Laid Off After 25 Years in Tech: The Anxiety, Sacrifice, and Reality No One Talks About

Asian Dad Energy

319,485 views • 3 days ago

Video Summary

A seasoned software engineer with 25 years in tech reflects on a recent layoff from a big tech company, marking his first in a quarter-century career. The experience, while disorienting, also brings a sense of excitement as he re-evaluates his life path. He recounts his early passion for coding, his rise through the ranks to senior leadership, and the financial success that followed, particularly after joining a big tech firm seven years ago, which brought "insane amounts of money" through stock units. However, the video also details significant downsides: long and odd working hours, the relentless need for continuous learning, and a growing sense that his work lacked true purpose, failing to solve major world problems or benefit humanity. This realization was amplified by personal experiences, including the 2008 financial crisis, the tragic death of a colleague, and his wife's health crisis, all underscoring the precariousness of life and the importance of time. Driven by a desire to live below his means and achieve financial independence, a concept he embraced after the 2008 crisis, he ultimately chose to place himself on the layoff list to save junior colleagues. Now, facing an uncharted future, he begins documenting his journey to build a more productive, healthy, and wholesome life, hoping to inspire others in similar situations.

An interesting fact revealed is that the speaker willingly placed himself at the top of the layoff list to save the jobs of several junior colleagues.

Short Highlights

After 25 years in tech, a software engineer was laid off from a big tech company.
The layoff has prompted introspection about life choices, purpose, and the value of time.
The engineer learned about financial independence and living below his means after the 2008 financial crisis.
Downsides of his tech career included long hours, constant learning pressure, and a feeling of building meaningless solutions.
He chose to be laid off to save the jobs of junior colleagues, highlighting a sense of responsibility.

Key Details

The Initial Shock and Disorientation of Layoff [00:01]

The speaker, a software engineer and technologist in his mid-40s, was laid off from a big tech company two weeks prior to recording.
This layoff marks his first in a 25-year career and has left him feeling confused, disoriented, and a little excited.

"This layoff has led me to feel very confused, disoriented, a little bit excited as well."

A Lifelong Journey into Technology [00:38]

His passion for technology began in high school, writing code and building computers.
By college, he was already engaged in internships and contract work, scripting and developing applications.
Post-college, he worked as a consultant for digital agencies, embracing the opportunity to learn new programming languages and frameworks, feeling the world of tech was limitless.
He dedicated himself to mastering his craft, reading technical books and striving for excellence in his work, reaching a point where he felt he could build anything.
His skill led to him being sent to hackathons, where he or his team consistently placed in the top three.

"I worked really really hard at my craft and tried my absolute best to apply myself, right? trying to learn as much as possible and and try to do the very best job that I can."

The Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis and the Birth of Financial Independence [02:46]

A significant shock early in his career was the 2008 financial crisis, which led to many older colleagues losing their jobs.
Witnessing respected mentors struggle deeply, some breaking down in tears due to financial hardship, profoundly impacted him.
This juncture led him to discover the concept of financial independence, particularly through the book "Your Money or Your Life."
He learned about "life energy" and the idea of trading life for money, which shifted his mindset towards living frugally and below his means.
The goal was to save more money from his work and invest it to eventually buy freedom from corporate employment.
This realization changed his family's behavior, leading them to adopt a more frugal lifestyle.

"And the end result is that essentially you're you're using your frugality and your savings to buy your freedom. the the freedom of your time from working for corporations."

Career Progression and the Perks of Big Tech [04:49]

Over time, his career progressed from developer to tech lead, then to enterprise architect, and eventually into senior technical leadership roles.
He changed jobs a few times over his 25-year career but ultimately reached a senior position.
This tech career offered numerous opportunities, including working with cutting-edge technologies and extensive travel to North America, Europe, and India.
He also achieved innovation, earning patents.
The people he worked with were a highlight, described as smart, talented, disciplined, and possessing a strong sense of camaraderie.
The compensation in technology was good, with him earning a six-figure salary for most of his career.
About seven years ago, switching to a big tech company opened up significant financial gains, with "insane amounts of money" flowing through restricted stock units, leading to substantial wealth accumulation.

"And probably the most wonderful thing about tech in general is the people. I can't say enough good things about the people that I worked with over these decades."

The Growing Downsides and Personal Toll of a Tech Career [07:54]

Despite the financial rewards, working in tech presented significant downsides.
The business is demanding, requiring very long hours due to its global and distributed nature, leading to odd working schedules.
The fast-paced industry necessitates constant learning of new languages, frameworks, and paradigms to stay relevant.
While this learning was easier early in his career, he found himself slowing down in his mid-40s, taking longer to grasp new concepts.
He realized that much of what he was building felt repetitive and didn't address significant real-world problems or make the world a better place, leading to a sense of his effort being in vain.
This intense work took time away from his family, with only about an hour per weeknight spent with his children.
The precious time with his family felt increasingly misspent on work that might not matter in the grand scheme of things.

"So, it's sort of like you spend all of this time and you spend all of this effort, all this heart to build things and it doesn't make a difference. That is a real downside of this business."

A Tragic Wake-Up Call and the Fragility of Life [11:30]

A deeply troubling incident involved a colleague, "Jay," an excellent engineer in his late 40s, who worked extremely hard.
Jay, looking forward to quality time with his child during Christmas break, became ill with a heart issue and passed away a week later.
Although the company acknowledged his death, the speaker observed that Jay was "entirely forgotten in the workplace" about a month later, highlighting the ephemeral nature of one's presence in a corporate environment.
This experience, coupled with his wife's recent health crisis that left her partially disabled, reinforced the realization that "tomorrow isn't promised" and good days are not guaranteed.
These events made him question the worth of spending his limited time in big tech.

"So, so that's pretty rough. Something that really troubled me in this area happened earlier this year."

Macroeconomic Shifts and the Inevitability of Layoffs [14:03]

Beyond intrinsic factors, extrinsic, macroeconomic shifts in the industry contributed to the precariousness of his job.
Factors like interest rate changes, the availability of offshore resources, and the emergence of AI tools significantly reduced the incentive for big tech companies to retain US employees.
This led to mass layoffs across the entire sector, and his former employer was no exception, having gone through several rounds.

"There's been these macro factors like interest rate changes like the availability of offshore resources the emergence of AI tools."

A Choice Made: Sacrificing His Position for Junior Colleagues [14:44]

In the latest round of layoffs, he learned through informal channels that he was on the list.
He decided to put himself at the "top of that list" to save the jobs of several junior colleagues, demonstrating a sense of responsibility and care for his team.
He acknowledges his employer as a good company that provided adequate warning, allowed him to search for other jobs while still employed, and offered a decent severance package, for which he is thankful.

"I put myself to the top of that list and that's how I got laid off."

Navigating the Uncharted Territory of a New Beginning [15:48]

He now finds himself off his previous, predictable career track, feeling like he's been dropped into a "wilderness" with many undefined paths ahead.
For the past two weeks, he has been contemplating how to move forward and structure a life that is productive, mentally and physically healthy, wholesome, and rich.
This vlogging is his way of documenting his internal thoughts and journey, not just for himself but potentially for others facing similar situations.
He views the future as an "undiscovered country" that he must now write his own story for.