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Probably get downvoted for this but seek a job outside a computer. Plenty of engineering gigs onsite, petroleum, civil, mechanical, etc. tbh you sound depressed and sitting in front of a computer will only compound the issue. IMO- Comp sci jobs are crutches at best. Best of luck.
The market for tech recruiting has been hit as hard and in some ways harder than the market for tech workers. Most folks are finding or placing jobs through in-network referrals and recruiters are finding much lower demand for their services after a long period of having it good.
I know some actually good recruiters and really feel for those folks right now, as well as early career folks like yourself. It took me 8+ months to find a job myself in 2023.
Wishing you the best of luck in your search! Sincerely rooting for you and hope your luck will turn around.
I think you might be over-indexing on the process of getting a job, and under-indexing on the process of /doing/ a job. Yes, getting a job sucks -- for a few weeks or months as you work through the process. But once you have that job, it will take up more than a third of your waking hours for, ideally, years. What can imagine doing for 2000 hours of the next 8760? What would you /enjoy/ doing? That, more than the con…
This. If you haven't been naturally excited to work on your own projects during this downtime, this field might not be for you.
For example, I'm excited to work on my own projects, toying with new languages, teaching my kids, etc, but the overwhelming priority is to find something that pays the bills, and after a long and demoralizing day following that goal, I have little energy to invest much in a shot-in-the-dark side project, even if I had a good idea for one.
I think you might be over-indexing on the process of getting a job, and under-indexing on the process of /doing/ a job. Yes, getting a job sucks -- for a few weeks or months as you work through the process. But once you have that job, it will take up more than a third of your waking hours for, ideally, years. What can imagine doing for 2000 hours of the next 8760? What would you /enjoy/ doing? That, more than the con…
This feels a little tone deaf and a bit useless. OP does not have a job and, especially in a the crumby market that we’re in for tech work, they just need anything they can get. You’re speaking from a place way higher on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs than where OP is currently. It’s hard to imagine yourself in a position where you can casually choose who you want to work for if you are not even getting interviews or of…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that success isn’t from individual “great engineers” but from excellent teams and collaborations. We over emphasise the myth of the solo genius, for example, as it fits neatly into “stories”. There are many cases where the heroic genius “great engineer” seems to be the solution to all of the problems… until they get sick or fired and suddenly the remaining team becomes far more productive than they were befor…
So no such thing as a good or bad engineer? Just teams then? Have you ever worked by yourself? I think the bias today is actually against individuals and for community. Money ball didn’t get them the best team it got them the better team than others expected for less money.
> If you haven't been naturally excited to work on your own projects during this downtime, this field might not be for you. reply
Being successful in this field doesn't require programming in your spare time - especially so not while going through a difficult period in life. To think that is the case is a case of pattern matching on a simplistic pattern.
> Do you think you can become a really good engineer without being personally motivated and curious?
No one said that OP wasn't personally motivated nor curious. Again that (in my opinion) is faulty pattern matching. People can be both motivated and curious without taking your one prescribed path. Separately, nothing in this question was about OP trying right now to become a "really good engineer". If your top goal in life is only to be really good at your job, you may want to broaden your horizons w.r.t. your priorities in life. Studying a field, becoming good at it, and making a living doing that is a very wise choice - none of that requires becoming one of the top 10% at that role.
> So no such thing as a good or bad engineer?
No one made a statement even remotely like this. This is a strawman you chose to "reply to" rather than respond to what the prior commenter said.
I don't think your advice is good advice for OP nor a good outlook for anyone starting their career regardless of how ambitious they may be.
I think you might be over-indexing on the process of getting a job, and under-indexing on the process of /doing/ a job. Yes, getting a job sucks -- for a few weeks or months as you work through the process. But once you have that job, it will take up more than a third of your waking hours for, ideally, years. What can imagine doing for 2000 hours of the next 8760? What would you /enjoy/ doing? That, more than the con…
This. If you haven't been naturally excited to work on your own projects during this downtime, this field might not be for you.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you don’t have a degree you almost certainly don’t have years of (professional) software development experience. The only exception in my experience (and this helped me get a job when I was a new grad) is having a large portfolio of tangible projects. Not just react tutorials, programs that solve a problem someone had or did something interesting. For example, I did a lot of programming in middle school and high s…
... there are still a lot of people in this business who don't have a college degree. Doesn't stop them from being professionals.
You only need to compete in dev/IT when you lack relationships. It's not about raw talent or raw output but instead absolute trust. Confidence that you (or whoever) has a good sense of direction and is grounded in their work. I don't trust anyone in this industry who has never had a mentor. I would never work with anyone else in this industry who is themselves not already a part of an active community where they are…
work for interesting people, not companies. do lots of interviews until you get an offer and like your boss/manager/etc. working for interesting people is a joy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> IMO- Comp sci jobs are crutches at best. Can you explain more what is meant here?
Staring at a computer screen for a career will result in a net negative life imo. I meant that as the money will keep you happy enough but you’ll most probably lead a very hampered quality of life.