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<ul class="summary-list"><li>A tech recruiting firm left the personal information of roughly 216,000 people exposed, a researcher said.</li><li>The information included partial Social Security numbers, email addresses, and visa statuses.</li></ul>An IT researcher found that the unsecured files from a tech recruiter's database included personally identifying information of an estimated 216,000 job seekers — including data like names, phone numbers, passport numbers, visa information, and partial Social Security numbers. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-database-of-1-billion-data-points-inadvertently-leaked-2021-6">Jeremiah Fowler</a>, the security researcher who co-founded the consulting firm Security Discovery, said he didn't know how long the data had been exposed but told Business Insider that the database was soon locked once he contacted the recruiter in September. He said New Jersey-based <keyword id="23993132" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alltech-Consulting-Services" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Alltech Consulting Services" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Alltech Consulting Services">Alltech Consulting Services</keyword> never responded to his notices. Fowler on Monday published his <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.websiteplanet.com/news/alltechconsultinginc-breach-report/">security report</a> indicating that Alltech left its database of job candidate information unsecured without a password. That left the personal identifying information of about 216,000 tech job candidates exposed. Because the door was essentially left unlocked, someone trying to steal identities wouldn't have needed to hack into Alltech's database — or even search that hard — to find the information, Fowler said. Alltech says on its website that "more than 1,000 companies" rely on its services to connect them with tech professionals. Business Insider hasn't been able to verify this independently. BI also contacted the company by calling its main phone number, sending direct LinkedIn messages to its executives, and emailing its main email address. When contacted through its public email and phone number, Alltech didn't respond to requests for comment from BI. Two Alltech executives, listed as the company's owner and vice president on LinkedIn, told Business Insider in direct messages they weren't aware of anyunsecured data or a breach. Fowler said the data exposed included email addresses, passport numbers, the last four digits of SSNs, and information on work visas. "The records also contained internal notes about their experience, qualifications, and type of job they are looking for," Fowler said. Business Insider has reviewed the message Fowler sent to three Alltech email addresses on September 10 disclosing the unprotected data. Fowler has previously flagged <keyword id="19906883" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cybersecurity" source="keywords">cybersecurity</keyword> issues with a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51682280">Wi-Fi provider</a> at UK rail stations, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/story/us-school-shooter-emergency-plans-leak/">software</a> company used by more than 5,000 US school districts, and a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/confidant-health-therapy-records-database-exposure/">virtual medical</a> provider, among others. Justin Miller, an ex-Secret Service agent and associate professor of practice of cyber studies at the University of Tulsa, told Business Insider that leaving a database unprotected by a password or any encryption means "anybody could potentially access the database." It's unclear, though, if any other unauthorized parties accessed the Alltech data. Miller and Fowler said that the type of information left exposed by the database, including the last four digits of a Social Security number, could allow a cybercriminal to impersonate a person. "You're looking toward identify theft," Miller said. "Details like names, work history, your visa status, passport numbers, even parts of your Social Security number, allow for bad actors to piece together enough information to steal identities and create fraudulent profiles." Fowler added that incidents like Alltech's — and others he investigates — highlight how important it is for companies to protect their data. "It also serves as a wake-up call to the industry to review their data security practices and identify vulnerabilities to protect their internal systems and the personal information of the individuals they serve," Fowler said. Alltech's website says it was founded in 1998. It's unclear why Alltech collected job seekers' Social Security or passport information. Fowler said job candidates should be "skeptical" of recruiters who ask for personal information as a condition of applying for a job. Have a tip? Contact the reporters at lloydlee@businessinsider.com and ktangalakislippert@businessinsider.com

Nearly 216,000 job seekers had their personal data left unsecured on a tech recruiter's database, a security researcher says

Most of our days start with sitting on our porcelain seats for a bit, followed by commuting to work, spending long hours of sitting before the computer screen at work, and then at home if you have hobbies that keep you glued to your seat. That’s roughly 12 hours of sitting a day or an average of 60 hours of sitting a week — and I’m sure you know where I’m going with this — which isn’t great for your health. Now I know what you’re going to think: isn’t the 30-odd minutes of moderate exercise that you try to squeeze into your day enough? The answer, according to new research, is a resounding no. If anything, these seated hours could accelerate your aging process, affecting you in ways you may not expect. <h2>Sitting is the new smoking?</h2>The <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308660">study</a>, involving over 1,000 individuals, including 730 twins, revealed worrying insights into how prolonged sitting can affect <keyword id="82128" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cardiovascular-health" source="Orion">cardiovascular health</keyword> and increase body mass index (BMI). According to the findings, even meeting the minimum exercise recommendations — around 20 minutes of moderate activity per day — doesn’t offset the risks associated with long hours in a chair. The study’s senior author, Professor Chandra Reynolds, emphasises that “sitting less throughout the day and getting more vigorous exercise, or a combination of both, may be necessary to reduce premature aging in early adulthood.” Collaborating with Ryan Bruellman, a PhD candidate at UC Riverside, Reynolds aimed to uncover the long-term health consequences of increased sitting post-COVID pandemic. <h2>Is standing the solution? </h2>Are you already scrolling through Amazon, trying to find a standing desk? Don’t bother, because that is probably just as bad. Please don’t throw your phone away and hear me out. In a complementary <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/53/6/dyae136/7822310?login=false">study</a> from Australia and the Netherlands led by Matthew Ahmadi, researchers analysed data from the UK Biobank, tracking over 83,000 adults for nearly seven years. This study found that standing for extended periods was no better than sitting in reducing cardiovascular disease risk. In fact, standing for more than two hours a day increased the risk of circulatory diseases by 11% for every extra half hour, while sitting more than ten hours a day raised circulatory disease risk by 26% per additional hour. <h2><keyword id="23792418" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Movement-is-key" source="Orion">Movement is key</keyword> </h2>The key takeaway from both studies is clear: movement is essential. Simple measures like using a standing desk or taking brief walks are insufficient on their own. Instead, integrating regular vigorous exercise and reducing overall sitting time are crucial steps for Millennials to safeguard their health and stave off premature aging. Individuals who incorporated 30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily — like running or cycling—showed a notable improvement, with cholesterol and BMI levels comparable to people five to ten years younger. But even this vigorous exercise couldn’t completely negate the damage done by extended sitting, highlighting the importance of breaking up sedentary time with movement throughout the day. Reynolds emphasises the importance of building healthy habits now to ensure long-term benefits. “This is the time to build habits that will benefit health over the long term,” she advises. Meanwhile, policymakers are urged to revisit physical activity guidelines to better address the risks associated with prolonged sitting. Ahmadi’s study reinforces that standing alone isn’t a cure-all for the health risks of prolonged sitting. "We’re not seeing risks when someone’s walking around," Ahmadi explains, "but we are when they're standing still, which causes blood pooling in the lower extremities." <h2>Why millennials need to act now</h2>Many young adults might assume they have time on their side, believing they can address health concerns later in life. But as the study’s lead author, Ryan Bruellman, highlights, this critical period has lasting effects. He observed that after the COVID-19 pandemic, sedentary habits increased among his peers, prompting him to investigate the consequences. Bruellman notes that young people often feel they are immune to aging’s impacts, but “what you do during this critical time of life matters.” <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114851528" title="A scientist who researches healthy aging shares how she eats and works out" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Sitting vs. Standing: Settling the debate on workplace health

