A former sales engineer was laid off from his six figure job. Now he works an entry-level job for $52,000 a year. The pay cut has left him struggling.

[King Poetic]

U can survive off $52,000 a year

You have to change your lifestyle and spending habits and focus on the necessities

Your daughter can go down to the courthouse and get married and then she can take a trip elsewhere for a honeymoon

Reading this dude complaint , he lives his life to compete with bob and Susan and his peers

 

[Makavalli]

This man said he has to cut his own grass now and only has 2 cars instead of 3

Yea this is white priviledge and tears so i dont care bout the guy in the article l but that struggle is real. Many brehs i know including myself had the rug pulled from underneath our feet but thank god i got less debt than most and some savings but its still tough to deal with. People just have to adjust and be like water as Bruce Lee said.


I still remember an article that kept me grounded years ago about a man from New Rochelle that commit suicide because of the Madoff pyramid scam.

He thought he was worth about 16-17 million but after the investigation and number crunching he was barely a millionaire with something like 1.5 so the Cac had to downsize and sell 2 summer homes in jersey and florida and turn in them luxury cars etc but he was able to keep his boat. The breaking point was that he didnt qualify for the yacht club membership which i think was based on salary or some shyt so he had to get that boat out of there and did said nah fukk life.





I might sound crazy but i dont want to ever be that where im not satisfied with the simple things in life

 

[#1 pick]

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Sales Engineer Was Laid Off and Was Forced to Take an Entry-Level Job - Business Insider​

Ana Altchek

Damon Duncan, a 49-year-old former sales engineer, was laid off in 2023 and 2024 and has since taken an entry-level position with significantly less pay. Damon Duncan
This as-told-to essay is based on conversations with 49-year-old Damon Duncan, who is based in Atlanta. His identity and salary have been verified by Business Insider. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I was laid off from my job as a sales engineer in April 2023. That was the last job I had in my career field.

It's now been over two years since I worked in the technical sales field. I took a couple of related roles after my company went through a merger, but was laid off for a second time in August 2024 and was unemployed until I took a drastic step back — both in position and pay.

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I went from being a sales engineer, an architect, and an account executive to working at a consulting firm in an entry-level cold-calling job.

The majority of the people I work with are fresh out of college. When I sit with them in the common room, they're like, "This is my first big boy job fresh out of college," and I'm sitting here, almost 50 years old, with a child about to go to college.

It came with a massive pay cut​

I am now making about one-third of what I made at my sales engineering job. At my former job, my base salary was $148,000, but now it is $52,000.

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know​

The layoff cost us a lot of money, and because of it, we don't travel anymore. Our credit also took a massive hit during this time, and we weren't able to cosign on a loan for our daughter to go to college. So she decided to take a gap year and start at a local tech school while she builds up savings and credit to be able to take out loans and transfer.

We've had to cancel a lot of services. Typically, we could hire somebody to do some of the bigger things, but now I have to do them on the weekend.

So now, instead of spending my weekends with my family, I spend them fixing things around the house, like rebuilding a staircase, working on cars, painting rooms, replacing light fixtures, AC plugs, light switches, and other such projects.

We couldn't afford to fix my daughter's car, so we had to get rid of it. Now we're down to two cars instead of three. We have to carpool a lot, which isn't a big deal, but it does inconvenience us from time to time. My company also required us to be back in the office, so now I have to drive an hour to work and back. So, I'm on the road two hours a day.

It has affected my family immensely.

I no longer understand the market​

I am trying to get back into the field that supported me for the better part of 20 years, but nobody is hiring or interviewing me.

Since being laid off in 2023, I've applied to hundreds jobs. I did get one offer last year, but it was rescinded because of company changes. Other than that, I've had interviews, but I've never gotten to the acceptance round.

I still apply to anywhere between two and five jobs a day.

No matter what I do to my résumé or how much outreach I do, it feels like it doesn't matter. I've been doing everything that they tell me to do, and I might as well be throwing darts at a piece of paper, hoping they land and don't fall. I don't understand the market anymore. It doesn't make any sense.

I'm doing this job because I have bills to pay and I have to provide for a family. So, I'm kind of stuck where I am until I can hopefully find another job.

