3 Career Break Myths I Stopped Believing—And How It Boosted My Career

Are you contemplating a career break but feeling hesitant? You might be stopping yourself from embarking on a career break due to one of these three myths.

*Myth-buster a.k.a your Career Break Bestie enters the room* Let’s debunk these myths!

We cover:

Myth #1: A Career Break Will Wreck Your Finances

I can see why it's logical to think this way. When you're not working, you're not earning. 

I definitely did my first career break the “wrong way”. I left my job and spent time traveling around the world. I had a great time, but I felt an equal magnitude of anxiety, not being able to replace the money that I spent. So I convinced myself to go back to work even though I wasn't ready. 

However, if designed well, a career break offers a pause where you can get yourself educated about personal finance. It takes time to learn how to track your expenses and savings, invest, and build new personal finance habits. There are so many financial instruments out there, and a career break can offer you the time to learn which ones suit your temperament. 

Humans follow the innate motivational triad. We seek pleasure, try to avoid pain and seek to conserve energy. Sometimes we just don’t have enough energy to absorb more complex topics like personal finances when we are already exhausted from demanding jobs or family commitments. I get it.

However, the pause that a career break offers is an opportunity to improve our relationship with money that can set us up in the long term for greater economic well-being.

Also, you can still earn even though you embark on a career break (there’s no career break police telling you that you cannot!). There are ways of getting paid other than just being in a 9-to-5 full time job. In fact, a career break is a fantastic time to explore new opportunities. 

During my second career break, I took on some gig work to finance my travels and lifestyle, and set up a sole proprietorship structure to keep track of my earnings. 

That was the foundation for me to learn basic finance skills. I learnt to watch out for my cash flow, how much free cash the business is retaining, how much money I am spending, and how much I am taking in. Learning from the mistakes of my first career break, I was ready to avoid a career break riddled with financial anxiety. I had no choice but to get deep into my numbers.

Sure, of course. These are basic finance skills that I can learn even while holding down a full time job. But the truth was that when I was working, I was never really incentivized to look closely into my own personal finance matters. Because, where is the urgency? I was complacent that I will have my monthly paycheck arriving again next month to cover the previous month’s expenses. There are little immediate negative consequences of not managing my personal finances when I was in a job with a steady paycheck.  

Sometime during my second career break, I stumbled upon the FI (Financial Independence) movement. Being on a career break gave me the headspace and time to really understand financial strategies, and to grapple head-on with all the challenging emotions that came with looking at my numbers. Guilt, shame, and self blame are regular starring guests.

So when I re-entered the workforce again after my second career break, I had clearly defined my financial goals and was very focused on hitting “the number” that will allow me to sustain a perpetual career break if need be, where investments can sustain my lifestyle without me having to be in a job. 

I have taken three career breaks and I didn't suffer for it financially at all. In fact, the opposite happened. I got what I dreamed of, which is being able to savor the slow life, even in a fast-paced country, with the finances to support that. 

Far from breaking the bank, a career break offers a fantastic opportunity to improve your financial standing. 

Myth #2: A Career Break Will Ruin Your Career

I get it. Although I think employers are more enlightened now, anecdotes suggest that it is easier to land another job while you're still currently employed. When you are unemployed, or on a career break, it can seem like you are a pariah in the job market. 

I would really invite you to think of a career break as a portal of possibility instead of a doorway to destruction. A career break gives you a pause where you can embark on a journey of self-discovery and learn exactly what your strengths, weaknesses, your passions and interests are.

I'm so grateful for starting my career with my early jobs, but I lacked two things: the self awareness to truly become an instrument in the way I desired to be, and the right environmental fit, for making a positive impact. Greater self-awareness can help you filter better what kind of jobs and environment would be best suited for you when you re-enter the job market. 

When I was on a career break, I did a lot of volunteering and joined a multitude of workshops to discover some of my existing talents, or develop new skills. I also sought new tools to heal myself. I immersed myself in supportive environments. I came away from the experiences understanding how it felt to be seen, heard, and understood, and how to give others the same. 

For example, I took workshops on improvisational theater. That allowed me to further develop skills in constructing experiential based lessons, which was crucial when I moved on to teach life skills in a university. Understanding myself as a person enabled me to become a more effective educator and offer better support for students. It also taught me to identify supportive environments that helped me grow in my career while being of value to the organization.

So, instead of being something to fear, a career break can be an opportunity for a strategic realignment of your own self-discovery, skills, talents, with the wider attributes required in the current, constantly evolving job market. 

Myth #3: You Are Alone In Your Career Break Journey

If you are someone who is contemplating taking a career break, or currently on one, you might feel alone. It can feel isolating when you no longer have a job that comes in with a built-in social network. 

More importantly, there might be friends, family and former coworkers who don't fully get why you left your job without another job. It feels lonely when you are not supported in your decision. After all, most people work continuously until they retire, so why can't you do the same, you might be asked. You don't feel understood or validated. 

My “Big Why” in writing this article series is that I hope it becomes love letters from me to you, the person who might be contemplating a career break. If there is anything that I want to impart through this article series, is that you are seen, and that you're not alone. 

I’ve taken three career breaks, and I can understand some emotions you could be feeling right now. There is no need for embarrassment. You are doing something different from everyone else who are carrying on in their 9-to-5 jobs. You might start feeling that you are flawed, that wanting to break away from the norm is a moral failing. But I am here to remind you that you  are worthy just as you are, even without a constant incoming paycheck that adds to your net worth. You don’t need to constantly question whether you are enough. 

A career break is a confusing, challenging time but it can also be a beautiful transformative experience. 

Don’t let any of these three myths stop you from pursuing a career break, if it is what you want. Know that you can take a career break without breaking the bank or killing your career. I’m living proof of that, and I’m rooting for you.