Laid Off From My $240k Engineering Job - Here's Whats Next
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- In this candid video, I find myself discussing a topic I never thought I'd have to address - the sudden cancellation of my year-long contract just two weeks ago. As someone with over 15 years of experience in a volatile industry, layoffs unfortunately aren't unfamiliar territory for me. But each time feels like a new blow, especially when you have a family, a mortgage, and plans for the year.
Despite my initial reluctance, I believe it's crucial to shed light on the tough times as well. So, here I am, sharing my thoughts on how to tackle such situations and how I mentor younger engineers through similar challenges.
First and foremost, it's essential to take a breath. This is undoubtedly difficult, but your response matters. Remaining professional is key, even when emotions run high. I've learned that burning bridges or being confrontational serves no purpose. Preserving relationships and showcasing professionalism in your final days can make a lasting impression.
It's worth noting that management often grapples with these decisions too. While it's natural to feel slighted, focusing on the next step is paramount. Utilize connections within your network and explore potential leads. People are often willing to lend a hand during times of need.
Furthermore, reflecting on your tenure at the company is valuable. Identify areas for personal growth and understand the broader business dynamics that led to the decision. This introspection provides insights for future endeavors.
As I embark on my job hunt, I invite you to join me on this journey. Subscribe to follow my unconventional approach and witness firsthand the strategies I employ. It's bound to be a unique experience, and I promise to share all the details in my upcoming videos.
Thank you for your support, and here's to navigating uncertain waters together. Wish me luck!
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I've been a software engineer since 2008 and with over a decade of experience, the industry is as crazy and as varied as ever.
I continually get asked for career advice and how to navigate writing code for a living and I wanted to share everything I've learned in hopes that I can help someone who is just starting in software engineering, who has been in it for a while and is too afraid to ask, or the seasoned vet to either agree or argue with me.
The intent of this channel is to have multiple series that include the following topics:
💰 Compensation
📈 Negotiations
📚 Career advice and guidance
📈 Stocks, RSUs, Stock options, and ESPP plans
👨🏫 Engineering interviews
I've done just about everything in software from working for 3 person start ups, 300 person start ups, silicon valley companies, Fortune 500 companies, small teams, big teams, W2 employment and 1099 contracting, full time contracting and moonlight part time work, independent development, launching my own web apps and iphone app. - Věda a technologie
Was laid off a few years ago. Ive got 23 yrs experience and was making 220k + profit sharing. I had plenty of savings so no fear at first. Then after applying for dozens and dozens of jobs, hearing that many employers would rather hire someome younger for half the salary. I was getting burnt out on the industry anyways so I decided to take control.
I really wanted to spend more time outside, so I spent some of my savings to buy the minimum to run a lawn mowing business. The first year was a little slow and I only brought in around 60k. Three months later I was having to turn away customers because I was too busy even after hiring some help. After paying for all operating cost and my one employee, I'm making almost what I did before I got laid off and I feel a lot better being outside and enjoying the sun all day.
I still enjoy writing code but now I get to do it on my own personal projects and never have to sit in another scrum meeting again lol.
All this to say, have you considered starting your own business and never having to be at the mercy of a corporation again? I certainly do sleep better knowing that I am in control of my bank account.
Largely I do have my own business… but the flow of work needs to be consistent. This was my main big day gig, so it’s not like I’m going to zero, with no way of bringing in money, but it does obviously hurt the yearly budget. I am making moves to have consistent money outside consulting and contracting, but not there yet! Thank you for sharing your story. I really appreciate it!
@@cody_codes_youtube you bet. Sounds like you're going to land on your feet just fine! Good luck!
That's awesome!
Hank Hill would love this.
@@ryanpowell9522 I sell propane and propane accessories.
I got laid off last December. It took more than 6 months but I managed to get an excellent new job. Don't give up!
This is motivating! Thank you for watching and commenting :heart:
Man this gave me a little hope. Been 2 months since my first lay off as a Jr dev. 😢
I got laid off last November. Still hunting.
Im in the same boat...I was one of the leading Sr Infosec Managers at VMWare, and when Broadcom bought the company they sent almost all of infosec packing. Ive been looking for five months and Ive been final four at SAP, Tesla, and Apple. Its just a wacked market.
@@mikehenkelman2111 oh it is. But this time will pass. Its like 2008 when the tech industry was down but keep working the market will change.
Careers are not what they used to be.
Absolutely. It’s evolved into something different.
