I'm currently working as a software consultant, saving a respectable amount of dough for FIRE. However, I've come to the conclusion that consulting isn't working for me any more. I love being hands-on and writing code and got my degree in Computer Science, but unfortunately most of that work is done offshore here and the quality of output often suffers for it. Also, the expectation that was set when I joined was that we would travel Monday to Thursday for client work, but in actuality it's more like Sunday to Friday. I stay in a crappy hotel many more nights than my own home.
I've started looking for new opportunities but because I'm never home, I struggle to schedule more than 1 or 2 interviews each month. Also, since I'm somewhat out of practice on my development and technical interviewing skills, I've made it to the 2nd or 3rd rounds of interviewing but struggled on some of the tougher tech questions. The hours at my current job can be unpredictable and long, as much as 12 per day for a week straight, so I never feel like I have enough time or energy to sufficiently prepare and put my best foot forward.
I'm considering quitting my current job outright. That way, I can focus 100% on brushing up on my skills and finding a new opportunity that better aligns with my career aspirations and my desire to sleep in my own bed at night.
My biggest fears with taking the leap are that I'm overestimating my technical abilities, or I won't use the unstructured time wisely, or I'll run out of money, or the new job won't pay as well as my current job. The alternative would be sticking it out, probably for a few months, which sounds awful. I have enough saved between cash savings and taxable investments to cover up to 10 months of expenses, and I have no dependents.
Does anyone who's quit without another job lined up have some wisdom to impart? I have the cash to quit, assuming I can find something else relatively quickly, and I've been able to get a high callback rate from recruiters. At this point I either need to muster the courage and confidence in my abilities to quit, or slog through searching and studying with my limited free time until I find a new role.
TLDR; my current job is a bad fit for me and saps all my energy. I want to quit so I can focus on finding something better. The fear of failing to find something better is holding me back.