<prompt> Human: Dear PF,Ive been out of college for 9 months with a degree in Civil Engineering and have my EIT Engineer In Training license. Ive been working for a small 25 person firm. While we have two offices, the majority are in San Antonio and 4 of us are in Austin. On Wednesday of last week, I found out I got a 6 yearly raise which was fantastic to hear. This morning, I found out one engineer is leaving for another firm, while another EIT was laid off today. A few weeks ago, a CAD tech was laid off. I am not sure whether to be worried like there is no work or if this is just part of the having an official job process. I am 95 billable, meaning all my time working goes to projects weve been working on, with the rest being holiday hours. Really just hoping some of you can calm my nerves. Have a pleasant day.  <response>: Many employers use lay-offs to get rid of staff who arent doing a great job. If the two employees werent the best workers, it might have made sense from a business standpoint to let them go while rewarding you for your good work. And, since they were laid off, those employees are qualified for unemployment.If possible, you really want to stay in that first job a couple years. You want to get some experience to put on your resume.But be on the lookout for possible signs of financial instability. If the company has further layoffs, having emergency savings and having gotten good job experience could be valuable. 