This article is a reprint.
Original author: Che Qi
Original title: 35-Year-Old Unemployed Programmer Speaks from Experience
Original link: https://www.cnblogs.com/royzshare/p/17596403.html
35 years old + programmer + unemployed – these three words together easily give the impression of clickbait, but this article is not that.
I am a .NET programmer with 15 years of experience, with some basic frontend knowledge. I just crossed the age threshold of 35, and unfortunately, I was laid off not long ago. So the author will share a personal account of this unemployment experience and some current reflections based on firsthand practice.
Before 33 – Pursuing a Work-Life Balance, That Was Fine
I started working in 2008, mainly on information management systems in the early years. Around 2011/2012, the golden decade of the internet began, but this wave didn't really affect me much because I chose to go work in a factory and embrace Industry 4.0.
Before 33, I had been single-mindedly pursuing a balance between work and life. Foreign-owned companies, 8:55 work schedule, weekends off, being on the client side, and humane treatment were the key criteria I valued most when job hunting.
Having entered the job market early, I had my own house and car, even though the house wasn't big and the car wasn't expensive. My job was stable and flexible, the kind many job seekers dream of, even though the salary wasn't high.
Based on these, I maintained a work-life balance for a long time. Work was challenging but within my capabilities, and after work I could fully focus on family and myself. Occasionally I worried about the future, but it seemed far away, and I thought the current situation was fine.
Age 33 – The Balance Is Broken, Real-Life Pressure
China's post-70s and post-80s generations caught the real estate boom. Some were forced to marry, others followed the investment trend, but buying a house earlier always made you money. I was no exception: my first house later rose 5 times in value, and then I followed the trend and invested in another house that doubled in value within two years. To get higher returns, I decided to sell that investment property and buy a larger one in a better location. Unfortunately, I bought at the peak (just before COVID-19). The sudden extra mortgage of over 15,000 RMB made it hard for my take-home salary to cover both the mortgage and monthly living expenses.
The company organized a lucky draw quiz event on Programmers' Day (1024), and I happened to draw a question about the career prospects for a 35-year-old programmer. I brushed it off with a few perfunctory words, but inside I was tossing and turning, because the balance I had long maintained was broken. After trying to develop WeChat mini-programs and self-employment for a while with no success, I updated my resume and started testing the free market. "Riding a donkey while looking for a horse" gives you more bargaining power, and I happened to land an offer with a salary more than double my previous one.
Age 35 – Thought I Made the Transition but Got Laid Off
At the new company, I jumped straight into a middle-management role, leading a department responsible for developing a new business. I was full of ambition, thinking I had successfully transitioned. I fantasized about leading this business to success, making a lot of money for the company, becoming a VP, or maybe even having the opportunity to independently run a branch.
But reality is reality. The product was successfully developed, but I was powerless in the face of the market. Meanwhile, my lack of upward reporting and sales persuasion skills made the boss and the sales team hesitant about the product. No revenue was generated for a long time. As the primary person responsible, I had some good ideas: should I find a backup plan in advance, or just keep going as long as the boss persisted?
One afternoon, I was still updating the Nth version of the product roadshow PPT when the boss called. He calmly told me the company had decided to cancel this business line and disband the team. So I experienced my first layoff.
Now – A Depressed Market and Re-employment
Some say: "Nowadays, children are as mature as adults, while adults are as naive as children (lacking financial independence and the ability to take responsibility)." And me, at 35, I still often think I'm that young lad from the past. Then 35 arrived quietly. It feels like the hour hand on a clock – it seems far away but it always arrives, and it doesn't stop for a moment, doesn't let you rest, catch your breath, or look back; it just keeps ticking forward.
I understand the current macro environment: the economy is sluggish, the internet is sluggish, manufacturing is sluggish. I understand myself: my management skills are lacking and high-level positions are scarce; pure development roles are hard to match in salary and the career path is unclear, with age discrimination. I understand that finding a job now will be very difficult.
I opened job boards with trembling hands. Based on my job intentions, I noticed several changes in the market:
- Desktop application development (WinForm, WPF), previously unpopular among developers (because it's disconnected from the internet, old tech), now has more positions, and the salaries are decent. These are suitable for developers with 1–5 years of experience.
- Platform-style systems mostly use Java, and several companies that previously used .NET have completely switched to Java. .NET demand only appears in some factory MES systems and the like.
- Positions in ordinary factories are fewer or have fewer interview opportunities; the active sectors are chip manufacturing, new energy batteries, etc., with strong demand.
- Foreign-owned companies have frozen or reduced headcount, and their hard requirements are increasing, e.g., directly requiring overseas study experience.
In two weeks, I applied to nearly 100 positions on BOSS and 51JOB. About half were viewed, 7 or 8 had phone interviews, 4 or 5 got me an interview, and finally I received two offers, both related to architecture and platform transition. But I had to compromise on salary.
Unexpectedly, I got an interview invitation from Microsoft, but I was quickly rejected due to insufficient algorithm preparation.
The Future – Some Thoughts
The only constant is change. Learn to walk on multiple legs.
Economic cycles shift, industries and technologies change. It's only been 20 years since the wave of millions of laid-off workers in Northeast China. The golden age of the internet is hard to replicate. If you can't predict or keep up with the wheel of the times, you need to learn multiple means of livelihood. Whether it's technology or management, large companies or small, avoid narrowing your future path. You must find your second career.
When you feel lost, study. One day, it will pay off. If you studied English well in school or start learning it now, you'll have twice the opportunities of job seekers who don't know English. If you didn't study the seemingly useless algorithms back in school, you'll have little chance of entering big companies later. Some learning that seems useless in the short term will eventually pay off one day. Besides, after you start working, you'll realize that studying is actually the easiest thing.
I still don't have a second career, and I find it hard to stick to learning. I can feel how insignificant an individual's power is in the face of the times.
But as I once wrote, "Thank yourself for every decision in the past that refused to be mediocre – they shaped who I am today. Like a stock market curve, if you stay proactive, the curve may be gentle but it is definitely going upward." Keep thinking, move forward actively. Let's encourage each other.