#career

The real vulnerability in the AI‑driven shift in software engineering isn’t the 20‑something just starting out, but the 40‑year‑old already deep into their career, with a mortgage, dependants, and an identity built on years of hard‑earned expertise; juniors can pivot because a few years isn’t a career, but mid‑career engineers face an existential threat with no structured retraining path, conflicting advice about whether to re‑skill, and pressure from an industry that won’t slow down for them, even though what they uniquely bring—judgment, pattern recognition, scar tissue from failed migrations, the ability to sense risk, define success, and avoid tomorrow’s tech debt—is exactly what AI cannot replicate, because AI can generate code but cannot carry responsibility or consequences, leaving the 40‑year‑old at risk of losing the very career they spent decades building, and that is who I’m most concerned about.

I didn’t think it was possible but we are hitting new lows with AC. Never in my career at Nike has it been this bad.

How much longer can this go on?

a high-visibility internal consulting and executive ghostwriting/presentation role

Who else saw John Oliver last night?...Boy did I back the wrong horse in my career choices.

If Chevron offered another EOI tomorrow, would you take it? Include years of service and approximate career stage if you're comfortable.

I see many colleagues serving as judges, chairs, and co‑chairs at ACS and AIChE conferences. Does that actually help your XOM career ?

Yes sir. After trying other opportunities and nothing clicking, I have decided to move for the company. I hope it will be a good one for the family, as we will get a lot of social life, good housing and better opportunities than where I stay. I still got 20 years to retire. So let’s see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Ok, time to get real.

What career objective really matters? Is it only Senior Leader and Corp Leader? How can you tell who is on what path? Any milestones or roles vs age that people would look for? Any examples?

Does Executive Leader matter anymore? Is Career Objective of Chief and Sr Principal still around? Is it worth anything?

What CLs are each of these?

Anyone know about the csm role potentially getting. A recruiter reached out a buddy of mine for a one year contract as a CSM for servicenow. We’ve heard the CSM is going away?

The Bleeding Starts With the Math
BNY associates aren’t imagining the hemorrhage — the offshoring cuts to Pune, Chennai, and Wroclaw are real and accelerating. And the wound is wide open because the math is brutal. A mid-level engineer in Pune earns $10–20K a year while the same role in NYC/NJ costs $110–150K+. Senior U.S. engineers can run $285K fully loaded, compared to $28–50/hr offshore. Data analysts are 80% cheaper, project managers 79%, customer support 94%.
With numbers like that, the Executive Committee doesn’t see people — it sees savings. And when leadership smells a 7–10x cost reduction, it smells blood in the water and bonuses in their pocket-lined gills.

Where the Bleeding Hits Hardest
Tech engineering, QA, reconciliations, onboarding, client ops, shared services — these job families are already losing blood fast. Under Robin Vince, the playbook is predictable: expand India and Poland, shift repeatable U.S. work offshore, backfill optics with visa hires and state college grads, then quietly “realign” experienced U.S. roles. The wound keeps widening because the wage gap keeps widening.

What Associates Can Do to Apply Pressure and Slow the Bleeding
These aren’t magic bullets — but they are the only levers that have ever moved banks to action.

1. Document the Operational Damage
Offshoring creates errors, delays, compliance gaps, and client escalations. Document them. Quantify them. Escalate them. Executives only respond when risk and client impact outweigh cost savings.
2. Push Issues Through Risk, Audit, and Compliance
These groups have veto power. If offshoring introduces control failures, missed SLAs, or regulatory exposure, file formal issues. Cost cutting collapses fast when regulators start sniffing around.
3. Use Employee Resource Groups & HR Channels Strategically
Not for “feelings.” For retention risk, skill loss, and operational continuity. Frame it as a business problem, not a morale problem.
4. Organize Cross Team Feedback
Executives ignore individuals. They don’t ignore coordinated feedback from multiple teams showing the same failures.
5. Update Your Resume — Quietly
The wage gap (India tech ~$10–20K vs. NYC/NJ ~$110–150K) isn’t going away. BNY’s direction is clear. Your career mobility should be too.

