Those 6 weeks where you're studying full-time unpaid seems like a lot of time to me. That's 250 hours that you can't spend on what is actually important in your life (maybe friends, family, relationships).
Ok, lets say you earn $80k a year. Google will pay you $120k. So you stand to make $40k in 1 year extra if you get the job. And if you don't get the job the skills transfer to other interviews anyway, so you'll get some kind of job at, lets say $100k.
You ask for 6 weeks unpaid leave. Could be one block, or 1 day a week for 30 weeks. This will cost you $10k gross by my calculations.
Even if you get the $100k job, you are $10k up after 1 year, with no friends and family time sacrificed at all.
As a bonus you were effectively paid for 6 weeks to learn CS skills rather than bash out features and not learn any new computer science skills.
Thanks for the breakdown. I appreciate the chance to see your perspective. When you attach those numbers to it, taking that 6 week unpaid leave makes sense financially. Your comment makes me consider a 6 week sabbatical sometime in the future.
I'm always impressed when I hear stories of quiet, but strong dedication to reach critical long-term goals.
I have a friend that is in his late twenties and is now a partner for a boutique investment shop. About four years ago he made a commitment to pass the CFA 1 in nine months. Studied a little each day after work, and then studied more on the weekends. 180 hours total. Passed the CFA 1 without any fan fare. Hardly told a soul. Did the same for the CFA 2 the following year. Didn't tell any colleagues. No fan fare. Boss was pleasantly surprised when he listed the new qualification on the firm website.
He does the exact same thing the following year for the CFA 3. His wife tells someone at the firm, and when he walks into work they throw a surprise celebration for this very impressive accomplishment (many people spend a decade reaching CFA 3).
A couple months later the managing director moves to have the firm make him a partner. Easy decision. You had a junior analyst quietly dedicate themselves to substantially improving their skills.
Now, while his salary is certainly quite impressive as a partner and for someone that young, the true freedom he has achieved is being given responsibility of a new order of magnitude to establish things he wants to establish in that world (internal values maybe, many new types of clients, new employees he can then bring up through the firm, etc.).
Point is: good on you. You're a lesson for most of us.
