Peppy Sparrow asked
answered 5h ago
Hey phillip, i have been in industry since past 6-7 years, promoted from SD1 - EM managing two teams atm working at a we’ll reputed ecommerce company in UAE . But due to the AI hype there is kinda chaos everywhere on cost cutting, etc + my in personal life new responsibilities are kinda starting like having baby in next 5-6 months .
I dont know what i should focus on next since the whole career ladder path I feel kinda not looks that promising, i want to kinda grow the skills and expertise to upskill myself + have solid buffer for my family incase of layoffs etc, incase i have to see such and reason will be me wanting to take break.
But due to limited opportunities in the middleeast atm etc how should i plan my future and future of my family which is dependent on me .
I have very strong position tough at my company due to the efforts i put till now but i consider all us in tech replaceble and with this ai hype the bar is raised a lot ?
Philip's answer
It's a time of nearly unprecedented change, in the same order of magnitude as the internet revolution except with a compressed timeline.
In times of rapid change, projecting far is a fool's errand. Instead, those who change and adapt quickly end up being most successful. So by far the most important thing is to be ready to change with circumstances, and not to get stuck for classic reasons (e.g. risk aversion, sunk cost).
Congratulations on the upcoming baby! That's especially a time when it might pay off not to change too many variables at once. Given your current job is good (despite the uncertainty), there's an argument for spending way below your means and saving up, in order to be ready to make changes (whether by choice or by outside force).
I don't know where AI is going, and I especially don't know how the Middle East will fare compared with other locales. But my advice about periods of rapid change should apply equally despite.