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Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

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Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#301

Post by lanfeust6 »

This experience, really a decade of insecurity, has left me always being vigilant. If I'm relentless, I don't feel so insecure. The effort has gotten me results. I never wanted to be "so good they can't ignore you", just safe.

Two years is well past the point of having to throw the kitchen sink at the problem. Months in, it's worth having projects in some key technologies. A year in, I'd re-train. I'd also scout out some grants for school/training available to those who've been laid off.

It had me thinking of what I want to impart to my children. I don't want to strike the fear of God in them that you're always on the precipice of doom, but I don't want them complacent either. Robotics x machine-learning/LLMs presents a lot of uncertainty.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#302

Post by cindyllm »

no_nobud wrote: post #281

Yep. I'm an Electrical Engineer, 10+ years of experience in systems (automation, robotics, etc.). I left my job back in 2023, which I regret now, but I didn't leave because it wasn't paying well (it was low wage), or anything, but because of the management and daily harassment. However, I should have let them terminate me instead to collect unemployment. The first few months I spent trying to make my own work, since…

[dead]

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#303

Post by throwaway1492 »

SeanAnderson wrote: post #60
yodsanklai wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought caffeine was actually good https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/is-coffee-good-or-bad-for-your...

I think from a health perspective coffee/caffeine is fine - maybe even good. I wouldn't be shocked if it were good for you. My reason for wanting to quit caffeine was related to willpower and self-control. I wanted a stronger mind-body connection where I'd readily act on my desires rather than delegating to "I'll do that once I feel properly caffeinated." I was finding that I wasn't doing much with myself after work…

Quitting caffeine helped me with anxiety and some mental health stuff. Ymmv

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#304

Post by aorist »

whamlastxmas wrote: post #247
it_is_beautiful wrote: post #186

Throwaway, to do away with the polite fiction that I usually present. Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown / Waiting for someone or something to show you the way At 11 I started writing software, with entrepreneurial aspirations helped by my parents. Over my teen years I must have designed a dozen sites I never published. I did alright in school, but I was never on time. At 18, out of high school, I g…

i also thought i wasnt disabled/traumatized for a long time until i came across reading material of symptoms that perfectly described me, and life experiences that perfectly match my own. trauma and disability can look like a lot of things, and the things in your life that you may think aren't a big deal actually can be, and you have no idea because you've never had it any other way. realizing i have intense trauma a…

all of

> designed a dozen sites I never published > I was never on time > I couldn't get up for class on time

And depending on why

> don't drive > I feel like an alien, and most everyone drives me insane. > most of them I cut off without a word, and those that reach out I resent

also sounds like how someone with ADHD could describe themselves, and the other issues could be downstream from that

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#305

Post by petsormeat »

Yes. Last full time software development job was in 2017, under the most abusive manager I've ever had in my 20+ years in tech. Took a full year out just for psychotherapy. Unfortunately, the subsequent years had me branded with that "employment gap" stigma that recruiters and hiring managers can't see past.

I'm now doing temp office work for my local government. I actually prefer the job setting, aside from the low pay. I would encourage everyone to try getting work in their own local governments, especially around big events like elections, when there's need for a lot of people at once.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#306

Post by andrewmcwatters »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #8

I have, but it's retirement. I have no desire to rejoin the rodential rally. Been about eight years, and, after I got over the butthurt of not being hired, I leaned into retirement (I am grateful to have the means). Best thing that ever happened to me.

Hmm, I don't know Chris, I've read your comments here over the years and I get the feeling that any company that hired you would be in a good place with you on their team.

There's a lot of bad hiring teams, though. So, I totally get it. Retirement is also nice if you can afford it.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#307

Post by xvector »

petsormeat wrote: post #305

Yes. Last full time software development job was in 2017, under the most abusive manager I've ever had in my 20+ years in tech. Took a full year out just for psychotherapy. Unfortunately, the subsequent years had me branded with that "employment gap" stigma that recruiters and hiring managers can't see past. I'm now doing temp office work for my local government. I actually prefer the job setting, aside from the low…

The "employment gap" stigma is so frustrating. I want to find every recruiter that thinks it is okay to stigmatize this, and smack them.

My girlfriend is currently suffering a lot because of this because she had to go on extended bereavement and now no one will hire her.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#308

Post by no_nobud »

apsurd wrote: post #289
no_nobud wrote: post #281

Yep. I'm an Electrical Engineer, 10+ years of experience in systems (automation, robotics, etc.). I left my job back in 2023, which I regret now, but I didn't leave because it wasn't paying well (it was low wage), or anything, but because of the management and daily harassment. However, I should have let them terminate me instead to collect unemployment. The first few months I spent trying to make my own work, since…

a nurse is not the janitor of healthcare jobs. Your first hand experience with how brutal the job market is is real. And it definitely feels like zero sum when it comes down to "a woman gets hired for reasons over me" but i must call out how dangerous this line of thinking becomes. Also obviously not anyone can become an engineer. please don't be so dismissive of others. if you're willing to put in the learning to be…

>nurse is not the janitor of healthcare jobs.

I don't know but among healthcare practitioner apparently it's seen like that. It's brutal, but out of all white collar jobs, only engineering is suffering, and especially males, yes, women are hired for 'reasons' over males, you can check any unemployment rate between males/females, now it's called he-cession https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-08-05/us-job... What is the ratio of females posting not finding jobs in social media compared to males? I personally never seen a single female complaining not finding a job, instead, they are dancing in the jobs for tiktok and posting how their 'lazy girl job' is going, meanwhile for guys, it's all over the place, especially in tech/engineering.

Engineering isn't guarded as a profession, there's no designation like other white collar jobs that you need to pass and have to be called an engineer, the 'engineer' term is so diluted that it's meaningless now, and even to be a plumper, you should have apprenticeship to practice it, it's even more guarded than engineer. Total waste of time to be an engineer, my advise to anyone who's getting in the field or thinking about it, do NOT, you are better dancing on tiktok than wasting your life in a useless degree.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone else been unemployed for over two years?

#310

Post by lanyard-textile »

SeanAnderson wrote: post #60
yodsanklai wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought caffeine was actually good https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/is-coffee-good-or-bad-for-your...

I think from a health perspective coffee/caffeine is fine - maybe even good. I wouldn't be shocked if it were good for you. My reason for wanting to quit caffeine was related to willpower and self-control. I wanted a stronger mind-body connection where I'd readily act on my desires rather than delegating to "I'll do that once I feel properly caffeinated." I was finding that I wasn't doing much with myself after work…

I think I’m okay with scheduling my work around those known lulls, but I’m happy you shared your thoughts and perspective about it. Certainly gives me something to think about.
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