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Contracting can be a bit like that, especially if you live in the wrong place.
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That has been why I have been moving for new contracts. There has never been a lot of work in WPF. I could have stayed in Seattle, and probably continued to get WPF contracts, but that would have meant a lot of time between contracts. If I did that now, I would usually have to wait a really long time to get another WPF contract. I like working with WPF, and I can leverage better rate since there are not a lot of people that have a lot of experience in working with WPF.
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I have moved many countries for contracts, and weekly commuted, and it has been a pain. Looking for a permanent role now. 
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Yes, I took a year or so out at one point, not really to so anything specific beyond saving my sanity.
During that time I probably came to realise that it wasn't really software development that I hated, it was just the general crud that comes with any kind of job - office politics, excessive hours, lousy work-spaces and more human contact than I'd ever opt for and a general feeling that life would be better spent either doing something more lasting and meaningful or simply lying in a field.
I have come back into it and I'm quite happy where I am, though it take a couple of jobs from Hell to get back into the game and all in all, the financial cost of that year off has actually been very high.
I kind of enjoy coding but in truth, if I won the lottery, I'd probably never write another line of code in my life (I've never been one of those people who writes code for fun) but given that I'm no spring chicken, I've been doing it for donkey's years, I've got no qualifications and I'm pretty good at doing it - there's not really anything else I could do that's going to get me anything over minimum wage.
Sometimes, a change is as good as a rest and looking back on it now, what I should have done was look for a new gig - maybe with a delayed start - before I got to the point of being so fried that I couldn't contemplate it. The change often doesn't need to be one of career, though, just a new place to do what you do or perhaps something that veers off at a bit of a tangent from it.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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PeejayAdams wrote: I've got no qualifications and I'm pretty good at doing it
Now that's the kind of person I would actually hire!  Seriously, all too often I see people with certificates and diplomas up the wazoo but they are clueless when it comes to actually doing any quality work.
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People with no qualifications often say that. Would you say the same thing about a surgeon? An airline pilot? I mean who wants someone who is trained and qualified, right?
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I have an 'O' level in English - which is one up on Shakespeare - but I'm happy to admit that he was a far better playwright than I will ever be.
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Yeah, but you better test it to make sure. I have the impression some people get their degrees for free or something.
eg. I once had an interview with a consultant. He had various certifates from Microsoft .Net Professional exams. The CV said he was certified in C# and in ASP.Net and in Visual Studio version whatever. I knew of course what happened and what they did on the resumes, but to make sure I asked the guy.
"That certification in Visual Studio, what is that exactly? What does it mean?"
The answer ... "I don't know" 
I tried to clarify, "you have a certification in .Net and in C# what was that and so what does the certification in Visual Studio mean?" Still same answer.
Other certified people couldn't write 4 lines of code on a simple programming task with google and MSDN enabled!
Diploma's and certifications mean nothing (unfortunately)
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Proof by example fallacy. You've encountered some liars and bullshitters, so? The majority of qualified people are going to be better than the majority of unqualified people and using outlier examples doesn't change that. People pretend they have medical degrees to get jobs in hospitals...that's a real edge case though, 0.001% of people maybe and that edge case isn't going to stop me wanting my surgeon to be qualified. If you hire people based on qualifications alone then you're equally unsuitable at the job of hiring.
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F-ES Sitecore wrote: If you hire people based on qualifications alone then you're equally unsuitable at the job of hiring.
That was actually my only point. Of course you prefer people with degrees, but don't take there word for it they earned it.
And as for surgeons, also real life story (my dad was one) where they teamed up in the hospital with 2 or 3 for one specialization. At one point they kicked someone out, I'll leave it up to your imagination on why.
I agree with everything you say, just that you should not take for granted what they write on paper.
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PeejayAdams wrote: I probably came to realise that it wasn't really software development that I hated, it was just the general crud that comes with any kind of job - office politics, excessive hours, lousy work-spaces and more human contact than I'd ever opt for and a general feeling that life would be better spent either doing something more lasting and meaningful or simply lying in a field.
Amen to that.
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One year I forgot to change my clocks when they went back and got into work at 10.
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I have had the situation, and a friend has had a situation where did not get out of a job that was really bad. The result was being unemployed for a while. If I had been smart I would have been looking, instead I waited until I got fired, and then it took a while to get another position.
Now about my friend. She was working for Boeing. She had previously been quite successful, and had always moved from one job to another. Well the job was really getting to her self respect. She was fired. I am not sure if she was expecting a well paying position and was initially pushing back on positions that were not paying enough. Anyway, it took her about 2 years to finally find a new position. In the two years she lost her house, had a $100,000 medical bill for a rupture in her intestine which I think was due to stress, and filed bankruptcy. What amazed me was how much it cost her to file bankruptcy, which was like $1,500, which seems to make bankruptcy out of the reach of some of the most desperate people.
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I'm taking 2 months off later this year.
Same considerations as you have, except I have, for the moment, not come up with any alternatives.
I would like to do something completely different, but with my diploma, chances for that are slim to none. 
Best of luck 
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I'm not entirely sure what I'll do after my break yet.
You can always study part time towards something else that you really want to do.
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yeah, here the evening courses are not that interesting and the open university is really expensive.
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Do it. It will make a world of difference for you.
I took 2 months off a couple of years ago. Best decision ever.
Make sure you can handle the finances for the time you are off, etc. -- goes without saying.
Best of luck.
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I am not sure I would call it a sabbatical as leaving a job that almost killed me(evenings, weekends and holidays dedicated to the job on constantly failing projects due to terrible project management).
Go for it.
You only have one life and you owe it to yourself to do something else if your inspiration is starting to dry up.
I went back to software and it was not easy but nothing in life that is worthwhile is easy  .
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Jacquers wrote: I'm considering taking a few months off just to catch up with things
Do it.
Jacquers wrote: start something of my own
If you can, do that parallel to your job. It is tough, but it can help financially until your own business takes off.
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Rage wrote: If you can, do that parallel to your job. It is tough, but it can help financially until your own business takes off.
I might have to do that, but it will take quite a bit longer and I'm usually not in the mood for any more coding after work. But if I want to do this, then I'm going to have to make a commitment and make the effort.
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I would add that if you do decide to leave your job bear in mind the reduction in social contact you may have.
Be sure to join clubs/meetups/etc if there is a chance you will be on your own a lot.
The one thing I found hardest from being out of work was the social isolation that comes with it.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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Thats a good point. I'm single and live alone, so I'm used to being on my own most evenings and doing things like running and cycling alone, but the day time will take some adjustment. The church I'm at has a few meetings during the week, so I should see my friends during the week.
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It's amazing how just sitting next to people counts as social contact and how as soon as that goes the loneliness can set in - having a local church group sounds like a good option.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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ditched software 5 years ago for machine tool R&D my original role in my work life, vowed never to go back. Currently - writing software for specialist sensor data capture and analysis...
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