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Final week, Microsoft laid off 6,000 staff—3 % of its workforce—bringing the variety of tech staff which have already been laid off in 2025 to almost 60,000, in accordance with layoffs.fyi. In a future version we’ll contemplate the position AI is taking part in on this, and the way software program engineers ought to safeguard in opposition to ever-smarter LLMs. However for now, I need to share my prime advice if you happen to’ve been laid off.
I simply spoke to a mid-level engineer who was laid off from a Massive Tech firm in London. They had been understandably distraught and feeling demoralized.
The simplest recommendation I’ve is kind of easy: It’s good to establish your benefits and exploit them.
When you do some reflection, you’ll have the ability to establish a protracted checklist of individuals, sources, or alternatives that you’ve got distinctive entry to. The inquiries to ask your self:
- The place do you’ve a powerful community of people that may refer you? (That is probably your former colleagues or college alumni.)
- The place do you’ve confirmed experience in a ability that could possibly be beneficial for employers? (For instance, being very efficient with search engine marketing or prompting.)
- What are the domains that you simply’ve been keen about earlier than they turned cool? (Saying that you simply’re keen about AI doesn’t depend since everybody appears to be keen about AI nowadays.)
The “spray-and-pray” method for job purposes just isn’t solely miserable but additionally ineffective. Please don’t waste your time making use of to random jobs on LinkedIn or Certainly. As a substitute, comply with the template established by folks with essentially the most enviable careers: discover positions the place you’ve an “in.”
Too many engineers establish a buzzy firm and use the usual approaches in making an attempt to land a job. In an age the place the market is flooded with job seekers, there may be an excessive amount of competitors for this to be efficient. As a substitute, work ahead from distinctive benefits and promising conditions.
—Rahul
Why Engineers Nonetheless Want the Humanities
Amid widespread funding cuts to many U.S. companies, humanities analysis grants are being slashed. Historian and IEEE Spectrum contributor Allison Marsh explains how engineering is, and all the time has been entwined with the humanities. “The bygone engineers of the twentieth century acknowledged this sturdy bond to the humanities,” Marsh writes.
Balancing Work and Life: An Engineer’s Information to Success
How can busy engineers obtain a work-life stability? The important thing to managing your profession and private life may very well lie in reframing the query. “Cease viewing work and life as opposites and begin recognizing how they complement one another.” A number of easy methods will help engineers with this widespread problem.
ICYMI: This Man Made the Modem in Your Telephone a Actuality
In late February, Broadcom cofounder Henry Samueli acquired the 2025 IEEE Medal of Honor for his pioneering work in broadband communication and networking know-how. Examine his profession on this profile from Spectrum senior editor emeritus Tekla Perry.
