I'm having the worst career winter of my life

A veteran UK software engineer shows up on Hacker News with a brutal confession: despite 10+ years building products in languages like Ruby and Go, his remote job hunt is frozen solid. Cue the comment section turning into a blizzard of hot takes. The strongest chorus: remote-only is a bloodsport, with global competition and pay undercutting from everywhere. One commenter warns he’s “competing against the best talent in the world,” while others urge him to thaw things out by going hybrid or in-office. RTO (return-to-office) isn’t loved, but many say it’s reality now.

Then the drama: a bold claim that the UK tech scene is “dead” unless you’re in a big-name company, with calls to relocate to San Francisco or New York. Others push back, suggesting overlooked sectors—manufacturing, hospitals, even government—are hiring and won’t demand five days at a desk. An unexpected twist of hope arrives when a company jumps in to offer a fully remote Rails role in Europe, and the OP drops his contact details like a lifeline.

Meanwhile, AI anxiety simmers—some suspect companies are in “wait and see” mode about code-writing bots. Dark humor pops up too: one commenter says being “cancelled” means no taxes—“Checkmate Rachel Reeves.” The vibe? Equal parts despair, reality check, and the occasional miracle job link.