> it's probably not career-ending to take a few year break but I don't know much about this anecdotally
This is true.
A fair while back I left database and dev work for a few years. Tried my hand at kitchen design and sales, loading trucks, ISP tech support, chicken farming, builder's merchant sales counter, call centre night manager, farm labourer, collections agent, and more.
Loved it all, but my motivation was to experiment to see if the tech world was just my default or something I truly enjoyed. Turned out it was the latter so I returned to it.
Initially I was down about 20% on salary on my return to the industry, but a couple of years sorted that out and early employers seemed to appreciate the more rounded real-world experience.
Cathartic. Though I wouldn't do it again now I have a wife, mortgage, and dog to support.
This is true.
A fair while back I left database and dev work for a few years. Tried my hand at kitchen design and sales, loading trucks, ISP tech support, chicken farming, builder's merchant sales counter, call centre night manager, farm labourer, collections agent, and more.
Loved it all, but my motivation was to experiment to see if the tech world was just my default or something I truly enjoyed. Turned out it was the latter so I returned to it.
Initially I was down about 20% on salary on my return to the industry, but a couple of years sorted that out and early employers seemed to appreciate the more rounded real-world experience.
Cathartic. Though I wouldn't do it again now I have a wife, mortgage, and dog to support.