Returning after layoff. US to India
I wanted to write this out to process my thoughts and hopefully get some practical perspective from anyone who has walked a similar path.
I was working in a good job on H1B and was laid off. Have been searching for jobs since then and it has been never ending. I have decided to call it quits and return shortly
Got close to getting an offer at MAANG but fumbled it. Amidst this chaos, marriage engagement broke as I was planning to return to India(ex family is in India but could not give up on the American dream). Gradually, the circle that trusted me is giving up. Have my back against the wall in terms of an emotional support.
However, personally have not lost all hope rather trying my best and keeping my hopes high. Still believe that it is for better and may be things are going to work out for better in India. On the flip side of it, there was always an air of loneliness here in the US and the visa stress was always pressing in the back of my mind even when I had a job. But, there are times where I can't help but think if I was too rigid. I always searched for full-time roles but feel like I did not act smart to switch to consultancies or an F-1 CPT program.
When I was at cross roads few months back, my thoughts were like if I switch to F1 CPT I am going to get more time but the job search phase will look the same, likewise I did not prefer running fake payrolls and stuff to stick with a consultancy to get an offer. Switched to B2 and now kind of near the end of the road.
Decision has been made, as much as I feel like I can face it and get out this, there is a quite anxiety inside about how things are going to workout. The real reason for my anxiety right now is my tech background. At my previous workplace, I stayed mainly for visa constraints while my PERM was being processed, working on a heavily proprietary tech stack. There are transferable skills as a backend developer, but I am feeling low in confidence when I scroll through LinkedIn and see all these AI buzzwords and modern frameworks, I feel like I bargained my skill growth for visa stability.
And the employment gap is making this self-doubt louder. I am grinding LeetCode and System Design every day hoping to break into a solid role, but I constantly worry if real job skills are becoming irrelevant. It has only been 3 years since my graduation in USA and feels like I have not made a significant progress to my career while in US and have to adapt to Indian work culture.
At times, I doubt whether I was not practical enough. Appreciate any insights or advice to navigate this situation