u/Falken5000

Grants? Airbnbs? Second jobs? Shared accomodation? How?

I’m trying to decide whether it still makes sense to continue pursuing software development after being retrenched at the beginning of the year.

I have almost five years of professional development experience, but I’ve never really felt like a particularly strong developer. Being one of the developers who was retrenched has reinforced that feeling.

Over the past few months I’ve had very little success getting interviews, despite signing up with multiple recruiters and applying for a large number of roles.

At the same time, with the amount of discussion around AI tools, layoffs, and changes in the industry, I’m struggling to judge whether continuing to invest time in development is still the right move, or whether I should be considering a different direction.

The problem is that I’m over 40, so retraining or switching careers feels risky financially and practically.

I also have limited savings that I’m currently living off, so I need to make some kind of decision or take action soon rather than just hoping things improve on their own.

I know a lot of people are probably feeling uncertainty around the industry right now, but I’m trying to figure out what the most realistic path forward is in my situation.