IITs, or the Indian Institutes of Technology, are the most prestigious institutions in India, and getting selected into one of these is a dream come true not only for students but also for their parents,Once the person graduates, they then imagine a long career in tech as a safe bet; people study hard, work for years, build up experience, and then they encounter an experience that they would least imagine after all these years.One such story is about a 61-year-old software engineer and an IIT Kanpur alum in Dallas, who moved to the United States more than twenty years ago and left his job in 2024 after being asked to relocate.He expected to find something new within a few months, as he had before. Nearly two years on, he is still looking, doing gig work to pay the bills, and thinking about whether home might be the better option.Let’s know what exactly happened that landed him here
How did the 61-year-old IIT alum lose his job
According to an essay published by Business Insider, Gautam Dev, who is MSc in Physics from IIT Kanpur, was working as a software engineer in Dallas in 2024 when he was told he would have to relocate to another state to keep his job.He wrote, “In 2024, while working as a software engineer for an IT company in Dallas, I was told I’d have to relocate to another state to keep my job. That September, I decided to quit my job, stay in Dallas, and look for a new role. That decision became a disaster.”
How a wrong decision led to an unexpected path
Dev says earlier gaps between jobs lasted only a few months. This time, applications went unanswered. He searched mostly through LinkedIn and his contacts, but many said their companies weren’t hiring, and some told him they feared leaving tough jobs because they might not find another. He did get interviews, including several rounds at one company, but no offers.“I thought my significant experience in the IT industry would help me find a job. However, I think being in my 60s could be working against me. And after being out of work for so long, I also think the employment gap is making things even more difficult”, he explained.
He is a gig worker now
After many unanswered applications, Dev stopped searching full-time, saying he needed to spend that time earning. Earlier this year he started gig work through Uber, DoorDash, and Walmart Spark, though he can’t carry heavy items, which rules out some options. Day trading went well at first before his luck changed. He says he has drained his savings and taken on a lot of credit card debt. A GoFundMe he started in January reportedly raised more than $9,000. Rent in Dallas is high, but moving somewhere cheaper is hard without proof of steady income.
He looks forward to returning home
Dev turns 62 in January, when he becomes eligible for Social Security. The Social Security Administration says benefits claimed that early are lower than the full amount, and for people born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 means about a 30% reduction.Dev hopes to get it, plus gig income, will ease things. He has also seriously considered returning to India, where he lived before moving to the US and becoming a citizen, but says he isn’t in a hurry, as relocating would take time, he says, “I never imagined I’d end up in this situation, but here I am.”
