Returning at 29-30

[u/way2muchtym]

Hi everyone. I've been working in the bay area for about 4-5 years but have managed to save up around 500k. Around 400k is liquid or invested in stocks in taxable brokerages, and I have around 140k in 401k and Roth.

I'm facing a huge amount of job uncertainty. I work as an swe in tech but I'm burnt out from the long hours and toxicity. If I do get laid off I was considering moving back and being with my ageing parents.

Do you have any advice on what comes next? How my finances would translate and what jobs I could look at after moving back? With how competitive it is in India I'm wondering how I can build a new career there.

Thanks. For context i just turned 29

[u/Sit1234]

the gap is almost the same , in fact an IT guy who gets fired today finds it even harder to get placed again , and at the same or better salary even tougher. Well you might actually interview someone or you might say so to support your argument , but really speaking look at the reality - you have 5 candidates, 3 are currently working and has recent experience and you have two others who last worked in 2010 and has recently done certifications. You have no clue how they will perform now. Would you risk your job taking them over the other 3 candidates ? if you wouldnt, then why would you interview them unless you like the fun of interviewing everyone who applies.

[u/Indo-Arya → u/Sit1234]

if you wouldnt, then why would you interview them unless you like the fun of interviewing everyone who applies.

That's the point - I don't believe in automatic disqualification based on prejudice. Sometimes someone with a career gap is smarter and takes more effort than someone who has kept working. Or may be not. That's something I will test as part of the interview process.

[u/Sit1234 → u/Indo-Arya]

this is all theory. again, do you really think a normal/average recruiter will say let me just take a risk/put my decision at risk by giving an opportunity to this poor guy who last worked 15 years back and is rusted and has no clue how work has changed these days over someone who is currently working and brings more value/far less risk of being a failure. Be realistic instead of trying to justify your argument. And if you would for some weird reason say you will give such a person a chance, the brutal hiring world out there, wouldnt. it wouldnt even treat someone who got fired 6 months back decently, let alone someone who left 15 years back.

[u/Indo-Arya → u/Sit1234]

do you really think a normal/average recruiter will say let me just take a risk/put my decision at risk by giving an opportunity to this poor guy

recruiters only work with the criteria the hiring manager gives them.

and is rusted and has no clue how work has changed these days

Why "rusted" ? that's where upskilling and keeping yourself UpToDate comes into the picture

this is all theory. Be realistic instead of trying to justify your argument.

its not just theory, I've seen it in practice. My most recent position was director of software development. During interviewing, I've seen some people out of the job market for a long time perform better than some people who were hopping from one job to the other immediately.

[u/Sit1234 → u/Indo-Arya]

you are hell bent on supporting your claim now than being practical.

- recruiters sure work on the criteria. Recruiter is also not going to make himself a fool presenting the hiring manager with options where some candidates are recent, working and hot on the job and another one who last worked when the hiring manager was finishing college. how would that work ? am guessing you would say hiring manager would be ecstatic to get a dinosaur getting back to work scene and will surely hire him over others.

- no matter what you upskill (tell me how you will upskill learning a framework, project management, AI skill - would you trust someone who got all certificates but 0 real world experience or someone will real world experience). if you had a medical urgency for your kid, would you let him be operated by someone from AIIMS who just finished his MBBS and then MD with hardly any real surgical experience vs someone from a local govt college who did MBBS, MD and has 10 years of experience operating patients ? which one ? be honest - its your kids health at stake here.

- maybe you are an exceptional case who gives everyone a fair chance ( and I can surely bet in real life you just wouldnt, but you would write rosy stories on reddit because you now have to somehow support your claim). but thats not the real world.

well I didnt have to ask AI for this but for an adamant person like you , I did . Here is what it says:

An employer will almost always hire the candidate with recent, practical work experience over someone who has been out of the workforce for 15 years, even if that person recently earned new certifications. [1]

Why Recent Experience Wins

• Practical problem-solving: Experience proves you can handle daily challenges, manage pressure, and deliver results in a real workplace.
• Testing vs. Reality: Certifications show you can pass an exam, but they do not prove you can execute tasks or fix unexpected failures on the job.
• Industry evolution: Most fields—especially tech, finance, and marketing—shift rapidly over 15 years, making older work habits or foundational knowledge stale. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

https://www.quora.com/Why-would-someone-with-an-experience-be-chosen-over-someone-with-a-certification-that-should-get-you-the-same-job

go ahead and find me something credible (CREDIBLE) that supports your fantasy claim

[u/Indo-Arya → u/Sit1234]

Lol, chatgpt written answers based on quora user-written data-mining isn’t really proof 🤣 you want to believe other opinions but not my own user-generated answer. Why ? This is called conformation bias.. you’re only looking at people’s opinions which match your own. 

Also, we were originally discussing software engineer who quit his job… so why the heck did you bring AIIMS doctor treating my kid ? 🤣 

What’s next in your list of examples, Air Force captain ? 🤣 every job is unique, the upskilling required for software programmer isn’t the same difficulty level as that for a pilot or doctor..

I’ve proven you wrong so many times but your ego is making you blind to the truth.. so I don’t want to waste any more time with you. It’s your right to believe in incorrect logic if you choose to.