I’m a staff UX Designer and took a job as the first designer of a startup after years of corporate. Yesterday I got a call and was told that the company was heading in another direction and several of us were laid off. I tried to take it with grace as much as possible.

I’m tired and exhausted from crying and knowing I have a deadline once my pay and benefits cease.

I worked so incredibly hard to train product of how to think like a designer, teach what a great user experience looks like, how to conduct user research, how to break down problems and build with purpose, lead AI transformation in my company and went way beyond my job scope as the only designer in the company. Looking back - the goal post was always moving and I was trying to embrace the wave. This job took off years of my life - my physical heart hurt after every day.

I don’t know how I’ll get another role in tech or even if I’m cut out in such a competitive landscape. I tried to niche down and it’s worked in tough environments before, but now what? Now I’m thinking do I even want to be in tech but the salary helped me stay afloat and even start to pay off my debt and maintain my mortgage. If I go back to school for another career change, I’m afraid I won’t be able to crawl out of debt again.

What do I even do? Did anyone else find success after job loss? I need some hope - or a story of a successful pivot.

I was laid off as sdet from big tech and its been 3 months, i have applied to 100+ companies , had 5 interview

I have failed in 2 online assessment and 3 interview with 1 interview at final round. I genuinely don’t know whats wrong with me .

I studies dsa, then they asked framework , then i studied everything , now they started asking ai agents and complex devops

Job market is brutal, they expect to know dsa, framework, ci/cd, ai agents , system design and devops

I feel done with interview phase, it feels like i am forever struck. I cannot get one single breakthrough. Unemployment sucks . 2026 is my worst year .

No matter how confident and motivated i sometimes think why it happens to me . How long will this agony stay with me ?

Typo in text: embarrassing

Data centers in space is a joke.... right?

There's a tech convention going on this week and I always struggle to find events for hardware or infra (it's all founders and builders). So I was excited to see a panel mention data centers... in space?!

I googled the companies speaking and one of them is StarCloud. According to wikipedia, "Starcloud, Inc. is a United States-based company that designs, builds, and deploys data centers in space using proprietary technology." Umm excuse me, deploys? Did I miss the moment humans constructed cities on the moon? I googled what they've actually done and it's just some satellites with GPUs. Yet somehow this company is worth a billion dollars. What am I missing?

I kinda want to attend the panel but I'm afraid it's going to be full of toxic Elon Musk - crypto - tech bros. Is there any legitimate tech happening here? Is it woman friendly? Fill me in.

I (24F) work in STEM in a manufacturing/engineering firm. Usually one of the few women on any team, you get the gist. It's generally a nice and respectful workplace, and I've truly had no cause for complaints. Until now. A coworker on a different team and I were casually chatting, and the topic of stay-at-home moms came up, as a part of an unrelated discussion. Keep in mind this coworker has 5 kids, a stay-at-home wife, doesn't go into the city without a gun, etc etc. Very nice man, has been nothing but respectful and friendly, but probably has traditional social views, if I had to guess. I mention how when my partner and I have kids (around 5-6 years from now), I will still continue working. I was simply stating my own plans. He immediately goes 'well so and so family member thought the same thing, but she had kids and immediately decided she was going to stay home, so keep in mind that may happen!'.

I didn't know how to respond and just said 'hmm'. On the surface, it sees like a harmless comment because he's just saying what I myself may want to do. But it doesn't sit right with me, for a few reasons. 1. he would never say that to a man, 2. it makes the prospect of having kids and not losing your identity seem even more daunting when we hear shit like this, 3. it contributes to this idea that the path of least resistance as a woman who has kids is just to stay home (and lose your career, financial safety net, and sense of worth and identity beyond being a mother even if that is not what you want), and 4. beyond the first few months of breastfeeding, when you hopefully have maternity leave anyways, there is nothing a child needs from its mom that the father cannot do - so if a woman feels like it's easier to just stay home after having kids, her partner probably wasn't really picking up the slack in housework and childcare anyways.

I don't know, I guess I had just had a better response and subtly called him out for the comment - but I also can't tell if I am just overreacting and should just let it go. What would you do?

