| There are time periods when layoffs happen a lot. From spring 2000 to late 2001 there were many layoffs. From 2008 to 2010 there were a lot of layoffs. In early 2020 there were layoffs in the economy, not too many in tech. From late 2022 to now there have been many layoffs in tech. So in the last 25 years there have been three periods in tech with many layoffs. The last two lasted about two years, but hiring did not pick up right after. We're not two years out from the late 2022 FAANG layoffs yet. Some jobs are also safer than others. Recruiters tend to be the first to go. Senior SWEs tend to be a bit safer. Also things vary by industries, companies and company sizes - a small startup with some angel funding that will need to raise venture capital in a few months is risky. A Fortune 500 company would tend to be safer than that. It can also vary - Bay Area tech companies seemed to be hit harder than other companies in 2000 and the current period. Whereas in 2008 the problems were throughout the economy. At my current company I have been here longer than my manager and his manager and his manager. My greater team is about 150 people, and only 5 of them have been here longer than me, and most of them not by much. Longevity isn't a guarantee, but I think management is confident I can fix most problems that can come up in my area, or get whatever feature needs to be done. Despite all that, if the tech market gets rosier in the next year or two I could see jumping ship, if the salary boost was large enough. Also - I have enough money saved up to live off my savings for years without changing my spending, so that lowers my worries too. |