What to Do After Losing Your Job Amidst a Pandemic

By Artur Meyster, Career Karma

Losing your job at any point in time can be an extremely worrisome experience, especially so during a pandemic such as Covid-19. Rest assured, however, that you are not alone in your experience and that millions of Americans have found themselves in your same exact shoes. Your job loss was likely no fault of your own, but rather due to the onset of remote work and the cutting of many jobs on various companies’ payrolls.

Take Coding Classes

Feel free to take up a part-time job while you search for full-time job opportunities. However, while you do this, consider taking coding classes. This is a skill that has emerged in the last decade and spurred the creation of numerous jobs in the tech field. Overall, the number of jobs strictly based on coding is seeing a decline in favor of coding being a required skill for employees.

As the number of tech jobs continues to increase, having knowledge of coding could be beneficial down the line. To that point, taking online classes with a highly rated coding bootcamp may help you develop the skills needed to pursue a new career in such a field. 

As the market begins to be saturated by people boasting skills with coding languages, it will become harder to stand out.  Due to this, learning how to code now, while you have extra time on your hands may be the best course of action as you continue your job search. Keep in mind that coding is difficult to learn, but certainly not impossible and the rewards are more than worth it.

Consider Attending a Trade School

On the same line of thought as learning to code, it could prove beneficial to attend an online trade school. Regardless of whether you love or hate technology, it is beginning to dominate the workforce. Using your job loss due to Covid-19 as an excuse to get involved with a tech career is one of the smartest actions you can take now.

Trade schools such as General Assembly offer courses ranging from UX design to in-depth courses such as software development. The choice of career is yours and you would receive industry mentorship that can further your development in the new career. Trade school attendance has risen in recent years as more and more people became aware of its existence.

Additionally, some trade schools are willing to defer tuition until you are able to pay, which means you don’t have to shed some of your precious savings on education until you are capable of doing so. Consider enrolling in some of the top online trade schools to begin a new career in tech today.

Study Technology

A more general course of action that you can take today is to pursue any knowledge of technology that you can get your hands on. Technology is an extensive subject, but gaining some information about the most prominent fields can help you to get a leg up on the future competition.

It is difficult to train employees completely, whereas training employees who have some background knowledge of a field is cheaper and easier. Try to learn the basic differences between major fields, such as computer science vs. computer engineering. All fields of tech range in complexity, but learning to understand their functions and the skills needed to successfully enter those fields can help you today.

Conclusion

Regardless of whether the world is in a pandemic or not, using a job loss as an opportunity to grow and evolve is always beneficial. The skills you have now won’t be applicable forever, and taking some introspective time to develop on those skills can make you an asset in the future. Additionally, being proactive in predicting the future of the workforce can help you avoid being shoved out due to another period of disruption.

As the future draws nearer, more opportunities will begin to open up as the pandemic settles. In fact, Market Watch covered how nearly 50 percent of the jobs lost due to Covid-19 have been recovered. With that said, jumping straight back into the workforce may not be the best idea immediately after losing your job. Instead, taking this time to evaluate your career path and focus on your skills may be prudent.