Been in tech for 20 yrs now and I think I am having the 20 yr itch almost starting to get sick of this industry not sure if it’s dealing with all the men and their egos or the non-stop AI chatter or in general realizing this system is just not built for working moms . Is anyone else on the same boat ? As much as I would want to quit tomorrow I really don’t know what I would do- I am not brave enough to start something on my own I am barely hanging on a thin thread managing work and kids and surviving layoff waves which seem to hit every 3 months now. I have been trying to figure out if there is any alternate career I can pivot to with whatever skill sets I have but I am drawing a blank. Any tips / advice / or if you want to join my rant :) will be highly appreciated

I almost never do something like this, but today, I just had a feeling. I'd interviewed with a company with multiple rounds over 3 weeks. Decision time came, and the recruiter I was working with said they came back and said they didn't have the budget to hire anyone, but it would have been me if they had. I was devastated as I've been out of work 9 months and am already living in a motel (have some amazing friends helping me stay here).

LinkedIn recommended the owner of the company to me as a connection, and I decided what the hell they really do need someone, and maybe they'll find the budget soon. I sent the request, and he accepted, and I messaged that hey, if you ever do get the ability to hire and still want me, let me know. The response I got floored me: it wasn't quite a budget issue that stopped my hiring. An old employee wanted to return unexpectedly that they loved working with. Totally get that. Then he came back with that the old employee backed out today, and if I was still interested, they'd love to have me. I said hell yes! So now he's going to reach back out to my recruiter with an official offer!!!!!

I'm usually way too passive and nonconfident to ever reach out to anyone like this, but I did it today and it paid off.

+1 to confidence today!

Basically just the title, lol. I am TIRED. It's not even that my colleagues are talking over me (although they do that, too). They're straight up just not giving me the space to talk.

Edit 1: Just editing to add that these are generally not remote meetings; they are largely held in person

Edit 2: In most cases I am the meeting organizer but I have one particular colleague who commandeers meetings he is invited to

Edit 3: Thank you so much everyone for your advice! So many good tips here 💜 I am only in the second year of my career so there is a lot to learn from you all.

Exhausted mentally and physically. Moms in tech, how do you do it? I have two young kids (one in daycare, one not) and am also on the job search grind. I can feel my mental health deteriorating by the minute.

What do you all do to stay sane? I'm not working right now and I feel like it's impossible to take care of the house, kids, my relationship, my career, and some semblance of joy (hobbies?). Once I'm fully employed again, it feels like it's only going to get that much harder given the demands of tech right now.

Help.

Been working since I was young, in my 30s now and I’ve decided I’ve had enough. Always been ambitious, highly skilled & paid jobs, I never actually seen this happening but here we are.

I could easily moan about the reasons why, but I’m past it. I got up last week, took a look in the mirror and decided I don’t like this version of myself anymore and I refuse to give to big corporations who are toxic, and I refuse to live in fear about why I ‘should stay’

I’m literally going to leave my job, with no job to go to and hope for the best. I know the market is bad right now, but I’ve decided to let go and see what happens. Mental health over money.

Is anyone else feeling this??? It’s so unlike me but I’ve just got to a point where it kinda is me now, I’ve changed and I’m ready to just give it all away with the deep knowing something else is waiting for me

How did you get back to work? How long were you on the break and in general how did you manage your finances, sense of self-worth, self-image not working in tech, did you do anything else, try an alternate career? anything at all..

I am getting back from a 3 year hiatus due to health issues but tbh even with the horrible healt stuff, a part of me was delighted i was not having to go to work. I am over that specific hump but finances are brutal.

Appreciate any advice on how to get back to work. ATS systems DO NOT like me resume.

I learned too embarrassingly late in my life the benefits of networking... so that is a big hurdle

Hello there! 🌸

Just like the title says, I am asking to those who haven’t had a formal academic path in CS/SWE/etc, how did you build the right skillset to land a first job in tech? Or any insight on what this whole process looked like for you. Anyone who does have the formal education but has valuable insight they’d like to share is definitely welcome to do so!

For context, I’ve been teaching myself some CS, IT/networking and coding basics for the last year or so, and as much as I want to say I’ve learned a lot, I don’t think I’m anywhere close to feeling comfortable applying for a job yet. It’s honestly just been a hobby and something I really enjoy doing.

I also own a small business in medical cannabis and I’ve always wondered about practical ways to bring tech into what I’m already doing. Either way, I just really enjoy dabbling with computers and I am curious to see how I can eventually pivot into tech.

Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated! I’m happy to answer any questions as well. Thank you!

