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Ask HN: Facing unemployment – what now?

48 points octo888 | 3 comments | 16 May 25 18:36 UTC | HN request time: 0.64s | source

Hey everyone, I could really use some advice.

I’ll likely be out of a job soon — whether I’m fired or I quit first. Health issues, silent breakdowns, being on the spectrum, poor social skills have caused me to damage my work relationships beyond repair.

So, I'm planning my next steps.

Some context:

- I’m 40.

- I struggle with networking, so I have no professional connections.

- My savings can last about two year, and a part-time job could stretch that.

- I haven’t interviewed in years and get extremely anxious in interviews.

- I'm a tech generalist

- I'm quite disillusioned with tech + corporate world, and a bit burnt out. This AI hype, Agile, having to fake excitement about the latest shiny new thing, KPIs etc.

People say I'm pretty good with 2 non-tech things. There are some relatively easy (but not free) qualifications/courses I could do in those areas (I don't want to dox myself here with specifics). I'm open to being self employed.

I also would like to use this time to focus on my health (I have things I need to escalate with my doctor and I need to work on my body), see more of my family, and work on my mental health. I'd also be interested in using my skills for something other than making a rich person richer - something local, for a charity perhaps.

...or am I dreaming and this an indulgence I can't afford?

If you have advice, ideas, personal experiences, etc, I’d really appreciate it.

1. chipsrafferty ◴[16 May 25 20:28 UTC] No.44009529[source]▶
I'm kinda in a similar situation. ADHD, not autism, but I've struggled to find a job I enjoy and thus struggled to achieve anything impressive in my career. Almost 30. I feel like so many people younger than me have accomplished much more.

Also disillusioned with corporate tech and deleted my LinkedIn. I hate networking and my only network is my (actually quite) extensive and good college network.

I'm actually great at interviews generally though I've become less confident over time as I don't have many impressive achievements to brag about and the longer your career goes on and you've just "made websites and apps" every year the harder it is to defend increasingly senior positions.

Also feeling burnt out and I consider myself a generalist with no amazingly specific skills. Mostly js/ts, web dev, react. Basically the most common shit, I know it best, so nothing makes me stand out.

I don't have any advice, just wanted to share you're not alone in feeling these things.

replies(2): >>44009613 #>>44010875 #
2. octo888 ◴[16 May 25 20:38 UTC] No.44009613[source]▶
Thanks for sharing. I hear you.

I used to struggle with comparing myself. I don't offer it as advice per se but I tell myself: no matter what you achieve, there'll always be someone smarter, richer, better. Not in the sense to give up, but to give it some perspective. Ie reduce the upper bound to bring some calm.

And don't devalue "websites, js/ts, web dev, react" etc. These are complex, forever-changing technologies. You aren't putting widgets in a box in a factory (no offence, widget-packers)

Your 30s are an exciting time. Most of my friends got much more sure of themselves (and me to an extent). You're still young but not wet behind the ears.

3. ◴[16 May 25 23:59 UTC] No.44010875[source]▶