Laid Off

I worked so hard.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

Nothing was enough. The market has changed. The market has decided to kick me out.

I'm overexaggerating, but this was an industry I fought since college to get into.

I love software engineering.

The joy of solving problems, digging into solutions with other people, and figuring out creative approaches to an algorithm during a brisk walk. These are what got me up in the morning to work, even though it never felt like work.

I'm starting to believe now that I merely got lucky in finding a software engineering job. I was hired during the COVID market, which was a great time for developers.

I was getting callbacks, left and right, turning down opportunities, negotiating significant salary bumps.

Now here I am, sitting here discouraged from reading Reddit and LinkedIn about all the tech layoffs. Shortly after being let go, I read a message from a previous colleague on their alumni Slack channel about how he hasn't found a job in almost a year and could soon lose his house.

I'm not a very positive person, as you may tell. My previous posts have always been positive and lighthearted, encouraging people to never give up. I need to take my own advice.

It's harder now that I have a little girl to take care of.

I have enjoyed watching my daughter throughout the day, loved it in fact. But at the same time, I can't help but stress what the future holds for me in this career.

The best thing right now, keep going.