I'm a software engineer, and I've had some stumbles in my career and in my life. I think I've made it out alright so far though :D. I'm here to talk about my experiences, and hopefully some of what I say is relatable to you too!
I hope you find a job soon man. I checked your LinkedIn and it's been a year since you've worked. Kind of concerning for a very dedicated and nice guy. I'm also a software engineer, and it's so hard to find a job. I had to take a contract position while I look for a new full-time job just to give me a minor boost and give me money to keep going. Thousands of applications, tons of weird interviews, tons of Ghosting's by recruiters (Literally after telling me I had an interview lined up), and so many variations to my resume to attempt to switch fields. I also had 4 interviews go away because the companies ran out of money to hire for the position I was interviewing for literally in the middle of the interview. Basically told I was moved on to the next round, but they don't need the position anymore, so thank you, but we will not be interviewing you anymore. Also, the difficulty of the interviews have scaled sky high. LeetCode couldn't have helped me for half of my interviews tbh. One take home project was writing a drone path planner in python and plot the path on an html map (Killed this one and made it through three rounds before I was told the position was eliminated and my interview process stopped right there), another was using threading and a quad tree to optimize an algorithm in 2 days (Only got the threading done), while having a full-time job, another was do a simple hackerrank in C# (perfect score on the assignment and dragged for weeks about getting another interview, even after being told I passed the round. I was ultimately removed from the interviewing pool last minute for reason I'm not sure of because it was an initial assignment and it was for a very basic job), and a star data clustering algorithm using another quad tree (I just didn't do it because I physically didn't have the time between other interviews and working). I can honestly say that I did have a few interviews I flopped on for not being prepared, but I can honest say that this string of interviews, overall, has been my best in my career with very little return. I found that the interviewers in tech are being hyper critically of literally everything you say or do in the interview. On one interview, I was told I was moving on because I was able to answer all the technical questions, but I jumped around in my logic a bit and that could be a sign I have problems completing task. I have years of experience so I feel as if I wasn't able to get work done, I wouldn't have stayed with companies for many years basically getting away with doing 20+ hours of work for several years without anyone questioning how long it took me to complete tasking, while still moving up in my career. I've landed jobs with way less rigor on my part in the past. Even during the hiring craze of 2022, I was able to land 7 offers in a week of applying for pretty big government contractors and some medium size tech companies. The questions in the interviews are basically the same as they were when I first began as a software engineer, but just scaled up in difficulty and complexity. I'm not a super smart guy, but I can tell something else is off with how hiring is being done in just a few years. I have a Master's Degree from Brown in Computer Science, with 10 years of experience in robotics, computer vision, graphical user interface design, satellite data, and networking all in C++, C, Python, Java, or C#. The job search in tech seems like an impossible journey. I have 4 interviews lined up now. Wish me luck! I would have had 5 if one of the recruiters didn't ghost me after we tried to plan my first interview via email. On the bright side, I've landed 4 full-time job offers over the last 6 months of applying and interviewing. I'm currently working a contract position I found 3 months after being laid off so I can have more time to find a position that will support my old standards of living. The problem is that the companies offered salaries were significantly lower than what I was making before I was laid off, so I had to reject them after months of interviewing. I was laid off a few months after being hired on a team that ran out of money a month after I started working, so I knew I was going to get laid off eventually with no work, but couldn't just look for new jobs immediately because I was under contract. It was cheaper for me to wait to get laid off instead of me just leaving myself. Good Luck man! We all need it right now. (Also, I'm not a great writer and don't claim to be, but I wanted to tell my story about the current job market. It's unusually difficult for people in tech.)
put yourself first. very well said. and those seniors not willing to help or (gate)keeping their leverage in a corporate job in an industry full of layoffs are just being toxic. wow. like a real sswe. soft software engineer.
I got a huge headache after a laboratory class i had today and something about social situations makes me overthink like mad. so much that I can't pay attention to what I'm doing or supposed to be doing and it makes me feel even more awkward. it's like trying to solve a complex math puzzle while you're drunk but every negative thought is like taking another shot that leads to more headache and less ability to focus which leads to disfunction.
Im so so thankful that u shared this. I was the same for a long time to the point that i had to take clonazepam to even leave the house. Now that i overcame this, it tends to annoy some ppl and i've been told to be quit and more in the background. Your story reminded me of my journey and how hard it was to learn to speak my mind, to laugh at my awkward moments and speak to everyone without heavy feeling of stress or shame. Its ok to be yourself, its ok to make mistakes, its ok to be judged( we all go through this lets not kid ourselves) . At the end of the day you wanna hangout with ppl who knows you and still likes you anyway.
EXACT SAME STORY AS MEEEEEE BRO, it was terrible for me tho bc tho i started to mange it it was terrible because i used to have to deal with excessive phsyical symptoms like Excessive shaking, excessive sweating on my hands that people often felt weird whenever i shaked their hands theyd alwYs wipe sweat and (the worst one) excessive flushing. I couldnt enjoy part time jobs like normal people, Sometimes i coulsnt even talk with my closest friends and even buying stuff wad the hardest thing for me. So because of thsi stuff i awlays avoided eye contact or interaction with people because i was scared these physical symptoms would happen that I withdrew myself and like u explained people who didnt understand what social anxiety was like would often think i was weird or mean or had a prejudice against them. And non of that was true and it broke me everyday having to deal with the pain of being misunderstood. I still to this day struggle with it and i sometimes wish people could read my mind to understand that the person i project myself to be is very different from the person I really am. No its not true that im not looking at you because i hate you its because i care too much about what could go wrong in even talking to you. And thats just something i wish people could understand.
