Career Break - to Break or not to Break?

I am starting my full time gig in a few days. Yes I have not been employed as a full timer for almost 10 months.

"But, Alex," I hear you scratching your head, "Is not this an insane thing to do? You must be crazy but I have to admit, you also have guts."

Don't rush to jump to conclusions - hear me out.

I have done this is 2025 because I have done this before and got away with that.

First Career Break

Back in 2010 the world was a better place. Maybe the California Gurls, a decent guy in the White House or just because I was 15 years younger. I realized that life is so much more than the job I was doing at the time. So I came with a brilliant idea what to do with my 9-5. I would save enough money to travel the world on an open ended unstructured journey to see as much as I can. I was inspired by another Toronto cyclist-programmer who has done exactly that a few years before. And guess what - it was the best thing I have ever done in my life. Many countries I have visited are a no-go zone at the time of this writing. When I returned to my neck of the woods I realized - the city did not change - I did. Needless to say, all my skills became rusty after 3 years of carrying my backpack couch to couch, campsite to campsite. But this did not stop me from getting a job 4 months later.

Why another break?

Fast forward 11 years. I have done a few things which made me feel good about myself. Professionally speaking I mean. I enjoy being useful. Even more precisely, I hate being paid without adding value to my employer. That thought alone made me depressed for the longest time. As of 2024 I was a highly motivated eager to build things badass professional. I was not among the guys counting years till retirement. On the contrary, retirement for me can only mean working on projects that I don't need to get paid for.

Back in 2022 I felt I was on the top of the world. I was able to add 70K to my base salary - just like that. I got two offers from top DevOps teams. I did not know everything but it felt I am a few projects and skills away from greatness. Two gigs later - I found myself drifting back to IT Operations - something I have been trying to move away from. As another unconventional man once said: "the moment I thought I was out, they pull me back in". So I said to myself - how about I build a few solutions, learn a few skills and show off a few certs on LinkedIn. And also cover a few gaps with Linux, Networking and System Architecture. Would not that be enough for a course correction?

So I asked my wonderful boss to switch to part time and she agreed. Here comes my new life - full time study, part time work. I was able to learn a lot, take a couple of challenging certs and even build this site from scratch. But when I joined the thousands of folks with OpenToWork LinkedIn status this August I realized a hard truth I was completely oblivious to:

Toto we are not in 2022 anymore

In 2022 you need to have a pulse to get a job. That and minimal exposure to DevOps tools. The reason why the market took a 180 degree turn are being fiercely debated and I won't get into that here. Now you need to be an true engineer - you need to be a top performer to be considered for a position I was looking for. I drained my savings and am financially worse off than in 2022. I am taking a job I was qualified for before my study year but I am still headed towards my goals - in kind of a roundabout way.

Would I do it again?

I hear you asking - "Was it worth it"? Why not just stay put at one place and ignore the FOMO? The balance of my checking account has always been going in waves from positive to broke and back up. When I speak to my son in his typical Gen Alpha lingo I would say something like "I still have six seven dollars left" and "don't worry my boy I am not yet going on Squid Games". So objectively speaking - it is not a good idea for most people.

But for myself, navigating the most inaccessible corners of the world just like the locals do, taught me something priceless. I understood how privileged I am - I live in a safe country, I have people who love me, an occupation I am passionate enough to create a website about and I have avoided war, famine and genocide just by a streak of fate. I feel deeply grateful that I am able to make independent decisions in this life regardless of what other people are doing. I may no longer be a spring chicken - but I have an advantage of great work ethic, reasonable ability to concentrate and pay attention to people around me. Think about it - ability to understand your user's needs is more rare these days than scaling Kubernetes nodes. I may be broke but I am also fearless - knowing though my life experience that money is a renewable resource. Time and attitude are not. Where my career will go from here is unclear. Your guess is just as good as mine. And that is fine.

I was even able to write this without using AI. A rare skill indeed.