Changing job roles, or even career paths, can bring many advantages – namely, broadening your skill set and bolstering your career capital.
About six years ago, I decided to pause my software engineering career to pursue research in computer science. After stints in graduate school and data science, my career eventually circled back to software engineering, this time in a new role with a fresh perspective and new interests.
It’s easy to picture your career as a series of milestones and time estimates, but the reality is rarely that linear. There needs to be more advice in our industry about building your career in a non-linear way and doing that sustainably.