Personal Finance

Laid-Off Six-Figure Tech Worker Ends Up Shucking Oysters, Still Does Great

Austin Smith

Published: November 9, 2024 9:21 am

Key Points

• A young data analytics engineer was recently laid off.
• But ample savings and a lucrative side hustle helped ease the transition.
• By planning ahead and living below her means, this worker has set herself up for financial success.
• You can do the same. Meet with a financial advisor today to look at your income, savings, and burn to chart your path to early retirement. Click here to learn more.

Data analytics engineer is an impressive title with potentially lofty pay. Zip Recruiter places the average annual salary at a whopping $129,716 today, equating to $62 per hour. That’s just the average though. The range is as low as $44,500, all the way up to $177,500.

Imagine the disappointment of 24-year-old Hannah Che. Che was was such an engineer for Paramount before being recently laid off. But there are silver linings. She recently shared her story transitioning from six-figure desk worker to lucrative part-time oyster shucker. Let’s take a look.

What Happened

Hannah was laid off only a few weeks ago in September. But she’s quickly landed on her feet. She was already working as a mobile oyster shucker with Oysters XO as a part-time gig. Though at that time she was doing 1-2 events per month. With four weeks of severance and her extra work already lined up she was able to transition out of full-time employment with relative ease. Things could have been much worse.

We don’t know her exact pay but using the average of $129,716 from earlier we can assume she received roughly $10,000 in severance. That’s all well and good, but we also must remember she also lives in San Francisco. The bay area city is one of the most expensive in the US, typically top two with New York. So that severance may not last as long as elsewhere.

What It Means For Hannah

In the last year she has worked one to two events per month with each one taking 2-3 hours. That figure is likely much higher now that she can focus on it full-time. Estimates for shucking wages average around $50 per hour. If we assume she’s increased to 8 events a month since being laid off, and they are also 2.5 hours she’s likely working around 20 hours a month.

That means Hannah is likely pulling down at least an extra $1,000 per month today. These sound like high end events in an expensive city. Combined with tips, or a higher hourly wage and she could be doing substantially better. $2,500 a month for part time work doesn’t seem out of the question here.

But we also know this isn’t a permanent long time solution. Hannah shared that current earnings are not enough to cover her rent. That isn’t immediately pressing though. Hannah lived below her means for the last year, suspecting a layoff was coming. During that time she claims to have saved roughly 1 year’s worth of living expenses. What’s Next

Takeaways

Hannah did two things very well.

1. She planned ahead and ensured she had a big cash cushion. Being in your early 20’s in a fun city can be a drain on finances, but she had the foresight to live below her means and prepare for the worst. That was very smart, and exactly the type of advice prudent financial advisors encourage their clients to take.
2. She hedged her bets. While going ‘all in’ on a good tech job can often mean higher pay, in Hannah’s situation the macro would likely have outweighed her individual performance. If a company is on the ropes, even the best engineer may not have stable employment. Hannah started working as an oyster shucker a year ago and gave herself a smooth offramp as a result.

Well done for Hannah. She planned ahead, saved, and packed her financial parachute here.

But, Now What?

However, we must point out that she still needs to plan for what comes next. Her side hustle money isn’t enough to pay rent, and likely isn’t receiving benefits like health insurance and 401(k) matching. And beyond that, while oysters may be surprisingly lucrative, she still has lower income potential. If we assume she’s generously making $2,500 a month today, that’s still only $30,000 per year.

In a situation like this we recommend she meet with a financial advisor, and quickly. They can look at her savings, spendings levels, and investments to figure out how much runway she has in San Francisco.

Based on that conversation, she may want to stay and look for similar work with a new company or relocate to a city with a lower cost of living to leverage her savings further. That may mean losing her lucrative oyster side hustle though.

You can have the same conversation with an advisor today, totally free. Smart Asset is connecting new clients with representatives to learn more about their own finances, and whether early retirement is possible for them. You can click here to get started.