Yes, you are 100 percent spot on, "careers are not what they used to be". So many in the baby boomer generation had 1 or 2 jobs for their whole entire career. They had social security and pensions and many also had 401k's. They are living an awesome end of career ride or retirement right now. Many of the baby boomers who had these easier careers than we Gen X , Millenial and Gen Z have are demonizing the younger workers saying we are the problem. Interesting that the baby boomers are mostly in control of politics and also the younger people are working to pay the taxes to support all the social programs like social security medicare and medicaid for the baby boomers. To the baby boomers who say they paid into the system, yes, they did, however they are getting paid more out of the system, far more, than they ever paid in. In contrast, us Gen X, millenials and Gen Z people, are going to pay in more than we will get out of the system when we retire, as the system is falling short. As a whole, Gen X, millenials and Gen Z have more certifications, more college degrees, and more hard and soft skills than the baby boomers did, however the baby boomers had the benefit to have been able to have lived during more prosperous times . Sad situation for anyone under 55 in the work place right now.
@@mikecoffee288 Getting a job isn’t that hard. I marched right into the mill, said “I’m a Union man!” and that was that.
@@notabannedaccount8362 I didn't say getting a job was hard. I would encourage you to re read my comment if you think I said that. I said that baby boomers lived during more prosperous times. The inflation wasn't an issue, and employers didn't demand from boomers from they demand today from younger generations. (skills, amount of time spent at work, carrying cell phones everywhere). Getting a job is easy. Finding a career that respects today's talent is like finding a unicorn.
Hey, @ALifeAfterLayoff in the building. He’s got good content too.
Sorry to hear that you got laid off. As someone who also just got laid off last week, this is really great advice! Always be kind. Accept your fate and move on.
Very true, and I'm sorry you're in the same boat as me! Stick around, and hopefully you'll enjoy my job hunting journey, and we can maybe learn together.
That’s the reason I’ve been self employed for over 40 years! I always wanted to wake up every morning knowing my destiny depended on my own work effort, not on some unknown bean counter.
What do you do? If you don’t mind me asking?
hey, aint the bean counters laying you off, it's management, I'm a bean counter, called FINANCE and ACCOUNTING the only beans are in my coffee. We just give the facts and figures of reality. Management decides what to do with it.
Thank you sir.
Yes , but then it turns into working 24/7
YEAHM BUT IF YOUR CLIENTS HAVE NO JOBS THEY CANNOT PAY YOU AND THEY WILL STOP CALLING FOR YOUR SELF EMPLOYED BUSINESS!
The bigger the pay, the bigger the company or the bigger the position, those are high possibilities of laying off when times are bad. Always side hustle when you are living comfortably.
You get it. I’m not broke, or without options, but losing the main gig does hurt. Thanks for watching!
@@cody_codes_youtube ahhh 👌 got it
I've had side hustles for 20+ years :)
Yep. I made a little less than Cody and was at the last company for 11 years and basically brought them out of the dark ages of technology. In the end, they saw that I cost what 3 mid level developers cost so I was first to go when times got rough. Any how, things have a way of working out. Now I run my own business and much happier.
@@StTrinawhat do you do?
I feel that Linked In is nothing but former employees thanking their ex-employer for firing them while giving them "the opportunity".
Linkedin is a dumpster fire, dude.
Is there any better place for thrusty and up to date job boards in tech ??
Linkedin used to be a great place to network. Tell others you found a job, tell others you are looking etc. Now it has become a wasteland where some people give advice that isn't relevant so they can get exposure, some HR people will recruit desperate people looking for work at rock bottom salaries, and then comments and posts, have become so political and nasty. It is supposed to be a business site. It doesn't seem to be a business professional environment any longer.
Agreed. Posts like that never made sense to me
Oh my god..God... hahaa.. I saw that the same way.
Wow... 35 years as a software engineer and never laid off. Hoping to retire but my company doesn't want me to go... so I went part-time when I turned 60. I LOVE IT. Working 20 hours per week is perfect once you hit late 50s. I also left high-stress/high-pay job at corporate US and went to a small company at 55 which was also a great move. No more midnight calls when an application goes down.
You got it made! That’s perfect!
I am glad you had a good career. I wish everyone could have. Your generation, the baby boomers, lived during more prosperous times. Many of the baby boomers had easier careers than we Gen X , Millenial and Gen Z have currently in general. I know your career wasn't easy, but easier than what young people today have. Sign of the times. I agree, with the stress thing. I am 40s now and I remember working in manufactering for many years, getting up at 5 am to be ready to be at work for 6 to 7 am, then working until 4 or 5, then having to stay late to work on something that broke. Eat dinner and unwind around 7 or 8 pm, go to sleep for 2 to 3 hours, and at 11 or 12 at night woken up by someone calling on night shift that something went down. The night shift guy sleeps when he is off during the day and gets paid overtime if he works over 40 hours, the IT guy gets paid about the same to be on the clock 24 hours a day, no overtime. IT careers are not fun, not fulfilling and honestly horrible.
You have a very rare experience which most people will never have in the job market. Your company really values you which is the difference.
@@mikecoffee288 I've been in IT for over 20 years and have to say that the work load and stress is only increasing. Not only that, but you're treated like crap from users/internal customers. I even hate referring to colleagues as internal customers. They're f***ing users for goddsake.