I have a feeling that people think I'm too expensive because of my experience or that I'm going to leave the minute I find something better. They don't realize that I'm applying to the job not only because it's a job in my field, but also because I see it as a possible career.

I don't need a job. I'm not 20 years old anymore. I need a career. I've got three kids, one of whom is about to go to college and two more on the way. I got my daughters' weddings to pay for in the future. I'm going to be working until I'm 80. I need a career that's stable.

There may also be some ageism at play here. But the older people have the wisdom and the experience. They're not sports bikes. They take time. And the older people like me, the Gen Xers, they're willing to be scrappy and do the work. I'm working an entry-level job and I've got 24 years of experience. If that doesn't prove how scrappy we are and how willing we are to get the job done and to work, I don't know what does.

I feel this man, pain

 

[theflyest]

I didn't even know sales engeneer was a thing.

But yeah growing up poor I'm so paranoid that I would rather save up for 10 years and buy a house/apt cash in hand rather than taking a big loan an assume I'm gonna be able to make the pay each month

Yeah I work with them they sell technical products and are the primary point of contact for their clients for all the technical questions. They make good of money.

Based on his photo, he’s going to have to completely revamp his appearance. He’s a fat piece of shyt and unfortunately for him, biases exist against fat people in the work place.

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

Man...I swear white folks don't know how to budget or struggle at all. They either paranoid about a budget, or floss and commit that once the balling is over.

Mans could easily downsize, and GASP!, have one car

 

[Marlow Stanfield]

Nobody falls off harder than sales people

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

Nobody falls off harder than sales people

Breh you have ever seen the movie Salesman

Its the most depressing movie based on struggling salemen trying to meet quota, and this was in 1969.

I tried to dip my toes in being a salesman and lasted like two days before I chucked the peace. This was during the beginning of the recession too. Folks were aggy, not wanting anything to do with what we were selling, and some potbelly cac was fitting to call the cops on me and the trainer that was schooling me.

I instantly told him I quit and ended up going to my ex house . Nerve wrecking experience.

 

[Da King]

Bootstraps

 

[King Poetic]

First off

People need to cut that I don’t need a job, i need a career line. That job is a career until u find the next job

Secondly your 49 years old, so many of these corporations are age discriminated

Is your wife working? If not she can find a job

Third.. you drive a hour to work and a hour back.. sell your house and move to something smaller and cheaper..

White Guys be ready to kill they family and themselves instead of coming back down to us so called regular folks not in the burbs

 

[UpAndComing]

I didn't even know sales engeneer was a thing.

But yeah growing up poor I'm so paranoid that I would rather save up for 10 years and buy a house/apt cash in hand rather than taking a big loan an assume I'm gonna be able to make the pay each month

Yeah they sell Engineered products/parts to Companies. And they also may partake in installing/commissioning the product at the Clients worksite

 

[Doobie Doo]

at the end of the day, he was doing sales. he could have pivoted to sales in another industry if he already has that skillset

Not that easy, a lot of companies expect you to be somewhat familiar with the industry

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

First off

People need to cut that I don’t need a job, i need a career line. That job is a career until u find the next job

Secondly your 49 years old, so many of these corporations are age discriminated

Is your wife working? If not she can find a job

Third.. you drive a hour to work and a hour back.. sell your house and move to something smaller and cheaper..

White Guys be ready to kill they family and themselves instead of coming back down to us so called regular folks not in the burbs

The biggest issue with white dudes is pride concerning success. Most cacs have this big high and mighty big dikk swangin mentality concerning success, but never have the humble aspect to balance it out. When you spend decades of being told you are the shyt and have the cheat code because pale skin, its a cross to bear when a setback occurs. Its a tale as told as time

 

[MikelArteta]

Why its alwys good to have dual citizenship

 

[Deus]

If he insists on paying for kids weddings and schools, he will never retire...

 

[The Intergalactic Koala]

Not that easy, a lot of companies expect you to be somewhat familiar with the industry

It sucks, because companies expect the most from a person coming in, but will give a promotion to somebody that don't know anything . Its so backwards.