A laid-off Microsoft worker says his best career move was focusing on his side business instead of the corporate ladder

Eduardo Noriega spent over a decade preparing for the possibility that Microsoft would one day lay him off. When that day came, he was ready.

In May, after 17 years with the company at its Redmond, Washington, headquarters, Noriega learned his role as a senior software engineer was being cut. He told Business Insider he’s extremely grateful for his time at Microsoft. However, he started having concerns about job security amid the Great Recession when, less than a year into his role, the company announced plans to cut about 5,000 workers.

“When I saw the layoff, I realized that job security isn’t real,” said the 51-year-old.

After weighing his options, Noriega concluded that his best shot at financial stability was building a business he could rely on if he ever lost his job at Microsoft. Rather than focusing solely on climbing the corporate ladder, he decided to continue working on a side business he’d started in Mexico. He said it was one of the best career decisions he’s ever made.

“I decided not to put all my eggs in the career promotion basket, but to try to build something on my own,” he said. “That’s where I put a good deal of my eggs, and that’s what paid off once I was laid off.”

Noriega is among the thousands of Microsoft employees who have been laid off in recent months. After cutting 6,000 jobs in May, the company laid off roughly 9,000 more in July. A Microsoft spokesperson previously told Business Insider that the company was focused on reducing management layers and streamlining processes. The cuts have also included many individual contributor-level engineers like Noriega.

Microsoft isn’t alone. Google, Intel, Amazon, and Walmart are among the companies that have also announced plans to reduce the number of managers in a trend dubbed the “Great Flattening.” Layoffs remain low by historical standards, but tech workers have been hit hard — just as white-collar hiring has slowed. That’s made it more difficult for workers like Noriega to count on traditional employers for income. Instead, they may turn to working for themselves.

Business Insider has heard from dozens of tech workers about how corporate strategy shifts, layoffs, and hiring slowdowns have affected their careers. If you have a story to share, contact this reporter via email at [email protected] or Signal at jzinkula.29. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely. Read more on the topic:

Choosing between 3 possible career strategies

When Noriega started at Microsoft, he saw three potential career paths. One was to dedicate himself to the job and hope that promotions and raises would follow. Another was to jump between companies every few years, gradually landing more senior and higher-paying roles. The third was to build a side business with the goal of someday turning it into a full-time job.

Noriega said his lifelong passion for entrepreneurship — along with a desire for a backup plan in case of a layoff — pulled him toward the third path. When he wasn’t working at Microsoft, he dedicated time to a software education business that he’d begun developing before he moved to the US. After a few years, when the business didn’t take off as he’d hoped, he shifted his focus to an online piano lessons venture — but that one also struggled to get off the ground.

In 2016, he launched NTSprint, a staffing firm that helps Latin American software engineers access remote jobs in the US and Canada. Noriega, who is originally from Cuba and lived in Mexico for several years, said his goal was to help engineers in the region land higher-paying jobs and “break the cycle of poverty” in their communities.

Over the past decade, Noriega has poured significant time and energy into building the business. In the year leading up to his Microsoft layoff, he said his typical schedule involved finishing work at 5 p.m., then exercising, showering, and eating dinner before working on NTSprint from 8 p.m. to midnight. In addition to those four-hour weeknights, he said he’d often spend up to eight hours on the business each Saturday and Sunday.

“I was working like crazy,” he said.

Noriega said working on his business outside work hours was in compliance with Microsoft’s moonlighting policy, which he said allows employees to pursue side projects or businesses as long as it’s done outside company hours, the business doesn’t compete with Microsoft, and company resources aren’t used. Noriega said he was transparent about his business with his manager and didn’t face any pushback.

Winning the ‘Microsoft game’

When Microsoft laid him off in May, Noriega said he’d already been talking with his wife about whether he should quit his job and focus exclusively on his business. He said he was earning more money from the business than from his Microsoft role, and the long hours were taking a toll. However, he said he couldn’t bring himself to resign — doing so would mean giving up a steady paycheck, excellent health insurance, and unvested stock.

Noriega said getting laid off by Microsoft was likely very difficult for most employees, but for him, it provided the push he needed to focus on his business full-time. He hasn’t looked for another job since.

“I never dared to quit,” he said. “And then Microsoft presented the layoff, and for me, that was like an exit.”

Noriega said he thinks people who have concerns about their job security should consider diversifying their incomes — whether through freelancing, consulting, or building a business. He knows this isn’t feasible for everyone, but said doing so helped him blunt the financial and career impacts of his layoff.

In his final days at Microsoft, Noriega said a coworker told him he “won the Microsoft game.”

“What she meant is that I worked hard for the company, but once I was laid off, I was not left empty-handed and in despair, rushing to get the next job to support my family,” he said.

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