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chani had been feeling stuck in a rut, working 10-hour days as a Japanese language teacher in Australia.</li><li>With her 50th birthday around the corner, she decided to quit her job and move to Japan alone.</li></ul>Last year, right before her 50th birthday, Chani decided something in her life had to change.She had been working as a Japanese <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kentucky-native-moved-to-japan-shares-three-differences-he-noticed-2024-1">language teacher</a> in a school in Brisbane, Australia, for six years, and her 10-hour workdays were starting to wear on her.In addition to teaching, she managed six staff members and was in charge of about 300 teenage students. To protect her students' privacy, she asked to be identified only by her first name."You're always on a knife's edge with what's going to happen the next day. Young teenage kids can be a little bit unpredictable," Chani, now 51, told Business Insider. "I was always quite worried about the students, and then taking home a lot of emotional baggage that came with that job."<div type="image" title="A woman posing on a bridge on a sunny day." height="638" width="851" msid="114798005" hostid="261" sizebytes="177792"></div>There was also the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/husband-got-fifty-presents-for-his-birthday-memorable-2024-8">significance of hitting 50</a>, which felt like a big milestone."You feel like you've reached that midpoint in your life, and you're like, oh my gosh, I've only got half left," Chani said. "I just can't keep going on this treadmill. I've got to change something."All she could think about was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-moved-to-japan-shoebox-apartment-minimalist-living-productivity-2024-10">moving to Japan</a>, where she'd always felt the happiest."I had been taking students to Japan as part of their language course every two years, and every time I was there, this peace washed over me," Chani said. "The smell, the sounds, the people, everything just sort of felt right."With her two children now adults, there was no better time for her to take the leap. In April last year, Chani packed up her bags, said goodbye to her family, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/move-between-us-georgia-japan-quality-life-better-2024-2">left for Japan</a>.<h2 id="47693993-3bdc-4b10-888d-ad35643cfa83">A lifelong fascination with Japan</h2>Chani's love affair with Japan started years ago when she was in college. She did a homestay with a local family in Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's major islands.Every weekend that summer, her homestay family would take her on long drives through the countryside."I used to look at the houses and the people tending to their gardens," she said. "I always thought, 'One day, I'm going to live in a Japanese house in the countryside, and that'll be me, outside, tending to my garden.'"Her time in Japan had such an impact on her that she decided to learn the language formally after returning to Australia. In university, she specialized in teaching Japanese — and that's what she did for the next two decades.Now, Chani is an English teacher in a Japanese school in Wakayama, a town about 45 minutes from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-japanese-cities-to-visit-according-to-frequent-traveler-2024-7">Osaka</a>. She also runs an online Japanese language course on the side."I decided to be here based on how quickly I could get home, because I have parents who are in their seventies, and I've got two kids," she said. "I wanted to be able to jump on a plane the next day if I needed to and not have a long trek to an international airport."Brisbane is about nine hours away from Osaka by plane. Many Australians, who have to fly over double the hours to get to Europe or the US, would consider this close.<div type="image" title="A woman holding her cat while standing outside of her home in Japan." height="720" width="960" msid="114798000" hostid="261" sizebytes="135856"></div>The first couple of months into her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-american-wishes-she-knew-before-visiting-japan-mistakes-2024-9">time in Japan</a>, Chani lived in a two-bedroom rental apartment.Her time there made her realize that she wasn't suited to apartment living at all. Back in Australia, she had always lived in a house, and she wanted to be able to have a yard. She also wasn't used to having neighbors all around."Probably within a month of living in the apartment, my next goal was to buy a house quickly and get out of there," Chani said.<h2 id="01fbd6ac-9014-4e36-888a-c28c01a48ac8">Turning an akiya into a home</h2>With a budget of 50,000 Australian dollars, or about $33,600, Chani decided to buy and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-veteran-moved-japan-abandoned-house-akiya-foreigner-renovation-2024-9">renovate an akiya</a> to keep her costs low.Japan has about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-abandoned-houses-renovations-dream-homes-akiya-2024-1">8.5 million akiya,</a> or abandoned homes, in the countryside. The nation's <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-government-launching-dating-app-marriage-rates-population-decline-japan-2024-6">shrinking population</a> and internal migration from the countryside to the cities have resulted in millions of unoccupied houses in rural areas.Local governments are listing some of these akiya <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-government-selling-rural-homes-cheap-akiya-banks-2021-5">for sale for as low as $500</a> in a bid to lure new residents to these "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japan-ghost-towns-population-vacancy-rates-akiya-banks-2021-6">ghost towns</a>."Due to a lack of restrictions on foreigners purchasing property in Japan, an increasing number of foreigners <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/people-moving-buying-abandoned-homes-japan-let-foreigners-own-home-2024-1">are choosing to buy and revitalize these old homes.</a>"I didn't want to make the mistake of buying in the wrong area, so I asked quite a few locals who were very candid with me about the various 'no-go zones,'" she said.<div type="image" title="The study." height="961" width="1280" msid="114798003" hostid="261" sizebytes="136542"></div>Once she decided on the general neighborhood that she wanted to live in, she started doing drive-bys and walk-bys of various listings before narrowing down her choices.With the help of a real-estate agent, she found the perfect akiya to call home.It was a two-story house, with three bedrooms upstairs and a living area, a dining room, and a kitchen downstairs.Although the property had been sitting empty for about 6 years, it was well-maintained by the family of the former owners.<div type="image" title="The kitchen." height="1566" width="2088" msid="114798001" hostid="261" sizebytes="72208"></div>"When I walked through it, it was still pretty dirty; It was obvious it hadn't been lived in for a long time, but it wasn't falling down," Chani said.The main thing that drew her to this particular property was its huge front room."I have a car, and all of the other akiya that I looked at had no parking," Chani said.Her whole goal was to live rent-free — save for her monthly utility bills — and having to rent a separate parking spot somewhere in the neighborhood didn't make sense."It was just another bill that I had to pay that I was trying to avoid. This one had the opportunity to convert the front room into the garage, which is what I ended up doing," she added.<div type="image" title="The bathroom." height="1280" width="960" msid="114798007" hostid="261" sizebytes="70122"></div>Moreover, the house had a modern flushing toilet, which meant that Chani wouldn't have to replace the entire septic system.In August 2023, she bought the property for 2 million Japanese yen, or about $13,400.Location-wise, it's the best of both worlds.On one hand, she's surrounded by nature; There are mountains in the back and even a beach about a 15-minute drive away."If I get in my car and drive for, say, five or six minutes, I'm in the countryside. I'm literally in fields of rice," she said.But that doesn't mean that it's difficult for her to get around either."I've got five convenience stores wrapped around me. The supermarket is a five-minute walk, while the closest train station is an eight-minute walk, she said, adding that she can even walk to her office in 18 minutes.<h2 id="6fda2420-a1fa-45d9-bd7e-559ca62f7e44">'Manifested' her dream life</h2>Chani has also been documenting her akiya journey and her life in Japan on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/@ChaniJapan">YouTube</a>.While there are many foreigners who are running similar channels dedicated to renovating akiya, Chani said she couldn't relate to their experiences.Lawrence Covian, a US Army vet, and his wife previously told BI they <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-veteran-moved-japan-abandoned-house-akiya-foreigner-renovation-2024-9">bought an akiya in Iwakuni for $35,000</a>. His job with the US government had brought him to Japan, and now he has no plans to return. Eric McAskill, a Canadian millennial, told BI he bought an aliya because <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abandoned-home-restoration-diy-foreigner-akiya-japan-family-slow-life-2023-9">restoring a house in the Japanese countryside was his lifelong dream</a>."There was no woman my age," Chani said. "Where are the women who are in their middle age who are buying houses? There was no one that I could follow to get guidance."That encouraged her to share her own journey online."I thought there might be someone like me who wanted to do this but didn't have anyone that they could look at and get information from, she added.She has a piece of advice for others who are also interested in moving abroad: Don't rush into the decision."For me, it was all about having that long connection with Japan and knowing what I was getting myself into," Chani said.That said, a lot of problems can be solved, and there's no need to let fear stand in the way of a new adventure — especially if it's a lifelong dream, she added.Looking back on her journey, Chani says she's glad she found the courage to take the leap and build the life she'd always dreamed of."I'm really, really happy with life here in Japan, and I've gradually formed new friendships," she said.Of course, she wishes her family were here, too, but that's OK because they stay connected via video calls and are planning to visit, she said."I sort of manifested it when I was 18, but then life got in the way," she said. "But I guess it was always in the back of my mind. I do want to live out that dream life that I saw when I was 18, and I want to do that for myself."Have you recently relocated to a new country and found your dream home? If you've got a story to share, get in touch with me at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:agoh@businessinsider.com">agoh@businessinsider.com</a>.

