Reaper loses his job... again (sigh)

[reaper]

Hey guys.

We have a long history here of discussing our work related woes. So, I figured I'd lay mine out again. Qualcomm has announced they will sell off or shutter their datacenter business.

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-07/qualcomm-is-said-to-plan-exit-from-server-chips-amid-cost-cuts

Sad news for me... that's my group. Dangit. So, currently, I am still working for Qualcomm and the chance of a sell-off remains. It may be that my employment continues with some new company. But I currently have no real insight on how likely that may be nor how much of the team they would hire. It may be a small percentage of the team that moves forward.

Naturally, I've started looking around while things settle out here and wow, the job market is way hotter now than it was in 2008 when this last happened to me. I have a few irons in the fire but it's mostly tentative stuff. Here's the summary:

1. Buyout - If some company buys our IP and some of the team, I may get to just move forward with little to no change in my job. It's anyone's guess who the buyers may be... latest speculation is Ampere, Cavium or Marvell.

2. Intel - They came into town and had a huge career fair. Apparently our design team is like the Ferrari of IC design and they are anxious to grab some of us. Officially they were recruiting for remote sites but unofficially, they are considering opening a site here. I talked to 2 managers with teams in MA and OR and they both seemed interested.

3. NVIDIA - They have a small team here and are looking to expand. They have also set up a huge career fair here as well. I am attending tomorrow.

4. Samsung - They have also set up a career fair. I should probably call it a networking event. Anyway, this one interests me least because they have said San Jose and Austin only. But I will likely attend anyway.

5. Intel part 2 - I submitted an application for a job in Ft. Collins at Intel and had an initial phone screening. It went very well and the HR guy told me directly that he thought I had an excellent chance of getting the job. Unusual candor.

6. Booz Allen - I have an in with Booz Allen for a job in Dayton, OH. Benefit for me is that this is where my family lives. Not sure about this job though. I know very little about it.

So, I am still looking around and stressing out. Studying for interviews, worried about moving, excited about Colorado. Hoping to stay where I am but willing to move if i have to. I wish this didn't happen. QC was kicking butt in the server space and our next chip is a BEAST. I hope it sees the light of day because it would really shake things up. I'll let you guys know if anything interesting happens.

[oldskoolboarder]

Hang in there. Semis are rough, hence why I'm trying to avoid it for v2.0 for myself. Granted, I'm a special case and have some flexibility.

Data center is a ROUGH market. Yeah, there's a huge TAM but ALL the vendors and their moms are vying for the same sockets so somebody's going to lose. That's why my last company bought Cavium, it was easier to buy themselves into the market.

Someone's bound to buy Q's group, either to buy into the market or kill a competitor. Intel is not a bad call, they will last for a while and servers are their bread and butter.

Booz Allen? As a consultant? My SIL started there and know a lot of people who used that as jumping point to do WAY more interesting things than engineering. But those in consulting do it as a jumping point to something else, not a long term thing.

Nvidia is not a bad call. They are doing gang busters and the crypto miners did them a nice little bump.

[dschroll]

Sorry to hear about the job stress reaper. It sounds like you've already got some great leads on things. However, if something doesn't work out and you need some help, give me a shout and I can reach out to some contacts I have.

[reaper]

Just a quick update:

1. I'm flying to AUS tonight for an interview at Cadence for their "FAST AE" team
2. Qualcomm decided to continue server dev and keep me on so I have a job for a while longer

I am not sure what I will do if I get an offer from Cadence. I can see benefits to staying at QC and benefits to moving to Cadence. It will be a tough decision.

[oldskoolboarder]

Australia for an interview? Would you move there?

Cadence as in Cadence Design Systems?

[reaper]

Austin. the interview is in Texas but the job is actually in Raleigh. So I wouldn’t have to move.

Yeah Cadence Design Systems. I’d be building designs for customers at the top tier companies like Apple, Qualcomm, etc. but the job seeimingly pays about 20% less than my current job. Hard to make a jump like that away from a team you love for a pay cut.

