For Nakshathra Suresh, leaving a secure government role wasn’t a leap of recklessness, it was an act of clarity. After realising that stability didn’t equal fulfillment, she hit pause, took a year to learn, and built a new path as a consultant, academic, and digital inclusion advocate.
In this conversation, Nakshathra shares how her story reflects a broader generational shift. She talks about redefining success on her own terms, taking career breaks with purpose, and why sometimes the most strategic move you can make is to slow down.
You left a secure government job to build something entirely your own. What was the turning point that made you realise stability didn’t equal satisfaction?
It hit me when I realised my career wasn’t panning out the way I had envisioned. I had just finished my Master’s and found myself more passionate about my thesis topic than the work I was doing in the public service. While I was grateful for the stability over the years, I realised early on how difficult it was to move into managerial roles or receive promotions. By the time I’d receive proper recognition (whether a promotion or raise) it would take several more years. I
wasn’t willing to wait around for that. As someone who’s incredibly ambitious, I get turned off quickly when there’s no opportunity for growth, especially in my career.
Instead of jumping to the next role, I realised a career break was the right move. It wouldn’t be fair to my next workplace if I hadn’t figured out my areas of interest yet. So I took a year to learn the ins and outs of the technology ecosystem. In the process, I co-founded my own consultancy, became an academic, and built my brand as a public speaker.
The report shows almost half of Gen s plan to take an early career break. Why do you think your generation is approaching work differently than before?
We are definitely more confident in defining the boundaries of our lives compared to previous generations, who had to fit into society’s mold of success. Taking an early career break means we can experiment with what works best for us – whether that’s taking gap years we couldn’t afford during university, traveling, exploring alternative ways of working, or even pursuing passion projects that don’t fit the traditional career path.
This experimentation is crucial because it lets us think about our future more clearly without the FOMO (fear of missing out) mindset haunting us in our 30s, 40s, and 50s. We’re not trying to reclaim our youth later in life or wondering “what if”. We’re choosing to actively explore now. By giving ourselves permission to pause, pivot, and explore early on, we’re actually setting ourselves up for more intentional, fulfilling careers down the line.
We’d rather figure out what doesn’t work for us now than spend decades in roles that leave us feeling unfulfilled. It’s about being proactive with our happiness rather than reactive to regret.
How do you define success now — and how has that changed since leaving the public service?
Success, for me, is the ability to dictate my own life on my own terms and feel a sense of personal achievement with every goal and milestone I complete. It’s gradual. I can celebrate every little win rather than waiting for a performance review to recognise my achievements. This approach feels more authentic to how I actually experience growth.
It also helps that in all my current roles, I have the autonomy to decide what I work on and how I approach it. That freedom is essential to feeling fulfilled. A previous version of me would have defined success as stability and financial security. I thought that’s what I was supposed to want – a steady paycheck, a clear career path, the whole traditional package. But that came at the cost of my mental health and limited my passions. I was checking boxes instead of actually living. I wouldn’t call that success. Real success, to me, means feeling aligned with what I’m doing, not just comfortable.
You work at the intersection of cyber safety and digital inclusion. How do these values shape how you design your work and choose your projects?
These values are the foundation of everything I do. I’m drawn to projects that bridge the gap between technology and accessibility – work that ensures everyone, regardless of their background or technical literacy, can participate safely in the digital world. For me, it’s not enough for technology to exist. It needs to be accessible, equitable, and protective of the people using it. And it needs to happen now, not five or ten years from today.
When I choose projects, I ask myself: Who’s being left behind? Who’s most vulnerable? If a project only serves those already privileged or tech-savvy, I’m not interested. I want to work on initiatives that empower marginalised communities, protect people from digital harm, and create pathways for those who’ve been systematically excluded from tech spaces.
You can’t have true digital inclusion without safety, and you can’t achieve meaningful cyber safety without considering who has access in the first place. This intersection also keeps my work purpose-driven. I’m not just building for the sake of innovation. I’m building with intention and impact in mind.
Many people see career breaks as risky. What have you learned about stepping away from traditional career timelines?
Honestly? Career breaks are only risky if you view success through a traditional lens, which most of the previous generations do. The real risk is staying in a role that drains you, limits your growth, or keeps you from discovering what you’re truly capable of. I’ve learned that stepping away from traditional career timelines is actually an investment in yourself. It is strategic, not reckless or ‘risky’.
During my career break, I gained clarity I never would have found while grinding through a 9-5. I explored the technology ecosystem, started my own business, became an academic and built my public speaking career. None of that would have happened if I’d stayed on the “safe” path. The break gave me space to experiment, fail numerous times, pick myself back up, learn, and ultimately design a career that aligns with my values. And it also made me realise that I can continue to do this over the course of my life.
If what I am doing right now doesn’t satisfy me in a few years, then I can switch up again! Having conversations with friends and family about organisations that look down upon people who take career-breaks made me realise that employers who view career breaks negatively aren’t the right fit anyway. The organisations worth working for recognise that diverse experiences (including time spent exploring, building side projects, or upskilling) make you a stronger, more well-rounded professional. Career breaks show initiative, self-awareness, and
the courage to prioritise long-term fulfillment over short-term security. It also makes you a better leader, having the ability to champion yourself despite the odds.The traditional career timeline is a social construct, not a requirement. We need to normalise stepping away, pivoting, and returning on our own terms. Life is too short to follow someone else’s blueprint of success.
For young people who feel trapped between stability and purpose, what advice would you give about making a change without burning out or breaking down financially?
Burning out and facing financial struggles will always be part of the journey when you’re trying to find your purpose. Success isn’t about constantly winning or reaching the peak immediately – it’s about feeling a gradual sense of achievement that allows you to show up as yourself every single day. And I want to be honest. You need to be very delusional about it. Back yourself even when no one else does. Believe in your vision so strongly that other people’s doubt doesn’t shake you. You are your biggest strength, and that self-belief is what will carry you through the failures, the rejections, and the moments when it feels like nothing is working. If you don’t bet on yourself, no one else will.
Secondly, persist in your dreams and always seek something that challenges your perceptions. If you don’t feel satisfied with your job, don’t just immediately quit. Learn a new skill, hobby or study further. Talk to new people and network at events that interest you. Experiment with technology and see what sparks your curiosity. Once you figure that out, you can take your next step. But through it all, maintain that “delusional” confidence – the kind that makes you take risks others won’t, apply for opportunities you’re not fully qualified for, and pitch ideas that seem too ambitious.
Lastly, never feel like you’re wedded to a single job or role. While an opportunity gives you stability, it won’t give you purpose unless you attach a vision to it. Make the most of each opportunity, and when you’ve exhausted your vision, jump to the next one. Trust yourself enough to know when it’s time to move on, even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else. Life is too short to be committed to singularity, especially since your career will define so much of your existence. Make sure you are defining it, not the other way around.