At 18, she dreamed about moving to Japan. When she turned 50, she quit her job and bought an abandoned home near Osaka.

In January, Jon Bach got laid off as a director at eBay, where he had worked for 13 years. He loved his job, so he was disappointed. But he didn't panic. The unemployment rate was near a five-decade low, and he had 30 years of experience in the tech industry. How hard could it be to find another job?Pretty hard, it turned out. After applying for 135 openings, Bach has received 91 nonresponses, 42 rejections, two callbacks — and zero offers. "I don't know what's going on," he says. "I've been doing this for a minute, and I've proven my value. And then you apply to one place, two places, 10 places, 50 places, 135 places. And you go, 'Am I the guy I think I am?'"By all the standard economic measures, America's labor market looks fine. But ask white-collar professionals who are actually looking for a job, and they'll tell you horror stories that are eerily similar to Bach's. As I wrote last spring, that's because the job market has essentially split into two distinct tiers. Even though hiring has held up well for lower-earning workers, it has plunged for people earning six figures or more. We're in the midst of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hiring-slump-professional-white-collar-jobs-recession-high-salary-2024-4">white-collar recession</a>.Now, new data from LinkedIn — which tracked how often its users landed new jobs — shows which white-collar jobs are being hit the hardest. Some of them are the usual suspects in a downturn. You don't need recruiters when you're not recruiting, so hiring in human resources has slumped by 28% since 2018. Hiring in marketing, another department that's often the first to lose its budget in leaner times, is down 23%.But the most surprising feature of the job freeze is the pullback in tech. Hiring has plunged 27% in IT, 32% in quality assurance, and 23% in product management. In Bach's field of program and project management, recruitment has slumped 25%. Even more surprisingly, engineering, which was long considered recession-proof, is down 26%. That kind of cutback in coders was long unthinkable in Silicon Valley, which treated programmers like rare minerals — so scarce that they needed to be preserved at all costs, regardless of how the economy was faring.On the flip side are the professions that are holding up well. Military and protective services, a category that includes security guards, is down only 6%. Community and social services is down by only 3%. And healthcare, which is battling an acute staffing shortage fueled by an aging population and extraordinary levels of burnout on the front lines, is actually up 10%. You can see the same winners and losers on hiring platforms like Indeed: Since the pandemic, job postings for physicians and physical therapists have surged more than 80%, while those for software developers, data analysts, data scientists, and IT operations have declined by 20% or more."We have not seen the hiring slowdown everywhere," says Kory Kantenga, an economist at LinkedIn. "But there are particular areas where it's been very dramatic."Why has tech slammed the brakes on hiring? One reason is that tech companies, panicked by the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-great-reshuffle-upward-mobility-quitting-jobs">Great Resignation</a> that followed the pandemic, hired way too many professionals — leaving them with a glut of staff when the economy hit the skids. LinkedIn, which compared recruitment in 2018 to 2022, found that post-pandemic hiring spiked 89% for product managers, 79% for HR professionals, and 43% for engineers. When employers realized that they'd gone overboard, some resorted to mass layoffs to slash their headcounts. But most have taken a gentler route, implementing hiring freezes to slowly shrink their ranks by voluntary attrition.Another reason tech companies are hiring fewer professionals is that their existing employees are opting to stay put. "One of the things we hear repeatedly is that candidates are looking for stability," says Jenny Diani, a senior director of global technical recruiting at Autodesk, a leading software provider. "Candidates are being much more careful." Visier, an HR software provider, reports that so far this year, voluntary turnover at its tech clients is under 20% — down from almost 27% in 2022. That means a company that wants to maintain a head count of 10,000 employees would need to hire 720 fewer professionals this year.AI may also be playing a role in the hiring freeze. With tools like ChatGPT enabling tech workers to complete tasks more quickly, employers may see less of a need to increase head count. Nowhere is this productivity gain more evident than in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-ai-technology-end-of-coding-software-developers-jobs-2023-4">coding</a>: In an early study of an AI coding copilot, AI-assisted programmers were 56% faster than programmers working alone. Google recently boasted that more than a quarter of its new code is now being <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-earnings-q3-2024-new-code-created-by-ai-2024-10">generated by AI</a>."It's not like you're going to lay off a whole team," says Jon Stross, a cofounder of Greenhouse, one of the biggest providers of hiring software. "But maybe we don't have to grow quite as fast because we can automate more things and be more efficient. My guess is there are folks who are trying to make that happen."To make matters worse, changes in the way companies hire people are making the job freeze feel even more terrible than the numbers indicate. Several job seekers I spoke with told me their searches have been "slow" — which is putting it mildly. In mid-2021, according to Greenhouse, it took its clients an average of 52 days to make a hire. In the first quarter of this year, searches were dragging out to 66 days.The slowdown in decision-making is a bit of a paradox. Given all the qualified candidates on the market right now, you'd think companies would have an easier time making a selection. But weirdly, the seemingly infinite supply of candidates makes them want to review even more applications before they make a decision. "In the recruiting world, we call it See More Disease," says Diani, who is juggling three times as many job applications at Autodesk as she did during the Great Resignation. "We really need to coach our managers that even in this market, people with highly qualified, in-demand skills aren't going to be sitting around forever."<div type="image" title="Dashboard with various summary stats of job seeker's job search" height="757" width="1209" msid="115416165" hostid="261" sizebytes="43790"></div>What shocks job seekers the most, though, is how many roles they have to apply for just to get a few measly callbacks. The 135 applications that Bach submitted might seem crazy high, but these days it's actually the new norm. Santiago Rodriguez, a data scientist, told me he had applied to 669 positions — so many that he built an <a target="_blank" href="https://job-search-cd9a22.gitlab.io/">online dashboard</a> to track his progress. Like the diligent statistician he is, he plans to analyze the data to see which versions of his résumé are generating a higher success rate.It doesn't help that job candidates, desperate to land a new role, are responding to the hiring slowdown by applying to every job in sight. LinkedIn has an "Easy Apply" button that makes it easy to flood the market with applications, and AI-powered services will even <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/job-applications-hiring-ai-bots-spam-resume-cover-letter-2024-3">mass-apply to jobs</a> for you. It makes sense for individual job seekers to maximize their chances by applying widely. But the more everyone piles on, the harder it gets for anyone to stand out. In the first quarter of this year, job openings at Greenhouse's clients received an average of 222 applications — almost three times as many as at the end of 2021. "It's exacerbated by everyone in this arms race applying to so many jobs that companies are just overwhelmed with applicants," says Stross. "And so they don't get back to people."For job seekers, being ghosted makes the process feel downright dehumanizing. "There's so much angst," says Stross. "Like: 'I need a job and I can't get anybody to look at my résumé.'"The good news is, some data suggests that we're already past the worst of the white-collar recession. At the end of last year, according to the industry group CompTIA, companies posted only 144,000 new tech roles. That has now rebounded to 223,000 openings — and is starting to approach the pre-pandemic level of 322,000 jobs. "We're slowly, slowly recovering," says Art Zeile, the CEO of Dice, a tech job board. The hope is that in the new year, with the election over and a couple more interest-rate cuts under the economy's belt, white-collar employers will regain their appetite to start hiring again."I'm hopeful," Bach told me. "I think a lot of people like me are eager to get back to work, to show companies that we're worth taking a chance on. If you take a risk on me, I'll show you that I'm worth it."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/aki-ito">Aki Ito</a> is a chief correspondent at Business Insider.

