Could you expand on this? How wide was your experience? What signs did you see of it coming? And what should you have done in your opinion to stay more employable?
i can, my job was something of a grey area skill if you will, i worked for various companies to customize or otherwise alter mobile phones for various purposes be that adding branding or apps, creating store demo units, removing sim and region locks etc
The caveat was that all this was done with no manufacturer approval, i had to be able to make any alterations without damaging the warranty of the device, there was no correct process or list of things i was or wasnt allowed to do, as long as i got the job done the how didnt matter.
this left me using all sorts of various tricks, exploits, scripts and tools to do the job, im not a great coder by any means but i know enough to get what i need done in a few languages, i also dealt with basic IT support and another random requests that came in such as data recovery (i have never had any sort of training for any of this, im entirely self taught, my skill isnt in a particular area really, its my ability to adapt and solve problems that gets me by)
The problem was i knew this job was not going to last, as the years rolled on and the security of mobile devices tightened up it became more and more difficult to achieve what was needed, the advent of efuse protection like Samsungs Knox flag made things even harder and many companies previously requiring these solutions were now having custom budget devices direct from chinese oems rather than customizing off the shelf devices from the likes of samsung or htc etc. it became clear that the job wouldnt last.
However i enjoyed what i did, so i became complacent, i just carried on doing my job ignoring the fact that it would inevitably end, i should have been preparing myself for a new career, either strengthening my coding or obtaining IT certifications, anything to ensure i was able to transition into a new industry more smoothly once the inevitable end came.
when i was finally made redundant i found myself in limbo, i lacked call center/customer service skills to get me into first line support roles usually being told i was too technical and better suited to a second line position, however having no experience in a support role i was not getting second line jobs either, usually being told "there was nothing wrong, the other candidate was just a better fit" or something similar i take this generally to mean they had time served in a previous role so were a better prospect
now after a staggering number of applications, phone screens and interviews i have given up on finding a job in IT, i can understand why few are willing to take a chance, it makes sense to take someone with time served over an unknown quantity. I know there are those who will say i just need to keep applying but eventually you have to start considering if your efforts are wasted, especially as the work gap on my CV grows larger.
almost every significant job ive gotten has been because someone took a chance on me or noticed my potential and when they did i have always excelled usually going from "the new guy" to a key player very quickly. it doesnt matter what i have to do i have an ability to get very good very quickly (likely a quirk of my autism) but this isnt something i can really demonstrate and unless potential employers go to the trouble of contacting my previous employers to confirm my claims they have little but my word to go on.
