Ask HN: Tech career advice for unsexy but decently paying jobs($100k, US remote)

- They tend to work with recruiters who don't specialize in tech and end up rejecting resumes for superfluous reasons like not having "experience with JSON". These recruiters are also vulnerable to dishonest/targeted resumes and skip over people with relevant experience in alternative technologies.

- They only hire one or two people at a time. A big tech org could be picking up 5-10 people every week through the same JD.

- Nepotism runs rampant here because there isn't a standard org-wide interview process involving multiple people. Often the whole thing is CYA theatre when the HM already knows who they want to hire, or they need to immigrate a neighbor or relative.

The recent Elon-led assault on tech workers is still in full swing.

From 1 year ago, the number of remote opportunities that come across my desk have reduced by ~90%...

The highest paying jobs I see are at the FAANGS. Other than that, the jobs all seem to be within a few percent of each other. Many employers in my area start off as contracts where you need to exceed expectations for a couple of years to be converted to permanent full time.

1. Mid-sized company (100-500 people)

2. with a *solid* business model (e.g. people pay for stuff)

3. that doesn't depend 100% on investor money (especially VC money).

That's it. Don't fall for 10x growth startups, AI hype, crypto, whatever. Choose real, solid business where it's easy to understand where the money comes from and that either are profitable or have an *extremely clear path* to profitability that can be explained in one short sentence (e.g. "our customers pay for our services and it's enough fo us to pay our bills and your salary").