12 years in IT, completely burned out. Can I afford an 18 month break?
I have been working in IT for 12 years on the QA/automation side and I am very burned out now. Not the "need a vacation" type, it is more than that. On top of that, job security in IT is not what it used to be, with layoffs and AI everywhere, so sitting in a stressful job does not even feel safe anymore. I am thinking of taking a break. 6 months of full rest, then around a year of learning. Either an executive MBA or a full time tech course from a good university, or self learning and building projects.
My finances:
Take home: 1.4L per month plus 13k EPF
Mutual funds: 52L
Indian stocks: 10L
US stocks: 3L
PPF: 18.5L
FDs: 17.5L
EPF: 8.5L
Savings account: 5L
NPS/pension: 1.5L (not counting, withdrawal is a headache)
Monthly expenses: around 65k
I live in a family flat but it is old, will need to sell it (expecting 1 to 1.5cr) and buy a new one in about 5 years. Parents have their own savings, actually more than mine, but medical inflation and unexpected expenses still worry me so I stay a bit conservative there. I am single and have no plans of getting married, so no dependents in future also.
So total is roughly 1.15cr without the house. 18 months of expenses is about 12L, plus 20 to 30L fees if I go for the EMBA, which honestly scares me.
What I want to know: can I afford this without affecting the house purchase and long term savings? Has anyone here taken a break like this in their 30s and come back to work? Was it hard to get a job again and did the gap affect salary? And between an EMBA, a university tech course and self learning, which one actually helped your career?