Tell HN: Falling into “shitty FIRE”, or involuntary sabbatical with few savings
I am 40 and sort of stumbled into a weird "comfortable but still poor" loop which for me meant working low paying developer jobs on and off, until one final job three years ago where I got laid off, no longer able to get hired again and now just living frugally off the small savings from my jobs.
As far as catching up with others in the field, I have put that aside and given up for now. I'm only learning new stuff for personal recreation projects so long as I still have money left.
Been applying for jobs and practicing interview for 2 years in my 3 year unemployment gap and still got nothing so far. I even took a $5k interviewing course. The 3 year gap is surely a killer at this point.
Also, don't take the title too seriously. I don't plan to retire indefinitely, and I'm just living this way as long as I have personal funds. I estimate about 10 months before my savings run out so long as monthly expenses continue the way they are now.
Some key things about my development "career":
- Graduated with an unrelated degree, so I started with jobs at local small companies, not aiming for big names
- Got fired from my first two junior-level jobs for performance-related reasons
- Majority of jobs are contract or so-called permatemp jobs, the business' intent being to cut corners in product development as much as possible
- Save for one jump from an agency to a startup, I always lose my current job before finding a new one
- My highest annual compensation was $50k
I get that a 3 year gap looks really bad, but all suggestions to fix that lead down a path of solitary effort with structure that you must set up yourself, and that sounds just as depressing. Nothing in the way of having someone else to keep you accountable, as I am single and the closest contacts I have are a few family members over the phone and occasionally meet in person. They are unable to help my job search because they're completely removed from the tech industry.
As someone who's often been told I have basically junior-level skills with senior-level years, the idea that you should up-skill on unpaid time in order to get hired again is laughable to me. That's like trying to climb up in rank when you're not even participating within a hierarchy. I'd rather get re-hired at the bottom and make my most impactful decisions on the job. But as long as my gap and experience continues to scare off employers, so must this "FIRE" continue for now.