This essay is based on conversations with 33-year-old Cristina Estupiñán from New Providence, New Jersey. Her identity and background have been verified. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Boston University in January 2017. I went to college to study chemical engineering, but then took a computer science course and ended up changing my major.
After graduating, I moved to San Francisco. A friend helped me get a temporary non-technical job at a large tech company, but when that ended, I had no clear path forward. The computer science courses I took at university taught me a lot, but didn’t really prepare me for work as a software engineer.
Then another friend told me that she attended a three-month coding bootcamp and quickly found a job afterward. I decided to sign up and after I finished, I was hired by a startup as a front-end software developer. I stayed there for a few years before taking on similar positions at three other companies.
I was released in December 2024. In the past, it had never taken me longer than six weeks to find a job in software engineering. But this time it was different. Six weeks turned into six months and finally a year.
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AI overload
When I was job hunting, I noticed that every single company was some kind of AI company. Either you had to use AI as part of the work, or the product itself was AI, which was a problem for me.
I don’t think AI is needed for everything, and I’m worried about its impact on the environment. But in interviews, recruiters always asked, “What excites you about AI?” I always thought to myself: Well, I have to think of something because, to be honest, nothing about AI really excites me.
In total, I applied for more than 700 positions and made it to several final rounds, but didn’t receive any offers. I kept hearing that I wasn’t senior enough, and some companies told me mid-interview that they were going to freeze hiring.
There was a company in Europe that I interviewed with earlier this year that I really believed I would get. It was hands down the best interview I’ve ever had. I felt like I had really connected with the hiring manager, but a few days later I received an email overnight with a generic rejection message.
This email was the culmination of it all. My mental health was at an all-time low. I had gained a lot of weight and moved back home to my parents in New Jersey. I was isolated from my social network.
Career change
At this point, I was wondering if I still wanted to work in tech. My parents encouraged me to consider a career in healthcare and I did. I assumed that I might not make as much money as I would in tech, but I would probably have a more stable job, so I went for it. As soon as I made a decision, it was made. I won’t turn back.
In May, I began taking nursing courses at a local community college. Once I complete 10 required courses, I will be eligible to apply to Rutgers University’s accelerated nursing program. My ultimate goal is to become a psychiatric nurse and have a private practice.
I now work part-time in retail and things are going great. Since I have never worked in the service sector before, I am gaining skills in dealing with customers. I’m also more active because I’m on my feet a lot. I really like the people I work with.
Starting a new career at 33 isn’t easy, but I felt like I had no other choice. It’s a little difficult to take a look at LinkedIn because all my contacts are tech people and sometimes I feel like I’m missing something. They do all this cool technical stuff and that’s not really my life anymore.
However, I don’t regret my decision. When I think about becoming a psychiatric nurse, I get excited. I have a lot of experience dealing with my own mental health issues. The knowledge that I can help people in the future motivates me.
https://www.businessinsider.com/layoff-ai-drove-software-engineer-to-pursue-nursing-2026-7
