Confession: Last year, I quit my tech job and intentionally took an entire year off before looking for a new one. And while it was truly the best decision for my personal growth, professional development, and mental health, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t moments filled with uncertainty.
Was I too “old” to take the risk? How would I continue to help pay my parents’ bills? Would I be able to explain that resume gap and find a job again? I knew I had to approach this career break thoughtfully, even though the decision went against the values instilled by my working-class immigrant parents: to keep my head down and work diligently, to live practically and frugally. Truth is, Asian American women are discouraged from taking breaks, even when we desperately need it.
Despite what we’ve been taught, career breaks can be an incredibly beneficial time to check back in with ourselves, to heal and practice mindfulness and intentionality, and discover other dreams and goals, rather than traditional career-oriented ones. (After all, how else does anyone travel to Asia and truly enjoy it while employed full-time in the U.S.?)
We interviewed experts to get their professional insight on career breaks and gathered tips and tricks to make the most of your time off — because you deserve it!
What Exactly Is a Career Break/Employment Gap?
Growing up, the only socially acceptable “gaps” I heard about were (white) students taking a year off between high school and college for travel or internships, or academics taking paid sabbatical leaves for formal research projects or writing projects. It seemed unthinkable for me to stray from the path straight from high school to a college to a respectable career to raising a family and going straight back to working hard until the day I died.
It wasn’t until I burnt out at my second job after college that I started hearing about working adults following less traditional career tracks. Career breaks are deliberate, long-term…
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