Anyone here has taken a sabbatical or career break (3+ months) before? Would love to ask few questions personally but for the wider audience here could you share the why of your break and what you did during it.

Took a 6 month sabbatical to upskill after leaving my first job. Wouldn't recommend in case you are planning to work for Indian companies. They always call it a "gap" and try to negotiate down the compensation. Didn't have any such issues with German and US companies

When will mind set of these Indian companies will change 😅

Indian recruiters just want to find a way to exploit candidates

Am currently in a sabbatical since August. Will most probably end in October. Why: After having multiple burnouts in my career, have come to the realisation that taking a break from work is not a luxury per se, but more of a necessity. It’s like sleep. Sure, you can make do with 4 hours of sleep per day but for peak performance, it’s advisable to do 8 hours of sleep per day, right? And this is just my observation of how things have been for me based on my past experiences. YMMV. 🙂 What: Been staying in a backpacker hostel in Dehradun. Have been using this time to rest and rejuvenate. Have resumed habits that I had years back but stopped due to some reason (that even I am not sure of), like working out and reading 1 book per week. The hostel I am in also has a small farm in the backyard where the hosts teach you to do some basic farming (I find that relaxing). Have also taken up some self-paced online courses (not related to work) that I do in a relaxed manner (it feels good to do something for a change that you don’t HAVE to do, but choose to do). Sometimes, I also relax by walking around in the fields nearby aimlessly, just to contemplate on random things. I am still in the process of exploring more things to do (it has been like only a week since i have been here). Planning to take up a wood working workshop at a centre nearby. P.S. Had also taken a sabbatical previously to upskill for work like @faint-energy-11966 did. Was supposed to be for 6 months but ended up being a year. Have written a bit about it here.

Thanks for the responses. It really takes courage to take that step. Hope it is normalized sooner than later.

AltCampus sounds like a very solid business atleast from the content marketing side of things i guess 😅

I took break from my teaching career in 2017, since then I am on leave, (changing types of leave as per the rules). Reason, office politics, I don’t play the power games, and cannot respond to them. I am direct, honest and would speak my mind without ant butter or sugar-coat. These things only work if your boss also appreciates honesty, else it can lead to big fallout. I have used this time to write books, do more research, freelance and update my skill-set.

@happy-teacher-99991 If you're talking about the atmosphere, unfortunately after the pandemic, AltCampus has shifted to a completely online model. Even their payment is upfront (it was ISA when I joined). And have no plans of going back to offline batches. The campus still exists. But it has become more of a co-living place now (where Altcampus students are welcome to come and stay at, for the community aspect if they wish). But the teaching model still will remain completely online