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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How certain are you that he would be laid off?  And how realistic are these other jobs?

If it is unknown, I’d say that he’s just using the other ideas as a coping mechanism.  He doesn’t want to restart his career elsewhere.

My wife and I had a conversation with our extended families when everything with DOGE was really uncertain for my agency.  Her thought was that my skills would translate well elsewhere and I’d certainly find a job.  I think the opposite - my career is extremely niche and employers aren’t looking for “skills”, they want experience and results.  So, your view on what might be possible for him may be optimistic in this white collar environment.[/quote]

This. I had plans B, C, and D, and they're all in the trash because my entire field is being decimated (not just RIFs but also cuts to research grants, contracts, etc). Everyone has hiring freezes. I don't think it's going to be a quick transition to another similarly paid white collar job. It's going to be a long period of unemployment, networking, etc and possibly starting a whole new career or retraining in my 40s. The best prep I can do is save as much as possible, use our health insurance and FSA benefits, etc to survive that. It would be unrealistic for my spouse to assume I can quickly get an equivalent position elsewhere.

Not to mention that you can't really put Plan B in motion until you're ready to jump. I realized this when applying and had one interview this spring in anticipation of RIFs - I'm not ready to go voluntarily. They are going to have to make me leave. So yes, I fantasize about a part time creative business that I'll start while driving school busses or whatever, because I'm not going to let myself out this door, which seriously pursuing an alternate plan would require. 
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