Even that varies based on your ability to find an alternative. If, say, you&#x27;re a well-spoken geeky-looking white guy with a degree from a decent school, the worst-case scenario from a complete meltdown is something like “I took a job one cube over from Dilbert at &lt;big corp&gt; which has trouble keeping developers”.<p>The further you deviate from that (not fluent in the right language, from the wrong minority&#x2F;gender, self-taught, etc.) the more reasonable it is to question how a failure will impact your ability to get jobs at your level or even stay in the field.