@@SurpriseMeJTyes most people I know have this type of workplace
Cody I will give you a tip from an older person in his career. Many folks agree that when you reach your mid to late 40's, you really need to start working for yourself. This is easier to do if you have a job, even part time or casual for the income support. A layoff makes us realise how vulnerable we all are to working for someone else.
100%. I'm 38, and I've already been putting this in motion. I've been 100% contract/freelance for the past 3 years and I'm trying to branch out into more independent ventures to ween off needing that day-job-for-the-man
@@cody_codes_youtube I know some contractors who went back to work for a boss full-time and very much regretted it.
Yeah, I already feel like I would feel the same way
Im so tired of age discrimination, wage discrimination whatever you want to call it. Having your own business or side job sucks, in my view, mainly due to lack of good benefits at all, plus no W2 so you're not building social security, unless a bigger business and you pay yourself a wage, but yeah, conceptually, you can't rely on regular working for others.
Found out I was laid off after they reset phone, laptop and build PC. I worked remote. They sent email laying off everyone while IT started started remote wiping devices. They then systematically reported all company hardware stolen to individual police departments which resulted at least in my case with the police raiding my home and charging me with possession of stolen property. That happened hours after they failed to notify me of being fired. The police were not sympathetic and were openly hostile. Found out they did this to everyone. Company does not exist anymore. They made sure anyone applying for assistance would be screwed too. Lucky no one I knew had to worry about that. But remember it can always be worse. Everyone worked out and this was years ago now but I thought I would mention it.
That is one of the craziest lay off stories I’ve ever heard! Yeah of course it could be worse. But dang man. I’m sorry you had to go through that.
That level of malice warrants calling out the company by its name.
thats crazy, almost seems unreal, especially cops part, like what the hell, they are supposed to send you a box AFTER letting you go to send laptop back, not expect you to beam it like on Star Trek back to the company, before even knowing you're laid off. No wonder they no longer exist. Last 2 companies for me, temp jobs, I had to ask like 5 times for the box to be sent, like what the heck, where is your process to get laptops back from remote temps
That story sounds fake , it would be on the front page of the news.
That sounds like a lawsuit
What a great mindset/advice in this! Looking forward to seeing what's next Cody...
Thanks Travis! Yeah, let's touch base again and catch up!
I too was laid off back in early April. Job market is absolutely terrible. Nonetheless now is the time to study, learn new skills, and work on different areas of our personal lives.
True that my friend. I wish you the best. And I hope we can progress in this journey.
Absolutely. I was laid off last year and i spend my time learning cloud tech with projects.so when the market is up i will be ready
Same for me April…job market is totally awful. Don’t really know what I’m going to do.
It's the worst IT job market I've ever seen and overall a terrible job market. Unfortunately, we are entering into a depression. I would focus on learning survival skills (not joking).
Same thing happened to me. It’s crazy out here. I’m taking a job outside of tech just to not be unemployed for too long. Currently I’m at the 2 month mark. Good luck!
Yeah! I have some people who I greatly respect on the hunt for new work. It is definitely a different world than what the past 10 years have looked like. I'll try and keep youtube up to date!
Hi which role in tech where you doing before and which role outside of tech aew you at now?
@@cody_codes_youtube this is terrifying.
@@tas4092 DoorDash
What is the 2 months mark? )
Ouch! It's never fun to get laid off, even if you see it coming. I was laid off (a non-tech job for a non-renewed contract) nearly a year ago. All the advice you're giving here is great. I would say keeping a positive frame of mind and optimistic outlook are key to landing your next gig smoothly. That is sometimes easier said than done. I'm sure you will be alright--and good luck.
Thank you so much. Yeah, I do have that skillset of keeping almost an obnoxious level of enthusiasm and positivity in these moments. I'll keep everyone posted.
Man, I wish you all the best especially because of your kindness with others trying to start in this unbelievably challenging times. Thank you for sharing your experience and as always I'll be here to learn!
Thank you so much for your kind words! Yeah, I don't want to drop off, and I do want to share how I approach this and also am doing this in public so that if I do get criticized and I am doing something wrong, I'd love to learn that too! Stay tuned. I have a lot of "goodish" ideas
Oh this is interesting. I appreciate your insight. I’ve just started a contracting role and this type of scenario has stressed me out for months. I never know if they will lose funding or something in the overall company just drastically changes. Honestly, I don’t even know if I’d wanna do contract work after this year anymore due to the anxiety it brings. I’m sorry to hear that you were laid off. That’s incredibly frustrating and I really hope you find something even better and wish you the best! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for watching! Yeah, contracting and freelancing is not for the faint of heart.
i'll be here watching you and soaking every ounce of knowledge I can from your experience. Hence subscribed
I'm here for you! Let's go! Let's do this together.
You are confronting the layoff with the utmost class and attitude possible. Speaking as a fellow programmer, I know how you feel. Sharing the journey to your next job will help someone else, so THANK YOU.
You’re welcome! Thanks for the kind words!
