I was laid off from my FAANG SDE job last week after 3.5 years. I am 25. I was offered about 4.5 months of severance, have no dependents, and no visa issues as I am a citizen.
Now I’ve faced a decision… I expect to get an internal offer to remain at the company on a different team for the same compensation. It’s a good team, but I’m not totally pumped for the type of work I’d be doing. I can either take it and forfeit my severance or leave and either go all in on a startup idea I’ve been building (with some minor investor backing) or look externally for other jobs. It could also be a combination of the latter options if the startup is a failure.
I think I’m just looking for some encouragement to take the leap of faith. It seems like the best time to take the chance given the circumstance, but it’s tough to turn down a hefty tech offer in this market.
Firstly, entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone. I think it’s easy to see all the upside of it but really hard to grasp how gruelling it can be.
If you have the drive, ambition and the $ to carry you through while you potentially don’t make money for years, then go for it. Not saying it’ll be that tough or it’ll take that long to be revenue positive - but it’s important to consider that possibility.
With your FAANG background though, it’ll be very easy for you to jump back into the job market I would think, so you have that security.