Tech jobs are mired in a recession

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In October 2023, Soni Mehra left her Big Tech job to focus on her own home decor business.</li><li>Becoming a full-time entrepreneur has come with changes and challenges, she said.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Soni Mehra, a 30-year-old who left her job at Uber to start her own home decor company, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.marble-lotus.com/">Marble Lotus</a>. Business Insider verified her previous employment at Uber with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I was born in Delhi in India. My family and I moved to the<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worst-things-about-leaving-san-francisco-for-la-2024-4"> San Francisco Bay Area</a> when I was 5.Like many other South Asian immigrant families chasing the "American dream," we came for the opportunities.I grew up surrounded by technology and majored in Environmental Economics and Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.I developed a knack for project management and took on coveted roles in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quit-big-tech-dream-job-pay-perks-not-worth-it-2024-5">Big Tech companies</a> like Lime, LinkedIn, and later Uber, where I was focused on marketing and product operations roles. I spent almost four years as a senior product manager at Uber, earning nearly $300,000, including my bonus.But I left <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ceo-calls-elon-musk-robotaxi-vision-compelling-2024-10">Uber</a> in October 2023. Earlier in spring, I launched my own South Asian-inspired home decor company.I wanted to take a chance on something I truly loved, but it involved letting go of my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quadrupled-salary-big-tech-job-hopping-negotiating-2024-8">Big Tech salary</a> and navigating various challenges as a founder and bootstrapper.<h2 id="3a829088-4d6d-4509-817e-9bcfe2d71087">My time at Uber taught me about mentorship, problem-solving, and building in-person connections</h2>I joined Uber in 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic. One of my projects was launching Uber Connect, a delivery system for transporting packages to people during the pandemic.Our Mission Bay office was swanky, but it was only half occupied most days during COVID-19. Whenever I could, I went in and built in-person connections.I loved being a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/product-manager-shares-resume-cisco-consulting-pivot-big-tech-interview-2024-10">product manager</a> and had great mentors. In Uber's work environment, ambitious and hardworking people got promoted. Everyone I worked with was incredibly sharp. I enjoyed solving complex problems together.<h2 id="520e0131-6f89-45cb-999a-670a36a7d517">Tapping into my creative side prompted my entrepreneurial journey</h2>I loved my job, but a part of me knew something was missing. I wanted to be more creative, but I wasn't getting that at Uber because aspects of my role were very technical.I'd always considered <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-start-and-grow-a-business-founders-advice-2023-1">running my own business</a>. My dad was an entrepreneur, so family dinners often turned into strategy meetings. Plus, I valued his flexibility at work.I started taking art, sewing, and pottery classes to fulfill my creative itch. The classes confirmed I should tap into my entrepreneurial side and create a business to invest all my time and energy into.It wasn't until I got married in June 2022 and planned a multi-day South Asian wedding that my hunger for creativity began to deepen. Planning a wedding requires thinking about minute details, interiors, and table settings. When it was over, I wanted to make a concerted effort to infuse creativity into my daily life.<h2 id="b07aa3e2-bd4c-48cf-9683-289a7cc463fd">Marble Lotus was the creative outlet I always looked for</h2>In March 2023, while working at Uber, I launched <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marble-lotus.com/collections/frontpage?utm_source=pggoogleads&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=PG_Search_Brand_Exact_15/06/2024&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwpP63BhDYARIsAOQkATZml_NlM3bB-Uq7iMiEXhmohRzHxo9HiA1euBXAZA9bOQoQES5ORToaAocEEALw_wcB">Marble Lotus</a>, a homeware store that sells artwork and decor inspired by the South Asian diaspora. I wanted to create a tangible manifestation of my heritage that I could share.I spent a lot of time sourcing and designing products. I built our website and launched our first collection online in April 2023, starting with only seven products.In October 2023, I decided to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/left-exec-job-uber-polywork-how-i-balance-2021-8">leave Uber</a> to focus on the business full-time. It felt like the right time, but it raised eyebrows from family and friends. They questioned if my business would ever be as profitable as my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poached-tech-job-linkedin-good-decision-2024-10">tech job</a>.I didn't have children or financial responsibilities. Pursuing something I loved was now or never, and I didn't really worry about how I'd cope if things didn't go well.I grew the business by traveling to India to source products and investing time into understanding the shipping and distribution models. The trips helped me expand our design offerings, and as of summer 2024, we had 600 products on our site.<h2 id="03bb1bfe-0d49-43c9-a9b1-5f4478cfc7c8">Running a business is different from working in Big Tech — and it's come with challenges</h2>Marble Lotus is run by myself, three team members in India, and a part-time project manager in the US. I was accustomed to working with larger teams in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dating-silicon-valley-big-tech-hard-want-marriage-kids-2024-7">Big Tech</a>, so I've had to get used to balancing multiple tasks.I'm <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-founders-are-bootstrapping-instead-of-raising-money-from-vcs-2023-9">bootstrapping my business</a> using personal savings. While there are a lot of resources for entrepreneurs who want investment, I feel there aren't many for bootstrapping entrepreneurs. There are fewer networking opportunities, so I've spent a lot of time reaching out to individuals and growing my network.Entrepreneurs in the Bay Area often question why I've launched a company that requires shipping, stock, and warehousing rather than creating a digital product. They don't think the business model can scale as easily.I often have to motivate myself to keep going during times of fluctuation. There'll be days where I have low sales, but the next day I'll have signed on new clients who are interested in Marble Lotus styling their homes or interiors. I need to keep trusting my vision and look at my long-term goals.Right now, I don't pay myself a salary and reinvest everything into the business. Thankfully, I can rely on savings from my prior Big Tech roles. I no longer make the same salary as I did in Big Tech, but still prioritize spending money on things my partner and I value, like travel. While my health insurance used to be provided by my employer, I now have to pay for my insurance and rely on my husband's.<h2 id="abe870c4-9c3d-499a-b962-cdefd8c2d6c5">I'm not opposed to returning to tech</h2>I left Uber at the right time to launch my company, and I don't think I'd do anything differently. I'm young and in a financial phase where I can take on risk.People ask me if I'd ever return to Big Tech. I'd consider pivoting back into tech to start my own interior design software company because I see a lot of potential in that space.But right now, I'm focused on growing my business.

