A Bengaluru-based techie earning up to ₹35 lakh a year is considering taking a 3-to-6 month career break to focus on his health, spend time with his wife and travel. However, the 28-year-old, who said he was experiencing severe burnout, is unsure about how the break could affect his career and chances of returning to the Product Management job market.
Sharing his dilemma on Reddit in a post titled “Considering a 3-6 month career break”, the techie said he has around 6 years of work experience and currently earns ₹30-35 lakh per annum.
“I’m considering taking a 3–6 month break because I’ve been feeling burned out and want to focus on my health, spend time with my wife, travel, and think about what I want from the next phase of my work life,” he wrote.
The techie said that he got married 6 months ago and that his wife is also working. Their monthly household expenses are around ₹1.25-1.5 lakh, while his savings can cover roughly a year of expenses. He said that he has no loans or debt and that his parents are financially independent and receive pensions.
He also clarified that the savings referred to his emergency fund and said his total savings are around ₹50 lakh.
{{/usCountry}}He also clarified that the savings referred to his emergency fund and said his total savings are around ₹50 lakh.
{{/usCountry}}Despite being financially comfortable, the prospect of stepping away from a ₹30-35 lakh annual salary is making him reconsider the decision. “The main thing holding me back is the potential impact on my professional trajectory. I’d be giving up a ₹30–35 LPA income for several months and would eventually need to re-enter the PM job market,” he wrote.
He asked other professionals who had taken similar breaks about their experiences, particularly whether recruiters cared about the gap and whether taking 3-6 months off could make it difficult to return to Product Management.
He also asked what people actually did during their career breaks and said he was particularly interested in hearing from Indian and Bengaluru-based PMs and tech professionals who had voluntarily taken time off.
(Also Read: 'Two weeks in Bangalore have annihilated my health’: Founder explains why)
Social media reactions
The post sparked mixed reactions online.
Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Recruiter here. 3-6 months gap for PM roles is fine ; but I’d suggest make some projects and stuff in advance..and then can add them in portfolio/cv/screening round that this is what you did in break. I have personally hired people with such gaps.”
“Just take a vacation - leaving the job us extreme decision. I too left to join my husband abroad and it was a nightmare getting back to the workforce ( IT Professional btw),” commented another.
“Well since you asked , I decided to take a break from my big 4 job ( I have 5 years if experience after my MBA in Finance) for 3 to 6 months as well. That break sadly for me was a misstep. I started searching for jobs later and after 2.5 years I am sitting with no job and highly depressed state of mind due to getting rejected left and right. Praying that it pans out for you,” shared another.
“I was like you then I started my own company. Not looking to get enslaved again even though the profits are 1/5th of what I used to earn, however I had fuel and rental costs,” wrote one user.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)