I Got Laid Off at Meta Despite a Glowing Performance Review. I Went From Crying in My Room to Launching My Own Business — Here's How. "I thought maybe being on Forbes 30 under 30 would help me get a job, but it didn't. Nobody cared."

^{This article originally appeared on Business Insider.}

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Pitcher, a 25-year-old content creator and game developer from Los Angeles. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I was valedictorian of my high school and graduated from college with honors. I've always valued excellence, so it was such a treat when, just out of college in 2021, I landed a contract job at Meta that turned into a full-time, six-figure job as a content designer around the start of 2022.

I worked on every major surface of Instagram, including profiles, explore, search, and home. I got to work on features that were used by so many people.

My first annual performance rating was "exceeds expectations" on all markers, and I was given a raise. I thought I was doing really well at the company. Then two months later, in April of 2023, I was laid off.

For the first time, I realized that hard work doesn't always reap rewards. Finding full-time work felt impossible, but struggling to find a job pushed me to give my passion project a shot.

I planned to work in Big Tech for a while, but layoffs happened across the entire industry

I was laid off via a generic email as part of a series of mass layoffs. The message cited that Meta had changing business needs, and my role was no longer needed. I was devastated.

My true passion has always been indie video games, but I planned to stick around in Big Tech for several years before starting my own studio. I thought I had done really well at a big company like Meta. When I got laid off, it messed with my worldview.

I started applying to more tech jobs, and after four months of unemployment, I landed a contract role at Yahoo as a content designer, which kept me afloat. That job ended a few months later, and I was back to being unemployed.

There were so many Big Tech layoffs happening at the time.

I was on Forbes 30 under 30 and still couldn't find a job

I had been making some money from content creation promoting my indie game, Gold Lining, which I'd been developing with some friends since college.

In the midst of my unemployment, I was included in Forbes 30 under 30 for my work on the game.

It felt like such a jarring discrepancy. On one hand, I received this esteemed achievement and was being told I was a part of the next generation of changers in the game industry. On the other hand, I was crying alone in my bedroom because I couldn't even land a regular job. It felt very dystopian.

I thought maybe being on Forbes 30 under 30 would help me get a job, but it didn't. Nobody cared.

I started a hobby project to help me cope with my failures

Around this time, I started hating the game I was developing with my friends. We were receiving rejection after rejection from investors, and I found myself trying to appease them at the expense of my own better judgment. I wanted to get back to making games I loved.

I decided to start a hobby project as a way to cope with the anxiety of my two colossal failures — unemployment and a failing game. My honest hope was just to reignite my spark for game development.

I stepped away from Gold Lining in July 2024, and that same month, I came up with the idea to develop Lily's World XD, a psychological horror game where players investigate a young girl's computer.

I made a little Instagram video promoting its development, which got over 2 million views. Now, I fully finance myself through content creation about my journey building Lily's World XD.

Working for myself has been challenging, but I'm taking this time to give my dreams a shot

I feel so lucky that I'm able to pursue my passion at such a young age, but I still have anxiety every day that it's all going to stop working out because content creation is so futile.

I'm still learning how to manage the anxiety and overwhelm of being my own boss. When I was working at Meta, I'd turn my work brain off after work. Now, I lay in bed at night, still thinking about a bug in my game or stressing about a video that isn't performing well.

It can be tough, but leaning on my network of fellow game developers and content creators for support has been extremely helpful. I'm taking this as my chance to give my dreams a shot, and I won't hold back.