Laid Off is the coolest place on the internet to talk about being laid off. Wanna collab? Have a tip? Hit reply.
I’m working on the next Laid Off trend report and I want to know… how are you actually making money after losing your job?
The survey is all about how people make ends meet after a layoff, whether that means: side hustles and freelance work, unemployment, support from loved ones, selling stuff (from plasma or eggs to clothes and content), starting something new, or just trying to piece it together.
These trend reports help illuminate the actual lived experiences and trends in the aftermath of a layoff, especially for those who lose jobs without warning, severance, or a real safety net.
If you do take it, thank you for being brave and cool. You can take it anonymously.
P.S. You may have noticed I’ve been on a bit of a mini hiatus. Thank you for your patience. I’m stoked to be back, am cooking up some good stuff, and can’t wait to share more stories and insights from a community I care deeply about.
I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s so fresh that I just don’t know yet.
Saw the trend report ping and figured I'd share what we're seeing on the income side — I work in talent sourcing and the wave we keep noticing is laid-off writers/editors/journalism folks landing on AI-evaluation work as a bridge.
Specifically: SuperAnnotate has an "English Language Expert" track that pays $25-35/hr W2 (specialist tracks higher), 100% remote, fully async — no Zoom calls, self-set hours. Works around job interviews and the panic-LinkedIn-refresh cycle. It's the kind of work where 5-10 hours/week yields $125-350 without eating your job-search bandwidth.
Most of the people I've placed there came out of newsroom, content marketing, in-house comms, or instructional design backgrounds. The pay's the differentiator vs the other AI-labeling platforms ($14-18/hr at most).
If anyone wants the apply link I can share it; if mods would rather not have it in the thread I'll DM whoever asks. Not trying to spam — Melanie genuinely called for collabs in this post, so this felt like the right place.