You have an excellent attitude and outlook. I sure you're highly skilled in your industry and will find another assignment soon! All the best and thank you for sharing.
Thank you for such kind words!!
0:55 that ominous piano music legit scared the F out of me
Yeah my dude. I’m not doing that again. Sorry for that!
@@cody_codes_youtubehahaha no worries, it was just unintentionally funny, I was looking around my place like who on earth is playing a piano 😂 anyway good luck on your job hunt dude! I’m sure things will work out, just keep persisting onwards
@@ShadyRonin thank you!
All the best Cody. Thanks for the wise words.
You're welcome! And thank you, I will be fine, but it's getting back to work
You will come out fine ! Looking forward to you sharing your next wonderful adventures !
Thank you! Yeah I think this is a great opportunity to share how I approach my job hunt and share my learnings from so many years hunting for jobs.
Hey man, great advice, it's hard out here, best of luck to everyone on the hunt.
Thanks brother. It won't always be this way
I just wanna say thanks for saying this, because I was laid off earlier this year: got told in March, finished in mid April. Kinda been looking for a new job now for two months, but my first resume draft wasn't all that good and didn't tell people much. I revamped it a couple of weeks ago to a much better effect, but the last two weeks have been the holiday weeks for my country, so it was a slower time again. I've already heard many words of support and wisdom from people at this point, and hearing a seasoned professional now saying all the same things is just reassuring, and helps me accept the reality of the industry I love and want to keep working in.
Also, to everyone in the comments and reading this, hang in there, we can persevere. Last time I got laid off I managed to get into a place that taught me great things that become a very solid basics for the next level of my career. It certainly isn't easy, especially if you're early in your career or it's your first layoff, and there's no "buts" about that; I just hope that you all find a place you're truly happy with after.
Absolutely! Thanks for sharing the encouraging words :D
very inspiring video. Thank you. I am looking forward to learn from the new approach experiment. Salute from Egypt
Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoy where I take the channel
So sorry to hear, man. It’s tough times in our field right now. I hope your plans work out well for you. I’m excited to hear them and see your path to your next gig.
Thanks dude! I'll text you a preview of my strategy. It may blow up in my face, but I think it'll be a net positive. Either way, I'm taking an unorthodox approach
@@cody_codes_youtube I’m always a fan of stepping off the beaten path? Looking forward to your text 😂
Thank you so much for sharing. A lot of people only share the good.
Thank you for watching! Yeah I think more people should talk about the whole picture of engineering
It's hard to stay clam when they lay you off and then the CEO gets a bonus of 40-80 million dollars . What I think the best strategy is to be the competition of the companies that laid you off . Companies like Google , Apple, Amazon have gotten way to big and need to be disrupted .
It's quite savage. The industry, and the way to apply for jobs is rife with bad practices. It's also at the expense of the workers
CEO's that make things happen are worth every penny. However, the ones that are nasty and miserable and force the lives of their workers to be bad to make a company great are terrible people who don't deserve their money. The only thing that will stop that is people have to stop relying on the products and shop elsewhere. As long as the American public buys Google and Apple phones, computers, laptops and uses them non stop for everything, everywhere they go, spending tons of money on those products, this cycle will never end. I am an IT guy but I will say this to anyone who will listen, people are way to reliant on computers in our society. People many times don't even interact with each other, they text message someone who lives or is physically close to them, order food on an app, never or very little interacting personally with other humans. The money causes the companies to keep developing technology that discourages interactions. Our world has changed so much in the last 20 years. If people went back to a simpler life, and stopped using so much technology, this cycle would stop and I think people would be happier. Honestly, who need to have a cell phone and a smart watch and a laptop and a desktop at home and a computer in their vehicle? Has this made your life any better or happier? The cell phone alone is really all you need in case of emergency. All the money spent on the technology, which becomes obsolete every couple of years, leading to you buying more of it, hasn't made your life any better. The CEO's and top people got rich though. Its not greed, they are just feeding a desire that the public wants. So it really isn't the CEO's fault, its the consumers fault.
It’s almost like a wall is up now, I’m considering walking into buildings with my suit on and trying to talk to a human.
makes me puke ya can have many hires for even 20m of the 40-80, and less burn out overall too... it's all about the most work for the cheapest, it wasn't always that way
I want that for myself and started with GitHub projects for practice and fun. The problem is that these companies take out or buy the startups. It’s getting sharky in the water.
I appreciate the honesty. Good luck to you.
Hey thanks dude! I have high spirits so far, I’ve mentored people through this, and I know what I have to do
Never easy to go through that situation, but taking it professionaly and trying to keep the doors open is an excellent idea, which we tend to forget. Hope this is just a bump on the road and, soon enough, you'll be back in business.
Thanks dude! That means a lot. Hope everything is good in your world!
I might get cut soon too, so your experience is really valuable to me. Appreciate it.