[reaper]

Interview went very well. Will likely be faced with a decision. Ugh.

[dschroll]

Glad the interview went well. Good luck with your decision. Change is always scary (especially when it involves a pay cut), but at the end of the day you will be good and still be able to take care of your family, no matter what you decide.

[dschroll]

Just checking in. What's the latest reaper?

[reaper]

Thanks for checking on me. The interview did indeed go well and the company was full of hyperbolic praise. I was a little taken aback by how much praise they showered upon me. That being said, the offer was about 15-20% lower pay than my Qualcomm job. I also found out that 50% of our team was getting laid off but I was not among them. So I was faced with the decision to stay with what feels like a dying group or go to a lower paying job. In addition to the pay, the work and team felt less tempting to me. Ultimately, I kind of felt as though I didn’t want to stay at Qualcomm or go to cadence. With that thought in mind, I decided it’d be best to stay at Qualcomm and plan my next move. So that is what I am currently doing. I am working and hoping to get an offer from Microsoft eventually. Failing that, I may try a startup company called Barefoot. If neither of those workout, I may just stay or move away to a different state. But for now, I feel like I have time to see how things pan out. Also there are rumors of Apple, amazon and others starting in the area. So something may come up at those places too.

I just feel like I’m at the prime of my career and very valued right now. I don’t want to run for the first this that comes along since I have the luxury to stay at Qualcomm and wait for something better. Hope I don’t regret that decision but it’s my direction for now.

Hope I get to report to you guys that I’m working on something cool in the in the next 6-12 months. Project now is to finish our server chip and hand it to the Chinese. That’s not a great feeling.

[oldskoolboarder]

Sounds like if you're not on the 'list' you've still got value to Q so might as well use that to your advantage. I know dschroll and reaper are in the semi industry, as was I, and it's getting rough as the market shrinks and all the 'big' guys are either buying each other or swallowing the little guys w/o a blink. I spoke w/ my circle from Marvell and after they bought Cavium, a bunch of senior Marvell people from all divisions were cut again mostly likely because of all the overlap and because of Cavium's superior data center solutions. My buddy works at Xilinx and data center is also their target, but my beef is that there is only so many sockets to win and everyone's going for the same one's, many will lose. And the big dollar wins from places like Apple, Amazon, FB, Google, etc are going away as they build their own semi expertise.

For me, I'm trying to exit semis entirely but it's not w/o risk. W/o a doubt, it's a SIGNIFICANT pay reduction to move out of semis. I'm looking at end customers and I'm expecting at least 30% to 50% cut. I'm looking also at taking my skills into SaaS and the drop off off is even worse. I'm fortunate that I can take the hit and I'd rather go into another area of expertise if it means I'll have some longevity and better job satisfaction. Semis is just a shuffling game, they all operate relatively the same way and are all fighting for the same wins. The one shining light I can see is automotive, which one of my M friends started to delve into. The problem is that many of those opportunities are in Detroit...

[reaper]

Interesting thought. I also considered dumping IC design due to the volatility. I was looking at an online masters in computer science and moving into software. But ultimately, i also faced a large pay reduction and I didn’t feel as though it was a wise choice for me. So I’m doubling down on IC design for now, planning to make a career of it, learning more and working harder. I feel like I’m ok for another 1-2 years. At that point I will either keep rolling, move to a different state with a good job or start those classes I guess. The downside with this idea is if I took the classes now, I’d be bringing in a check at the same time. But I just don’t want to spend a bunch of time and money on a direction I’m for all intents and purposes trying my best to avoid. If I knew I wanted that change it’d be different. Anyway, lots of confusing choices facing us. Best of luck with your decisions! Money on don’t everything for sure. Gotta be happy.

