(56) perspectives of 6 months unemployed software engineer (australia)

If you stumbled into something, you entered a particular activity, career, or situation by chance rather than by deliberate planning, often discovering you enjoyed it.

“using no-code software that we were using at the time. And yeah, I guess I stumbled into tech and I I just wanted to get deeper and deeper and, um, I stumbled into teaching after a friend asked me to cover one of her classes. She stumbled into journalism when her blog suddenly went viral. Many successful entrepreneurs say they stumbled into their industry by accident. 💡 Strong positive prosody — usually used when the accidental path led to something good. The phrase is intransitive when followed by "into + noun"; the particle "into" cannot be separated.”

If someone pivoted, they made a significant change in direction — usually in their career, business strategy, or focus — in order to adapt to new circumstances or opportunities.

“a living off of this? Uh, this programming stuff. So, I pivoted into web development. Um, HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Eventually learning React again so that After realising teaching wasn't for her, she pivoted to a career in marketing. The startup pivoted from selling hardware to offering a subscription app. When the pandemic hit, many restaurants pivoted to delivery-only services. 💡 Very common in tech and business contexts. Often followed by "to" or "into" + new field. Positive or neutral connotation, suggesting smart adaptation rather than failure.”

If something happens for a variety of reasons, it happens because of several different causes or motivations rather than just one.

“I guess I started coding during COVID, like 2021. I started coding for a variety of reasons, but like I started learning Python and I immediately fell in love People move to big cities for a variety of reasons, including work, education, and lifestyle. She decided to leave the company for a variety of reasons that she didn't want to explain. The project failed for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of poor planning. → Slightly more formal than "for lots of reasons"; common in writing and interviews. Typical collocates: "happen / fail / leave / choose for a variety of reasons".”