u/Tight-Lifeguard-2585

I honestly don't know what to do anymore.

I'm exhausted and mentally drained.

In January 2025, my company went through layoffs. I survived that round, but my manager told me very clearly that if there was another round, I would most likely be affected. It was a small company that had never had layoffs before, so that came as a huge shock.

I rushed to find another job and managed to get one within a month. I actually had two offers. One paid more, but I chose the other because it had better growth opportunities, a stronger engineering culture, and no history of layoffs. I genuinely believed it was the safer long-term choice.

Then something completely outside my control happened. The product I had been hired to work on was suddenly outsourced. The company hired an external vendor and ended up buying their product instead. Everyone working on our product, including me, was laid off. There was nothing I could have done differently.

After that, I decided to prioritize stability over everything else. I joined one of the biggest banks in the US, thinking a large organization would finally give me some peace of mind.

Instead, since February they've been doing RIFs almost every month. Every third Monday I wake up wondering if today is the day I lose my job. And now they're reportedly planning to cut around 10% of the tech workforce.

How am I supposed to live like this?

My parents are old and financially dependent on me. We came from a very poor background, and it took years of hard work to reach this point. My elder sister will get married soon, and after that the responsibility for my family will be entirely on me.

I don't even want anything extraordinary anymore. I just want three months of certainty. Just three months where someone can tell me, "Your job is safe." That's all I'm asking for.

My resume already looks messy because of multiple short stints, all caused by circumstances outside my control. I'm scared that future employers will judge me without knowing the story.

I've reached a point where the anxiety feels unbearable. Some days I genuinely feel like ending my life because I can't see a way out of this constant uncertainty. I don't actually want to die—I just want this fear to stop. If anyone has been through something similar or has practical advice on how to cope with this, I'd really appreciate it.

TL;DR: Got laid off twice due to circumstances outside my control, joined a large bank hoping for stability, but now monthly RIF anxiety is destroying my mental health. I’m supporting dependent parents, my resume looks unstable because of short stints, and I’m desperately looking for practical advice or even just a few months of certainty.

I honestly don't know what to do anymore.

I'm exhausted and mentally drained.

In January 2025, my company went through layoffs. I survived that round, but my manager told me very clearly that if there was another round, I would most likely be affected. It was a small company that had never had layoffs before, so that came as a huge shock.

I rushed to find another job and managed to get one within a month. I actually had two offers. One paid more, but I chose the other because it had better growth opportunities, a stronger engineering culture, and no history of layoffs. I genuinely believed it was the safer long-term choice.

Then something completely outside my control happened. The product I had been hired to work on was suddenly outsourced. The company hired an external vendor and ended up buying their product instead. Everyone working on our product, including me, was laid off. There was nothing I could have done differently.

After that, I decided to prioritize stability over everything else. I joined one of the biggest banks in the US, thinking a large organization would finally give me some peace of mind.

Instead, since February they've been doing RIFs almost every month. Every third Monday I wake up wondering if today is the day I lose my job. And now they're reportedly planning to cut around 10% of the tech workforce.

How am I supposed to live like this?

My parents are old and financially dependent on me. We came from a very poor background, and it took years of hard work to reach this point. My elder sister will get married soon, and after that the responsibility for my family will be entirely on me.

I don't even want anything extraordinary anymore. I just want three months of certainty. Just three months where someone can tell me, "Your job is safe." That's all I'm asking for.

My resume already looks messy because of multiple short stints, all caused by circumstances outside my control. I'm scared that future employers will judge me without knowing the story.

I've reached a point where the anxiety feels unbearable. Some days I genuinely feel like ending my life because I can't see a way out of this constant uncertainty. I don't actually want to die—I just want this fear to stop. If anyone has been through something similar or has practical advice on how to cope with this, I'd really appreciate it.

TL;DR: Got laid off twice due to circumstances outside my control, joined a large bank hoping for stability, but now monthly RIF anxiety is destroying my mental health. I’m supporting dependent parents, my resume looks unstable because of short stints, and I’m desperately looking for practical advice or even just a few months of certainty.

Hi everyone,

I’m considering pursuing gmat for ISB and wanted honest advice from students/alumni.

My profile:

NIT grad, non-CS branch

5.5 years in backend/platform engineering

Around 6 YOE by the time I join

Currently at J.P. Morgan India

Current compensation is around ISB’s reported median package

Work mostly on backend systems, internal platforms, and data processing

I’m considering ISB to move into PM/TPM, program management, tech transformation, BFSI/fintech product, or eventually SPM-track roles.

My concern is ROI because of the high fees plus one year of opportunity cost. I had earlier heard people usually enter through GMAT, but I’m now looking at GRE as well.

Questions:

Is ISB worth it for my profile?

Do 6 YOE tech profiles realistically get PM/TPM/SPM-track roles?

Is direct SPM realistic, or should I expect PM first?

Does ISB reduce career risk in this tech layoff era, or does the same anxiety continue after MBA too?

Is GRE viewed any differently from GMAT for ISB?

Looking for brutally honest advice.

I’m a working professional and can give around 1.5 hrs/day to DSA.

I have done DSA before, but long back. I remember most basics/patterns, except I’m weak in graphs and DP.

For mediums, my approach is:

Try myself for 10 mins.

If stuck, take an intuitive hint from ChatGPT.

If still stuck by 20 mins, watch/read the solution.

Then implement it myself by 30–35 mins.

I make notes whenever I take help, especially on missed intuition, optimization, or edge cases.

For hards, I follow the same overall proportion, but I usually finish them in around 45–50 mins instead of 30–35 mins.

Is this reasonable for limited time, or am I taking hints/solutions too early? What are the drawbacks and how can I improve it?

Need some realistic advice from people already working in quant roles.

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Background:

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5+ years of SWE experience at a large financial institution

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NIT graduate (not IIT)

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Good mathematics background

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No prior quant or HFT experience

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What are my realistic chances of breaking into Quant Dev, Quant Engineering, or Quant Research roles?

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Would it make sense to first move into quant-related roles internally and then target HFTs later? What skills should I focus on most?

​

I know I'm not the typical IIT/math olympiad profile. Sometimes I feel like I'm already late to the game, but for a loser like me there's honestly nothing to lose by trying. Looking for brutally honest advice.

​

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Hi everyone,

​

I'm currently working as a SWE at J.P. Morgan and wanted to learn more about quant-related roles within the firm.

​

- Are there quant engineering/strats/quant developer roles that a regular SWE can transition into?

- Which teams or business areas typically have these opportunities?

- What skills are most important for making such a transition internally?

- Has anyone here successfully moved from a traditional SWE role to a quant-focused role?

​

My long-term goal is to gain exposure to quantitative finance and understand how such a path compares to opportunities at HFT/prop trading firms.

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Would appreciate any insights. Thanks!