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I'm dealing with my second layoff in 3 years. I have my PhD in machine learning from top 10 university in US, MS from top university in Canada. Around 10 years of work ex mostly in research groups and startups, 10+ patents. My BS was in Lebanon (my dad worked there) and I'm of Indian origin. We visited every year and my parents moved back to India after the pandemic and live in Bangalore now. It's been a rough ride and I feel demotivated to get a job, grind for a new company, get promoted, get laid off and have no ownership of my work. I feel like my prime years are getting wasted with just a series of 9-9 jobs. There isn't really WLB in US. My partner is Indian too and grew up there. He's rocking in his career (touch wood) in FAANG with a seven figure salary. We are comfortable materially but I can't keep living with no sense of purpose. Over the last 2-4 years I've been more time in India to connect with my roots. I really want my work to have a sense of purpose. I've been mostly spending time in ashrams and sometimes with family, visiting temples, going into nature. I need recommendations on what I could do if we were to move back to India. I'm not interested in grinding for a tech company in Bangalore but using my profession in a more productive way. What are the smaller towns we could live in that are spiritual, in nature, good culture and progressive? We prefer cooler places than hot places. Are there some ideas of NGOs we could work on that would satisfy our soul and leverage our knowledge? I guess I'm done with the rat race and want to use my abilities for the greater good at this point. The corporate world and layoffs and TC grind is eating up my self confidence and soul. Partner is ok with quitting everything if I can find us something more productive to do, even though he is happy with his work etc. We are in our late 30s, early 40s and will be IVFing in the near future.
You can be a professor
Is it possible if you aren't Indian citizen?
This.
Hey ig ur done with career come back to India plan a small business and maybe become a prof in bng universities might pay you handsome Please reach out happy to help you
Come to Bengaluru
You are a puppet in hands of investors and management. Don't have any more expectations from work in the present times. There is no fulfilling career, especially after one is past 10 yoe. It just pays the bill. Wlb is India isn't great either, but you may not face frequent layoffs.
Who said u will not faced frequent layoff. Tech sector is worst here, no startup is profitable. Paytm zomato swiggy all r doing layoff ri8 now Flipkart is in loss doing layoff, don't know it's future in 2,3 yrs Even PayPal Amazon Dunzo zepto may shut down anyday.
Yes, but still better than US.
If you think USA wlb is worst don't come to India. No labour laws, hobbies, people grind 12+ even in small firms. Even u have to socialize on weekends with team members even if u dont want to You'll not get time for ashram, religious etc.
I don't want a job. I want ideas on possible NGOs I could start/ work on, or business ideas that are philanthropic and a good use of my knowledge/ skills.
How would you fund your living expenses
Having healthy kids and raising them gets harder as you age. Why wait to IVF in the future, when you can start now? IVFs can also lead to mis-carriages and complications and you may need to restart that process allover. I think you are the one picking stressful/volatile situations for your work - startups, research groups etc. You can find legacy/established companies that value WLB. My sister-in-law works in ML for IBM’s Watson (healthcare) and is super happy doing what she does (has 2 kids) and works from home. Going to India and uprooting your partner as well may seem like a noble idea because “the grass is always greener” …but its not. You will come across other issues, if you don’t know what the root cause is. US is not the problem and India will not be the solution. Late 30s is already kinda late to start kids …i would not push it off anymore …if you plan on kids My advice is to start applying to jobs more strategically, perhaps even take a paycut ..to find something that works. Having a background in ML and not finding something is kinda laughable in todays market. My friend just last month had 4 offers in ML related roles and declined all of then to stay at Amazon. Gl!
Ya that's what I was thinking. R u sure your husband wants to return to India Or he just submitted to your demands I mean coming for ashram religious things. Thats not a full time job until u want to become monk or start a spiritual institute. Grass look green doing social work but its worst shit, and you said he is killing in career so he enjoy that lifestyle. You sure about this big decision?
He is interested in spending more energy on spirituality. Also if I'm not happy he's not interested in continuing the status quo. I know I can find roles in legacy/ established companies and raise kids. I feel I have a lot of talent and energy and I want to put it to the best use in this lifetime. Raising kids in suburban america, ordering stuff on Amazon and working a 9-5 job isn't it. I want to use my energies towards a higher purpose and what's better than contributing and being in a culture that I can intuitively understand?
from everything you just said in your post, I would literally go into a gladiatorial arena and kill to have you as a business partner, coworker, subordinate, or manager, OR just as a friend It's pretty clear that you are a nice guy, which isn't necessarily a good thing, but it is on the pathway to being a really good thing. Dm me if you want some help on understanding why this has happened to you despite being a hope diamond of a person
You are too kind. :)
DMed
Also, I hope you are actively doing therapy. Layoff can take a massive toll …therapy definitely helped me cope back when i was going through a difficult time with family and work related stuff …
It's making me question everything. My purpose in life, the world order, everything. Hopefully for the good.
Perhaps start a family and you will soon seeing your life’s purpose and goals shifting. At the very least, wait till your first child is born before uprooting yourself. I had my first child when I was 30 …and now having my second at 38 (wife is 40). Your entire life axis changes with kids …not saying everyone should have kids …but if you are already planning on it i would start ASAP …IVF gets more and more complicated with age.
Hi op, I appreciate ur post and ur purpose. I am part of couple of NGOs in bangalore One is regarding mental health and other physics health care. Both are genuine institutions backed by transperent administration. I can share the details. Pls dm me if required. Thank u.
DMed
I don’t have an answer, but wanted to commend you for your clarity of thought :) Best of luck !!