I left my Big Tech job to bootstrap my own business. I went from making nearly $300,000 to not paying myself a salary.

<ul><li><keyword id="19894961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Apple" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Apple">Apple</keyword> is set to open four new retail stores in India by next year.</li><li>The company is looking to recruit around 400 employees in India for these stores.</li><li>Here’s everything you need to know about the job opening at Apple.</li></ul> Cupertino tech giant Apple is expanding its retail presence in India amid a rise in sales of the iPhone. The company recently announced the launch of four new retail stores in Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Pune. Ahead of the launch of these stores, the company is now looking to hire 400 employees in the country. The company has revealed that it is looking to recruit around 400 people for these stores. The company has listed several new <keyword id="20076347" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="job-openings" source="keywords">job openings</keyword> on its website ahead of next year’s store launch. Apple currently employs around 100 employees at its stores in Delhi’s Select City Walk and Mumbai’s BKC. <h2>400 job openings at Apple</h2>The 400 job openings announced by Apple include both full-time and part-time roles. The roles announced include Business Pro, Operations Expert, Technical Specialist and more. “As a Business Pro, you help customers discover how Apple products can transform the way they work — and you build loyalty by maintaining those customer relationships. In this role, you serve as both a resource and a mentor to your fellow <keyword id="11919569" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple-store" source="Orion">Apple Store</keyword> team members. You also partner with store leadership to find opportunities to connect customers with powerful tools and solutions that help their business thrive,” reads the Business Pro job description on the company’s website. The jobs are aimed at recent graduates looking to earn money and experience by working flexible shifts at the Apple Store. In addition to hiring through its website, the company has also started recruiting people through job platforms such as LinkedIn. "It's amazing to see Apple expand across this incredible country in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru. We are looking to talk to people across many roles,” an Apple recruiter said on LinkedIn. To apply, you can visit the<a href="https://jobs.apple.com/en-in/search"> company’s website</a>, which currently has over 600 job openings or contact the recruiters on LinkedIn. <h2>Apple’s push in India</h2>India is now emerging as a key market for India as the customers in the world’s second-biggest smartphone market are on the premiumisation bandwagon. There has been a steady increase in the sale of iPhones in the country. Apple recorded a 33% growth in India in the previous fiscal year, recording sales of over INR 65,000 crore. As per IDC, Apple is expected to sell 12 to 12.5 million iPhones in 2024, a 25% year-on-year growth. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112653019" title="The iPhone Pro models will be made in India for the first time this year" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Apple has also made a manufacturing push in India, with the entire iPhone 16 lineup being<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/the-iphone-pro-models-will-be-made-in-india-for-the-first-time-this-year/articleshow/112653019.cms"> produced</a> in the country, a first for the company. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/nvidia-and-reliance-industries-to-build-ai-computing-infrastructure-in-india/articleshow/114551439.cms">NVIDIA and Reliance Industries to build AI computing infrastructure in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/waaree-energies-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/114508632.cms">Waaree Energies IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/snapdragon-8-elite-announced-to-power-iqoo-13-oneplus-13-xiaomi-15-series-and-more/articleshow/114463844.cms">Snapdragon 8 Elite announced, to power iQOO 13, OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15 series and more</a>

Apple is hiring 400 employees in India – roles, how to apply and all you need to know

India's services sector showed robust expansion in October, per the <keyword id="22267674" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HSBC-India-Services-PMI" source="keywords">HSBC India Services PMI</keyword> (Purchasing Managers' Index), which rose to 58.5 last month, up from September's ten-month low of 57.7. October's figures managed to exceed even the long-run PMI average of 54.1, largely on the back of a strong sales pipeline and elevated demand. Employment, or job creation in this sector accelerated to its fastest growth rate in 26 months. Anticipating solid, sustained demand in the near term, firms added new employees at the most rapid pace in over 2 years. October also saw <keyword id="23834175" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="input-costs-rise" source="keywords">input costs rise</keyword> at their fastest pace in 3 months, indicating renewed demand and economic activity in the country. The ISM Services PMI, an indicator of the economic health of the US, also exceeded expectations, reaching 56.0 compared to the forecasted 53.8, suggesting strong growth within the services sector. "During October, the Indian services sector experienced strong expansions in output and consumer demand, as well as job creation, which achieved a 26-month high," said Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC. The sector saw increased business activity across multiple fronts, with export sales showing significant growth and companies reporting stronger demand from international markets including Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and the UK. However, industry experts remain cautiously optimistic about the sector's prospects. Suman Chowdhury, Chief Economist at Acuité Ratings &amp; Research, noted that while the October recovery is promising, several factors warrant careful monitoring. “The recovery in the PMI indices in October 2024 is promising for the second half of the fiscal after the dip in several high-frequency indicators in September 2024. Industrial and service activity has expectedly received a boost from the anticipated spike in consumption demand in Q3 FY25, driven by the festivities and the marriage season," she said. Chowdhury added that it will be crucial to monitor the sustainability of these PMI indices at these elevated levels, given the reported weakness in urban demand in Q2 as flagged by FMCG companies. She also noted that potential increases in wholesale and core retail inflation, combined with higher input costs and wage pressures, could delay expected interest rate cuts. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das also noted that inflation and CPI figures for October might be elevated, pushing ahead any chances of interest rate cuts in the near future. Acuité Ratings &amp; Research maintains its GDP growth forecast at 7.0% for FY25 while acknowledging the multiple downside risks that will require close observation in the coming months.

