4 ms·

Ask HN: Why not moving on (For those laid off)

1 points by hinata08 4y ago

Hello ! I'm not living in the United States, but I've recently read a lot of articles about layoffs at companies like GAFAMs and Tweeter. I've also read a lot of comments about former employees looking for jobs in the same area and field, and who are sometimes struggling to keep a H1B visa. Why would you keep a H1B visa or stay in the same place after a layoff ? I had myself been caught in layoffs in the field that I originally studied, in 2020. And jobs that still existed back then were not well compensated. So I decided that I would not play that game with companies. I changed of field, as well as city, and I'm now doing a snazzy job in a place that oozes companies and lacks engineers. (I don't know how recruiters dealt with not hiring new engineers in 2020 in my original field, and don't care, as I'm well compensated and in a lovely area now) So why do you all struggle to stay in California, despite its peak being behind ? Why don't you move to Europe, India, Canada, or any place that is still hiring a lot ? Also, why would you stay in IT ? I'm myself in IT for the previously mentioned reason, but I would have gone back to my field if massive layoffs were considered (or I would just move to MTL) If companies say they don't really need IT engineers in a place, just move where they are publicly happy to hire, or change of field ! EDIT : I must add I'm not advocating for layoffs and I'm not blaming workers. It's just some kind of mutual workforce destruction deal. "You companies really don't need engineers ? Fine, we will just work in another field and loose our knowledge"

jstx1 4y ago
> just move where they are publicly happy to hire, or change of field https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33518496 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33518496 You're describing big and difficult changes so obviously they won't be most people's first choice. I also have no idea which fields you think are willing to hire so many differently-qualified and differently-experienced people right now, and are offering remotely similar compensation.
- hinata08 4y ago
  I'm not saying it's easy. I have myself lost a lot in this process, and it took about two years to learn a new skill set. But now it's over, I realize I'm maybe better off than if I had a job in my field back then.
- hinata08 4y ago
  if you can't get a new field, go to a new city Places like the Netherlands, Barcelona, Munich, Montréal, and Nice are still struggling to hire IT workers, for example.
  - jstx1 4y ago
    Sure, I'll ask my wife to quit her job even though her income is the only one we have right now, I'll explain to my children that they'll have to leave school and never see their friends again, we'll say goodbye to all of our family and friends, we'll leave our entire support network, and we'll spend a lot of money to move to a country halfway across the world where none of us speak the language and we don't know anyone because this week Berlin happens to have more open job postings on LinkedIn than San Francisco.
  - gregjor 4y ago
    And they will continue to struggle. Getting a work permit and visa for a laid-off US citizen, or (worse) a laid off H1-B worker, presents some huge barriers. Americans can't just fly to the Netherlands or Barcelona or even Montreal and take a job. And the language problem -- few Americans speak a second language.
    - hinata08 4y ago
      >Americans can't just fly to the Netherlands or Barcelona or even Montreal and take a job they pretty much can, they're lacking so many ppl that everyone can have a visa > And the language problem it doesn't exist. SW companies and large companies work in English anyway, because they work across borders. Several engineers around me have no proficiency at all in anything but English, and we're spending more time introducing them to local politics and folklore than language I have studied and worked with ppl from the whole world but North America. I almost got hired in Munich without speaking german. And former classmates work in all of these places, despite initially not speaking the language either Btw, you can't say you have worked if you haven't been in some online meeting with French ppl struggling to speak in English
      - 4y ago

1 points by hinata08 4y ago

jstx1 4y ago

> just move where they are publicly happy to hire, or change of field https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33518496 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33518496 You're describing big and difficult changes so obviously they won't be most people's first choice. I also have no idea which fields you think are willing to hire so many differently-qualified and differently-experienced people right now, and are offering remotely similar compensation.

hinata08 4y ago
I'm not saying it's easy. I have myself lost a lot in this process, and it took about two years to learn a new skill set. But now it's over, I realize I'm maybe better off than if I had a job in my field back then.
hinata08 4y ago
if you can't get a new field, go to a new city Places like the Netherlands, Barcelona, Munich, Montréal, and Nice are still struggling to hire IT workers, for example.
- jstx1 4y ago
  Sure, I'll ask my wife to quit her job even though her income is the only one we have right now, I'll explain to my children that they'll have to leave school and never see their friends again, we'll say goodbye to all of our family and friends, we'll leave our entire support network, and we'll spend a lot of money to move to a country halfway across the world where none of us speak the language and we don't know anyone because this week Berlin happens to have more open job postings on LinkedIn than San Francisco.
- gregjor 4y ago
  And they will continue to struggle. Getting a work permit and visa for a laid-off US citizen, or (worse) a laid off H1-B worker, presents some huge barriers. Americans can't just fly to the Netherlands or Barcelona or even Montreal and take a job. And the language problem -- few Americans speak a second language.
  - hinata08 4y ago
    >Americans can't just fly to the Netherlands or Barcelona or even Montreal and take a job they pretty much can, they're lacking so many ppl that everyone can have a visa > And the language problem it doesn't exist. SW companies and large companies work in English anyway, because they work across borders. Several engineers around me have no proficiency at all in anything but English, and we're spending more time introducing them to local politics and folklore than language I have studied and worked with ppl from the whole world but North America. I almost got hired in Munich without speaking german. And former classmates work in all of these places, despite initially not speaking the language either Btw, you can't say you have worked if you haven't been in some online meeting with French ppl struggling to speak in English
    - 4y ago