You have a new subscriber who would love to watch your videos in the foreseeable fututre ;)
Dude, let's do this together! Stick around because I'm definitely going to be doing this a lot differently than some other creators out there.
Rooting for you man. Keep your head up.
Thanks my dude!
I’m sorry about your layoff! Thank you for sharing your experience. This is great advice in regard to maintaining those professional relationships and reflecting.
You're welcome! I am going to make this into a series, because I think there is potential that this will be a fun project. I'm still very optimistic. Call me out in a month if I'm not employed!
Thanks man, that's really solid advice. subscribed!
Thanks dude! Keep watching! I have more content coming too
Im so sorry to hear that. This is a rough time for us IT guys!
Yeah, this market is WEIRD! Totally different than 2010-2020
@@cody_codes_youtube it's just going back to what it was pre 00's.
Get into infrastructure, keep the lights on, wait for another Jobs, or Sergey Brin, to get the world excited about technology again.
very well stated and done....whatever you do on social media is there forever, always remember that....future employers can just pull up a video of you and see what they need to see so yeah, making videos about work is a delicate line
@@kirkdunn1379 sure, of course! I always am careful to speak in generalities and to patterns vs. outing companies. Even though I’m so small.
Hope everything works out for you it's sad when this happens to people
Thank you. I’ll be fine in the end. Just a minor setback!
Those who DIDN'T get laid off have it worse than those who did. Being laid off gives you a chance to coach those left behind on how to mitigate the damage of staying in a toxic workplace.
Ohhh I like this take! Thanks for sharing!
It’s not always “toxic”, yes most corporate are just jerks who want to make more money and add more workload on just a few workers …… some are start ups that they legit just don’t even have the money to operate anymore, due a contract they were depending on it a gain they where expecting
That's why you keep a large emergency fund allowing you to quit at any time.
This is like a slap in the face to people who got laid off. It’s basically down playing people who did get laid off. It’s basically “one-upping” (or one-downing I guess in this case..). “Oh you failed the physics exam? You don’t realize it but people who didn’t fail it have it worse. We have to worry about the stress of maintaining our grades for the rest of the year” 🤦
@@_______6398 The reason it's not a slap in the face is because the work previously done by those laid off gets dumped on those who stay. "You could be next" is used as a tool for "management by fear".
I have subscribed to your channel even though I am no more close to code as I used to as a way to support you. I remember going through a similar experience which was just after a major birthday landmark. I was out for a little over a year.
At 38 years, you are still very very young. All the best.
Well thank you! That’s very thoughtful. I am fully aware that I still have a lot of career ahead of me. I hope to be doing this kind of stuff, helping those younger than me for many years in the future as well. Thanks for watching!
Rooting for you!
Thank you! I’ll keep you all posted!
Got laid off again earlier this year in Feb. Previously laid off May 2022 but got a job again September that same year. Sucks to only have been in the role, it was a startup too, for a year and a half only to have to find a new role again. The job market this time is really rough too it's been a lot more difficult to say the least. Good luck to you too!
Thank you! Yeah, it’s not for the weak of heart
Bro that sucks, very sorry to hear that. Good luck!
Thanks man! I think I’ll land on my feet pretty quickly.
Thanks for sharing this. The job i was working on had a stop work on April 28, 2024. Luckily I have savings, I've been staying busy keeping in touch with my employer but also if another opportunity comes along there's a chance I might take it so I won't stay idle. I'm glad you shared it because a layoff can happen to anybody.
Glad you found value! Thank you
Ah man I just started my first tech job and i'm so worried after hearing about all these lay offs. Appreciate the advice though, best of luck to you
Stick around dude. I’m not scared, and I want to have this be a series of guiding people through layoffs and job hunting. Share my experience
First job, don't worry , learn all you can you may not be there forever. "Think" if I was only here one year , what could I learn?
I am sorry you got this news Cody and am glad you are able to be in a good mental state to take everyone along your journey! Great advice and I hope you find your next gig soon!
Thanks dude! I'll be texting you some details along the journey
Love your positivity brother!
Thanks dude! I appreciate that. I feel like it's the only way to do things
I’m subscribed stay strong brother
THANK YOU! Yeah, I hope to share the journey all the way through
Contract work was always super stressful to me and I was single and 26. I can't imagine how much worse it would be with a family that depends on you.
It’s hard, that’s why I’m always looking and always networking to prepare for the worse when these things happen.
Brother, this is normal. Same thing happened to me twice. Just look for next job. None of these companies have loyalty, it is what it is. You are just an asset.
1000000%. This is my 3rd lay off. That's fine. Some dude commented saying it's all my fault, and I want to talk about lay offs in my next video. It's just a vicious would of business
@@cody_codes_youtubehow does a stranger know that it was your fault?
@@cody_codes_youtube No, that guy doesn't know what he is talking about. Layoffs are about the company maximizing profits. It has nothing to do with you or your performance. If it was your fault, they would fire you.
An asset, no. An expense, yes. Crucial difference.