India's Services Index jumps to 58.5 in October as employment grows the fastest in 26 months

The state of the job market has been worrisome for people across the country ever since companies started carrying out large scale layoffs. In 2022, Twitter (now called X) laid off thousands of employees and eventually, companies like Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft and so on also began handing the pink slip to employees. Thousands of people took to social media platforms to share their ordeals. While some have successfully moved on to new roles now, many are still searching for opportunities, elevating competition in the job market. However, the situation isn't so grim everywhere. <keyword id="78512" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="iim-calcutta" source="Orion">IIM Calcutta</keyword> students bagged offers worth nearly 2 lakh per month for their summer internship programme. Curious? Read on to know more. The 61st batch of IIM Calcutta's flagship MBA programme saw all 475 students secure internships during the recent placement season. The numbers also speak volumes: a staggering median stipend of ₹2 lakh per month, a record-breaking achievement, and an average of ₹1.89 lakh that closely follows. And it doesn’t stop there—the highest domestic offer came in at ₹3.67 lakh, while international placements soared with top offers of ₹6.75 lakh per month. For many, this success story from IIM Calcutta is a reminder that when it comes to premium talent, there’s always a demand, even when the world feels uncertain. Professor Ritu Mehta, Chairperson of Placement Activities at IIM Calcutta, said as per a report in ET, "The outcome of the <keyword id="23806452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="summer-internship-offers" source="keywords">summer internship offers</keyword> has yet again demonstrated the future readiness of our students in a highly competitive landscape. Globally, there is an ongoing recalibration of managerial jobs and pullback of job postings, hence we are very grateful to our recruiters to repose their trust in our students and our academic processes." Meanwhile, IIM Calcutta said, "The cluster-cohort placement process that involved various policies such as ‘dream offer’ enabled recruiters to find a better student-recruiter fit, making the overall process a win-win for both recruiters and students." For the unversed, IIM Calcutta, established in 1961 as the first Indian Institute of Management, is one of the most prestigious business schools in India and is globally renowned for its academic excellence. Known for its rigorous MBA programme, it has built a reputation for producing leaders equipped with strong analytical and strategic thinking skills. The institute has consistently attracted top-tier recruiters across various industries, and people across the industry keep a close eye during its placement season.

₹1.89 lakh per month for summer internship! Freshers at this institute bag bumper monthly stipend

Navigating the job market often feels like a rollercoaster, filled with thrilling highs and nerve-wracking lows. After enduring the exhaustive application process, receiving that coveted <keyword id="20488964" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="job-offer" source="keywords">job offer</keyword> should feel like the pinnacle of success. Instead, the next hurdle looms large: <keyword id="406837" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="negotiation" source="Orion">negotiation</keyword>. Torn between the excitement of landing a new job and the daunting task of negotiating your worth, the fear of asking for too much and risking the entire offer is palpable. Ultimately, many end up settling for less than they deserve, afraid of losing the opportunity altogether. But is this fear justified? Not according to recent research by Einav Hart, an assistant professor of management at George Mason University's Donald G. Costello College of Business. Hart’s study, published in <keyword id="22470063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="organisational-behavior" source="keywords">Organisational Behavior</keyword> and Human Decision Processes, suggests that the dreaded outcome of having a job offer rescinded due to negotiation is far less common than most candidates think. Co-authored by Julia Bear of Stony Brook University and Zhiying (Bella) Ren of the University of Pennsylvania, the research encompassed seven studies involving over 3,000 participants. The initial phase involved surveys with job candidates, hiring managers and seasoned professionals. The results showed a stark contrast: while candidates believed that negotiating would likely result in losing the offer, hiring managers viewed the scenario differently. On average, managers had made 26.9 job offers in their careers, rescinding only 1.73 following negotiations. Subsequent studies, using both face-to-face and online negotiation scenarios, revealed a shift in perception when participants were assigned roles as either “job candidates” or “hiring managers”. This role-playing, with real money on the line based on the outcome of the negotiations, altered their views on the risks involved. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111661371" title="Hiring “self-reliant” candidates who “think outside the box”? Beware, your job post might be attracting rule-bending narcissists!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Two psychological mechanisms were identified as key to understanding why candidates overestimate the risks of negotiation: zero-sum perceptions and power perceptions. Zero-sum perceptions involve the belief that negotiation is a fixed pie where one's gain is another's loss. Power perceptions relate to how much influence candidates believe they have in the negotiation process. Fearing the worst, nearly half of the candidates chose not to negotiate at all. The studies found that candidates generally viewed negotiations as more adversarial and were less optimistic about their influence compared to “managers”. This competitive mindset likely contributes to the reluctance to negotiate, leading to missed opportunities. Hart points out: “Negotiating is not just zero-sum. Besides negotiating salary, maybe you care more about teleworking than a small signing bonus. The hiring manager might really appreciate the savings and be flexible about how often you come into the office. Thus, this negotiation (and many others) can have a win-win, mutually beneficial solution.” <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111824610" title="Using AI to create your CV? Here&amp;#39;s how you can humanise it and make it stand out from the crowd" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>When candidates were encouraged to see negotiations as potential win-win situations, they were less fearful of losing the offer and more inclined to negotiate. Similarly, those who felt they had more negotiating power were less worried about jeopardising the deal. Yet, even with these reassurances, candidates still overestimated the risk. Hart’s earlier research also highlights the concept of ‘Economic Relevance of Relational Outcomes’ (ERRO), which underscores the long-term financial benefits of maintaining strong relationships over short-term gains. Hart explains: “Consider negotiating for a babysitter's rate. What use is negotiating a great deal on the rate if the babysitter feels bullied in the negotiation and is not excited to take care of your kids?” While negotiating a job offer is undoubtedly challenging and carries some risk, Hart's research indicates that the fear of losing an offer is often exaggerated. By approaching negotiations thoughtfully and maintaining good relationships, candidates can achieve better outcomes without undue risk.

Afraid to negotiate the salary on your new job offer? Research says it’s not as risky as you think—here’s why

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sam Altman is joining forces with former Apple design czar Jony Ive to make an AI-centric device.</li><li>Altman's new venture has received funding from Ive and Steve Jobs' widow, Laurene Powell Jobs.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-openai-company-chatgpt-elon-musk-founded-2022-12">OpenAI</a> CEO <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-chatgpt-openai-ceo-career-net-worth-ycombinator-prepper-2023-1">Sam Altman</a> is working on a new AI device startup with former Apple design chief <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-fabulous-life-of-sir-jony-ive-2014-7">Jony Ive</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/laurene-powell-jobs-net-worth-life-career-spending-habits-2018-10">Laurene Powell Jobs</a>, the widow of the late Apple founder <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs">Steve Jobs</a>.News of the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-head-iphone-designer-jony-ive-ai-device-openai-report-2023-9">collaboration</a> was reported on by The Information in September 2023. Ive confirmed it in a profile published by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/technology/jony-ive-apple-lovefrom.html">The New York Times</a> on Saturday.According to The Times, Airbnb CEO <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-ceo-brian-chesky">Brian Chesky</a> arranged for Altman and Ive to meet last year. Airbnb had engaged Ive's design firm, LoveFrom, to work on several projects.Ive started LoveFrom in 2019 after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jony-ive-leaves-apple-to-form-design-company-2019-6">nearly 30 years</a> at Apple, where he led design efforts for the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and the Apple Watch.Ive and Altman met several times for dinner, where they discussed the potential of launching a new AI-centered computing device, per The Times. Eventually, they agreed to build it together.Altman's new venture has been raising money privately, and has taken funds from both Ive and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/laurene-powell-jobs-rise-16-billion-power-player-media-politics-2021-10">Emerson Collective</a>, an impact investing and philanthropy firm founded by Powell Jobs. According to The Times, the startup is on track to raise up to $1 billion in start-up funding by the end of 2024.Marc Newson, who cofounded LoveFrom with Ive, told The Times that they were still figuring out the product and its release date.In October 2023, Altman <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-working-on-ai-device-jony-ive-2023-10">expressed his interest in AI devices</a> while speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live event."I'm interested in this topic, I think it is possible," Altman told The Journal's tech columnist Joanna Stern at the event."I do think every sufficiently big, new technology enables some new computing platform. But lots of ideas, but all at the very nascent stage."Notably, Altman told Stern in October 2023 that he didn't think AI devices would eclipse smartphones."Smartphones are great. I have no interest in trying to go compete with a smartphone. It's a phenomenal thing at what it does," Altman said."But I think it's well worth the effort of talking about or thinking about what we can make now that before we had computers that could think, or computers that could understand whatever you wanna call, was not possible. And if the answer is nothing, it would be a little bit disappointing."To be sure, Altman and Ive aren't the only ones seeing potential in an AI-centric device.Former Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno cofounded their own AI startup, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hardware-startup-humane-apple-ruben-caballero-bethany-bongiorno-imran-chaudhri-2020-3">Humane</a> in 2019 and launched their first product, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/humane-ai-pins-so-hot-chilled-with-ice-before-demos-2024-6">Ai Pin</a> in November. However, the pin got <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews-humane-ai-pin-2024-4">bad reviews</a> regarding its capability at rollout.In May, Bloomberg reported that Humane was looking for a buyer and is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/humane-explores-sale-difficult-wearables-launch-ai-pin-billion-valuation-2024-5">seeking a price of between $750 million and $1 billion</a>. The company was valued at $850 million last year, per The Information.The company saw more returns than purchases of the Ai Pin between May and August this year, The Verge reported last month, citing internal sales data it had obtained. Zoz Cuccias, a spokesperson for Humane, told The Verge that the company would not comment on financial data, and would refer the matter to their legal counsel. Representatives for Altman at OpenAI and Powell Jobs at Emerson Collective did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Sam Altman is joining forces with design guru Jony Ive and Steve Jobs' widow to build a new AI device company

