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Tabby Toney switched from software engineering to welding last May after an engineering layoff.
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Toney completed an accelerated welding program and quickly got a welding job in Oklahoma.
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Despite a salary drop, Toney appreciates the stability and safety of the welding industry.
This as told essay is based on a conversation with Tabby Toney, a 38-year-old welder and former software engineer in Oklahoma. It has been edited for length and clarity.
After I was laid off from my role as a software engineer last May, I was so angry at the tech industry.
I loved technology for the intellectual stimulation and creative problem-solving it provided, and I felt like this was taken away when AI started to reshape the industry and the job market. I decided to take a month off before looking for my next role.
During my break, I borrowed some of my family’s welding equipment. I remember as a kid running around my grandpa’s garage and him and my dad doing a lot of it. I was surprised how much I liked it. I didn’t want to start over in a new industry, but with constant layoffs in the tech field, I didn’t feel like I was leaving anything stable.
I am now a full-time welder. I no longer have that constant fear about my job security, and that has been the most peaceful aspect of this industry change.
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I went from being laid off to a new career faster than I expected
When I decided to pivot, I started working on some welding projects for friends and started looking for a welding class to enroll in.
I have signed up for multiple trading programs. Some are first come, first served; the school I ended up attending required an essay explaining why we wanted to go into welding, which was used to determine admission.
In August, I was offered a spot in an accelerated adult welding program. It was 40 hours a week for five months, which isn’t long at all to learn everything, but it was designed to get us up to speed quickly. The other welding program at my school was not an accelerated program and lasted two years.
The costs were surprisingly low. Originally it was about $3,000 for the entire program, but some companies donate for non-traditional students, and I had scholarships.
My school helped me find a job after I graduated
My school worked with local companies to prepare us for the job market, and sometimes those companies hired people directly from our school, which is how I got my current job. We had trial interviews with them and talked to them about what it’s like to work there.
After meeting my current company during my course, they contacted me, I went through an official interview process and was hired.
I completed my program in mid-December and started working the first week of January. I was surprised how quickly that happened as I was preparing for a job search.
My daily work as a welder is nothing like engineering – and I love it
My job is to add attachments, such as ladder clips, to utility poles. I work twelve hours a day, three days a week, then I have four days off.
At the start of my shift, I’m given blueprints and my assigned pole, and I work on it until I’m done. Sometimes a job only takes one day, but that depends: if a post has more than 100 attachments, it could take several days.
It’s been a huge learning curve and I didn’t think I would hate it, but the most surprising thing to me is that I actually enjoy the work and how quickly the day goes by. All the older welders were so nice and helpful.
There are days when I miss technology. Especially since the store is not climate controlled. So when it’s very cold or very hot, I miss heating and air conditioning. Other than little things like that, I’m so glad I left the industry when I did.
The hardest part was starting over with my salary
I live in Oklahoma City, where the cost of living is low. In my last software engineering job, I worked remotely and made $130,000 a year, and tech jobs in the region typically pay less than that. Welding work is usually hourly; mine is $25 an hour, so I think that’s a starting salary of $52,000 or so, which is rough.
Luckily, when I had a six-figure salary, I paid off everything I could. I know not everyone can do that, but I could see the writing on the wall indicating the direction of technology.
It also felt like a smaller pay cut because I was in school and unemployed for almost a year while I was going through this pivot, and I had a severance package that I was making for a long time.
I don’t feel the same concerns about my job security as I do in technology
At every job I had after my first tech layoff, all I could think about was how well the company was doing and whether it would implement layoffs. Even when the company was doing well, it was such a source of anxiety.
I had to stop watching the news about tech layoffs. I know people with over 20 years of experience who are now unemployed, and my husband, who is also a software engineer, has been out of a job since January. It’s crazy.
I like that now, at the start of my shifts, I can physically see how much work is coming in. I feel really lucky that everything turned out the way it did.
Do you have a story to tell about leaving the tech industry? Contact this reporter, Agnes Applegate, at [email protected].
Read the original article on Business Insider
