CareerReturns · Career Gap Recovery
Your Career Break Has a Price Tag. Here's How to Recover It.
Career breaks destroy earnings in two ways: direct foregone income during the gap, and a 6–14% salary penalty at re-entry. This is the only tool that models both — and tells you which path (returnship, direct, or reskill) recovers them fastest.
6–14%
Salary penalty at re-entry
4–7 yrs
Typical earnings recovery time
3 paths
Compared side-by-side
DCF math
Probability-weighted analysis
Your annual compensation at the time you left work
How long have you been (or do you plan to be) out of the workforce?
Annual raise % someone in your role would have received if they never stopped working
Your Earnings Gap
Direct Break Cost
$180,336
Foregone earnings during gap
NPV of Gap Cost
$165,219
Discounted at 6%
Methodology
Cash flows are probability-weighted by path success rate. The peer baseline compounds pre-break salary at your specified growth rate as if no break occurred. NPV discounted at 6%. Break-even vs peer is the first year cumulative path earnings equal cumulative peer earnings.