Job competition, emotional burnout, no social life: AI engineer debates if its time to take a career break

In an industry where “grind culture” is often worn like a badge of honour, one AI engineer’s honest confession on Reddit is striking a chord. The 29-year-old, with eight years of experience across fintech and AI/ML, opened up about feeling emotionally drained once again — and wondering if taking another career break would be seen as a professional red flag or an act of self-preservation.

The engineer shared that she has around five years of experience in Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning (ML), following three years in fintech. Her first break came after intense emotional stress — a time when life’s personal struggles collided with the high-pressure demands of work. She used that five-month gap productively, publishing research papers to stay connected to their field.

Now, years later, history seems to be repeating itself. The engineer, currently working in a computer vision startup, admitted that while she enjoys her job, it no longer feels challenging. What’s worse, remote work has gradually stripped away her social life, leaving her isolated and demotivated. The familiar cloud of emotional stress, she said, is creeping back in.

This time, she is considering another break — not out of laziness, but necessity. “I like my job, but it’s not challenging anymore, plus the remote work is making things worse for me as I don’t have a social life anymore,” she explained. “This time I want to take another break again.”

But the worry isn’t just emotional — it’s professional. The engineer fears how multiple breaks might look on a resume in today’s competitive job market. “I’m not sure how this will end up on my profile, especially in this cutthroat competition,” she shared. “Two breaks! I don’t know how long the break will last — maybe a couple of months — but I’m not sure whether or not I should take it.”

Internet reacts
One user said it’s sad that people even have to overthink taking a break and wished the techie well. Another, with just 1.5 years of experience, shared that they’ve already started thinking about doing the same. A third person mentioned taking a 2.5-year break after seven years in the industry to pursue photography, saying that skill matters more than gaps — though they admitted the current job market might make things tougher.

Someone else pointed out that companies often prefer immediate joiners, so short gaps usually don’t raise concerns unless they stretch beyond three or four months without reason. They added that a one- or two-month break is usually enough to recover from stress and that HRs mostly care about how soon you can start, especially in Indian firms. For international companies, however, they weren’t sure if the same applies.