I used to worry about losing this job all the time, but I've gradually stopped letting that control me. I've kept my resume current, built up skills outside my normal responsibilities and made sure I have options. These days I'm not trying to climb the ladder here anymore, I gave up on that. But if a layoff happens, I'll deal with it and move forward.

So what's the road map after Lumen is done laying off and restructuring the company? I'm just an IR guy and I'm not sure if I should make a dash to the fiber splicing teams and learn that - or just exit telecom all together. It seems like every week my coworkers are waiting for their name to be called for a layoff.

Ive seen several postings on the Fidelity Career's site, but dont see any requirements of years of experience , any idea what the average/expection for a principle systems analyst is? Is it greater than a senior analyst?

Will there be a career month in the USA, like India’s ICC Capability Roadshow?

I've been here for many years. I do my job well. Not "above and beyond." Not "wearing 17 hats." I mean I do the job I'm actually paid to do.

In all my years here, I've seen exactly ONE person on my team get promoted. And, they have a different job title than me. My reward for sticking around and doing my job? Same performance review every year, bonus and tiny raise. Rinse and repeat.

So at this point, I've accepted that employment here is a transaction. I sell my time and skills, they give me a paycheck and benefits. Pretty straightforward.

I don't see a promotion in my future, so I'm not really sure why I'd voluntarily take on a bunch of responsibilities outside my job description for the privilege of... getting even more responsibilities.

What I find hilarious is watching some people on my team immediately volunteer for literally anything leadership throws at them. "Can you take this on?" Absolutely. "Can you also do this other person's job?" Sure. "Can you work on this project that's completely unrelated to your role?" Of course. "Can you stay late?" Where do I sign?

And then somehow everyone acts surprised when those extra responsibilities become permanent.

A lot of these people are older, so I've genuinely wondered if this is generational. Maybe they were raised with the idea that you work hard, prove yourself, and eventually the company recognizes your loyalty.

Meanwhile, my millennial brain is sitting here thinking: You want me to do a different job? Cool. What's the new job title and compensation?

Because I've watched enough Truist "career development" to understand that "great visibility" and "opportunity to grow" are sometimes just Truist corporate-speak for congratulations, you now have more work.

Maybe I'm cynical. Maybe I'm transactional. Or maybe I've just figured out that doing 30% more work for 0% more money isn't actually a promotion.

Curious what others think. Are people from different generations really approaching work differently, or are some of us simply less willing to donate our labor outside our job description to Truist?

If you're still there, I'd start looking around now. Even if the job search goes nowhere at first, you'll be glad you didn't wait until you were desperate. And we all know more layoffs are inevitable.

Have seen so many ex-stripe employees got into Anthropic or openai but not getting luck when trying to apply.

If you get an offer while on garden leave what happens?

How high will it go? I sold most of my CVX years ago. I still have a good chunk but def not one of those all CVX EE’s. I’m mid career and already looking for the off rap. Building that 401k and pension till the next lay off. I’ve gotten nearly 20 years and this is a totally different company. Just going to take my job the best I can and ride it out as long as I can as well.

The old idea of spending your entire career at CDW doesn't make much sense anymore. This place has proven it will reorganize or eliminate your position regardless of how long you've been here. These days, switching jobs can be the fastest way to increase your salary and take on a better role. How times have changed...

I hope everyone is utilizing their quota for Astra tokens to update your resume in various formats and perhaps cover letters for specific positions to apply to right away.

I retired at 65 after 35 years, and I have absolutely no desire to go back to corporate life. At least the career gave me the financial freedom to walk away for good, which I'm not sure newer employees at Xerox will have.

I remember when getting hired here felt like a true start of a real career. You could move into different roles, get regular raises, earn promotions, and actually believe you'd have a future here. People stayed because there was something worth staying for. These days, that kind of loyalty doesn't seem to mean much to leadership.

