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Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

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Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#41

Post by jSully24 »

Pick any industry and this environment we’re experiencing in “CS” is going to occur 3 or 4 times in your working years. No matter if you’re an electrician or a software developer.

Do you like building software? Based on your post I get a feeling (which may be wrong) you’re looking for the $$.

If you like it, stay with it and keep studying. It will pay off.

(Edit: my experience) I left college and started out writing COBOL. Several dot com busts later and I was lucky enough to lead several SaaS teams and have wonderful exits.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#42

Post by noodle »

thorncorona wrote: post #3

You really should stop doomscrolling though. Reddit and Blind are terrible sources of information. Compilers didn't decrease the number of programming positions available. In any case, pick your struggle. Decide whether you want to be well-off and bored, or something else. You're likely in a lot of student debt after uni, and even though job market is harder, there are still jobs available. If you switch fields, you…

Agree with this. There are also still lots of companies hiring CS grads. They just aren't paying FAANG level comps. Kind of strange to hear people say they're going to pivot into being a garbage man if they can't get the $200k+ TC straight out of school.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#43

Post by EchoChamberMan »

ethagnawl wrote: post #35

One option would be to land a steady, secure and simple job like a refuse worker. I know it might sound ridiculous for someone graduating with a CS degree but it could work to your benefit -- especially if you're feeling burnt out and unsure about your field/focus. A friend of mine drives a garbage truck in a small town and works 3-4 hours per day: as long as it takes to do the route and empty the truck. He's got gre…

Ah, good suggestion!

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#44

Post by EchoChamberMan »

acheron wrote: post #36
readingnews wrote: post #28

You need to do some soul searching (or, I like punk rock, "you've got soul doubt", to quote Fat Mike)... Are you just nervous because of the news you are reading OR "my interest in webdev is still dead" Have you gone through your college career and you realized you do not like CS? You need to answer this question first. Then you have the answer... if you love CS, the the job will come. Forget what you are reading and…

> "my interest in webdev is still dead" > Have you gone through your college career and you realized you do not like CS? The Venn diagram of “web development” and “computer science” is two separate circles.

Wow, ivory tower treating you well I guess?

[Edit]

I apologize for my swipe.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#45

Post by tekla »

charlie0 wrote: post #25
runeblaze wrote: post #15

Random personal opinion: get a masters degree, researching computer vision or NLP, or something that hedges you against AI. Or if you are inclined, do a PhD. Also you sounds like you are a bit burned out. Translating sounds even much more AI-replacable than CS -- don't do that if you fear CS. (Also Blind is toxic albeit informational! Call up some people. Ask me; or ask HN or some less negative places for how the ind…

This is a huge bet and it's going to further increase their student debt. If it doesn't pay off, they'll be much worse off than just moving back home with their parents and trying to say, start a business or freelance.

If you pay for a masters or pHD you have done something incredibly wrong.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#46

Post by baner2020 »

You got the skills , companthemselves don’t know where the future is and is acting out in panic. The coding and marathon interview is only an indication of how toxic their workspace is. Not that you are suitable or eligible to get that work

Research what you can build, get with others and start a business for others are stuck with their toxic ways and you can reach any goal you want

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#47

Post by tekla »

EchoChamberMan wrote: post #44
acheron wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "my interest in webdev is still dead" > Have you gone through your college career and you realized you do not like CS? The Venn diagram of “web development” and “computer science” is two separate circles.

Wow, ivory tower treating you well I guess? [Edit] I apologize for my swipe.

No? Web Dev and Com Sci are incredibly different topics.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#48

Post by sublinear »

Yeah since most app dev inevitably involves some web dev I don't see that going away.

Also since so many people in web dev only know web dev (and they're usually not great at it), your skills otherwise will make you the stronger candidate. You can ask for a much higher salary in a tech lead or architect role and it may only take a few years to get there depending on the organization.

If you have passion for your work there's still plenty of opportunity and things are recovering, not regressing.

The big bad copypasta monster (AI) is not a threat in the slightest for anyone with a CS degree, but especially if you're willing to get closer to business needs and further away from implementation details.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#49

Post by EchoChamberMan »

tekla wrote: post #47
EchoChamberMan wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, ivory tower treating you well I guess? [Edit] I apologize for my swipe.

No? Web Dev and Com Sci are incredibly different topics.

He said they are a venn diagram with no overlap.

I feel like that fact they both use computer programming negates that argument.

Re: Ask HN: Any advice on navigating this job market or pivoting out of tech? (US)

#50

Post by nmca »

Few counterpoints:

* AI is better for juniors than seniors. It doesn't do legwork; it just provides knowledge.

* Blind is a toxic hellscape and redditors are broadly pretty dim.

Plausibly AI is a problem for your employment in like ~2 years; so I'd speedrun into SWE somewhere where you can make as much use of AI as possible (e.g. ask about whether the firm allows copilot, etc). There's no better industry to be in that tech for the next five years; ignore the noise.

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