I was laid off in 2009. I was on the H1-B visa and I only had a month or so to find another job. It was tough and during the process of applying and interviewing for jobs, I went to my school to meet up with some professors and see if they had any projects or companies they could recommend me to apply for. One of the professors recommended me to apply for a position in a lab which was well funded. I met up with professor who still runs the lab. He convinced me to do a PhD. He sold me on it and that's exactly what I did.