“I had a 15-month runway. I now have one month left before I need to dip into my retirement.”

I was laid off in January 2025. I was happy to be laid off because my workplace had become intolerable after a recent merger. Financially speaking, between severance and savings, I had a 15-month runway. I now have one month left before I need to dip into my retirement. I can draw penalty-free because I’m 55, but I think of how many people are in the same boat without financial options. I realize I am very lucky.

It’s sickening how terrible the application process is—the whole system is broken. Over-reliance on AI/ATS is undoubtedly missing so many qualified applicants. While I understand that there are so many applications coming in for a single job, making it difficult for a human to look at them all, it’s still unquestionably terrible. And don’t even get me started on fake job listings.

Ideally I want to stay in software product design, but given how hard it is to get a job, ageism, and how much AI has changed the landscape, I question if there is still a place for me. I have a couple volunteer gigs, but I’m still bored out of my mind feeling like I don’t have a purpose. I’m trying to figure out what’s next if it’s not tech.