Vinit Juneja says his visa status was one of several factors that influenced his decision to leave Amazon.Vinit JunejaVinit Juneja left his software engineering role at Amazon earlier this year.As an F-1 visa holder, he said Big Tech layoffs reshaped how he thought about job security.He explained why he chose the semiconductor industry and how AI helped him ramp up quickly.This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vinit Juneja, a technical product manager at Applied Materials and former Amazon software engineer. He's 24 and lives in Austin, Texas. The following has been edited for length and clarity.My visa status shaped my journey to Amazon — and ultimately my decision to leave.In 2023, I moved to the US from India to pursue a master's degree at Columbia University. My goal was to land a tech job and stay in the US after graduating. But despite applying to hundreds of jobs, I finished my master's in late December 2024 without a role lined up.That was especially stressful because of my F-1 student visa. I wasn't eligible to start working until early February, when my employment authorization began. If I didn't have a job then, my 90-day unemployment clock would start — and if I couldn't find qualifying work before it ran out, I'd have to leave the country.Fortunately, I landed a job at a startup before the clock started. I began the role in early February. This bought me time to explore other opportunities without worrying about my visa status.About a month later, Amazon reached out with an online assessment for a software engineering role I'd applied for. I passed the assessment, made it through the interview loop, and received an offer in April 2025. I accepted it and moved to Seattle.But I didn't stay at Amazon for too long. Business Insider is speaking with workers who've found themselves at a corporate crossroads — whether due to a layoff, resignation, job search, or shifting workplace expectations.Share your story by filling out this form. Why I left AmazonOverall, working at Amazon was a great experience. I learned from incredibly smart colleagues and saw firsthand the company's structured approach to solving problems. I was also impressed by the internal tools Amazon built for employees to boost productivity. From talking with friends at other companies, I'm not sure another employer can match Amazon when it comes to the quality of its internal tools.Even so, I wasn't sure I'd stay at Amazon long term. My master's degree was in management science and engineering, and I wanted to move closer to the business side while continuing to use my computer science background.Another factor was job security. During my time at Amazon, a lot of my colleagues were laid off. Seeing those layoffs made me think about what would happen if I was next.Working in the tech industry on an F-1 STEM OPT visa meant losing my job could also mean losing my ability to stay in the US. Because I'd found my first job before using my initial 90-day unemployment period, my understanding was that I'd have about 150 days to find another employer if I were laid off — 90 unused unemployment days plus an additional 60-day grace period. If I couldn't find one in time, I'd have to leave the country.Amazon wasn't the only large tech company laying workers, so I wasn't sure I'd find the security I was looking for in Big Tech.Why I chose the semiconductor industryEarlier this year, I came across a LinkedIn job posting for a technical product manager role at Applied Materials, one of the world's largest makers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment.It was the type of role I'd been looking for — one that would let me work at the intersection of technology and business.It also felt like an opportunity to get into an industry that I believed was poised for years of growth — and one that could offer more stability than Big Tech.The semiconductor industry was booming as demand for AI chips surged, and Applied Materials seemed well positioned to benefit. The company builds the equipment that chipmakers like TSMC use to manufacture chips for customers such as NVIDIA.Vinit Juneja says he believed rising demand for AI chips could make the semiconductor industry a more stable career choice than Big Tech.Vinit JunejaI figured that if demand for NVIDIA's AI chips kept growing, chipmakers like TSMC would need to expand production — and companies like Applied Materials would benefit as chipmakers invested in additional manufacturing equipment.I applied for the role without a referral and went through the interview process. When I received the offer in April, I learned it also came with higher compensation than my Amazon job. I accepted the offer, moved to Austin, and started with the company later that month.I like Austin so far. After living in rainy Seattle, I missed the sunshine, and Austin's climate feels much more like what I grew up with in India.Building an AI second brain — and my advice for tech workersI
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