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- I Got Laid Off...
Happy Friday and Welcome back to… THE JAILBREAK.
(along with 650+ readers 🗝️ )
Well… It finally happened.
Yesterday, I was laid off from my Data Engineering Role at VMware…
Over the last year, VMware has been slowly acquired by hardware giant Broadcom.
And like all of Broadcom’s other acquisitions…
This one ended in blood. 🩸
I’m not sure of the exact numbers but along with myself, I believe around 15,000 other people are scheduled to be laid off too. We knew this was coming for a while based on Broadcom’s track record but it’s been a dark time for many of us.
Seriously… This was my DREAM job.
I worked harder to get this job than I’ve ever worked for ANYTHING in my life. I beat out PhDs, learned a coding language in a weekend, and spent YEARS of my life just waiting for the opportunity to be a part of it.
Yesterday was honestly devastating.
BUT, I’m a believer in the stoic philosophy that reads as follows:
I swear it’s somewhere in Meditations
Seriously though, I don’t want to waste any time here feeling sorry for myself or acting like this is a setback instead of an opportunity.
I’m going to be fine.
Because I don’t trust companies and because I believe employment ≠ security, I’ve taken measures to protect myself from the immediate financial harm of losing my job.
3 months runway already set aside
2 months of pay via WARN Act
2 months severance
Reno rent prices (thank fucking christ)
3 years building socials and a kickass network
Funny enough, on Day 1 of Unemployment I signed a brand deal to create a YouTube video for a company that’s going to pay more than my rate as a data engineer. 🤯 (Excited to share it with y’all in a few days!)
AND I just hit an all-time high for views on my channel:
If there was ever a time to fully commit to building my own thing…
Now’s the time.
And with that being said…
The Friday post of The Jailbreak will now be exclusively for premium members. Everyone will still get a banger post about how to unlock freedom and success in the digital age EVERY TUESDAY…
But the select few who choose to support me will get an even more unfiltered, alpha-packed, no-holds-barred newsletter every single Friday. 🔓️❤️🔥
I run this newsletter COMPLETELY SOLO with a full-time job…
Imagine how kickass it’s going to be now that I’m NOT spending 8 hours a day building someone else’s dream.
If you want to support mine, click here.
(I won’t let you down.)
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Thanks for reading another issue of THE JAILBREAK!
See you Friday in the very first members-only issue,
- Jack Ross ✌️
Jack Ross (Data Engineer, Writer, Nomad)