4 ms·
Did I ruin my career?
I've spent the past year as a technical product manager (role also allowed me to keep some eng work as a product eng as well). The company folded due to market conditions and I was laid off.
For the three years prior to that I was a full-time SWE. Initially at Amazon out of college but my team was cut after 8mo. , had a very strong streak and got promoted at my next gig at a startup (worked there for 1.8 years). That was followed by an 8mo. stint at another startup which happened to be an awful fit. Fortunately I had a full year as a TPM, but I can't help but feel like I've completely screwed myself.
I'm not exactly "senior" yet as an SWE or TPM and while I'm glad I've had a fair bit of experiences I feel very lost relative to friends who are working on startups or have established careers at larger tech companies.
Fortunately, I have plenty of runway (this might be a bad thing since clearly I need to change some patterns in my life). Obviously the market is bad, but given my relatively weak network I'm legitimately starting to lose hope. Previously, I'd at least get initial interviews, at this point I'm just getting rejection after rejection.
Is anyone else having a rough time with the current market?
- ncr100 4y agoIt's a rough time. I survived prior rough times so I kind of recognize this. It may take several months instead of weeks to get rehired. It might take extra effort now. Sorry You feel bad. I think that's just the truth of a down market, it feels bad. You're right to feel Like this is a bad situation. And You were a software engineer before so you can do it. You can do it again.
- sappling10x 4y agoThanks! Fortunately I don't have any large resume gaps and a friend of mine has been giving me contracting work for his startup in seed stage. Hoping I can maybe get some equity and at least a moonlighting gig there. The market for both PM's and SWE seems wildly tilted towards senior roles. Which, to be fair, makes sense given a looming recession and the lower risk profile of senior engineers.