Looking back, taking a job at Verizon is one of the few career decisions I genuinely regret. There are plenty of better places to work, so don't convince yourself this is your only option.

Pretty much exactly what the title says. I know someone who just got a bachelors in exercise science who's trying to look for a job. The Fidelity base closest to me has a gym, so I thought to refer him to a job there as a trainer. How can I do that as someone who does not work at Fidelity anymore? Are the people who work at the gym Fidelity employees themselves, or do they come in from some other way of employment? Thanks!

Columbia College Chicago has eliminated two career advisor positions as part of recent staff layoffs. The Career Center will continue to offer its full range of services to students. Leadership team members will now assist with advising, leveraging their extensive experience. While two advisors were let go, the remaining staff are trusted to support all students. The college emphasizes its commitment to student career development despite these changes.

Chicago, Illinois

https://columbiachronicle.com/campus/columbia-eliminates-two-career-advisor-positions-in-recent-staff-layoffs/

for you to wait around for things to improve. They won't.

The job market is improving. Do not wait for the company to force your hand.

Hi everyone. Chevron India is paying better and treats us much better. Apply today. They are looking to hire more of us from BTC.

https://careers.chevron.com/india

https://careers.chevron.com/location/bengaluru-jobs/35016/1269750-1267701-1277333/4

Dear Cisconians, this is the first time in my long career that I have left the company without having secured another job. The moral decline is inevitable. I was part of it; I started doing the absolute minimum and found that I could still deliver the same or better results than 90% of my colleagues. One day a manager will blabber about "Cisco Values," only to completely disregard them the next day. Good people are leaving, while the mediocre ones stay and play politics and produce AI slop. With every fu--ing layoff, more and more people start to pretending activities, commenting on tickets, pushing spreadsheets, and organizing meetings... Only a minimum number of people are getting promoted; it is a complete career disaster, and the longer you stay, the more your salary is behind the actual labor market. Good luck to you!

On an earlier thread several asked for a repost of content paraphrased below:

For a career at the company, your performance vector has to be a net positive for 20 or 30 years. You can go up and down a bit around the middle bucket and be ok as long as you work hard and are diligent and a team player.

But if you drop and stay in lowest two buckets for more than two - four assessment cycles you should be concerned over perceptions of the perceived baggage you now carry as a perceived low relative performer longer term, as the unconscious bias of your rankers is very difficult to overcome.

With that backdrop, after the 2020 8-10 % MLRP program followed by 4q20 15 % voluntary and involuntary; there is net exodus of roughly 23 - 25 percent of your peer / ranking group on gross average in many instances.

So... what this now means to you is...In 5 months from now in May 2021 there is probably to be rationally expected between another 3-10 % MLRP program on top of this reduction in 2020.

So the end result in June of 2021 is roughly 26 - 35 % of your peers in your current rank group are no longer present after next rank cycle in 2021. Probably most of them that will have left the company populating the “ni” and “good” designated lower two quintiles.

So after May 2021 the ranking system and the math both requires any remaining ”Goods” to become “NI” or “NSI” and many “very goods” have to either become “Goods” and “NI” to make the math work on the forced rankings with quintile buckets still required.

Then fast forward and replay this into May 2022 - assume no layoffs but anything between a 3-10% MLRP process consistent with what happened this year.

If you think you are “very good” now you truly really are , but in the relative world of next rank cycles, on a relative ranking basis the “very goods” must have to mostly now become mostly “NI” and a some “goods” in just less than 18 months from now.

Math and forced rankings are hard to overcome the actual reality of how the game evolves for anyone ranked less than 50% because the usual 5–7-year progression of falling to lower quintile and outcome is now accelerated in the last year by the 23-25 % real reduction that occurred this year and another 3-10% that would potentially be exposed to MLRP and PIP in May 2021.

It is brutal system when expressed mathematically.

Best of luck with all future endeavors.

Any current “very goods” please really note , you are now at best “ni” or “good” in lowest two quintiles right now today as we step into next ranking cycle.

