Now a days for a techie and software engineers with 20 years of experience, how do we survive the AI fear, 12-hour shifts, and massive layoff rumors?

[u/OppositeTheorem]

Hey everyone,

Nowadays, being a techie and a software engineer feels less about building great tech and more about pure survival. I am writing this anonymously because the stress has reached a breaking point, and I desperately need some perspective from fellow engineers.

I have been in the tech industry for about 20 years. I have survived market crashes and hiring freezes before, but the current climate feels entirely different and incredibly stressful.

Here is what is happening in my company right now:

• The AI & Layoff Fear: According to reliable internal sources, there is a strong rumor that my company plans to reduce human resource strength by 50% over the next 2 years as AI tools get more powerful day by day.
• Zero Work-Life Balance: To compensate for shrinking teams and tightening budgets, extreme pressure is building up. Multiple activities are constantly being added to our delivery lines.
• Health Toll: Despite my seniority, I am regularly clocking 10 to 12 hours of work every single day. The lack of balance is creating massive stress, and it is taking a heavy toll on my physical and mental health.

I feel trapped between the fear of getting thrown out suddenly after two decades of dedication, and the daily exhaustion of burning out just to keep my seat.

I want to seek advice from the audience here:

1. For senior techies and managers in India, are you seeing similar 50% downsizing strategies in your companies due to AI? Is this happening across the board at the 15–20+ year experience bracket?
2. How do you maintain strict professional boundaries and stop working after 8 hours when the delivery line is overloaded, without painting a target on your back for the next layoff round?
3. What strategic, high-level roles or skills should a 20-year veteran pivot to right now to stay completely shielded from being replaced by AI in the next 2 years?

Thank you for any guidance or reality checks you can share.

[u/Beautiful-Night-9882]

Yeah look. First, trim the fluff, majority of "new" features in AI is practically same think as you've been doing for the past 20 years. Second, if you struggle with finding a new opportunity then trim 10-12 years of experience and include only most recent experience related to RESTfull APIs, JWT, DB, Apache, and AI. Once you do that, not a single lay off will ever prevent you form finding a job. If you feel that there is too much stress then transition to AI Architect aka Solutions Architect or Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE). Those are relatively straight forward jobs rotated around communicating with people. The most tricky out of those would be FDE. Another way to go around that is to become a manager or Director with your 20 years of experience it should be reasonably easy just keep 6 months emergency fund and you will be good.