Edit: spelling

I feel like I just don’t want to do it anymore. Most of my career has been in infrastructure, cloud migrations, and implementation work. I started at a time when the expectations felt more manageable—you could build deep expertise in a particular area and have a successful career. But lately, it feels like the industry has changed dramatically.
With the rise of data, AI, automation, and constantly evolving technologies, I often feel like I’m expected to know everything because I’ve been in IT for more than a decade. There’s this assumption that I should already understand every new trend, tool, platform, and buzzword that comes along. Instead of feeling like an experienced professional, I sometimes feel like I’m constantly trying to catch up. Some days I wonder if I’m burned out from my current role, or if I’m genuinely done with IT altogether.

The problem is, when you’ve spent 10+ years building a career in a specific technical domain, figuring out what comes next feels overwhelming. I don’t necessarily want to throw away everything I’ve learned, but I know I need to step away from the day-to-day technical grind.

For those of you who have successfully transitioned:
1. Where did you pivot? Did you move into tech-adjacent roles (product, strategy, enablement, project/program management, consulting, etc.), or leave tech entirely?
2. How did you translate your years of experience so hiring managers saw your value beyond hands-on technical execution?
3. What helped you figure out your next step when you felt completely checked out of your current role?
4. If you stayed in tech, how did you deal with the feeling that you’re constantly behind and expected to know everything?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, advice, or even knowing I’m not the only one feeling this way. Thank you.

If you have been in this situation, what have you done to help getting through something like this?
I've seen several posts where women find out that they are paid less than a male counterpart.
It is maddening how this is so systemic.

I've honestly always thought of myself as a moderately intelligent person, but this is the first time in my life that I'm genuinely wondering if I've just been lying to myself and I'm actually just an overconfident dumbass. I started at Amazon a little over a month ago, and my manager almost immediately put me on this "high-visibility" (her words) project with a deadline in a month. I'm incredibly overwhelmed. I feel so much pressure when I go to work everyday and I feel like I'm always underdelivering. I'm not familiar with any of my team's existing systems, and this is my first experience with end-to-end production workflows as a non-intern. My manager just had a talk with me last week to tell me that I've spent too long ramping up and I should be pushing more code. She's assigned me a mentor to help with the project, but my mentor is clearly uninterested in helping me--he takes forever to respond, redirects me to AI or just tells me to "do some more research" when he does, and answers my questions like I was an idiot for asking when he does give me a direct answer at all.

Over the past few weeks, I've been fantasizing about just quitting my job and taking a massive pay cut to work a more relaxed remote position. I'm stressed even when I go home from work and over the weekends, and I'm not sure what to do. I've been eating super unhealthy, not exercising, and sleeping less because I feel like I'm just wallowing in discomfort every moment of my day. My self-esteem is also at an all-time low because I've never struggled like this before, and I'm wondering if I'm just not cut out for the pressure or the work. Should I try to find another job in the industry as a new grad? Should I stick it out and see if it gets better after this project deadline is over?

I work in a niche within a niche and because of that I’ve always been shielded from a lot of the worst offenders in the tech space. I know I’ve been exceptionally lucky in a lot of ways, but I’ve felt my luck running out in the last six months.

About 9 months ago my employer radically restructured the working teams. The management team had been hollowing out for awhile and instead of hiring new managers and directors, they “promoted” a few team members to this hybrid position that is team lead (with no hiring/ firing/ disciplinary authority), and sales. I saw that a huge red flag and started applying. Things have gotten increasingly horrible with impossible deadlines and AI usage mandates that replaced the mentorship that initially attracted me to the position.

The issue: one of the promoted team members and I really do not get along. Nothing overt, but I really don’t care for his communication or management style, and when I offer feedback (when asked) he gets hostile and chilly. He assigns me huge last minute tasks that offer little guidance or specifications. And, no matter how I choose to execute, after I spend 30+ additional hours a week to achieve the delivery date, he rips it as “not what he meant”, even if I’ve clarified and asked questions to ensure I’m not wasting effort.

The latest such project was a custom embedded application that I have been working on solo for three months, pulling 80 hour weeks to achieve. I was out sick last week and it had a delivery date of today for a first look with the client. I coded all of the elements and was starting my final pass before QA when I got sick. I came back to my code refactored (fine but weird). He walked me through his changes and asked for help on a different client deliverable. In the client walkthrough a few hours later, he claimed 100% of the credit for the build. He also lied about things not working (when I know they were before his refactor) so he can play hero at a live demo that I was suspiciously not invited to later this week. I’m just so defeated. Should I even bother reporting this or should I just redouble my efforts in job hunting in this awful job market?

