Was moving to Sydney the right choice?

Hey look, I knew the risks of moving to a foreign country.

But, no one really prepared me for it. Seriously!

First 3 months.

I was getting real comfy at work. Bukalapak was a good place to be. I worked on their payments system, pretty challenging yet impactful work if you ask me.

Then, they had mass layoffs.

I wasn't affected. But I was paranoid.

I started grinding for interviews. Cold applied to 10 big tech companies. 2 reached out. Both rejected.

I was tired. But wasn’t it too early to give up? Nah, I was still safe from layoffs.

I started a side-hustle.

Next 3 months.

I got into AI Automation Agencies. Think of it as a Software Development Agency except you build out AI solutions to clients.

I learned how to pick a niche, craft an offer, and collect leads. Even reached out to 21 leads through cold emails. It was fun.

I was finally less paranoid of the tech winter. No noticeable signs of another layoff. “Nah, I’m safe”.

I also met new friends. A breather, finally. We played basketball every week. Was even invited to free dinners at Google. I was having lots of fun.

Then, I got laid off.

Next 3 Months.

Had to drop my AI Automation Agency plan. I had no choice, I needed to survive.

Well, kinda. Bukalapak gave me a decent severance. I was only worried about my visa expiring …and my odds because of it.

I mean, it was still a tech winter, why would anyone spend more on a candidate that needs visa sponsorship? It’s expensive! Naturally, this placed me at the bottom of the stack.

So I started grinding for interviews again.

6-8 hours a day. I alternated between studying algorithms and system design.

I got pretty good. I was confident. I was ready for FAANG.

Well, that is, if they gave me a chance.

20 applications in total. 10 referrals. 16 rejections. 3 ghosted. 1 offer. Yes, you read that right, I only had ONE offer.

It wasn't FAANG.

Was I disappointed? Not really.

Dovetail wasn't a bad choice. They didn't have the scale I was looking for, but the product more than makes up for it. They were a SaaS tool for collecting and analyzing customer insights. Pretty neat if you want to improve your product based on customer feedback.

Would I still pursue a career at FAANG? Maybe.

I mean, that was the dream since high school. But, having experienced a layoff during this tech winter, made me think twice about my career. Am I in the right path? Am I doing this right? I don't know.

One thing’s for sure tho. I’m open to a career change. But I’ll work on it on the side first. Nothing bad with experimenting.

So, I guess, it wasn't all that bad. But it wasn't a smooth ride either.

Although things never went as planned, I'd, of course, do it all over again.

It's how we grow anyway.