IRL: On the First Day of Unemployment…
Posted on December 3, 2025 by Aywren
…My company gave to me, a severance package in a tree. Well, actually in an email. Since, you know, we’ve all working from home and been quite productive over the past 5 years despite that.
So, not to belabor the tale, but yesterday, I was laid off from my tech writing job of 13 and a half years. My company was bought, and my job, along with a number of others’, was considered redundant. Even though we never had enough writers to cover the product list we kept acquiring and adding to every year.
Was my position eliminated due to AI replacement? I don’t know for sure, but I kinda don’t doubt it. AI was floating around the company more than I would have liked the past few years. I buckled down and refused to touch it for the most part, and certainly never in writing that would go to serve our clients. Our clients deserved actual human-written thought, not AI slop.
Sad For the Loss
I can’t talk a whole lot about what happened or why since I signed an agreement with my severance that I’m not allowed to discuss anything openly or to disparage the name of my employer. And I would never do that, to be honest. Because up until yesterday, I had very little to complain about during my experience working as a part of this team. I don’t regret a single day I worked, even if it ends like this.
I don’t think I ever openly talked about my place of employment, but I loved my job. I loved the people I worked with. The fact that I could write for a living, and for something I believed in, and work from home doing it – this was the most idea job in the world for me.
Sure, there were days I didn’t vibe with things. And sure, while none of us knew where this was going, sometimes the writing was on the wall in subtle ways that the company was changing. But overall, I know very well I’m going to miss the work I did and the people I worked with.
I’m Currently Secure
My situation financially has never been better. In my younger years, I struggled with debt of my own making, which I cleared through years of work and school.
Now, I no longer have debt of any kind. My house is paid for. My car is paid for. My student loans were paid off last year (partially in thanks to matching funds from my employer). Anything I charge to a credit card is fully paid off every month. Though I had major dental and hospital bills over the years, all of that is paid and taken care of.
I’ve been able to save up over the years, and while I don’t have a ton of disposable income compared to some, my needs are few, and I honestly don’t have a high cost of living. I even had a really nice 401K building up, partially in thanks to matches made by my employer.
Future Plans
I’m to get a decent severance package by the end of this month that should help support me while I’m in the middle of a job hunt. But honestly, I’m not in a rush. I decided I’m going to take this month off, try to enjoy the holidays, and even take a trip down to see Syn, my sister, and my brother-in-law.
Come the New Year, I’ll consider where to go. And it’s not going to be taking the very first thing that comes my way. I know myself too well – if I’m miserable in what I’m doing, I will quit. I have to mesh with my job to some decent extent. Sure, no job is perfect, I know that, but some jobs are better than others, and at my age, I need a strong work-life balance.
I know it’ll be hard to find something like what I had again. I might not even go back into writing. I don’t know yet. With AI out there, it’s harder and more competitive than when I was first hired on with this company almost 14 years ago.
I’ve got a lot of ducks to line up right now. I’ve already cut every subscription service that I don’t absolutely need – no, I’m not quitting FFXIV, though! I plan on sitting down and detailing out a ball-park idea of how much I spend every month on base needs and bills. I’ve got to figure out what to do for health insurance when it runs out at the end of December. I need to research unemployment and figure out how to get that ball rolling…
All of this is a new experience for me. I’ve never been down this road before. Previous jobs were all ones that I left by choice because working conditions were so bad that further enduring the job was not an option.
I’ve considered freelancing again, but I’m not sure how that works with AI out there to generate content now days. And again, I might not go back to writing. I might look into other areas as I’d really rather not need to move – I’m pretty settled here and I don’t want a house payment and moving costs to deal with.
But. I’m getting ahead of myself. I suppose that’s what this blog post was for, though. Just dumping my thoughts and ideas in one place for the moment. I do intend to document this experience and what I learn as I go through it here in my blog. So, if this isn’t the kind of thing you want to hear about – I understand.
Just know I face this like an adventure and a turning of life’s page. I’m as optimistic as I can be – a little scared and a little excited that I don’t know where things are going. I can only take the knowledge I’ve earned from my experiences and see where it leads me.
Thanks for reading!