Ryan Bigg reflects on applying to hundreds of tech roles after years in the industry, the mismatch between experience and current hiring, and deciding to look beyond tech for what’s next.
Leaving Tech
I’ve now applied for over 3 dozen jobs and I’ve heard back from 24 of them with a rejection. This tech market at the moment is so very cooked and for that reason I’m stepping away from tech.
I’ve been a developer for 20 years across more than just the Ruby and JavaScript that I’m known for. I’ve written books about programming, I’ve given talks and I’ve ran events. I maintain two of the most downloaded Ruby packages. And yes, I delivered the fuck out of value for shareholders. I also grew a team from 2 people to 12 people at my last job.
I cannot continue to put myself through this process of rejection. It is causing me a great deal of mental harm and anguish.
The industry at the moment wants people who know how to use AI to further the business goals but here’s the thing nobody wants to admit: not one person knows how to use AI to actually do that. I use it to write a lot of my code and then I critically review that code before it reaches production.
My life is based here in Warrnambool and I choose to work remotely from here. Hybrid is infeasible even if it were in Melbourne because Melbourne is 3.5hrs away on the train. I know I can work remotely effectively because I did it for the last 6 years. And I helped others adjust to that as well!
So it’s clear that there’s no room for me in tech anymore, so I’m going to chat to some people to figure out what’s next.