to appreciate. I would never have realized how truly important these are to peace of mind, especially with a family to support.

As such,  I have decided to pursue full-time employment again. I will continue to focus on my passion for investing through the investment venture I have begun with the aim of gradually growing that business to a point where I can truly take a career break from full-time employment.