<p>I took a year off from college because I couldn't afford it. I had already left my first school and completed an associate's degree elsewhere, and after a summer semester back at my first school, had to take a leave of absence for the fall (this was in 2011).</p>
<p>Now I'm trying to decide if I should return for this coming fall (for which I'm technically enrolled), or take another year off and continue to save up. I'm a computer science major, and right now I have a job designing and writing software. It's actually pretty good for job experience. I only have an associate's degree though, and I'm being paid less than the lowest starting salary was quoted for the school to which I'd like to return.</p>
<p>I'm 22, and if I wait another year I can declare myself independent for most of the time I spend back at college. If I live frugally, I can probably save up enough in a year to offset what I have to pay now, and I'll have more job experience for when I graduate. My biggest concern in taking another year off is that I'll have TOO MUCH job experience.</p>
<p>Would having a year and a half of software development experience make me a better or worse candidate for an internship position? To me, it appears that the main attraction companies have for hiring interns is that they can get cheap work, and scope out possible new hires from the current undergraduate pool. If I have a lot of experience, they may be especially interested in hiring me, but at the same time I'm worried I'll appear overqualified for the tasks they'll want me to complete. They might think I'll be expecting more than they'd be willing to pay an intern.</p>
<p>I would certainly have enough job experience to forgo internships, but I would like to reflect my most current academic experiences in more recent internships. I'm fairly certain it wouldn't hurt too much to take another year off, I just want some other peoples' opinions on how it will affect my future searches for internship positions.</p>