Been there many times in IT hope this group can help us all network
Networking is key!
I have been working in Bay area in IT for 15 years. This is my 6th job. Got laid off from 4 of the past 5. Always got severance for 4 months and was able to find a job in those 4 months. I was not stressed about being laid off before I became a father. Now I am scared but at the same time I have much more network so like you said, keep in good touch with all your contacts, and use them in future to find new jobs. I never stopped learning. Life long learner. Now learning AI tools so that I can have more productivity.
Dude AI has supercharged my learning too. And I think the network is not stated enough. That’s more than half the battle
Sorry to hear that! I am trying to get into Manual QA from operations and Man it's a journey to say the least. 300 applications and still nothing
Man, yeah I’ve heard some crazy numbers lately. Good luck to you!
Have alot of savings. Never stay stagnant. Keep looking for next opportunity before the layoff came. Have a side gig.
Check, check, and check! That’s the value I want to bring in the next few videos. Advice and showing how I approach these set backs
Excellent advice as always, especially just taking a moment to 'take a breath'.
Thanks dude! We need to get some zoom beers soon, so I can tell you the full story. Ugh!
Good message ❤
Thanks dude! I appreciate you taking the time.
Good luck man!
🙏 Thank you!
Wishing you all the best
Thanks buddy!
I feel your emotions bcuz my husband is going through it now. It happened in early May. Not finding much out there for software engineering. He’s been doing this for 20 years. May have to try for freelancing. Just took a job at the local Lowes in the plumbing dept.
It’s definitely a difficult market. I’m wishing him the best!
I've been laid off twice in 40 years. If I recall it took 2 weeks to find a new job the first time. The second time I was overjoyed as I hated that company.
@@kwilde1131 sometimes it is a blessing!
Sending you good fortune vibes👍👍👍
I love this! Thank you!
If you work for yourself, you'll never be out of work. Actually, it's almost impossible to get rich working for someone.
Working on it!
best advice ever
I worked in automotive in Detroit and layoffs were a constant concern. I was advised by an older worker to go in business for myself. I did and it started slow but I’m finally a multimillionaire and it never would have happened if I had stayed working in manufacturing.
In March 2020, I embarked on my first career 1099 stint making what you were making in your last role. I made more money than I knew what to do with for ~18 months until I saw how chaotic it is to always have work lined up at the end of your contracts. I decided the stress of looming unemployment was too much for me, and I took a near 50% paycut to take a full-time role that might lead to a position (in ~5-8 years) where I can make the same kind of money as I did while consulting, but with benefits and job security. The one thing I hated as a consultant was that no matter how much money I had, I was still treated like a 2nd class citizen anywhere in the US healthcare system. Now, I'm in a job where I'm among the first persons to know when funding is running low, and it gives me a lot of peace of mind to be in the information loop.
For sure. This hits home. I would not be able to manage this level of stress without my wife. She has benefits for the family, so that is an unfair advantage I have.
What is your field of work ? Were you an independent contractor previously?
I’ve done independent contracting for about 3 years full time now
Good luck Cody.
Thanks buddy. I appreciate it!
Good luck brother 🤍
Thanks my dude. Thanks for watching!
New to your content, liked what you had to say. I assume your a consultant/contractor . All I can say as a fellow consultant, "Its tough right now" . Budget are tightening and companies are looking to reduce cost and not expand. This means no budgets for staff. Good luck with your search, I'm pretty sure your performance was above and beyond. No one who performs subpar could be this insightful.
You're so kind. Thank you. I'm hoping for the best, and I know that it can be rough out there.
For someone who is aspiring to become a software developer, it is hard to see software devs lose jobs in this market. I hope that you find a new job soon. Supporting you on your channel!
Thanks buddy! Everything will be fine! I’m trying to share as much as I can
I have the same thoughts
It only freed you up for what’s coming next! 🤩 ENJOY THE VACATION!!
I effing love this energy! Let's do it! I'm kind of excited, but I still got that fire in me to find the next step.
Best of luck...job search is looking like 4-6 months on average for most devs (purely anecdotal evidence), hopefully it goes better for you. Market is terrible right now.
Thanks brother, yeah, I have a similar feel for engineers I've been mentoring
Wish you all the best.
Thanks buddy. I’m feeling pretty confident. But then again, we could end this series on CZcams with me being overly arrogant and still without a job! We shall see
@@cody_codes_youtube Well, you took a very good first step which was this video. I am pretty sure everything will fall into place.
Thanks for sharing, sucks that your contract got cancelled. Are companies obligated to pay a portion of the contract if they cancel it like this?
Also, do you think it's a good idea for someone looking for their first developer job to apply for contract jobs? I'm still looking for my first dev job and I see A LOT of contract to hire but I'm nervous to apply for the obvious reasons.
Thx for the videos Cody!!!