[oldskoolboarder]

I don't know much about the job market for the design side but there will always be a need, whether it's from the IC manufacturers or the end customers (and there are more and more of those). I don't know if the salary fluctuates on the design/engineering side as it does from the sales/operations side when transition from semis to another industry. I'm guessing it does drop but not as much. As I said, if you look at other areas like automotive or AI and combine that w/ your IC expertise, that might give you more runway vs straight IC design.

[dschroll]

I agree reaper. If you loved this new job and absolutely wanted it, then I would take the paycut and go for it. But for now you're in a relatively safe spot at Qualcomm. You have the luxury of time at this point, so definitely be picky when it comes to where you go next. No doubt something will come along that you will want and that's when you go all in. Since you're willing to relocate, you have tons of options available to you so take your time and find the perfect match.

[dschroll]

Jul 25, 2018 13:14:26 GMT -5 oldskoolboarder said:

I don't know much about the job market for the design side but there will always be a need, whether it's from the IC manufacturers or the end customers (and there are more and more of those). I don't know if the salary fluctuates on the design/engineering side as it does from the sales/operations side when transition from semis to another industry. I'm guessing it does drop but not as much. As I said, if you look at other areas like automotive or AI and combine that w/ your IC expertise, that might give you more runway vs straight IC design.

oldskool, where are things with you these days? Still searching?

[oldskoolboarder]

Jul 28, 2018 10:40:02 GMT -5 dschroll said:

Jul 25, 2018 13:14:26 GMT -5 oldskoolboarder said:

I don't know much about the job market for the design side but there will always be a need, whether it's from the IC manufacturers or the end customers (and there are more and more of those). I don't know if the salary fluctuates on the design/engineering side as it does from the sales/operations side when transition from semis to another industry. I'm guessing it does drop but not as much. As I said, if you look at other areas like automotive or AI and combine that w/ your IC expertise, that might give you more runway vs straight IC design.

oldskool, where are things with you these days? Still searching?

Me, I'm still in funemployment mode. Though I am starting to do informational interviews w/ friends/acquaintances to get a feel of companies. I want to find a company/group of people to work for, not necessarily a particular product or company.

Since Sept 2017:

1) Travelled to: Oahu for a quick trip over Veteran's weekend, Paris/Barcelona for winter break/NYE, Maui for Spring Break, Philadelphia to watch the Roots Festival w/ my kids on weekend whim, Puerto Rico to build houses for those affected by the hurricane, NYC for fun after PR, and next week Madison for the CrossFit Games. Next month, my son and I fly to Seattle for PAX 2018.

2) I've taken classes in photography and guitar. LOVED photography and thought I would love guitar but I found it surprisingly difficult. I just can't get my hands to cooperate w/ my brain on the fret.

3) I've volunteered to read weekly for 3rd graders at a underserved local school. I've also been an after school tutor for the Peninsula Boys/Girls club.

Still trying to figure out v2.0. I thought I might start my own thing but quickly realized I'm not Type A/driven enough. Now I'm looking at options that will use my support/management background in areas like Customer Success (Saas) or product/project management in any area. Met a friend at FB who works for the Oculus group to see if there might be places where I could fit. Unfortunately, for now, they are looking for people w/ experience in specific titles but who knows. I will say that walking onto that campus gives you company envy. Wed afternoon and it's packed w/ people (young/old/families of employees I assume), almost like it's Disneyland. They're all walking around picking what restaurant to eat, and the food is FREE and varied. It was livlier than Apple campus on a good day. I'm planning on more meetings, including some people from Google at some point. That scares me a little, as I know their interview process can be pretty intense and I HATE formal interviews.

I'm also considering working w/ a non-profit recruiter to see what I can find. I would like my next career to help people and the world in general. That one's also tricky because the biggest need is hiring people to assist w/ funding and I HATE begging people for money.

[dschroll]

Wow oldskool! you travel more unemployed than I do fully employed. Sounds like you're living it up. Good for you man.
I could never do that just because my stress management is so poor. I would go on a spending lockdown and basically cancel any unnecessary services we have and whatnot.

