Reflections on being laid off

I took this photo at Amicalola Falls, Georgia, USA

Working at Coherence

In September 2022, I joined a very early-stage startup called Coherence. At the time, I was their fourth hire. There were six of us, including the two co-founders. I was incredibly excited to join such an early-stage company, hoping to make a significant impact. Unfortunately, those hopes came crashing down in January 2023, some four months later, when I was suddenly laid off for reasons the co-founders would not provide.

The founder I worked closely with would not even make eye contact with me and instead read a script off-screen to tell me that I was no longer employed. I was even more shocked when he told me they only gave me two weeks of severance, so basically, one more paycheck. My wife was pregnant with our third child, and both founders knew this. The only reason offered to me was that they had decided to take my position “in another direction.” At the time, the company had a mere four customers, only one of which was paying us a measly $300 a month. So, things were not going well.

I forgive them. May God have mercy upon them.

With the help of my mother, primarily, we received enough help financially for the next couple of months while I looked for a new role. Thankfully, the CTO of Airplane reached out to me on LinkedIn and asked if I would be interested in working for them. Honestly, I was not excited about customer support, but I desperately needed a paycheck and health insurance. Having a baby is not cheap, after all. By the grace of God, I was offered a position at Airplane as their Solutions Engineer.

Working at Airplane

While at Airplane, my day-to-day work was incredibly stressful, but I was thankful to be working. I had the tremendous honor and privilege of working with some of the kindest and most talented engineers I have ever worked with.

Then, in late 2023, it was announced that Airtable had acquired Airplane and would close permanently, effective January 5, 2024. I took the severance package because Airtable, at the time, preferred working in person in either San Francisco or New York. Living in Philadelphia, I was unable and unwilling to relocate with my wife and three children. This time, the severance package was quite generous and offered about three to four months of living expenses if only I could cut down my spending at Chick-fil-A. I do love me some Chick-fil-A.

Setbacks and false promises

I naively assumed I would get a new job rather quickly, maybe in just a couple of months, like last time, but that has not been the case. Early on, I interviewed with a company, Gremlin, and had six interviews with them, including a technical take-home project. I made it to the end, where I was subsequently told they wanted someone with more experience. I am still struggling to understand why it would take a company that many interviews to determine that, but I digress.

Next, I interviewed with Digital Ocean as their Senior Developer Advocate. I also had around six interviews and a project on which I spent four full days. I was offered the job, or so I thought. They gave me a verbal offer, and we discussed salary, benefits, start date, etc. However, they rescinded their offer three weeks later because the VP of Developer Relations was leaving the company.

Back to square one again.

Christ is Sovereign

It has been a wild ride, and I have never gone this long without a job. As of May 5, 2024, I have been unemployed for four months. Despite the ups and downs, setbacks, and unprofessional behavior, Christ has been with me every step of the way. I have come to depend upon Him even more, for which I am grateful. I have learned to be patient and trust in the Lord, for His ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts like ours. He is sovereign and in control. My job is to trust Him and be as faithful as possible to Him and others.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” - Abraham Kuyper

Applying to seminary

During this time, I applied to seminary at Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA, for their Master of Divinity program. Not only was I accepted, but I was also given some incredibly generous scholarships! Praise be to God! I have wanted to attend seminary for several years now, and it is the sole reason my family and I moved to PA in the first place. It seems like the Lord is opening up the doors again for me to attend, and I sincerely hope and pray I can go in the Fall of 2024.

By God’s grace and to His glory alone.

There have been moments where I have been discouraged, angry, frustrated, and highly stressed. That is life sometimes. I know the Lord will provide for my family and me. He always has and always will.

Doxology - Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end.

Amen. Amen.