Laid Off Feb 13 2025; Unsure About Next Steps

[Zombie13]

Hello everyone.
So, we moved to WA in May 2022 to start a new job. In February 2025 I was laid off, and have been conducting a job search since. I am eligible to apply for jobs at the former employer, and have had a few interviews with them, but no job offers yet. I am applying at other companies, though the application process is longer: find the company online, research job descriptions, and apply online. My engineering experience is diverse; I am a generalist; and that appears to be an issue since hiring managers need explicit, specific experience. As such, finding job matches is very challenging. I have not entertained contractor type work, though that may be the next step.
At this point, I am wondering if I should consider doing something completely different altogether, vs. engineering work; perhaps the engineering career has run its full course.
Thoughts?
Thanks

[justbroke]

I'm in the midst of changing careers. Scary for sure. When I started in the Computer Science field it was a small field. Now, like engineering, there are multiple disciplines in what they now call Information Technology. Stepson just went through applying for 120 positions. Yes, he found one after 3 months and it pays 50% more than he was making at the last company, but he said it was grueling. Oh, and the lucky kid is making $120K/yr and has only ever worked in an office for 2 months at the start of 2020 when COVID hit. He doesn't know the grind, commuting, or work travel. He graduated in December of 2019 in Information Technology.

[Barbisi]

Good Luck justbroke!

[Barbisi]

I was waiting to comment until Zombie13 finally decided to share his ongoing status. Below are additional facts .
He is currently collecting unemployment insurance, effectively ending 9/1/25.
He also cashed in his R pension. (We have $$$$ in our bank savings account set aside to pay the approx. 10% penalty we will owe at tax time for freeing up the funds we needed to survive this unexpected job loss. He had just turned 55 and it was fortuitous that he was legally able to access a lesser amount with a hefty 20% accessed on the distribution date and the remaining 10% to be paid by April 15, 2026.)
Our landlord raised the rent by only $100 this Spring, which is another blessing, since we are comfortable with our sprawling ranch and certainly couldn't find another rental house as cheap nor as large which would meet our needs, not to mention, not qualifying for another rental without a sufficient monthly salary.( So far, we have chosen not to disclose the job situation, reasoning we have enough funds to pay the rent until next year .)

[Zombie13]

Interesting; which career were you in, and which options are you considering? Do they require investment in training, or equipment/gear/tools?

[shipo]

Three weeks ago I changed jobs, I'm with Google now; Zombie13, check the following link, and if you find anything (regardless of location), let me know and I look into sending you a referral.

• https://www.google.com/about/careers.../jobs/results/

Regarding work location, the gig I just got hired for was located up in Canada; when I made it through the 3-month long interview process and was approved by the hiring committee, an exception was put in for me to work from a different office (Reston, VA in my case). Yeah about that, I was granted two exceptions, the first was to work from Reston, and the second was to work from home in Maryland. Go figure.

If you want, send me a private message with your email address and I'll reach out with mine so you can send me your resume.

[Barbisi]

Thank you shipo!( And big congrats on landing the new gig!)
It's strange you mention Canada, because we would be willing to relocate there. We thought American citizens might not be welcome there, given the flurry of incendiary economic rhetoric present nowadays.
But of course, Google is an American company and can hire Americans to work anywhere they have jobs to fill.
I do like the PNW and find the climate most genial but understand more likely than not, we will have to move elsewhere for Zombie's next job.
As the French say, C'est la vie! (in German, one says, So ist das Leben.)

[shipo]

The good news is, if Zombie13 lands a gig with Google, they have several offices in the PNW.

[Zombie13]

Hey folks! Ok, little update. I have received a verbal offer of employment (via email), and expect the written official offer this week. This is in Redmond WA, so we will stay where we are, phew. During the job search, I took notice of where my applications were trending, ie where I was garnering interest. So, I increased my focus on that area of my experience. Interestingly, I happened to find a company that appeared to have nothing to do with the space industry, though the job description clearly specified, that was the type of work this small group/handful of employees would be doing.
They offered the max salary for the role, which is a relief. That being said, it is a 9.5% salary reduction from the previous job. Barbisi and I discussed what our limitations were regarding pay cut, and this salary is well above that threshold. The one concern is the health insurance company, and Barbisi wants to talk about that. We have not used them before, so do not know what to expect.
There is no signing bonus, which is actually a good thing. Meaning, if I find a better job before say, one year of employment, then I do not have to pay back a bonus.
I do expect to recover the 9.5% salary reduction fairly quickly. And, this is a very good opportunity to get a foothold with solid experience in a specific genre. That is the main struggle I have identified, throughout my career: I am a generalist / jack of all trades, not a specialist with decades of solid, contiguous experience in any one discipline. At the 1 hour zoom interview with the hiring manager, he said he was looking for a jack of all trades. So, finally, I found a fit. The entire interview process included that one hour zoom interview, and a one hour interview with a panel of the hiring manager, and two other employees: one worked at Blue Origin - my former company, and joined this company in September. The other, joined the company on Monday of the week I interviewed. They need about 6 more folks, for a total of 9 on the team. So, this will be interesting, and hopefully an enjoyable experience. I think we need a name: The Wild Bunch, maybe. If we had 12, we could be The Dirty Dozen. Anyway. I am glad this is over with. Seeing our resources being drained each month was pretty stressful. Now to recover.

[Carmella]

Congrats Zombie13 !!!!! This must be a huge relief for you and Barbisi I am glad to hear you don't need to go through a relocation again! Or return to the bad memory location.

[Zombie13]

Carmella - thank you so much!!! Barbisi is much more eloquent with her words than I am for sure, that is why she is an aspiring author, and... I, Am Not. ; but I/we are very grateful for your response! Yes we are tired of relocating; and certainly don't want to go through all that, just to go back to where we suffered and struggled as we did. And now, in PNW, it's time for... The Long Dark Soak, as I call it. Barbisi will be posting her thoughts soon.

[justbroke]

Zombie13 and Barbisi ... I've been a little busy. I'm glad that things are moving along for you. I've been a very busy little beaver over the last few years.

[Zombie13]

justbroke - uh yeah LOL so we hear! Looking forward to hearing about what happens next!