This is the 64K question.

Wayne John is right when s/he says that the abort switch should be thrown when your mental health becomes imperiled. Of course the problem with that is often one doesn't know when one's mental health is suffering until its too late - yes, I've had serious mental health issues that have been greatly exacerbated by working in IT and I discourage all and sundry from entering the IT field. Without doubt the layoff-job search-hire on-layoff cycle is a killer.

The problem is that the cycle has been modified somewhat to layoff-endless jobsearch-wake up-quit.

Maybe that's not so bad in the end.

Great post, thanks for the information, I had great luck finding a New Career at http://www.careermatches.org/index.php?id=New

Mark, Your question is very timely for me as I have just decided to hang up my job search after a year of struggling with recruiters and employers who are horribly unprofessional (with interactions well beyond the initial screening), and companies who do not follow through on their commitments (like reimbursing travel expenses) as well as search criteria for executives that sounds more like a project manager or developer for the latest software implementation.

I have always been a top performer and have a great track record as a CIO. But I'm finding that IT executives can hit a very hard brick wall once they've crossed the 50's threshold. So I'm not only hanging up my search for a new CIO position, but am getting out of IT all together as my current employer has offered me an interesting position that will allow me to apply the skills I have amassed over the years to a different discipline. I do hate to leave a career path I have loved and in which I have excelled, but there seems to be limited appreciation for the proven performer who delivers real business results. Many employers seem more focused on the latest "buzz". Good luck with your search.

Mark,

There are so many factors involved in answering that question I'm not sure I am qualified to give you advice. I can relate my experiences and how I've felt during moments where I've had to make career turning-point decisions though:

Passion for me plays a big factor in my involvement in Information Technology. It is the driving force in my pursuit of it as a career and it is the thing that keeps me in it through the times where I question the sanity of that career choice. It is also what got me through the low points (and there have been low points).

Financial concerns plays the other.

The last big career moment for me was when I made a poor business decision by choosing to bring a partner into a thriving IT consulting a support operation I started from scratch. The partnership did not work out and the business ended up imploding about a year later, leaving me in debt and unemployed at about the same time the DotCom collapse began to occur. It did not take long to realize that finding a job in IT was going to be difficult, if not impossible, and while I had an overall track record of building successful teams and operations, the triple strike of a recent business failure, no advanced education, and a relative flood of IT people looking for work would have all been good reasons to get out.

But I love what I do and the thought of leaving IT forever really wasn't something I was ready for. So I kept up the job search for an Enterprise Position while at the same time spreading the word through my local network that I was available for temp work and consulting jobs if needed. This easily went on for over a year and there were times where I thought about getting out. But gradually the consulting jobs grew and as word spread through the pool of places I'd done work for it reached a point where the financial pressures eased. It also lead to the Enterprise position I hold now (and one I love doing). But it did not come quickly or easily. Only the passion really kept me in it.

Financial is a harder one and there is no easy choice there. Again my philosophy in that respect is mine and I know the arguments about why taking a step backwards in pay or accepting work that some would consider menial can hurt ones career. For me though there has always been the obligation of "earning one's keep".

So I've done some odd jobs in my time when working to grow in the career I've chosen, including driving charter buses and working briefly as a kitchen manager while studying with a local chef. All interesting work but the goal was to put food on the table more than anything else. Never during those times did I feel I was taking a step backwards as I did learn valuable things during those temporary divergences. In addition I do truly believe that no job is a menial one if you have a passion for it and strive to do it well.

So the two questions I have for you are these:

Do you still feel passionate about a career in IT?

Are you financially sound enough to continue weathering the storm? If not are you taking steps to stay at least financially stable enough to keep looking?

If the answer to those are yes, I personally think you are not ready to pull out yet.