Considering a career break

I am 26M with close to 3 years of work experience and a MBA from a tier 1 college. I make decent salary, however I am not really enjoying my job. I am also depressed from working very hard the past 5 years with graduation, Covid and job Etc. I just want to take a few months off and focus on my mental/physical health. I also want to prepare for Product roles and try out some business/freelancing ideas I have. My concern is how Career gaps are treated like a stigma in the industry. Like what was the use of working so hard and getting qualifications, if I cannot take a few months in between jobs to focus on myself. Can someone help me get some perspective?

Hello, its been on my mind for sometime. Im in a job which doesn’t seem to be going in any direction (gate walled, no clarity, team politics) and getting fed up over last few months. Want to quit & take a break, but considering the job scene here, it might be a sometime before I get another job. So should I leave or rot for few more months? 😭 Hows the job hunting scene right now? Any advise would be really appreciated.. 🙏

Hello good folks of grapevine, I am very confused with my situation right now. I am currently working at a consumer tech unicorn in a strategy role but really burnt out with the working environment. I have no clarity on my roles and responsibilities which keeps changing every week. I am not learning much either. I am planning to quit without any offer in hand (notice period is 2 months, I have enough to survive 5-6 months). I am an IIT-IIM graduate (old ones). Total YOE ~ 4.5 years across strategy consulting, project management and strategy at current startup. Please suggest. Folks who have quit without any offer in hand, how did it work out for you?

Has anyone here with Tech work experience (India) (not from MAANG or any reputed companies, or tier 1 colleges ) taken a career break for personal reasons ? Not talking essential leaves maternity break or something like that, but more like for well being/upskilling/travel etc, whatever it maybe. Could you share your experience ? What was your experience like getting back to work/interview experience ? I am considering taking one myself. I know this is normalised on Europe, but I feel in India, many people (esp. some recruiters) find this weird and most people are even scared about taking a break. Thoughts ?

My current job is consuming me completely. I don't get to upskill myself. Therefore, I am stuck in this vicious cycle where I want to leave my organization to work in a better environment along with skilled colleagues. However, to do this, I will have to upskill myself. Would love to hear your experience if you have been in a similar situation. How did things turn out for you eventually?

So I have been looking for prospects for marriage and it's a very exhausting process. Plus this job gets very demanding and I am unable to focus on work. I don't have clarity on my career currently. I am planning to leave this job and take a break of few months to recharge myself from this exhaustion and burnout. Not sure if it would be the right thing to do.

I am a 2022 grad and 1yr into my corporate life and I have stopped liking software engineering. I took software engineering as a career because for the love of it but after experiencing the office politics and constant mundane work I have lost my zeal. We are always caught between the CTO and the Manager not being on the same page and redoing a lot of our work. For the past 1yr we have been migrating the same stuff to different platforms. No innovative work, no recognition for good work. Is this normal in the corporate world? Also I am thinking of taking a break as I want to focus on my health. Is it a good idea to take a break now for 3-5 months and then get back to working again?

Currently working as SDE-2 at Amazon, promoted some 1 year back. I'm totally burned out from work pressure, oncalls, layoff and performance review cycles every 3 months. Thinking of resigning without any offer by June/July. Will this be the right decision in today's market. I'll take some 2-3 months rest and start job hunting again, hopefully in better wlb companies. Just want to enjoy, travel to new places and prioritise my health. Balding and weight gain are major issues, and i don't think conditions will be improving in Amazon soon. BUT, the job market is tough, and IDK how it will impact my career Is this the right decision or I'm a fool Total experience: 3.5 Yrs Age : 27

Is it okay to take career break of 3 months for mental health. I got laid off but got job within 1 month but feeling anxiety and mental disturbance and need some time to cope up. Something happened inbetween due to loneliness and hits a bad way so I need some time to prepare mental health back. Is it okay to take break?

I’m from Tier 3 city, software engineer, 7 YoE. I work with great team member and they really love their work but I’m not that passionate. I take ownership of my work but don’t feel like I belong here. I’m not good in coding and SDET by profession. I didn’t save enough money in my first 3 years of career, switched back to back from 2020 onwards and recently moved out of India and now I think I have enough money. I always wanted to settle in my native place, Prayagraj in UP unlike my colleagues and most of my friends who enjoy to be in metro city. I somehow feel I have very less needs and if I shift to Tier 3 city, I’d have less expenses and I don’t have to buy houses as I already have home. At the same time, I feel may be I feel FOMO 5-10 years down the line I left good job, lifestyle. Additionally, I’m looking to get married, none of IT sector girls want to live in Tier 3 and rightly so as they put so much effort so they want to live/settle in metros mostly. 8 years back I took GRE, put all efforts to do MS from US. 2 years back, I got this opportunity to live that life but I feel I don’t enjoy hustle culture/ city lights. Don’t like cafe hopping or anything. I feel at peace when I visit my hometown, my paternal/maternal houses, Varanasi Ghats. I have 1.3 Cr INR but given I’m just 30. As per Finfluencer or by my sane calculation, this is not sufficient. Post marriage, this is certainly not enough. Should I take a break and assess or just keep pushing myself to earn more and then go for FIRE. Hoping for constructive feedback.