🖖🏻
Hey there! Yeah it sucks, but it's how it goes. It depends on the contract language. This was through a consultancy that I trust, and it was honestly just bad luck that this happened. Their language does say only 1 week notice. The thought is that some of the benefit of having contractors is to have the flexibility in your budget to trim staffing if you need to, and not go through the hassle of laying of full time people (who are more expensive). So it's the deal I sign up for anyways.
I think you should get whatever experience you can, however you can! Just go for it, do your best, and hope for getting hired! I've done it. Working contract isn't too scary, as long as you know what you need to do with benefits and stuff.
I recently took a month off from my developer job as I felt tired and burnt out.
My boss was very understanding and even promised to find me something lighter until I get back on my feet again.
I got put on a project and after 3 weeks I am basically doing 18 story points of work where average is around 7-8.
Problem is that it eats me up both physically and mentally.
Now I decided to teach programming as a business as a way to get out of this hell.
But I cant just quit my job overnight so I am getting up 4 in the morning every day to get some course work done before the first project meeting.
I really want to do this, I just don't know if there is enough juice left in me to see it through.
Sounds like burnout my friend. You sound like a super talented engineer. So I think you can take your foot off the gas and not work so hard. I would get your motivation and energy management under control before embarking on a serious new endeavor. I just worry about your health!
@@cody_codes_youtube Thanks Cody. Unfortunately money is still plays a huge factor in my life which makes it difficult to slow down or make decisions based on my own preferences. But I am over 40 now and I want to begin to enjoy life more that I could in the last decade and also want to spend more time with my family. Which is why going solo seems to be the right decision here. But its risky.
@@a.z.b.1916 for sure. But it is good to know where your values are. And I understand what you’re saying.
Short version: In USN and being fast tracked to Chief Petty Officer, Limited Duty Officer,or Warrant Officer. Cold War ended and I was forced out: too expensive to keep me and Navy ran out of money. Then to a major brewer: 10 years into that and plant blew up. Repairs were below code so I told them they were going to close the facility so I quit.Year later facility closed. Had a job set up with another major brewer but was talked into setting up a factory. Told them I would give them 1 year of my labor. Year later I was going to the major brewer and a failing business was for sale. So, bought it,grew it,became one of the best in the industry, sold it and retired early and well 2 years ago.Owned it a little over 20 years. Key to wealth/job security for me was owning my own company.
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing your story
Just wanna share i was given a warn notice that i was gonna be laid off at my company. This was a month ago. Being professional in your layoff and working in whatever way possible with your manager and co-workers is honestly the way to go, as they helped me to find another job in the company. It was not for free, I still had to build my resume, prepare myself, and do interviews, but ultimately every piece helped get me to the next stage and I can personally validate what this man says.
Yes, anger resentment and spite do not have any positive ROI. We gotta roll with the punches my friend. Good work!
What are your thoughts on AI disrupting the engineering jobs?
I got my first job on 2017 and I never IMAGINED how unstable this industry would be. I'm starting to think that software engineering is rapidly becoming a not so "good career". I have a feeling more companies will be adopting AI (a very specific model for their company/needs etc) and a traditional back end engineer team would be composed of 1 senior back end/architect with a highly trained AI model etc instead of a traditional backend team of 3-4 devs + tech lead/architect.
I did a video on this (The one reason AI will never take your job, or something like that). I think you’re right. But also, you should know with 7 years of experience is that almost every team has WAY more work than they can handle. We will all be much more efficient, and get more done, but I bet 100s of dollars the thirst for new functionality, new expertise, and new business will NEVER go away. So I think we just have to adapt and accept this choppy waters for now.
Sir that's great news now you can start your own company no layoffs you get paid all the money and whatever you choose it's entirely up to you good luck God bless bro
Thanks buddy! Appreciate the vote of confidence!
I was laid off 2 months ago(after 7 years). Initially I was hoping to get the next job sooner. But it is not the case in this current market. I have applied for contract and Full time. I attended 3 final round interview (for less rate/salary than what I was getting earlier). But didn't through. Two things I realized . First one is that I still need to update with current market what is expecting(along with fundamentals). Second one is competition is extreme. So I still continue to hope and do hard work which is 200% more than how I was 2 months before.
Yeah. The competition part has definitely changed the game
I hope you will find a better job asap
Thanks buddy. I’m feeling confident today
I got laid off last week for a 260k job. I have until end of next month. Was expecting to stay untill end of year. The market is tough out there. Good advice.
Thanks buddy and good luck to you!
Hello I have a question, does the company give you a choice to resign or laid off? If a layoff was necessary, why not resign instead? Is being laid off better for your future job prospects compared to resigning? Which looks better in your job history: being laid off or resigning?
Depends on the working situation. Laid off is completely fine. Quitting is completely fine. Fired looks worst
Interesting. Thanks. toronto canada.
You’re welcome!
My friend started a company after being laid off. He sold it at 80 years old for millions
@@FIRE_DrNinjaTurtle that’s awesome!
