How I Turned a Layoff Into a 2x Salary Jump
When I was told that my position was being made redundant I didn’t freak out — at least, not initially. But then in the next few weeks the reality set in. I was a middle developer and I had a good experience level, however the tech stack, that I was really good at, aged faster than I thought. For years I had honed skills and proficiencies in areas that no longer had job listings, or headlines. This is when I quietly and decisively decided that I was not going to be quiet about getting another job. I craved to transform my self. I made time and made a conscious choice to future-proof my skills and go into the deep end. In less than eight months, I got recruited by a new company where I was to work in a more strategic position and be getting twice the amount of money that I was making before. Much of that change was because I enrolled in selected ai and ml programs in India that provided me the clarity, direction and most importantly some practical ground to shift gears.
Intangible Trap: Good Enough Is Enough
Before the layoff, I felt as though I was fine. I was hitting my deadlines, working towards team goals and staying till late whenever products had to be released. I did not however grow up. I had gotten complacent in my zone of competence which is taking problems that are not very challenging and using skills that did not develop. When I lost my job I lost all that comfort overnight. Instantly I had time to think. It was an uncomfortable thought and it kept rising up: I was replaceable. My resume had aged through the years and not in value. I learned that it matters very little that you are good at your job when the job is being eliminated by robots or low wages. The market is rewarding relevance and I was no longer relevant.
My Rationale of employing AI and ML to Get Back My Edge
Having applied and received no calls whatsoever after several dozens of applications, I took a break in my job search to see what vocations were currently needed. Data-centric jobs, automation, product engineers who have touch in AI, it was everywhere. I did not intend to be a fulltime AI researcher but I noticed a trend: the fastest growing areas all overlapped with data and decision making. It is then that I started searching ai and ml courses in India. It was not like these things were popular then; it was just that these things provided systematic answers to how contemporary issues were being addressed. I paid attention to learning the rationale of machine learning models, prototyping, demonstrating that I could bridge the theory to the practice. It did not revolve around the chase of buzzwords. All it was, was to regain importance in a job market that moved forward without me.
How Small Project Made Interviews Effects
During my upskilling process, I did not want to become one of those people that would just acquire knowledge. I made myself deadlines, I made mock-projects requiring open-source data, I took note of the whole process. Among other projects, there was the creation of a basic customer churn prediction model of a fictional startup. Another one simulated the way in which a chatbot could be used by a local government in order to minimize service queries. They were not huge breakthroughs but they were hard evidence that I could think outside the code. These projects repeatedly turned out to be the center of the discussion during interviews. What I had constructed during my time off involved more interest to the recruiters than what I had undertaken in my previous appointment. One of the interviewers even mentioned that I spoke of machine learning in a much non-impressive manner and talked of it merely to solve a problem. This confidence was not permanently there with me; it came as an effect of working on well-designed ai and ml courses in India and practicing whatever I had studied in the real world.
Reinvention Does Not Need Crisis Only a Choice
Looking back, the lay-off was painful, but was a kick-in-the-rear that I needed. It made me reconsider my path and it made me begin to ask more competent questions: What is the industry orienting to? In five years what will companies be willing to pay to fix? What will make me essential? These are questions which I keep asking myself to this day. The thing is that you do not need a layoff to pivot. You do not require licence to develop. All you have to do is tell the truth about where you are--and be ready to eliminate obsolete strengths.
The technological situation in India is in a state of warp speed. Artificial intelligence has left the planet of laboratories and mega-tech corporations in Silicon Valley. Even middle level firms in various industries are in search of individuals who can converse in its language. That is why taking up AI and ML courses in India is not only being competitive; it is also being above. Sometimes the most effective method of going forwards is going backwards to reassess your way of doing things and starting again with a purpose.