AnecdoteArticle · 1:56 — 3:26

Without the COVID-19 pandemic and the Uber layoffs that followed, The Pragmatic Engineer might never have existed.

Gergely Orosz explains that COVID-era layoffs at Uber, which broke up his team, prompted him to leave and finish a book, setting him on the path to becoming a writer. ✦ AI generated

Gergely Orosz · The Pragmatic Engineer · 2026-07-08 · original ↗

Share card ↓Export .md Export .txt

But then, COVID-19 happened and Uber made layoffs, which led to a quarter of my team being let go, while the rest of us were disbanded into other teams. It was a tough time, and I decided it was a good moment to exit and finish writing a book I had been working on, 'The Software Engineer's Guidebook'.

Read full article ↗excerpt · fair-use quotation

▤ The Software Engineer's Guidebook ▦ Uber

Related moments

Claim◆Article · 48 words

Despite Interconnects' bank account hovering near $0 and going full-time being financially risky, I concluded I'll have more impact in AI by building institutions than by focusing on commentary.

Nathan Lambert · Interconnects

Anecdote◆Video · 30:53 · 2m

For roughly 25 years of his career, Howard Marks made major life and career decisions unconsciously and without intention—drifting based on luck and circumstance rather than deliberate reasoning—and he now regrets not living with intention until around age 50; his advice is to consciously find work that plays to your strengths, avoids your weaknesses, and makes you happy, rather than letting friends, parents, or society decide.

Howard Marks · My First Million

Anecdote◆Video · 1:07 · 2m

In 1981-82 Dalio publicly predicted a debt-driven economic disaster, was proven wrong, lost money for himself and clients, had to lay off his whole staff, and was forced to borrow $4,000 from his father.

Ray Dalio · My First Million