I haven’t even been out of college two years, and I’m getting overwhelmed and on the verge of losing it. We hired many with 10+ years of experience in cloud and all those fields and they DONT KNOW ANYTHING. They don’t know terraform, vpcs, any kind of networking.

Yet they have titles like senior ai/cloud buzzwords while I’m literally an associate and I do all the work.

I feel miserable, every time I say something I need to repeat it 10 times, they still won’t get it. They nod and say they got it yet when something is due they reach out a day before.

I’m just miserable and I feel like I’m about to lose it, I’m constantly getting messages and meeting invites from people to explain things. Which I KNOW THEY WONT PAY ATTENTION OR LEARN.

WHY AM I TEACHING SENIOR ENGINEERS THINGS AS AN ASSOCIATE.

I remember that the meta used to be that to differentiate yourself and improve your CV to land your first job or intership, you had to have a strong showcase of technical personal projects. However, I feel that this has stopped being the case.

I mean, somebody can just create a few beginner-level personal projects by just using AI. Has that made personal projects less relevant for hiring?

What can someone do now instead?

And if so, which one was it? Did you qualify for higher paying jobs? Was the hiring process faster for you?

I was in BE team but recently there are more FE tasks that they want me to help with.

I know basic React like I can build simple ToDoList with React

But the FE tasks require more advanced FE knowledage which I don't have

I know that I don't have a big picture/knowaleadge of React.

Then I asked CTO to buy me a course on Udemy cause I'm not exceptional in React.

He said no, I prefer you to ask around other devs here.

Ngl I don't wanna bother other devs, they got their own tasks to do.

So I said ok and I just bought the course for like 50-60USD with my own money ;(

As the title says.

Ps. this is a small team with 6-8 devs. My CTO also sometimes do Customer Support's job since we are a small startup/scale up lol

People often say "programming languages don't matter," meaning a good dev should be able to pick up anything. I agree—up to a point. But there's a big nuance people miss: how well do you actually know the domain?

Think of it this way:

If you’re a backend dev switching from Node to Go, you're learning new syntax, but you already know how APIs work. It's an easy transition.

If you’re a Node dev staying in TypeScript but switching to infrastructure automation, you already know the language, so you can focus entirely on learning the new domain.

But if you’re a Node dev switching to Go for infrastructure work, you're learning the syntax, the domain, and the tools all at once. That's a massive hurdle. It's like trying to cross greased monkey bars.

The ramp-up time is way longer when you're learning both the language and the concepts, which is why I don't buy the blanket "languages don't matter" claim.

What about AI? Some say it makes the language irrelevant since it can write code for you. AI is great for syntax, but if you don't understand the domain, how can you even tell if the code it's giving you is actually good? Just because it runs doesn't mean it's the right way to build it.

AI can help you write code, but it doesn't automatically mean you know how to check if that code is right.

My main point:

I think developers need some kind of solid foundation to start with.

If the language is new, knowing the concepts helps.

If the concepts are new, knowing the language helps.

But if both are new, the learning curve gets a lot steeper.

I'm not saying developers can't learn a new language and a new domain at the same time. Obviously, they can.

I'm saying employers need to account for that extra learning time instead of expecting the same productivity and onboarding speed as someone who already knows the language or the domain.

So maybe "programming languages don't matter" is a bit of an oversimplification.

Maybe a better way to put it is:

"Programming languages matter less when the underlying concepts are familiar."

I'm curious what other engineers think. Have you ever had to jump into a project where both the language and the domain were new to you? How did that affect how long it took to get up to speed?

Hey guys it's ya boy, how do I get a job in producing lights for theatre productions or concerts? Preferably in Europe if you guys have some tips for that. Do I need a specific education or just contacts? I have some experience in avolites and Qlab, and a tiny bit of experience in producing. I wanna make light shows for EDM or designing lights for theatres. Anyway have a lovely day, also completely unrelated love the shirt. Is it new? Love the colors/design:)

I have an opportunity to go back to IC after having been a first line manager for about a year.

I enjoy both roles, but my current org is dying and I found a killer role but it is IC for now with possibility of going back to Manager in the future (same company)

My comp won't change and I kinda miss writing code a little, but it feels like a step back career-wise (I know it's really not)

I’ve spent around 8 years in software development, mainly working with .NET, C#, backend systems and AWS.

Almost two years ago, I stepped away from coding to take on a leadership role in a commodity trading company, handling commercial operations, business development, procurement and sales.

Over this period, I’ve also been getting hands-on with AI tooling, LLMs, local models and agents, building small tools and experimenting with what’s possible.

Now I’m at a crossroads.

I enjoy technology, but I’ve been away from day-to-day software development for nearly two years. Going back means refreshing my skills and catching up with how much the ecosystem has changed. At the same time, my business experience and growing interest in AI have opened up other possibilities.

I’m considering a few options: returning to .NET development, moving towards AI engineering, finding a role that combines technology and business, or continuing to build my own tools.

If you were in my position, what would you do next?

Would you go back to software engineering, make a serious move into AI, or take advantage of the combination of technical and commercial experience?

I’d genuinely appreciate some honest perspectives, especially from people who’ve made a similar transition or have hired for these kinds of roles.

I work in company of 12 people and last 6 months we're been developing 100% with AI. What I notice is:

- Good developers have improved development speed for at least x5.

- Bad developers are still bad developers. They introduce a lot of bugs with AI, missed deadlines, bad code, bad functionalities and failed projects.

- Developers spend now their time with collecting requirements, making product, testing more, deploying, architecting, but they are still in need. This can not be replaced with AI at this point for mid size project.

What's your guys experience?

Edit: Seems like AI bots have taken over Reddit as downvoting real life situation and upvoting doom comments do not make sense at all.

Long story short: rejected after a first round technical interview, got the problem right but it took me the entire interview time, felt like i explained my thought process, drawbacks and advantages each time i proposed a solution.

I live in a major city but one that definitely isn’t a tech hub. feeling pretty dejected as this was my only interview out of the 50 i applied to (to basically every company in my city).

this entire new grad process has really soiled my passion for cs, how do i get it back? how do i approach the job market?

Stats:
US citizen, T100 no name uni, 3.7 GPA, one prior F100 cybersecurity internship (no return offer due to budget)

So this is my first time being put on a PIP. I was on a what my boss called a Pre-PIP. I talked to my friends that have been put on PIP and sounded like it was basically not winnable and that I should just start looking for a new job. I've now been taking time off to take interviews. And now my boss is bugging me about attendance? I thought there was some kind of unwritten understanding that I would just take this time to get a new job? Did I misread this entire situation? I don't think my boss actually cares but maybe he has to cover his own ass?

Edit: In California

Hey guys,

I switched my major my last year of undergrad from graphic design to applied computer science. With the big change I was not able to do any internships and now having trouble landing interviews post grad.

Anyone have any recommendations for good first jobs? I don't have any income requirements just would prefer full-time.

I live in Washington DC for context. Still working on programming skills through certifications but not looking for a software engineering job until further down the line, just needing anything in the field to get out of my retail leadership role.

Title – with all the layoff news, if your company did a large wave of layoffs in light of "restructuring", would you begin applying elsewhere? Why or why not? What factors would influence your decision?

Example, with Netflix – great comp and perks, but is that reason to avoid preparing for the worst?

Hi,

Mid forties, software engineer. I'm comfortable being a senior/lead, no desire to go deeper into management.

I built up a pot of around 1 mill working in the private sector.

Living comfortably with about 20k expenses a year.

I now have an offer to join civil service (UK) for 60k/year, down from 85k year in private sector.

If this was pre-AI and I wasn't getting grey hair on the head, I'd stay in the private sector for the money.

AI feels like it's coming to apoint where it could reduce headcounts quite significantly and grey hair is starting to pop in, though.

I wouldn't want to wait too long to join the civil service and guarantee employment until retirement, but I would also not want to leave money on the table.

Do you have any advise around my concerns, about timing, about factors I should really take into consideration, ... ?

I want to get into software development and I have the opportunity to talk to the CTO of a tech company on Friday. What questions should I ask him and why should I ask those questions.

I'm curious to hear from developers who are a few years into their careers.

When you're starting out, there are so many things to focus on — DSA, projects, system design, new frameworks, certifications, networking, and interview preparation.

Looking back, what actually made the biggest difference in your career growth?

• Getting better at DSA and problem-solving?
• Building real-world projects?
• Learning system design?
• Switching companies?
• Networking and referrals?
• Something else entirely?

I'd love to hear what genuinely helped you grow, what turned out to be a waste of time, and what you'd recommend to someone starting their career today.

I have around 10 years of experience in QA automation, including Playwright, TypeScript, API testing, CI/CD, and SQL.
I’m interested in transitioning to a Forward Deployed Engineer role, particularly in AI/LLMs.
Is this a realistic career transition?
What skills should I focus on to make the switch?
Any advice from people who have made a similar transition?

Hello everyone,

I’m a young/early career 24yr old software engineer that’s been working professionally for about 2.5 years. I’ve been living in the Midwest my whole life , and recently started my new professional job this August.

I 100% want to leave the Midwest and hopefully move to San Diego ASAP but at least by the end of next year, but I’m having trouble figuring out what to do/when to bring up this conversation with my manager.

I was at my previous company for 2 years, and was trying to get a job in San Diego but wasn’t getting any luck. My last job was destroying my mental health, and along with me not enjoying life outside of work, I settled for getting a new job within my city. At my new job, I’m being paid well for my COL and I am enjoying my team and my manager, but my life outside of work sucks and I have never enjoyed life where I’m at now.

My current job requires 3 days in office so I can’t just up and leave to a new city, but there are lots of people that work fully remote around the US. I think many of these people were hired during COVID and are retaining their fully remote position. Going fully remote and moving to San Diego might be a possibility, but I’m worried about when to bring this up to my manager because I’m still new. My current manager also started a couple weeks after I did, so they’re new too.

If this was even a possibility, I most likely wouldn’t get any sort of relocation assistance or COL adjustment for my current role. I’m wondering what the best options are, and how/when I should bring up this conversation with my manager. I don’t want to lose my job but I really can’t stand living here any longer than I have to.

What should I do?

I’m currently a graduate student studying AI and data analytics and am unsure of what types of internships/jobs I should be considering applying to or what skills I should be looking into building.

For context, I finished my undergrad earlier this year in a loosely related computational neuroscience degree that included basic programming, DSA, and data science courses but didn’t go too in depth into any of these topics. I also have internship experience in both data science and ServiceNow, and both my last and current job have been basic IT jobs managing tech support requests and diagnosing network connectivity issues at a small business and at my university.

I feel like I have lots of interest and skills in multiple relevant fields, but am not skilled enough to actually enter any of them. Due of this, filling out applications for any internships is even more stressful and extremely time consuming because my resume seems long but rather unspecific when untailored, but feels weak when trying to apply it to any specific internships.

I like programming but im gonna major in data science because it looks like employment will look good in the future.

Theres alot of similarity between computer science and data science, and data science just has shit more about stats and data. But you take programming and math classes in both majors.

I was just wondering, if there was any down sides of data science that led you away from the field.

TDLR: I just dont want to take the risk of going into a comp sci degree since its very hard for juniors right now, and data science has alot of programming that it uses so I just thought it could be more worth it.

(I have programming experience in c# from making games on unity)

Hi everyone.

I'm studying software engineering, doing my master's degree currently, and I feel like I don't really know what the future holds for me because of the market and my own abilities. I started university right around the boom of LLM's and while I actively avoided using them in my first year and a half, by the end of my third semester I was feeling incredibly insecure about my own skills and the fact that everyone seemed to be using these tools to get ahead so I bit the bullet. In the last 12 months I have become so reliant on AI for my programming tasks that I don't even want to call myself a software engineering student. I got into the field because I really wanted to go into tech but I've taken so many shortcuts at this point that I don't think I'm good enough to do much. I know some theory and I can understand code and how things work, generally, but I'm not good at writing code myself, even for somewhat basic things. I'm trying to stop using AI but it feels like I'd be outpaced if I don't. Seems like the field is going in that direction as a whole and I can't escape it.

I recently spoke to a potential employer and he said he doesn't care for anything students study in university, he believes that the era of AI has signalled the death of software engineering and he wants to focus fully on AI. I disagree with that on so many levels but this is not the only employer who has told me such things. Additionally, even in university we are encouraged to use AI by many lecturers, with the idea that knowing the principles would prevent us from becoming mindless prompters. But I, personally, don't feel like I can really do things well despite following that advice. Feels almost like you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

So what does a student in my situation do? I was considering switching my master next year to something more niche that would force me to have to learn things myself but that comes with its own set of challenges, the major one being employability after completing the degree.

TLDR: AI has made me demotivated, complacent and unemployable, yet it feels inescapable.

I’ve spent around 8 years in software development, mainly working with .NET, C#, backend systems and AWS.

Almost two years ago, I stepped away from coding to take on a leadership role in a commodity trading company, handling commercial operations, business development, procurement and sales.

Over this period, I’ve also been getting hands-on with AI tooling, LLMs, local models and agents, building small tools and experimenting with what’s possible.

Now I’m at a crossroads.

I enjoy technology, but I’ve been away from day-to-day software development for nearly two years. Going back means refreshing my skills and catching up with how much the ecosystem has changed. At the same time, my business experience and growing interest in AI have opened up other possibilities.

I’m considering a few options: returning to .NET development, moving towards AI engineering, finding a role that combines technology and business, or continuing to build my own tools.

If you were in my position, what would you do next?

Would you go back to software engineering, make a serious move into AI, or take advantage of the combination of technical and commercial experience?

I’d genuinely appreciate some honest perspectives, especially from people who’ve made a similar transition or have hired for these kinds of roles.

i started coding around 2022-2023 and tbh i miss those days so much when i was just writing everything manually and crafting my own setups and environments from scratch, like building my little machine the way i wanted it felt so pure and golden, spending hours just figuring things out by myself and feeling that quiet satisfaction when something finally worked after struggling through it all, now i still love shipping things fast and getting stuff out there but idk that hands-on feeling of actually writing the code line by line and making everything myself is something i really miss and it hits different whenever i think about it, i know i can code things up manually nowadays too but you will be left behind and people doesn’t expect that anymore, everyone just wants speed and results and the old way of doing things almost feels outdated even if it still feels so good deep down.

what do you guys feel about this?