I got a software engineering job at a medium sized company (just 400 employees in total worldwide unlike the thousand employee big tech companies). The problem with software engineer graduates is that most of them are looking at the wrong place. They all want to get in Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Google, the big corporations. Most of them expect 6 digit salaries asap as that was the promise of becoming a software engineer. My advice, don't feel so entitled, find work and opportunities outside the big corporations, there are plenty of medium sized companies in need and looking for software engineers and developers. They may not pay 6 digits, but you won't be jobless. Furthermore, it's not just software engineers but everyone from every industry is finding it harder to find jobs which is the norm when there's a worldwide inflation and recession going on. If you have a degree and have a hard time finding work. Think of all the thousands who couldn't afford to get a degree trying to find jobs right now. Us software engineers aren't the only people finding it hard to get settled in the economy, everyone from every sector is. As a software engineer, I find it there's this entitlement culture within the software engineering community. I want a 6 digit salary, I want longer vacation times, I want more company perks. I want, I want. Becoming a software engineer is not a get rich quick scheme. It's about being an "engineer", you're not just coding, you're gonna do boring, repetitive, tedious work, you're going to have to take charge, manage, hone your skills. A software engineer is a solution finder. You find solutions to difficult problems. And a successful software engineer is a team player. You have to learn to work in a team, communicate, plan and collaborate. You're not going to do leetcode. That's just for the interview. You're going to have to deal with real world problems and experience. That's what you're supposed to be doing. Of course every employee is driven by the promise of being paid well so they can have a good and better life. But if you're sole focus is money, but you do not find your field of work personally interesting and you do not enjoy the computer science industry, you're gonna find it harder to become motivated to be a more competent software engineer if money is your sole motivation.
What happened to trusting people? This testing culture is sickening. It's all bullshit, used for marketing purposes only. "We only employ tested and vetted developers of the outmost highest understanding and top skills in the whole universe, because we do not believe in anyone than ourselfves." Utter trash is what it is. Do you think a doctor gets a home assignment? Do you think your car mechanic will do home assignment? No, they will not.
One thing I’ve been doing to help w/ my anxiety is just breaking the ice right away, and telling the person(s) im meeting that I’m shy & a bit socially awkward, and it helps me feel better in the situation after that👍
Better than the multi-billionaires paying more taxes. The government should order Big tech to develop algorithms that creates a universal base income (UBI) based on OUR DATA and establish a fair valuation that would compensate us the consumers for the use of OUR DATA, (world's greatest commodity) by big tech development of marketing strategies that only generate billions of dollars for big tech monopolies. Right now, we get nothing in return but scientific personalized advertising inviting us to keep consuming and enlarging the already obscene multi-billion big tech pockets without any financial benefit for us the other 98%.
With 25 years of experience, im having a different issue. Where are all the eager and curious junior developers?? Maybe companies are not hiring for those same junior roles, where there is an expectation of the need for growth and even mentoring. My recommendation is to build trusted relationships wirh helpful senoir developers. Realize that helping them is helping you. Dont be taken advantage of, but be useful
Great video. I especially relate to comparing yourself with others. It's easier said than done and I know I shouldnt do it. I am currently in a leadership role and it looks really great on paper. It's a remote role, company is relatively not breathing around your neck for targets, but the burnout is still real especially the pressure I put on myself of constantly feeling like a failure even nobody is really telling this to me. The people around me greatly affect that feeling especially when the company culture is all about visibility and being vocal about sharing your work in group chat, public emails, which really is not me so I constantly feel I am not the type of person who fits in. I am grateful of this job, but have been unhappy for a very long time.
i’m really glad that i found this video got all my answers and i’m going to read all 3 of the books that you’ve mentioned thank you soo much it really helped 🙏🏻
I quit software after 8 years of working..its been 10 month now ,,,am still recovering from health issues i got from the extreme stress in the job.I dont know what to do now, i m just lost..as i cant go back to software ..its like a deadend now for me...i ve almost run out of my saving ,,yet dont know what to do..i can teach physics and maths but it wont pay me as well as IT also it is very competitive here in india.
thank you for a realistic vid on not just the same old study skill tips , and actually discussing the very real barriers we feel and how to overcome them 🥺
1. Never criticize or complain 2. Be careful in arguments, completely destroying the other dude makes unnecessary enemies. So control your temper, understand the other person's perspective 3. Awkward convos are normal. It happens sometimes... don't stress over it so much 4. Avoiding an interaction cause of anxiety is only going to make it harder to face the next time the same scenario comes 5. Don't trash yourself for something that didn't go quite right. Take that as a learning point. 6. Don't overthink stuff that you can't control. Go learn Still D.R.E on the piano instead. The video has a list as well at 13:09
The lesson at the end of this video is not it. Numbers and luck for sure did not matter as much as swallowing your pride and working at the skills you are being hired for.
i avoid others because i don’t wanna get killed, stabbed, or just die. it’s probably due to seeing my dad die in the hospital when i was 9. for your information, i am currently 16 years old. i have something that tells me i’m gonna die on June 28, 2028. i don’t understand this mental “message” or threat🤷♀️
If you are the smartest person in the room.... You are in the wrong room. Your interview reminds me of one of mine. When I got out of the military, I applied at MCI WorldCom (bonus if you remember them!) for a job as a SONET fiber optic transport engineer. I knew jack shit about fiber optics and even less about the SONET architecture. I studied the tech for a few days. Books only, this was 2000. I bullshitted the interview, got the job and was now making more than any 23 year old had a right to make. I found a guy quickly that I trusted and confided in him that I had no idea what the fuck I was doing. He was cool and taught me what I needed to know. Good times. Fake it till you make it. What did I have to lose?