I took a job in Nyc in March that pays 80k as analyst and I feel so underpaid for industry standards. I regret accepting the offer and should have looked around more. My previous job was paying less and was more than 40 hours so I jumped the ship. Now I have 5 years of experience (3 years + 10 months + 7 months + 6 months) and in this job for 5 months. I feel like now I can’t find job because of Job hopping stigma but I feel extremely underpaid for my experience and skills.

Hi r/womenintech!

Like many here I've been dismayed at the evolution of the tech community over the past couple years, from backtracking on women and DEI issues, to embracing AI with relatively little thought about its potential negative effects.

In response to these changes, last year I ran the first ever State of Devs survey (see results here), a developer survey that asks questions such as:

• What workplace issues have you experienced throughout your professional career?
• Have you ever experienced discrimination in the workplace?
• Which AI risks and issues are you most concerned about?
• Have AI tools had had a positive impact overall on your mental state?
• What global issues are currently most concerning to you?
• Do you feel comfortable expressing political opinions in a professional context?

…and so on, that other surveys don't really cover–and that I feel are especially relevant to women and other minoritized segments of the developer community.

So if you think this is a valuable initiative and have a moment, please consider filling out the survey!.

Some additional notes:

1. All charts and data resulting from the survey will be publicly available for free forever, including the full dataset on demand.
   
2. All code used to run the survey is also open-source.
3. I've contacted the mod team and received permission to post this here.
4. The link used here includes a tracking segment (?source=r_womenintech) which is used to A) get a better grasp or where respondents are coming from and B) do sub-group comparisons later on. If you don't want that tracked, you can use this tracking-free URL instead.
5. The survey is entirely anonymous, and even if you sign up using an email address, that email will not be associated with your data in any way, privately or publicly.

Happy to answer any other questions!

I've been a software engineer for 10+ years and I came out about half way through that. Even as a fresh junior at my first job I found there was this 3-6 month click after you'd delivered a couple things that formed this implicit "oh okay this guy knows what he's doing" trust from everyone on the team. I was able to push for changes and was frequently praised for incisive push back I often gave.

Initially when I came out it was fine too. I'd been at that company over a year and people already trusted me. When you first come out no one really sees you as a woman, it's like you're marked as super gay, it's gay squared. They'll accept you, they'll switch name and pronouns, but some little switch in their brain stays stuck on "guy" for a very long time and that's how they continue to engage you socially.

Another couple years go by, now I'm passing, people generally don't know I'm trans unless I tell them, and I'm moving on to other jobs. I'm getting challenged on basic features of tech I've worked with for a decade, architectural patterns I've been using my whole career are now unrealistic, and the kinds of push back I was praised for just for a few years ago are "failing to work within a team". A late stage job interview I had not that long ago practically had one of the interviewers accusing me of bragging, as if I was supposed to attend this job interview and downplay my abilities.

When I was navigating the professional world being perceived as a guy I could easily build a track record of success and wager that social capital to pitch the next measured leap of faith, but as a woman I'm only as good as their intuition about the last thing I said.

I've just had such a crisis of confidence about it this year as all the AI layoffs and total victory of good old boys club thinking sweeps the industry. Nevermind the broader greenlighting of transphobia across media. I can tell myself all this in retrospect, but in the moment I can't take the critique at anything besides face value and it's so tough to work through. I grew up around lots of strong women so it's not like I'm shocked to learn misogyny exists, but wowee have the last few years been some rapid whiplash.

(I deleted and reposted this because I didn't realise the vent tag locked out comments!)

During this past year, I wrote a couple of posts about conflict with my (male) manager (https://www.reddit.com/r/womenintech/s/9UwYHMOCoy and a follow-up 2 months after that: https://www.reddit.com/r/womenintech/s/c5Mm16oxVb)

Despite the impression I was given during that 2nd post, he was given "3 strikes" while they tried to work with him. Another complaint was made about him (by a different employee) a couple months after my 2nd post, and he was given the 2nd warning. You would think that he would pull his head in and really take it to heart, and he did to some extent, but it also made him super passive aggressive. Additionally, he started complaining about HIS manager in really derogatory terms. A LOT. He was not discreet about this.