Whichever the case, if there's anything I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask. A friend of mine just got a job at Facebook (working on the Oculus team) so I can always introduce you to him if that is something you'd like to explore. He's a good guy.

[fatty]

Reaper, good luck with whatever you choose, you are in a good place as you are in demand and have a very desirable set of skills.

I feel we are all in the same kind of situation where we are looking at (or recently did something about) the next step in our careers. V2.0, as oldskool calls it.

I'm not crazy about my job, I am working a lot more from home and the job itself is getting stressful. Even after this current project finishes up early next year, with how competitive our industry is (Oil/Gas and Power) and the move to use more workforce that is outside of the US to keep us competitive, I don't see things getting much better. My plan is to be in an entirely different field in 5 years but now I'm thinking why not sooner?  Like oldskool, I want to get into something that will help people and make the world a better place.

We are finally moved in this house that we built, it has been a long and hard process but very rewarding. Still need to finish the basement and hope to get back on that in the next couple of weeks. The house is a big one, 5000 sq ft after the basement is finished, but the reason we moved and decided to build a bigger house was to have more rooms available for foster care. The goal is to have the basement finished before the end of the year to get the house inspected so we can get re-licensed to foster again. But this job, and the amount of responsibility that keeps getting added is weighing on me.

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with V2.0 of my career yet, we'll see. The focus now is to pay off this mortgage and be in a much better spot that I can make my own career decisions.

Dschroll and Usualnoise made two big moves a couple of years ago. Dschroll to Connecticut and UsualNoise to Idaho. How are things working out for you fellas? Enjoying the job? What about the area itself? I had a chance to go to Ashville, N.C. a couple of weeks ago for a visit to the Eaton Switchgear facility, really awesome city. Got to go up the Appalachian mountains and it was beautiful.

Reaper and oldskool, keep us updated on the job search. Reaper makes a great point when he says money isn't everything. Oh how my perspective has changed in the last 15-20 years. I see all of the things that oldskool has done since September and it is great. That is what I am working toward...taking in so many other experiences and enjoying the journey.

[oldskoolboarder]

fatty, those of you who go the foster care route definitely reserve your spaces in heaven.

Last week I volunteered at a summer camp for foster kids. It's a yearly run, week long camp run by a church group. My wife's on their newsletter (through a friend) and they put out the call that they needed male volunteers. I always raise my hand, every classroom/volunteer opp around here is FILLED w/ white soccer moms, so I feel that it's my duty as a man of color to show the kids there are others willing to help. Man, some of those kids have it rough. I don't know their details, but you could just tell.

My volunteering experiences DEFINITELY help put my life into perspective.

[reaper]

I just wanted to give you guys a quick update that I've settled in at Qualcomm and I am learning a bunch of new stuff. The job is going well. But my plan is to get out. I briefly mentioned Microsoft before and the opportunity is just too exciting to pass by if it comes my way. It would be on their "Cold Logic" team developing quantum computers:

www.microsoft.com/en-us/quantum/

Imagine building a computer designed to run in liquid nitrogen and solve complex issues that today's silicon would take years to solve. Imagine being part of a team that brought hardware to the world which was used to solve some crazy challenging medical problem. It just seems like one of those opportunities that comes along once in a lifetime. I don't think I could say no.

So, the the question is... how do I get in. Well, it turns out that my manager is pushing for me to get in. In addition to that, I have friends on the inside at MS pushing to get me hired and friends of friends telling them about me. I know the manager directly. So, I have many connections and they all seem positive. I think it is just a matter of time and I think that MS is getting their base set up here in RTP and letting us vest in more stock in the meantime. I could be day dreaming here. But if you asked me when this might happen, I am thinking it may be end of this year or early next year.

Of course... this could all be a pipe dream and I may have no real chance... so take this all with a grain of salt. But my current plan is to work for QC until MS comes knockin and I honestly think it will happen in < 1 year.

Thoughts?