[drakonka]

I was laid off last year, but contract ended up getting extended until end of Jan 2024. After talking to a few other companies I decided to take 6 months - 1 year off unless something really interesting came along. A few days after that decision, a company reached out that fit into exactly that category and I ended up joining them.

I didn't notice any particular issues with job availability or recruiter outreach, and figured maybe the sentiment about the market is a little exaggerated.

[gunnr15]

That sounds like an ideal way to find a new job.

What specifically about the job made you change your mind re: taking time off?

[drakonka]

I just thought a lot about what kind of work I was especially curious about doing and decided that it was autonomous agents. Seemed like a great area to explore in, since I believe agents running in permissive environments _could_ be a really powerful and practical way to leverage AI but have not been "solved" yet. AI is super buzzy though so I was careful with filtering out companies working on legitimate applications vs just ones wanting to hop on the AI train for the sake of it. The company that approached me happened to be working on agents in an area that I've already had significant experience in, so ended up being a great fit!