
Ask HN: Should I leave my new job before layoffs start? - chigo
I&#x27;m having a bit of a dilemma about my career, and I value the advice and insights that everyone at HN provide.<p>I&#x27;m an AWS architect in a job I just started about 6 months ago. It was recently announced that the company I&#x27;m working for will be undergoing layoffs (up to 20% of the company). They made it clear all positions are in scope, even those of new employees. The catch here is that they won&#x27;t be announcing the IT layoffs until mid-February; they have started in other parts of the company, but are leaving us for the end.<p>They&#x27;ve also made it clear that the solution architecture role will be changing from specialist focus, to be entirely generalist. Meaning, rather than focusing on AWS specifically, I could be working on 3 projects at once, none of them dealing with cloud at all, and maybe even having to architect for mainframe systems. I understand the SA role is generalist, but I am trying to focus my career specifically on cloud architecture, and this is definitely not the role I was hired for.<p>So this brings me to my question:
I get a lot of inquiries about my availability for other cloud SA roles - can I start looking now and talking to these other companies, even though I&#x27;ve only been here for 6 months?
Or do I stick it out and take the risk of either getting laid off, or that I&#x27;ll end up in a role that is completely different from what I want to do?
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shams93
Yeah it's going to be harder to find another job once you are laid off. Also
unemployment tops out at 940 a month can you pay your rent on 900 a month,
unemployment hasn't been increased here since 1976 being laid off is a
disaster unless you really don't need to work to start with.

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outericky
Is this where you want to be? Are loyal to the job, value the position? Then
stick it out, understanding it will likely be tough to find a new gig. If you
don't want to be working at a place that makes you uneasy, then move on.
Control your destiny? A new employer should understand. If they are laying off
people, you and they might be best served by freeing up the capital. Could
always talk to your manager about your concerns. I'd prefer my team to come
talk to me about their concerns then holding it or jumping ship.

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ScottBurson
_Definitely_ start looking now! Good grief! It's not the slightest bit
unethical under the circumstances.

