Temporary self-imposed career break - will it ruin my prospects in the future?

experiMental

I have worked for about 5 years after college in software development. I have two choices :
- move on to a more senior role in my area
- do something completely different

My intention is to take a break from my current line of work, and do something completely different for a while. If it doesn't work out, I would come back to software development.

My question is : if I do something completely different from software development for six months to a year, will it ruin my chances of getting a job in software development in the future?

Stheno

mod: Moved from work and jobs. New charter applies

Manach

From experience, not really. It is always good to have sort of career break ( provided one's personal responsiblites being met) so as to refresh. In my case it is time spent at University to study. Just make sure that there is a reasonable story, explaining how the time away fits in with one's life expectations during future interviews.

Another option might be to ask for time off current place of work to return at a later date. If that is pursued, then any time on a break would be essential within the time-period of that working experience and so no gap.

Skrynesaver

The only difficulty would be answering the "So you weren't happy in development, will you have ongoing difficulties working in a development role?" question in interviews when/if you go back...

Once you land your 1st job (and stick with it for a few years) on your return, I wouldn't see any difficulties. In that regard asking for a career break/sabbatical from your current employer as Manach suggests would be a good move, if viable.

14ned

experiMental wrote: »

My question is : if I do something completely different from software development for six months to a year, will it ruin my chances of getting a job in software development in the future?

A six month break after five continuous years is very safe. Just make sure whatever you do in between tells a good story.

A year break would affect you slightly if you were a senior dev, but not fatally. As a mid-stage developer I'd doubt you'd see any effect.

A two year break starts to look bad unless you were filling the time with launching a startup or taking additional qualifications. Your skillset will look stale.

I would add that a steady stream of contributions to well known open source projects during time off can do wonders for the perceived freshness of your CV. I managed to take a seven year break doing that. You may not consider doing that much of a break of course.

Niall

jimmycrackcorm

experiMental wrote:

My question is : if I do something completely different from software development for six months to a year, will it ruin my chances of getting a job in software development in the future?


My intention is to take a break from my current line of work, and do something completely different for a while. If it doesn't work out, I would come back to software development.

I recall interviewing someone doing this who changed from saw dev to working in retail. They got upset because I told them that they intervening years they had not kept up with anything to do with SW development and effectively negated the point of doing their degree.

SW dev is so fast moving that unless you are keeping up, you'll get left behind.