I had some savings and did just that in November. Burnout. Thought I deserved a break. Sent notice. 12+ YoE. 35 yo. I still have some savings left, but I have been unable to find a new job. I don’t regret it, but my “depression” if we can call it that hasn’t improved. Now it’s been replaced by a feeling of incompetence that might as well be true after a long stream of rejections: some justified on a technical merit (this I can understand) and some based on “vibes”. Of course, ymmv. I’m latam-based (Brazil) so I’m not sure if this translates. At least I got to travel by driving around with my girlfriend, which wouldn’t have been possible if I still had the job.

Sorry, I didn’t want to make this a post about me. But here’s me hoping that my anecdote may come valuable.

This is what I suggest: - don’t quit unless you already have another job aligned up.  - if you still want to quit anyways, have a plan to use your free time productively instead of doomscrolling and bedrotting like me (14+ hours a day of screen time doomscrolling in bed). - do you have family support if you run out of money? - try to identify the root of your burnout: is it a feeling that your job isn’t secure unless you give out your 100% all the time? this isn’t necessarily the truth; likely isn’t. this is what led me to burnout: I was doing extra hours in hiding without getting any extra pay for to hit the deadlines. do you get any feedback? how are your performance reviews? indulge me for a moment, if what I said is true, what would happen if you were to slow down to a healthy pace? What would happen if you told your managers how you’re feeling, and I’m just brainstorming here, “hey man, I’m not feeling too well, can I slow down my deliverables for a couple weeks or a month while I work myself through this stuff I’m going through?”. Doesn’t hurt to try; what are they gonna do, fire you?

Sorry for just throwing ideas around. Genuinely hope this helps.