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Georgia has received more private investment in EVs and battery manufacturing than any other state.</li><li>Gov. Brian Kemp said Georgia will be the "electric mobility capital of the world."</li></ul>Electric vehicle investments are surging in Georgia.According to a recent Wells Fargo <a target="_blank" href="https://wellsfargo.bluematrix.com/links2/html/2379e487-7800-433a-95b9-735589c4e1a1">report</a>, Georgia has received more private investments in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing than any other state, with just over $23 billion to date.Jackie Benson, an economist at Wells Fargo, told Business Insider that the state is poised to be a hub for EVs because of its business-friendly environment, robust population growth, and federal and state incentives attracting companies to the state.Since 2022, the Peach State has added over 30,000 clean energy jobs, more than any other state, according to a June <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/new-study-inflation-reduction-act-has-created-over-30000-georgia-jobs/">study</a> by Climate Power, a strategic communications firm. This comes as federal investment in green energy is ramping up, and people are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-leaving-california-new-york-moving-florida-texas-reasons-effects-2024-8">flocking south</a> for a lower cost of living and better economic opportunities.<h2 id="b74fbdcb-0db7-4a0a-afa0-222558bdddc9">Investments in the Battery Belt to boost EV manufacturing and infrastructure</h2>In 2023, Gov. Brian Kemp said that Georgia would become the "electric mobility capital of the world," per the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-is-creating-its-first-ever-climate-plan-heres-what-to-expect/RKDANAY5DBCJLHYCUXVYCUDB5Q/">Atlanta-Journal Constitution</a>. So far, it's looking promising.Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee are a part of the Battery Belt and have received nearly $77 billion in private investment in EV battery manufacturing to date, according to an August <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.atlasevhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2024.08_Atlas-EV-Investment-Brief.pdf">report</a> by Atlas Public Policy.It's not just southern states: Michigan leads the nation in capacity for electric vehicle battery manufacturing, but Georgia is second, according to a January <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.edf.org/media/analysis-finds-us-electric-vehicle-battery-manufacturing-track-meet-demand">report</a> by the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group.The state has also greatly benefited from federal investments in green energy and electric vehicle manufacturing and infrastructure. The Biden Administration <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/17/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-private-and-public-sector-investments-for-affordable-electric-vehicles/">aims</a> for 50% of new vehicles in 2030 to be EVs, and investment in green energy in Georgia is partly a result of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Georgia-Fact-Sheet.pdf">allocated</a> over $175 million toward the EV battery supply chain in Georgia and $135 million over five years toward infrastructure for EV charging stations in Georgia. In February, Hyundai <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyundai-announces-new-production-start-date-at-metaplant-america-during-hyundai-day-in-georgia-302071754.html#:~:text=Hyundai%20Motor%20Group%20is%20investing,that%20will%20employ%203%2C500%20workers.">announced</a> over $7 billion in investment in production facilities in Georgia. The company estimates their investments in Georgia will create nearly 40,000 jobs in the state."The Hyundai investment specifically has boosted Georgia's profile in terms of EV production on the national stage," Benson said.The Inflation Reduction Act also created a $7,500 tax credit for new EVs for both consumers and businesses and incentivized efforts to boost domestic EV supply chains.In May, Kia <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/u-s-federal-manufacturing-incentives-working-for-georgia-kia-begins-ev9-production-in-west-point/">announced</a> the production of its first American-made EV at its production facility in West Point, Georgia, enabling the company to take advantage of the tax credit.Manufacturing accounts for 10% of Georgia's gross state product, which is its economic output, and construction accounts for 4%, according to Wells Fargo.Investments in EV and battery manufacturing will boost job growth and output in both of these sectors, Benson said.While government, health care, and leisure are the leading industry drivers in Georgia, investments in manufacturing are poised to boost the state's overall economic growth.<h2 id="fb9799f7-223c-4b7b-9f9e-5b994c7dac21">Georgia transplants are helping fuel economic growth in the state</h2>Georgia's real GDP outpaced the nation in the first quarter of the year, at 2.3% and 1.4%, respectively. In seven of the last 10 years, the state's GDP has outpaced the national average, according to Wells Fargo.Strong population growth remains a tailwind for Georgia's economic growth and EV industry, Benson said.Between 2021 and 2022, there were 327,795 people who moved into Georgia, according to data from the Census Bureau. The Peach State had the fifth most new residents during that time, following Florida, Texas, California, and North Carolina.New state residents means more consumers at stores, more homebuyers and renters, and more demand for goods in Georgia, fueling economic activity.Among those people who moved from another US state into Georgia, nearly 26,000 came from California, and more than 23,000 from both Texas and North Carolina, according to data from the Census Bureau.The biggest influx of new residents in Georgia came from outside the US. Between 2021 and 2022, just over 60,000 people from abroad moved to Georgia, per Census Bureau data.Benson said single-family construction has recently scaled up in the state, in line with its robust population growth.Benson said the scale-up in single-family construction has helped shore up construction employment. The three-month moving average for job growth in construction in the state was up 0.1% year-over-year in July, the report noted.Unemployment in Georgia remains below the national average and is only 40 basis points higher than its historic low in 2022, Benson said."Nationwide, we're seeing builders pull back on single-family construction for multiple reasons," Benson said. "But in Georgia, that high population growth has spurred an upshift in single-family building this year. That's something unique to the state."Do you live in the Battery Belt? Share your story at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:jtowfighi@businessinsider.com">jtowfighi@businessinsider.com</a>

