To OP, sorry you're experiencing this. If you want 1:1 help debugging your job search, feel welcome to email me directly (contact in HN bio). I probably won't be able to get to it until this weekend, but I will try to help if I can.

If you can get support, staying for a graduate degree is a time honored way of riding things out when you graduate into a recession. And if the stock charts are an indication, industry is bracing for the mother of all recessions.

I’ll echo a couple of other people who have said to network. This was many years ago, but when I was in college and applying for jobs I was getting no interest at all. No interviews… not even an email response acknowledging receiving a resume. Then a person that I knew who had graduated the previous year was at a campus event, I started talking to her, and she told me the company she worked at was hiring. I emailed the hiring manager the next day, attached a resume, mentioned the woman I was talking to. Got a call 2 days later, an interview the following week, then an offer after later.

If you're interesting in automated manufacturing, contact me at paul@neofactory.ai

Most hardtech startups dont have the same constraints as big tech in hiring. More than anything we need smart dedicated people to create the future.

Hey - I am an early employee at a well-funded (backed by top investors, Khosla, Lightspeed and others) Series A startup - we are hiring for engineers.

Pls get in touch with me asap if you are looking for a SWE position. Same for your MIT friends.

Send me an email, it's on my profile

Your future isn’t slipping away, but you’re updating your intuition. The path forward has always been there.

The system failing is the default. Allies tip the scales. You can see the board more clearly now; play accordingly

These days, applying through job portals is a losing strategy. People are overwhelmed with perfect-on-paper AI-generated applications.

Email people directly. DM them on Twitter/LinkedIn. Meet people in person.

Get a McDonald’s job. Why would you move home to an abusive environment

> If you've been through something similar—late job search success, unexpected turns that worked out, or just any advice—I’d really appreciate it.

So, I can provide my anecdote, at least. It took me the better part of a year after I graduated to find my first job. (That paid real poorly.) I lost that job after a year due to the role being eliminated and my contract not being renewed. I lost my next job at a startup after six months due to the company pivoting. I’ve been at my following job for 10+ years now.

2002 felt similar, although it was never so bad that even MIT grads had trouble finding jobs, just those of us from low tier schools.

The classmates who took non-tech jobs after graduating in 2002 never came back to the industry. They generally did alright, but taking a job outside the industry makes it really difficult to get back in. Employers expect to hire people with no experience straight out of school.

That MEng sounds like the best option to me. That was definitely the best option for my 2002 classmates.