I am sorry you were affected by the layoff. I understand that it is important to be professional even to the ones who laid you off. If you find out later that your manager had lied to you and cowardly pushed you out just to save his/her skin, would you still be courteous to him/her?
I would be yes, but make no effort to ever work with them again or help them. People are just people and they have their own thing going on. If they do cowardly things, then I just lose respect and feel sorry they felt the need to behave that way
Blessings and a new role for you asap.
Thank you
Saw this coming miles ahead. The moment I started seeing 'project managers' being promoted to director positions, I knew this crap was going to happen. Sucking up to upper management and promoting useless employees is why the tech market is failing.
Can’t say I’ve seen that or agree. But thanks for watching and sharing!
I was laid off back in 2020 and still have not gotten over it. Plus never kept a relationship with my previous employer.
@@CP-zj1hx it hurts man. It’s a hard thing to process
I was demoted by such a large amount that they cut my pay for three years in a row to get me down to the number. Then no raise for the next 7 years. I got the pension
@@FIRE_DrNinjaTurtle dope. Pensions are so hard to come by nowadays!
We couldn’t find a good programmer to write report for us or data integration. I need someone to extract data from our EHR database for a list of data I am currently pulling manually. Anyone you can recommend?
Email with some details and let’s talk!
240k is nuts and anyone at that salary is probably at risk of layoffs. US Senators make 170k. Federal Judges 200k. Doctors start at 110k after 12 years of school?
Totally agree when you compare jobs and their compensation that software feels way too high. I’ve done that calculation many times.
I lost my contract when I was on a planned vacation. The manager and Tech lead did not even inform me in person even though I worked with them for 3 years. Glad I experienced that, made me more humble and I cracked my first interview. It’s much better now.
Sorry to hear that! Is bad professionalism normal in tech?
Oh man! That's so hard. I'm sorry. Yeah I think a lot of people in management don't handle this part well. One thing is that they do not give performance reviews on how well they let people go, soooooo... managers have no incentive to do it right
Do you have any advice for a new grad with previous internship experience trying to find jobs in this industry? Been trying to apply on LinkedIn and indeed with no luck and have absolutely no networks.
You may have no networks now, but while you are applying, it’s good to make new networks and connections. Meetups, clubs, hackathons, Twitter, etc. I also have a hard time believing you have no networks. Anyone you went to school with is your network. Understanding where friends and classmates are working is always a great intro
I'm actually starting out... Learned basics of mern stack and focusing on building projects. Is it a bad idea to chose this as career in these times? Please guide me anyone
I still think it's a good industry. The junior and first year markets are definitely hard. Keep your head up man!
Welcome the the club 😊
👊 yeah boi
I was laid off in January 2023. I was 49. One thing that came to me was I am a horrible engineer and some people were kind enough to pay me through all those years. Will I go back to the industry? I don't know but probably not cuz I'm 50 now and I really don't wanna be in the industry anymore. Life is a tradeoff and mostly I'm satisfied with what is now.
Thank you for sharing, that sounds like a tough situation
it's my first time getting laid off and it was completely unexpected i try to accept it and move on but it takes some time.
The first one hurts the most! Mine happened before my oldest son's first birthday. That was something that burned me to the core
All you have to do is get "Eff You money." You'll never have to worry about burning bridges when you have "eff you money."
@@starwalk3r exactly
welcome to engineering feast or famine - got cut 2yrs ago started my own business and by next year ill be making more. But not working with project managers that commit to goals before asking if they can be done is such a stress relief my life is so much more happy
Yeah man. Are you freelancing? Or contracting? Or what’re you doing?
Sad news. Hopefully you find something quickly soon.
____What company were you laid off from? Was it BP by Chance?
Trying to find out whether this could be Ai related.
___BP said they cut 70% of coders because code is now mostly ai written, and remaining coders verify the code because it sometimes spits out unsecure code.
Nope. And that’s a super bold statement. I’d be interested in the long term effects of that decision if it’s true.
This happened to me during the economic collapse of 2008. Never was able to get another engineering job and had to do something in the medical field instead. Was not a fun experience.
I graduated college in 2008 and that was a HARD time to find an engineering job. I hear you.
@@cody_codes_youtube I was 43 and EVERY employer made it very clear that the were not going to hire anyone over the age of 30.
@@philipmikolsmusic yikes! What??
@@cody_codes_youtube Yes they were not shy about age discrimination because things were really that bad.
Never made more than $70k in a year in my life. Can't imagine what making $240k is like. Sorry to hear about what happened to you. Went through this a few years back and almost lost everything before I found another job.
Trust me, I know how privileged and lucky I am. My dad was a mailman and my mom a part time nurse. I know I will be fine and the main goal of these videos is to help others that may be stressing about these situations. Income instability is such a huge stressor
No matter what you make for salary, strive to plan on living on half or less, and saving and investing the rest. The future is always too uncertain to rely upon any steady stream of income from employment.
This guy FIREs