I left IBM as a senior developer in 2020 to be a full-time parent. Five years later, with my youngest starting school, I decided to return to tech.

The landscape had changed dramatically. When I left, we were still doing monoliths. Now everything is microservices, containers, and Kubernetes. React had gone through multiple paradigm shifts. TypeScript had taken over.

I spent the first 2 months just getting up to speed with modern tech. Built a few side projects using Next.js and Docker to prove to myself (and future employers) that I could adapt.

Microsoft's returnship program (LEAP) was designed for people like me. The interview was similar to a regular one but the interviewers were more understanding about gaps in recent technology knowledge.

The system design round asked about designing a collaborative whiteboarding tool (think Teams Whiteboard). My years of experience with distributed systems at IBM came flooding back. Some things don't change even if the tools do.

The coding rounds were harder than I expected. I'd forgotten a lot of the algorithm tricks. Spent a solid month on leetcode to rebuild that muscle memory.

Got the offer and joined the Azure DevOps team. The transition back wasn't seamless - there were definitely moments of "everyone here knows more than me" - but the team was supportive and after 3 months I felt competent again.

To anyone considering a career break: your experience doesn't expire. The fundamentals of good engineering are timeless.

1. Look into returnship programs. Microsoft, Google, and Meta all have them.
2. Don't apologize for your career break. Own it with confidence.
3. Focus on fundamentals during prep, not the latest framework.
4. Build something modern to show you can adapt. A portfolio project goes a long way.
5. Your life experience is an asset. Parenting builds skills that engineering needs.