With the market so bad, and such low responses from job applications, if you have enough to “survive”, pay bills and basic necessities, does it make sense to just take a break and resume the job search when market is a little better?
The problem is that when you stop constant leet coding and interviewing you fall out of shape very fast and it takes some time to snap back into "ready for interview" mode. At least that's how it works for me. If you are in the best interview shape now - just keep grinding even if it does not lend decent offers.
+1. Every day that you practice and every failed interview you are more prepped. Just keep fking grinding for 1-2 focused hours each day on interview prep + applications; it's sustainable. Still plenty of other time in your life to do your FT job well, have fun, etc. Mentally accept it might take a while to find the right fit.
This
Thinking about putting everything in storage and moving to Mexico or some LCOL college town to weather the storm. Gives me time to live my life without killing all my savings in the Bay Area. Would also give me time to hone my technical interview skills and not rush into the wrong job.
I'm sure Ukraine is cheap these days
Define "break" in terms of potential length
6 months to a year?
Probably would hamper your employability but that's subjective provided you can sell the gap as a sabbatical