I worked at Amazon on an F-1 visa as layoffs mounted. Here's why I left for a semiconductor company.

Aug 10, 2026 04:15 PM - 1 hour ago 2

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Vinit Juneja, a method merchandise head astatine Applied Materials and erstwhile Amazon package engineer. He's 24 and lives successful Austin, Texas. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

My visa position shaped my travel to Amazon — and yet my determination to leave.

In 2023, I moved to the US from India to prosecute a master's grade astatine Columbia University. My extremity was to onshore a tech occupation and enactment successful the US aft graduating. But contempt applying to hundreds of jobs, I vanished my master's successful precocious December 2024 without a domiciled lined up.

That was particularly stressful because of my F-1 student visa. I wasn't eligible to commencement moving until early February, erstwhile my employment authorization began. If I didn't person a occupation then, my 90-day unemployment timepiece would commencement — and if I couldn't find qualifying activity earlier it ran out, I'd person to time off the country.

Fortunately, I landed a occupation astatine a startup earlier the timepiece started. I began the domiciled successful early February. This bought maine clip to research different opportunities without worrying astir my visa status.

About a period later, Amazon reached retired pinch an online appraisal for a software engineering role I'd applied for. I passed the assessment, made it done the question and reply loop, and received an connection successful April 2025. I accepted it and moved to Seattle.

But I didn't enactment astatine Amazon for excessively long.

Why I near Amazon

Overall, working astatine Amazon was a awesome experience. I learned from incredibly smart colleagues and saw firsthand the company's system attack to solving problems. I was besides impressed by the soul devices Amazon built for labor to boost productivity. From talking pinch friends astatine different companies, I'm not judge different employer tin lucifer Amazon erstwhile it comes to the value of its soul tools.

Even so, I wasn't judge I'd enactment astatine Amazon agelong term. My master's grade was successful guidance subject and engineering, and I wanted to move person to the business broadside while continuing to usage my machine subject background.

Another facet was occupation security. During my clip astatine Amazon, a batch of my colleagues were laid off. Seeing those layoffs made maine deliberation astir what would hap if I was next.

Working successful the tech manufacture connected an F-1 STEM OPT visa meant losing my occupation could besides mean losing my expertise to enactment successful the US. Because I'd recovered my first occupation earlier utilizing my first 90-day unemployment period, my knowing was that I'd person astir 150 days to find different employer if I were laid disconnected — 90 unused unemployment days positive an further 60-day grace period. If I couldn't find 1 successful time, I'd person to time off the country.

Amazon wasn't the only large tech company laying workers, truthful I wasn't judge I'd find the information I was looking for successful Big Tech.

Why I chose the semiconductor industry

Earlier this year, I came crossed a LinkedIn occupation posting for a method merchandise head domiciled astatine Applied Materials, 1 of the world's largest makers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

It was the type of domiciled I'd been looking for — 1 that would fto maine activity astatine the intersection of exertion and business.

It besides felt for illustration an opportunity to get into an manufacture that I believed was poised for years of maturation — and 1 that could connection much stableness than Big Tech.

The semiconductor industry was booming arsenic demand for AI chips surged, and Applied Materials seemed good positioned to benefit. The institution builds the instrumentality that chipmakers for illustration TSMC usage to manufacture chips for customers specified arsenic NVIDIA.

I figured that if request for NVIDIA's AI chips kept growing, chipmakers for illustration TSMC would request to grow accumulation — and companies for illustration Applied Materials would use arsenic chipmakers invested successful further manufacturing equipment.

I applied for the domiciled without a referral and went done the question and reply process. When I received the connection successful April, I learned it besides came pinch higher compensation than my Amazon job. I accepted the offer, moved to Austin, and started pinch the institution later that month.

I for illustration Austin truthful far. After surviving successful rainy Seattle, I missed the sunshine, and Austin's ambiance feels overmuch much for illustration what I grew up pinch successful India.

Read much astir group who've recovered themselves astatine a firm crossroads

Building an AI 2nd encephalon — and my proposal for tech workers

I now activity arsenic a method merchandise head astatine Applied Materials, helping build soul readying package that teams usage to make accumulation and supply-chain decisions months successful advance.

One point that amazed maine astir switching industries was really overmuch AI accelerated my learning curve. Because I was caller to semiconductors, I built what I telephone a "second brain." During onboarding, I uploaded transcripts from recorded knowledge-transfer sessions and utilized AI to move them into structured, searchable notes.

The extremity wasn't conscionable to prevention time. I wanted to build a knowledge guidelines that captured the business discourse down my team's work, making AI a overmuch much useful brainstorming partner. Instead of rewatching onboarding sessions and taking notes for much than an hour, I tin reappraisal AI-generated summaries successful astir 10 minutes and inquire questions whenever I request to retrieve a concept.

AI has besides sped up merchandise development. On 1 soul project, my squad utilized Claude to create a merchandise creation successful astir 2 weeks alternatively of waiting astir a period for a designer to nutrient one. I've besides built a room of AI prompts and workflows to thief my colleagues usage AI much effectively.

My profession proposal for tech professionals

My proposal for different tech workers is simple: don't disregard AI. It isn't replacing judgment, but it is replacing a batch of repetitive work. The group who get the astir retired of it are the ones who study really to usage it efficaciously while still knowing capable to admit erstwhile it's wrong.

When it comes to uncovering a job, don't beryllium acrophobic to scope retired to people. Cold emailing isn't guaranteed to work, but if you ne'er scope out, you'll ne'er know. The much opportunities you create for yourself, the amended your chances.

For me, it was each astir getting a ft successful the door. Once I landed an interview, I usually felt assured successful my expertise to perform. The hardest portion was getting personification to springiness maine that opportunity.

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