I was laid off on February 1st. Since then, I've been really grateful to receive many kind notes from readers of this email list.
For everyone who has checked in on me personally - thank you - and here's a quick update...
- My former company is paying me 4 weeks of severance, which is low by standards of the tech industry but the continuing income helps regardless. I'm also elligible for unemployment insurance & have some savings. Fortunately, I'm not scrambling for money & don't need to find a new job immediately.
- The weekend after I was laid off, I already had a trip to New York planned to see some of my friends. It was the perfect thing. A change of scenery plus spending the weekend with some close people who I've known for a long time. Their support was super helpful.
- The layoff was a shock when it happened, but not a complete surprise. The company was struggling & I was laid off during the third round of layoffs in the past year. One of the feelings after my layoff has been relief. The shoe finally dropped & now I don't have to worry about working for a struggling company anymore.
- I've had some great experiences this month. The choir I sing in has a performance coming up. I took a flight lesson and piloted a small airplane for the first time. Together with two close friends, we spent 3 hours at a spa doing sauna/steam room/cold plunge. I'm going to see the premiere of a new opera on Friday night.
- Unemployment & freedom over my time is often fun, sometimes boring, and occasionally panic-inducing. I spend a lot of my time thinking about what's next, where I want to take my career, and what's meaningful to me. Sitting, indoors, alone all day as a remote-work software developer hasn't been great for my mental or physical health, so something will need to be different about my next job.
- I have a few leads on potential next steps for me, but nothing I'm ready to share with the email list quite yet. They're all still early ideas & conversations.
The general update is that sometimes I feel sad or anxious, but most of the time I feel hopeful & able to enjoy my new-found free time.
Since I think it's important to be honest about my experience, I'll share a personal update occasionally. Hopefully, someone on this email list will find it helpful or relatable. If you do, I'd love to hear from you - just reply to this (or any) email I send.