Instead of looking forward to my 15-year work anniversary in September, I’m currently dealing with my second layoff in the past 3 years. Having some lay off experience under my belt, I know the drill and what I need to do in this job market.

But even with my prior experience, I can’t help but feel a whole range of emotions. The whole process feels like a rug was pulled from underneath me. One day you’re planning a business trip, and then next you’re getting laid off. As much as you’re told layoffs aren’t personal and are entirely business choices; it still makes you wonder what you’ve done wrong. 

And you can’t help but wonder: Is this field still worth it?  Do I keep going? 

How many more layoffs can I deal with? I’m only 35 and that’s a lot of working years so yeah, the probability of it happening again is high.

Or is it time to pivot?

Layoffs in the tech world have become the norm; but it doesn't get easier for the person who must deal with them. I've contemplated whether I should leave and do something completely different. I’ve spent 15 years in the entertainment industry and if that was a challenging industry to work in before technology, imagine what it’s like now. 

But when I sit down and I really think about it, I’m not ready to leave.

I got into the data world 10 years ago at the Disney Data and Analytics conference, and since then, I’ve been figuring out where I belong. At one point, I felt like I had finally found it. I was a Consumer Analyst working with data, movies, and a great team! Then I got laid off. My second lay off felt like a  bigger punch in the gut for multiple reasons; one of them being I was doing all the things you’re told to do.

I was working on projects that get visibility. The week before the layoff, I was doing executive presentations for global partners. At one meeting, the SVP who introduced me before a presentation was also the same SVP who laid me off a week later. I was very stoic in the whole process because I think the corporate world isn’t worth seeing my tears. But once the news settled, that’s when the water gates opened.

I had to grieve it. I was in a job that aligned perfectly with my skills, the type of work I was interested in, and the opportunities that were going to come from it. At the time, it felt silly to think I needed to grieve a job. It shouldn’t hold that many emotions for us, but it’s not just losing the job. It’s losing the great team dynamics, its flexibility, and work that challenges you and helps you grow. It was also that I was already trying to figure out what comes next in my career and now I’m thrust into having to figure out a new job.

So, what comes next?

I’m still not done with the data world. As uncertain as things feel now, it’s also exciting to see all the changes and learn something new all the time.

First things first, a full-time job. As head of my household, that comes first.

But when I got laid off back in 2023, I started freelancing for the first time. I wanted to help small businesses with their data. I started creating content on how entrepreneurs could implement data processes in their business in a way that didn’t require past knowledge. It was great, but I then put it on hold almost a year later.  My sister got into medical school and my goals had changed. I wanted to get a fully remote job so my family could move out and support her and my nephew. So my extra time went into that job hunt.

Now with my second lay off, I feel like I’m back to building something that’s purely mine and seeing where things take me. My technical skills have gotten better, and I feel more confident building in public, too. It’s felt like the last 3 years I have been doing a lot of random things, but now as I sit and analyze my conversations with Claude 😉, I see that it’s been coming together.

It’s hard being in these situations, and whenever I think about the exciting things that were ripped away, I can’t help but get tear eyed about it. It’s things like the business trip I was going to take my family on, the movie studios I was going to present to. But when I think about what truly matters to me, there are more things they can’t take away, like the friendships I’ve made throughout the years, my resilience and the fact that I’m going to be some cool things. 

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