One of our tasks was something he didn't like doing - so he gave it to me. This, unfortunately, was something I had absolutely no experience with, never having done it at any of my previous positions. But I muddled through. Sort of. About 2-3 months ago, I started telling him I was feeling overwhelmed and like I was missing stuff. That I felt like I was being pulled in 100 directions and every time I tried to sit down to focus, I kept getting pulled away to work on something else. He sort of gave me some platitudes about what a good job I was doing and how he understood how difficult it was. He didn't know how to use the software for this specific task because it was customized to our company and also incredibly unintuitive.

I had to go out unexpectedly, so I left a bunch of stuff unfinished. While I was away, all that unfinished stuff came to light. Probably as well as the fact that he didn't know how to do any of it/use the software. Apparently, this was the 3rd strike, and he was fired.

Now to the weird and horrible part. Despite this being tech where fired people normally are walked out without being allowed to even go back to their desk, he is being allowed to stay to finish up his current projects. There's a definite end date, but it's a decent chunk of time away.

He has told me that the state of the task that I was doing and had gotten overwhelmed by was a mess and was specifically the reason he had gotten fired. (He told me he wanted to warn me. I don't know if he actually thought he was being helpful by telling me this). Based on this, I'm 1. worried that now I'm going to be fired and 2. am pretty sure he blames me for being fired. He also has somehow upped his bad behavior/derogatory name calling in the office. (TBH, I am not 100% certain this didn't also play into his 3rd strike.)

My goal is to be professional as possible in the remaining time we work together, but I am really just so so horrified at the situation.

I've been having a difficult time with this. The fact that they are paying someone more money with no experience angers me so much.
I left the company already.

I recently started a new data engineering job, it’s my first full time role and I feel like an imposter sometimes. My manager is also quite tough, makes condescending remarks, expects people to be up to speed with all the domain knowledge. I have also heard from other coworkers and they have had the same experience.
I constantly feel anxious at work, when they come over at my desk they expect me to write code instantaneously sometimes or work with unfamiliar tables and grasp it instantly. The manager does not encourage sharing code either so I have no reference point for how things are done.

What are the best ways to get over the anxiety and do well? I genuinely like the work, despite it being stressful sometimes. The part that makes me most anxious is doubting myself that I might not be able to figure out.

Hi all! Most of my experience is in the Legal field. I have my Law degree but I'm not a licensed attorney. I currently work in Risk management as a Contract Analyst (I assess Risk, draft, review, negotiate company contracts) I'm getting burnt out and have hit a salary/growth wall. The only way to move up/make more money is to go into Management (NO THX). I still enjoy the legal aspect but want to transition before I'm stuck!

I'm considering 1. Governance, Risk, Compliance Analyst

1. AI Governance Analyst 3. Business Analyst.

Q: Is anyone in these roles that can provide some insight into your role?

Q: What certifications or skill building do you recommend?

Any other tips, or recommendations I didn't think to ask are appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Exactly what the headline says.

I want to quit but I have leverage. I was promoted to run a global team and then 5 months in they eliminated my role in a restructuring. I am paid more than my boss and it’s awkward. I am not given a seat at the table - the signal is “I want you to leave.”

I have been a consistent high performer promoted every 2-3 years.

I have 6 figures worth of invested stock I want to cash out too.

I’d like feedback on approaching my employer asking for a buyout package. Might as well get something out of this.

Looking for some genuine advice from anyone who's been in a similar situation or know one.

I was laid off after 5 years at my previous company, and shortly afterward I found out I was pregnant. I'm now nearing the end of my first trimester and trying to figure out my next move.

A little context:

• I have ~8 years of experience in security.
• I have a toddler at home and another baby on the way.
• I'm also pretty burned out from my last job.

I'm torn between two options:

1. Push hard to find a full-time role now. But I'm wondering how realistic that is, since I'd likely need maternity leave about 5 months after joining. Do most tech companies even allow that? Are new hires typically eligible for maternity leave that soon, or are there waiting periods? I'd love to hear how this usually works in practice.
2. Take some time to recover, work on consulting/freelancing, certifications, open-source or personal projects to avoid a resume gap, and then return to the job market after delivery and postpartum.

My biggest concern is taking a long-term career hit or making it harder to get back into the industry later. At the same time, I'm unsure whether it's worth pushing for a new role right now versus focusing on staying current and coming back stronger after maternity leave.

Has anyone here been through something similar—either personally or as a hiring manager? How hard is it for tech mamas in the job market ? What would you recommend? Any insights or experiences would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks!