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If they bite, give them a chance. If not, execute 'plan B'.
It's really the only way you get to wear all the hats and solve lots of different problems in lots of technology domains and IMHO the best way to become a true full stack developer.
I can't tell you exactly how to find those types jobs, but I can tell you I've managed to over spend half of my 25 year career working in those types of companies.
Well maybe I do have some hints. I guess in the early days I did a lot of networking and going to events and meetups and such.
Then within the past 10 years I have started blogging and podcasting which exponentially increased my luck surface area and as a result a lot more opportunities come my way.
Anyway, best of luck with it!
If you're in PDT or MDT timezone, interested in working remote for a startup (higher risk, below-market-value pay, great mission, small team, challenging work), feel free to contact me and we can see what happens.
Quit, join a small company. I did five long years at a multinational megacorp without realizing that life could be better. It was like prison for programmers. When I finally quit to be employee #5 at a bootstrapped startup it was a revelation. After I had been at the startup for a month it still didn't feel real - it felt like I was on vacation from my previous job. It took a long time for it to sink in that I didn't…
* Moving expenses to $EXPENSIVE_TECH_CITY
* Student loan debt
* Credit card debt
* Car loan + auto insurance
* Severe pay cut
* No experience building CRUD apps
Or MSCCSN for short.
Look for a company that is quite different from your current one (e.g. a major software company, another size, another location) and then try again. If you recognize that these two points are still the same you definitely need to change something about your style. But for now changing the company seems the most reasonable choice.
It sounds like the perfect place for you is to work for a funded/profitable startup that has less than 20 people working in it. Preferably smaller. It's really the only way you get to wear all the hats and solve lots of different problems in lots of technology domains and IMHO the best way to become a true full stack developer. I can't tell you exactly how to find those types jobs, but I can tell you I've managed to…
I love this expression. Coincidentally I owe my current job to a blog post I made a few years ago, and I'm not even a prolific blogger.
I was in a similar position. Non-software company, basically one of two developers in a group whose focus was business. We would occasionally interact with other software teams in other departments to integrate our systems, and I would cherish those moments; but it was clear that across the organization overall view of software was that of a necessary evil.
I tried to convince the group about taking a new approach to how we developed software, to perhaps have more communication between the sparsely distributed software team, I even made a presentation over software processes, how we could improve... nothing ever changed anything. All they really cared was that we made the wishes of the sales team real...
After a year of firefighting, dealing with poor processes, and feeling overall undervalued I resigned to resume my PhD. My advice is that you change to a software company, and in general that you join a company where your role is a first class citizen (I've heard similar complains of friends who are, in say, a finance position within a structural engineering firm).
On the other hand, I left with a strong impression that these type of non-software or software adverse companies are great candidates for companies to either sell services or to directly compete against with more efficient services... perhaps a route I'll one day take.
Cheers!
First, if you're working in an organization like this, it means they value cost management over product. I know that's a sweeping generalization because it's possible to build good products with offshore teams, but it takes tremendous effort, or unusual coordination at the offshore location. This brings me to the second point.
If the product work is being driven by the onshore team, at the ratios mentioned, then a large portion of your time will be coordinating with the offshore team. This can be a demoralizing process. I've often found that it would take me an hour to do what it took me 30 minutes to coordinate and the offshore team 3 hours to implement, for example. The response from management is that this is still a force multiplier and so it's worthwhile.
So as a rule, I avoid companies that do this and I walk away when the offshore cost savings buzz is in the air.
If you actually enjoy building software, then that's a special gift. Many people you'll come across in the profession regard it as a job. You should seek an environment where the people seem to have an active interest in these things.
I don't know where you live, but you might look into an HN meetup or something similar. As others have said, work on building up an informal network. It only takes one good connection to make a great difference in your professional life. Good luck!
> I'm very unhappy at my company > Am I expecting too much? > Is this just how software engineering is? > my own unrealistic expectations > I generally don't get any response whatsoever > it would at least be nice to get some feedback, and I never get any > I just can't seem to connect with anyone at work > there might not be enough interest to warrant having such meetings > you can do what is essentially bad work an…