"After a month of clearing your head, you'll probably realize that the jobs you thought were interesting earlier really aren't right for you."
This had definitely crossed my mind.
The best thing to do might be to make some contact with a few places before I leave, saying I will be looking for work in December/January after a short career break, and have a pretty LaTeX CV ready for when I get back.
Not quite true. I bet avionics companies (and plenty of others) would be very interested to talk to you.
My dad used to be a pilot and now works in technology, though he made the switch a few years ago now.
As for the programming, after learning the very basics you really have to write something and learn as you go. Try writing a little Android app. I bet you could without even knowing Java.
It could be that working as a programmer isn't right for you (maybe a business role related to aerospace), but if you kept it up on the side and used it as your "secret weapon" ^ you could be a real success. Good luck.
Thanks for the reply. By "Several Months" I probably mean a minimum of 1.5 months, but preferably around 3 months.
Part of the plan is to learn a few new areas of CS and math that I've been too busy to read, and code a few things I've been meaning to code. Some personal development without commitments all week.
Possibly. I did the graduate treadmill after my first degree and I'd prefer to work somewhere smaller and less Initrodeish. I've been studying a slightly niche but useful area of computer science, so I don't really want to sell my ass to someone like McKinsey just because they have a Spring intake.
I guess my question is more about how to present my case to another person, without it sounding like I want to slack off.
This had definitely crossed my mind.
The best thing to do might be to make some contact with a few places before I leave, saying I will be looking for work in December/January after a short career break, and have a pretty LaTeX CV ready for when I get back.