Georgia is rich in EV money and jobs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A millennial woman made nearly $250,000 last year secretly working a hybrid and fully remote job.</li><li>While she's paid off her student debt, she's still struggling to afford a home in California.</li></ul>Two years ago, Olivia was struggling to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-therapist-helped-me-learn-why-i-cant-save-money-2024-6">get ahead financially</a>.While she was making over $100,000 a year in a communications role, a significant amount of her paychecks was going to her <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/student-loan-borrowers-first-lawsuit-broad-debt-cancellation-biden-relief-2024-9">student loans</a>, medical debts, and car payment — leaving little left over for savings — the 37-year-old, who's based in California's Bay Area, told Business Insider via email.One day, a former coworker gave her an idea: She could look for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-2-full-time-remote-jobs-overemployed-millennial-started-business-2024-7">remote side gig</a> to pad her income — and not bother disclosing it to her current employer. So Olivia decided to give it a shot, and it paid off.Last year, Olivia made nearly $250,000 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-3-full-time-remote-jobs-overemployment-reddit-millennial-debt-2024-1">secretly working her full-time job</a> — which required her to work from the office a few days a week — and a part-time, remote, contract role. She said she collectively worked between 60 and 70 hours in the typical week — including some early mornings, evenings, and weekends — but that the extra hours were well worth the money.That's because the extra income helped her pay off the last $20,000 of her student debt, afford an elective surgery her insurance wouldn't cover, boost her <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/how-to-check-your-credit-score">credit score</a> from the 700s to 800s, buy a second car, book a two-week vacation, get a gym membership, and afford healthier food, Olivia said. What's more, she said the reduction in financial stress that came with a higher income is a key reason she's in a "healthy" romantic relationship for the first time in over a decade.However, there's one area where Olivia's income still feels frustratingly insufficient: the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/mortgages/home-prices-drop">housing market</a>. She said her combined income isn't high enough to qualify for many mortgages in the vicinity of her office, where she said the average home price is well over $1 million. In California's Bay Area cities of San Francisco and San Jose, a homebuyer would need an income of more than $400,000 to qualify for a standard mortgage on a median-priced home, according to a New York Times <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/realestate/trying-for-a-mortgage-heres-how-much-money-you-need-to-make.html">analysis</a> of Redfin data published last year. What's more, home prices in the Bay Area have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/making-it-in-the-bay/bay-area-median-home-prices-new-highs-report/3625793/#:~:text=The%20median%20single%2Dfamily%20home,Francisco%20Bay%20Area%20housing%20news.">risen</a> even further over the past 12 months.Additionally, Olivia said the high costs of rent, car insurance, groceries, and utilities in her area have made it difficult for her to save for a down payment. According to an analysis by the online bill-paying service Doxo published in June, California is the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-least-expensive-states-household-bills-hawaii-california-west-virginia-2024-6#10-new-hampshire-1">second most expensive state</a> in the nation in terms of household bills."If employers aren't willing to pay anyone, even educated professionals, enough to live then they can hardly be surprised that their employees are pursuing multiple sources of income," said Olivia, whose identity is known to BI but asked to use a pseudonym due to fears of professional repercussions.Olivia is among the "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-florida-worker-tech-jobs-cruise-side-hustle-advice-2024-2">overemployed</a>" Americans who have secretly worked multiple jobs to boost their incomes and job security — BI has interviewed over two dozen of these <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/working-multiple-remote-jobs-dont-feel-guilty-overemployed-secret-jobs-2024-2">job jugglers</a>. These people have earned as much as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-x-work-2-remote-full-time-jobs-million-dollars-2024-5">$1 million</a> annually across their roles and used the extra money to pay off <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-worker-student-loan-debt-arizona-millennial-side-hustle-2024-4">student debt</a>, afford <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-florida-worker-tech-jobs-cruise-side-hustle-advice-2024-2">luxurious vacations</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-jobs-full-time-tech-productivity-work-retirement-savings-2023-12">save for a home</a>. Most overemployed people BI has interviewed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-jobs-workers-millennials-tech-overemployment-retirement-savings-2024-2">have been men</a>, in part because IT and tech companies — popular employers for job jugglers due to the prevalence of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-jobs-work-top-industries-and-roles-2023-1">remote roles</a> — tend to be more <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-remote-worker-woman-secretly-works-two-jobs-tech-millennial-2024-3">male-dominated</a>. However, some women are also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overemployed-worker-remote-full-time-woman-childcare-secret-jobs-manufacturing-2024-6">working multiple gigs</a> on the sly.While some companies may be OK with their employees taking on a second gig, doing so without employer approval could have consequences. Additionally, competition for remote roles, return-to-office mandates, and burnout have led some job jugglers to wonder whether their overemployment is sustainable.Olivia shared how she's managed to juggle both jobs, why overemployment has improved her romantic life, and whether she thinks her job juggling is sustainable.<h2 id="a8189faf-83d9-401e-81b8-beb70023b281">Overemployment has helped her pursue a relationship for the "right reasons"</h2>Juggling a full-time hybrid job with a part-time remote gig — and keeping it a secret from your employers — could be quite stressful at times, Olivia said.Of the 60 to 70 hours she worked between both jobs in a typical week, she said between 20 and 40 were dedicated to her contract gig. She focused on this gig early in the morning, in the evening, on the weekends, or during working hours on the days her full-time employer allowed her to work from home.She said her contract role had flexible hours and few meetings, which helped make her job juggling possible. Both jobs were in entirely different industries, which made it less likely that either of her employers would uncover her job juggling, she added.While overemployment has increased Olivia's work-related stress, it's reduced her financial stress — something she said has helped her pursue a healthy romantic relationship."I know that I'm in the relationship for the right reasons — not financial security — and I don't feel like I am, or will be, a burden on him," Olivia said. "We have floated the idea of starting a family, which previously would have been an absolute no from me due to financial constraints and stress."<h2 id="e1e6a9c8-180a-400b-91f0-61ce3980a01f">There's likely an expiration date on her overemployment journey</h2>Olivia said she expects the boost overemployment has provided to her finances to be relatively short-lived. That's because the long working hours can take a toll, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-wfh-jobs-application-odds-tech-market-rto-2023-9">remote job opportunities</a> can be difficult to land."I don't believe that I can maintain this kind of life for more than a couple of years," she said, adding, "I have no delusions of an early retirement."For now, Olivia said she's trying to last as long as she can. A few months ago, she swapped her hybrid job for a fully remote role that pays more and offers a "considerably better" work-life balance.While she sometimes wishes she made more money and worked fewer hours, she said she's sometimes reminded of how far she's come. For example, a few months ago, she was able to pay over $3,000 for vehicle maintenance expenses without taking on any credit card debt."What would have been a tremendous stress a year ago and likely required sacrifices for months was just a minor inconvenience," she said.And slowly, she's let herself enjoy some of the perks of a higher-income life."I am moving out of a poverty and survival mindset," she said, adding, "I feel like I can agree to outings without looking at the menu cost, or can grab something at the store on impulse without having to trade it for something else."However, when it comes to homeownership, she remains pessimistic. As long as she lives in her area of California, she's not sure she'll ever buy a home."To get something even livable that would pass inspections would require me to maintain this level of employment for the foreseeable future and still risk being house-poor," she said. "It isn't worth it."Are you working multiple remote jobs at the same time and willing to provide details about your pay and schedule? If so, reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:jzinkula@businessinsider.com">jzinkula@businessinsider.com</a>.

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