Props to a Fellow Techie
A Surprise on my YouTube Feed
I am always impressed by social media algorithms, and one particular video produced by a new creator hit my feed. Maybe it hit yours, too! I’m humbled to admit that this particular creator doesn’t need my promotion, as he’s already gotten almost 600K views from just his inaugural video and almost 20K subscribers at the time I am writing this. All that said, given that you took an interest in my subject matter on this Substack, I thought you might like to see his video, too!
The video is by @AsianDadEnergy, who is an unnamed former big tech engineering leader. While he’s younger than I am (in his mid-forties) and didn’t focus on startups (finishing his career in big tech instead), much of his story resonated with me. Having managed his finances prudently, he accepted a voluntary termination during his company’s cutbacks to help younger and less senior coworkers avoid layoffs.
He spoke positively about his past work, acknowledged the overall goodness of his previous employer, and recognized the rewards of working with some really great people. (He also pointed out that not everyone was great!) He relished the experience of being able to travel and work with people all over the world.
Still, at the beginning of this new phase of life, he reflected on the remaining time before his teenage son leaves home, the lack of guarantee on a blissful future retirement as his wife is now suffering from a disability, and the realization that much of the technology he developed in the past may not have a broader meaning in society.
To add color to his reflections, he told a story of a coworker who died unexpectedly on the job. Despite the honor his company placed on a short remembrance, just a short time later, it was as if the coworker never existed. One of the comments I appreciated on his YouTube feed was that replacement job postings often go up faster than obituaries!
Personally, so many of these points resonated with me. I, too, have so much appreciation for the opportunity to work in tech, the companies and people I got to work with, and having the opportunity to travel internationally. Everyone who reads this Substack also knows my own personal tradeoffs associated with family, health, and purpose. I also recognized personally that after exiting the scene, everything just sort of moves on, almost as if I were never there! (No one ever reflects back on the great product roadmaps, business plans, or commercial successes. More people from my past remember karaoke nights or time after work at a bar!)
There is so much content about tech trends, new products, and even financing, but we always seem to be missing the human stories like what @AsianDadEnergy shared with us. For me, these kinds of first-person stories are what I used to like about self-publishing platforms like WordPress, Substack, and even YouTube back in the day. We’ve gotten to this place where these platforms have increasingly become places dominated by full-time or professional creators, and I really appreciate when these kinds of first-person stories can get traction!
Let me know what you think! Does this creator’s video resonate with you, too?