It's not easy right now to get hired, even if you're a senior engineer with 10 years of gapless employment at well-regarded companies. Having a CS degree and w

It's not easy right now to get hired, even if you're a senior engineer with 10 years of gapless employment at well-regarded companies. Having a CS degree and work experience helps you, and puts you ahead of new-grads and bootcampers at least (do bootcampers still exist or was that a ZIRP?). But that 4 year gap will be a pain for you. I mean, you've been out twice as long as you've been in. Lots of places will view that as a red flag and put your resume directly into the wastebasket. So, in your position I would do the following: 1. Ask myself and think long and hard about whether I even want to work in tech, considering that you "burnt out" after only 2 years in industry the last time. If the answer is still "yes", proceed to step 2. 2. Accept that it's going to be a grind, and try to find literally any tech job in order to get your foot in the door. Try to stay for at least 2 years and do not leave this job, unless it is for another, better job in industry. The first job search will be the hardest. After a few years, your work history will look better and no one will care about the 4 year gap.