Jez

Hello, This is a great forum, thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge and advice. My situation is a bit unique and I hope you guys can give me some feedback and ideas. I graduated in 2004 with a BSc. in Electrical Engineering, Upper 2nd class Hons. I worked in the power industry for about 1 year after that. I then decided that I wanted to take a short (2 year) break to do some personal development studies abroad. I had recently gotten married, and initially, I went away without my wife, as she was settled in her job and didn't want to leave it just yet. While I was away though, she decided that she wanted to join me, also to do studies for her own purposes. In 2007, we moved to a new city where we enrolled to do diplomas in a foreign language first. After completing this (2 years), we were a bit caught up in the whole thing and both jumped in to degree programs that are very specific to the culture we were learning about. That was 2 years ago. We are both now halfway through these degrees, and I personally don't have much inclination to see it through to the end. I would like to get back to engineering now, and am contemplating applying to start my Masters. My questions after all of this: would my 6-year break (so far), with nothing to show at the end of it except a 2-year diploma be detrimental to my application? Would it be better to complete the degree program I am currently enrolled in, which would bring the hiatus to 8 years? Would admission reviewers think that a 6-year break with nearly no accomplishments, and very little relevant work experience is ok? Or would it be better to have a 2-year foreign language diploma, a 4 year BA, then move forward to my Masters? Thanks a lot to whoever can give me some advice, I really appreciate it.