I got laid off
Published on 24 Jun, 2026 · 4 min read · 0 reading right now · 1 views
It was just the perfect day. I woke up late, opened my laptop, joined a meeting.
"Your role has been made redundant. The company is downsizing."
My reactions: "Man, that sucks!", "Goddamn it!", "Whatever, man. I'll find something new".
Getting laid off sucks. I just wrote about my cat yesterday, and today I don't have a job(it is kind of funny). A lot of (little) worries: "How long is my runway?", "What if something happens to my cat and I need significant monies?"(Is there such a thing as pet insurance?), "How will I get a new job?".
The realisation didn't set in until now, at 3:00 AM, hence this blog post. I want to talk about my future endeavours & past "mistakes".
The Past. I'll be honest, I was on the verge of burnout. Reasons included a change in roles, a change of managers, and being forced to use AI to do everything. So I somewhat feel relieved that I don't need to work here anymore. Looking back, I liked it. I thrived here. But things changed, as they always do.
Now that I've had some time to reflect, I didn't care much about the focus of the product. Sure, I dug the idea initially, & I was able to answer the "Why do you want to join our company?" question but it took me some time to realise it's not my cup of tea. I want my work to make an impact, and it did but not where I wanted.
"What do you want, man?"
Honestly, I don't know. I know what I want in an abstract form, but if you ask me to describe "my dream job", I'll have nothing.
So, let's do abstract. I want my work to have an impact on life in a positive way. Not like "Let's change the course of humanity", but more like "I care about the world. I care about the people & animals who inhabit it. I want their life to be happier/easier". At a more fundamental level. Do I know a job that does this specifically in any shape or form? Yes, there are some where my friends work at. Why don't I work there?
What about the $$?
Well, the pay is not "competent enough". There's a tug and pull going on inside me. I need some monies to sustain myself, my cat & my family(typical Indian families amiright?), and a "little treats" for me & my partner to keep us sane(materialism anyone?). I'm lucky that my parents can sustain themselves but soon, I'll be the sole breadwinner of the house. In this economy, you do need some monies to sustain this life. So what I want & what I need are in clash with each other as of now.
But experience tells me I can downsize my little life, work at the place I want to work at, and still be able to sustain myself. Haven't started job hunting yet, but I won't start applying anywhere I see an opening. This time it's going to be intentional. That's a good start.
Also, it can come in many forms: A cybersecurity firm, anti-surveillance gig, etc.
AI this, AI that. How about I AI your job?
// START OF RANT Going on a bit of tangent here, but one thing I'd like to talk about is this Corporate x AI combination going on, which is the worst. Everyone is trying to force AI down our throat. AI is an amazing tech, it is literally changing the world, but engineers are being reduced to "prompt guy". I have literally heard "I rewrote this codebase in one weekend" more times than I'd like to. "Just ask AI about this" is the common phrase when asked about "Hey, why does it work this way?". I know that, but I care more about the decisions & your thought-processes.
It's a nightmare for some people who care about the code, care about what's getting shipped to the user. I know there's a way to use AI more sustainably, but from my & some of my friends' experiences, it's just being used as a magic tech that does things for you, without any thoughts, care & love for the game.
It is a force multiplier, sure. But is it too much to ask to "just don't reach for it all the time". I guess AI did end up taking my job, though it wasn't the primary reason.
// END OF RANT Look up
It's not the end of the world. I know I'll have some gig sooner or later. I hope this time I make a better choice. Ending with a reminder to myself: "It's not that bad. Go play with your cat. Keep loving the people around you. Keep caring about the world. Look up and smile."