The uncomfortable truth about job security in tech
177,481 tech workers lost their jobs this year. Here's how to never worry about layoffs again
I switched tech jobs in 2008. The new company offered great benefits, and my previous employer offered to match it. Weeks after I started? Everything came crashing down, there were hiring freezes everywhere, and layoffs were around the corner.
I’d like to say it was brilliant foresight on my part, but the truth was just blind luck. Everyone around me was frantically trying to find a job and figure out how to pay the next mortgage bill. I was worried about my new job, with the startup struggling to make it through the crash. Overall, it was not a fun time.
Over the past few years, in my coaching career, I’ve worked with dozens of people who were laid off. Finding a job: sending resumes, talking with recruiters, interviewing, the wait afterwards, that’s an emotional roller coaster. Doing so after layoffs? That’s ten times worse.
Job security in tech? It never existed. But here’s what everyone misses: Real security isn’t about keeping your current job. It’s about never needing to worry about losing it.
The Lie We All Believe
Just like teenagers who truly believe that bad things only happen to other people, too many engineers believe that they are irreplaceable. They engineered their way into a position that no manager can take away.
Maybe you are the only Subject Matter Expert (SME) in a critical field. Or you’re the only one who knows how to maintain the infrastructure that makes everything run. Reddit is full of stories of how companies crash after firing these people.
I worked with such an engineer. They really were a world class expert in their domain and owned a critical component in our system. I can still remember them telling me in the hallway that they have real job security, because no one can fire them.
Spoiler: they were fired. The company did fine.
It took me years to learn these two lessons:
No one is really irreplaceable.
Trying to become irreplaceable actually incentivizes leadership to replace you.
I really thought Twitter/X would collapse after Elon fired 80% of the workforce. There’s a lot to say about the company, but it’s still working.
Brutal. But that’s the reality we live in.
The 5 Ways to Build Real Job Security
Every time I left a company, I had to leave some things behind. My work laptop, sometimes a work phone, the badge. Definitely the work I put years of effort into. My internal writing and the software that I built.
Every time I left a company, I got to keep some thing with me. And if you want to have real job security in tech, then you should focus on these things. The things that stay with you.
Because these are the things no one can take away from you.
Your expertise. The deep human connections you build. Your full piggy bank. Your interviewing skills. And your resiliency.
You can always build and curate each of these. When you do, you’ll be ready for anything life throws your way.
Your Skills Can’t Be Laid Off
You have to build your craft, continuously.
It’s not just the tech skills. It’s problem solving, communication, business understanding, etc. Humanity has figured out how to excel at all of these. It’s just us, the individual humans, that need to learn it for ourselves. So figure out where to invest in yourself.
Especially with AI getting more competent by the week.
Action Item: Pick one skill from your last performance review and spend 30 minutes tomorrow learning it.
Your Network is Your Net Worth
I really hate the saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
The truth is that both sides matter. It does matter what you know. And it does matter who you know.
Most engineers hate networking. It doesn’t have to be this way. Networking doesn’t have to be something sleazy.
It can be organizing a book club. Or forming a study group to learn Rust. Or just joining a mentoring group.
Most importantly, it’s realizing that you’re already networking. The people that you work with everyday. The people that you used to work with in the past.
Action Item: Schedule a coffee chat with two old colleagues this week.
Your Net Worth is Your Net Worth
Money makes the world go round. For me, it gave me the confidence to take a big risk, relocate across the world, and more than double my total compensation.
Having money in the bank can reduce much of the stress involved with lay-offs. I know that many people have invisible obligations: paying off debt, helping family back home, paying for medical expenses. Even without the fear of layoffs, it’s good to be prepared.
If you’re not saving right now, you should. I’m not saying that you should take cold showers, but maybe buy a slightly older car?
Action Item: Open your bank app and identify the three biggest expenses. Cut one by 20% by the end of the month.
Keep Your Interview Muscles Warm
Interviewing is a skill. I’m guessing that you’re not solving LeetCode style questions at work or developing Netflix from scratch in 40 minutes.
For better or worse, tech interviews don’t look much like tech day jobs.
Every month, you should practice interviewing. Work your way through LeetCode or your favorite coding preparation book. Watch system design interviews on YouTube, but pause and try to solve it yourself first. Review and update your story bank for your behavioral interviews.
And yes, go on actual interviews. Even if you’re not actively looking.
Action Item: Apply to one job you’re underqualified for. Just to practice.
Resiliency is a Muscle, Not a Moment
Skills, network, and money are nice and all. At the end of the day, we’re all living in our bodies, full of hormones and fears and worries.
When the moment comes, it doesn’t matter if you’re ready. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re ready. The only thing that matters is if you feel ready.
Just like a muscle, resiliency is something that you can build. It takes practice and effort. Maybe taking that cold shower isn’t such a bad idea after all. Small discomforts that you overcome add up.
Just like a muscle, resiliency can atrophy. You use it or lose it. I spent two weeks in an intensive meditation retreat. I could handle anything you threw at me. But without daily practice, the mental toughness goes away, slowly, over time.
Action Item: Write down three uncomfortable things you’re avoiding. Do one.
The Payoff
The only thing that you take with you between jobs is you. The better your skillset, the more valuable you’ll be to more companies. The stronger your network, the easier it will be to get your foot in the door. Savings, resiliency, and interviewing practice will give you the mental confidence to weather the ups and downs of finding a new job.
You’re not preparing for disaster.
You’re building the kind of career where layoffs are just... inconvenient. Where recruiters chase you. Where you interview companies, not the other way around.
That’s real job security.