Don’t get mad at your bosses when they tell you this, just say you are smart and understand math. Don’t make them uncomfortable personally because they also know and disagree with the math, but they can’t say they disagree with the math.

It is what it is... no use being an a..hole when everyone knows math is math.

Have a financial plan already in play and always have other options in play. There is no long term loyalty so be the boss of your own destiny.

And you must unfortunately fully understand that when you drop into the bottom 25-30 percent there is really no recovery for you to have long-term career with the company.

It is sad to have to write this guidance. It was not like this 15 years ago.

Keep technical skills current and avoid going management track where most of your technical skills will become obsolete in 2-5 years.

How can I get in the gravy train?

Starting to look heavily externally and here are some of my learnings so far.

• It’s a tough market. You better be applying to roles where it’s a 1:1, meaning you can definitely do that role or are very experienced. Unfortunately not the time for a career pivot if you’re unhappy with the work you do.

• In situations where I have successfully got an interview (3x in the last couple of years when I’ve just passively applied), I have had strong referrals.

This last one is more just something I do.

• Put yourself out there in the 3D world. Go to the career fair or external networking event. I’m willing to bet a lot of people can sympathize with the experience of working at a company with such low morale and poor leadership.

What am I missing? What would you add? I’m serious about getting the he-l out of here in the near future.

A lot of people stay in jobs they don’t enjoy because they’re financially tied to them, even if they dislike what they do every day.

Lots of friends in the tech industry. They all laugh at me when i bring up my job. I feel embarrassed.

Instead, I'm free. First time I've ever quit a job without a backup plan, but I was so done working three jobs for the pay of one. I feel lighter already.

Two years in and this has been the worst stretch of my career. Happy anniversary to me.

No Matter How Good You Are. If you are in a wrong place, you become truly worthless. Take it easy and move on. World is Big and You will win soon.
All the Best

Source: M. Gray

1. Learn Storytelling

Storytelling is the highest intangible ROI skill you can learn

Sales, hiring, marketing, it's all storytelling.

Start with basic storytelling frameworks (e.g. the Hero's Journey) and the 7 fundamental emotions.

And watch how listeners turn into believers.

1. Rethink Health

Everything changed for me when I came across Symbiotic Success:

Your health directly affects achievement, even if you can't see it.

Now I prioritize meditation, lifting weights and nutrition.

Success is a game of longevity and health is your competitive moat.

1. Work Like a Lion

Society has conditioned us to work like we're cows grazing.

Low focus.
Long hours.
Minimal output.

Instead, work less, but work like a hunting lion.

Sprint. Rest. Repeat.

1. Find Your Peak Energy State

Optimal hours, environment, and work style differ for everyone.

Keep experimenting until you find your most productive state, when you don't have to fight yourself to get stuff done.

Once you find it, energy flows where your focus will be.

1. Learn to Communicate Concisely

Most people's emails and messages are full of fluff:

'Hope you're well!'
'I just wanted to ask...'
'Could we circle back on...'

Stop.

Be concise and get to the point, your value increases with the effort your readers save.

1. Be Happy for Other People's Successes

It's a positive-sum world out there; there are 22 million millionaires in the US alone.

Recognize that one person's success isn't your failure and offer genuine congratulations.

Joy for others manifests future accolades for you.

1. Be Boring

A lot of success comes from just saying no to cheap dopamine.

And instead, focusing on the mundane:

• Maximizing sleep
• Guarding time for workouts
• Not eating out in favor of your nutritious diet

Boring's the secret the successful don’t want you to know.

Bankrupt with in a year , don't let this fail company give tunnel vision
Reinvent your self, get a better job,start a small business is a whole world out there with a better life .
Is time to fly and you know it.
Fear nothing!!
P.S. fudge flu shorts what a scam

I get it, they will not be promoted. We don’t want them over us. But that doesn't mean they have to leave. Just take the paycheck, be quiet, and don’t ask for a career. That’s not too much to ask. Like promotes like, we only promote what looks like us, sorry…