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For those of you who made it through the 2008-2009 financial crisis or the dotcom bust before that, how did you do it? Do you have any particular advice for weathering this storm?
dot bomb: I was 22, had worked for Red Hat since their IPO in 1999. I hadn't gone to college, and was working in developer support, then QA, when I got laid off, it was kind of like, eh, oh well, gonna move back in with my parents. We get along so it was kind of not a big deal. I had saved a ton of money from working and having no social life.
Ended up moving to California, playing a ton of EverQuest, learned to surf, learned Kung Fu, and started to take classes at a community college.
My best advice for anyone early in their career/life with a lot of flexibility and privilege is to spend that time acquiring a new skill that is unrelated to the field that you are already in. It's a great time to develop an alternative/fall back.
I decided after the dot bomb that I was going to be a luddite and not focus on computer related work, so I started studying physics.
I got my degree and ended up building and maintaining a cluster for processing satellite image data, so basically got right back into tech.
That brings me from 2003 to 2008!
I was going to get a PhD, then my advisor died, and the satellite I worked on got shut down (government defunds science in recessions!) so I got bitten by my own advice! I don't regret it, though.
At that time, I had just finished my undergrad, and had started working full time in the research group I had worked in as an undergrad. When things finally sunk in economically, I had to go back to part time temporarily, but again, and this might be a theme, I had enough saved up and enough of a personal cushion to ride it out for the six months it lasted until we got a fresh grant.
I ended up leaving academia to get back into tech, and here I am again, and I'm feeling pretty comfortable with the coming chaos, which is weird to say, and I know it's going to be a lot harder for others.
My sisters both have work that puts them at a huge risk, and are struggling with that, but tldr;
- save money
- don't panic sell if you have investments
- if you can, buy now :)
- seriously and intentionally develop a new skill, hobby, or interest
- make new friends, reach out to folks, build a more robust social network
What you can't control, and what usually is behind "how I survived X" is privilege though.
I have a colleague who is kind of a "prepper" but in the last downturn, he used that as a way to feed himself and his wife for six months (boat rations, rice & beans, etc...!) and volunteered at a mechanic shop so he could learn to fix/build cars (he offered them SEO in trade). Now as a hobby he sometimes buys cars, soups them up, and sells them.
By 2008 I was in California and had been working for tech giants. When the housing bubble popped I was laid off but quickly landed at a non-profit. Fun fact: non-profits are exempted from H-1B caps; as long as you can get hired, you can stay. I worked for what most San Francisco techies would have considered laughable wages.
On the other hand, working for that non-profit was probably the portion of my career that will have the highest impact on actual humans. Most tech industry jobs are the poem Ozymandias, except everything turns to dust in 4 years rather than 4,000. If you find yourself unemployed, it's probably better to be underemployed at a nonprofit.
Learned a ton about myself and the world outside...never been so alive!
nothing stays the same. it will pass. you end up wiser, stronger, and if lucky.. a more conscientious and humble human being.
2001-2002 was brutal; I'd built a career around a dying language & I wasn't living in a major tech hub. I lived off savings and contract work from a company that was terrible, but had entrapped customers into their terrible software, so they had a steady cash flow. By 2008 I was in California and had been working for tech giants. When the housing bubble popped I was laid off but quickly landed at a non-profit. Fun fa…
Stability for my children is the most important thing for me.
I also think that most of us are likely well into diminishing returns for what happiness can be bought. Really second guess your need to buy those nice things and that extra big house. You might not actually need them.
I appreciate this is longer term advice. Hard to act on any of it now.
In 2008, at the same job, the company had instituted a hiring freeze, but we were still solidly profitable so we weren't really concerned.
In 2020, I've already taken a pay cut to help keep the business afloat (different company). Oh, well :-(
This, too, shall pass. But it's gonna suck for a while.
2000: Moved to San Jose that summer (my first job) to "make it big" at a friend's email startup. The crash hit a few months later. I was lucky enough that the company stuck around for a few years, and I moved to the midwest in 2003 where it was cheaper.
2009: Savings cut in half, I looked a long time for a new job, and ended up moving back to San Jose to get one. I put most of my remaining savings into the only house I could afford (which was barely livable), but it seemed like the only chance I'd get to own real estate in California. I ended up not liking my new job, but I couldn't afford to quit. After a long search, I was able to switch into a much better job, and I lived pretty well for about 4 years in San Jose before once again moving back to the midwest.
Everyone else has covered the basics of handling these difficult circumstances, but to reiterate:
1. Try to have some savings. If things have looked good for a long time, get conservative with your money. I neglected to do this before the 2008 crisis, and lost much more of my savings than I should have. On the other hand, coming out of a crash can be a great time to invest.
2. Be frugal and flexible. Be willing to cut back your life style, and be realistic about how stable your job is, and how long you can live without it. Be willing to move to take opportunities, or take up a different line of work if needed.
3. Keep up with and help out the people you know. Band together with your friends and family.
4. This too shall pass. I'm worried this current crisis will be the worst I've seen, but even if that's true we'll eventually get through it.
Best of luck to everyone out there.