Returning to IT After a Hiatus? - Tech & IT Job Resources from Monster.com

Returning to IT After a Hiatus? - Tech & IT Job Resources from Monster.com: "Indeed, employers often view techies who have been out of the workforce a year or longer as stale, even if their most recent position involved technologies still in use. And if your technical knowledge is no longer relevant, even if the underlying experience is still applicable, the bar for returning is that much higher. An example would be a programmer with expertise in out-of-date languages.

Gausman says techies who want to return at the same level should take no more than six months off. A break of one or two years means 'you're going to have to be willing to take a lesser position.'

Jon Byrd, principal of IT staffing firm Eximer Technology Solutions, similarly says techies returning to the field after being away a year or longer will often 'have to take a less-than-optimal position to get some hands-on skills.'

But others are more optimistic. 'Up to two years, returning to IT is very possible,' says Joshua Feinberg, cofounder of Computer Consulting 101, a training firm for IT consultants. 'Between two and five years, it's possible but difficult. More than five years, you'd be facing an uphill battle.'"