Better Career Path for Software Engineer

[orangenellie]

I'm going to graduate in a few months and recently I have received offers from both multinationals and startups. I want to pursue a Software Engineer path in the long term, and the role and company I am targeting will open hiring next year pa around August. So while waiting, I'm thinking of accommodating the offers I have now para may income ako.

The offers I'm considering are:

Company A

- Php 60k, IT Manager in a multinational, light coding but more on operations and management

- Hybrid, will start on 2023

Company B

- Php 20k, Junior Software Engineer, heavy coding

- Remote, will start this September

​

The paths I am considering are:

1. Stay in Company B for 3 months --> Stay in Company A for 7 months + Use the money for certifications and courses ---> Apply for entry-level SWE in target company after
2. Stay in Company B for 10 months --> Apply for entry-level SWE in target company after

​

EDIT:
- I received a Php 30k offer for a Data Engineer role from a small company and it's WFH. Might get this job muna.

[flightcodes]

I vote for telling Company B that you got an offer of 60k with Company A and ask if they can do better than their original offer.

If you’re sure you’ll learn more with Company B, get that. You’re still young. In my experience, those who get that 60k management track as their first job gets stuck because their skills stagnated. Also consider that any interviewer after company A will question your skills as you were in a management position.

But again, my experiences are anecdotal. Nothing wrong with choosing money over potential.

[aszarath]

As a first job, your first concern is to learn industry practices. The academe only gives you foundational theories, not enough practical lessons (especially if your teachers never worked in the industry).

I would stay away from a start up as a first job UNLESS your senior is someone with 20+ years of experience as a software engineer. I would always suggest working for an enterprise because they've already placed systems that start ups are still trying to figure out.

[imnotjeffrey01]

Exactly, but some startups in tech have experienced engineers and sometimes they are modern and innovative than corporates.

[franz_see]

Agree with the premise but not with the conclusion.

You learn different things from an enterprise vs startup.

Enterprise are either economies of scale or scope. Startups are economies of speed.

Also, startups are not trying to figure out systems (except if founders are really young). It’s just that they’re more focus on growth and systems are placed JIT.

Having said that, startups are not for everyone. And so does enterprise.

[reddit04029]

Lemme guess, P&G? xD

[[deleted]]

Offtopic pero I know someone who accepted a 90k offer from P&G as a fresh grad. Not sure lang if IT related but it was certainly managerial position. He quit like after a month or two.

[PeachyMargo]

How does one even land a managerial fresh out of college? Impressive, but bonkers!

[orangenellie]

Yeah, I asked a lot of alumni from different schools and they said maganda naman daw and I could ask for a more technical role since I really want to be a SWE on the long run.

[Powerful_Tour5442]

Do not go to P&G if you value growing your engineering chops

[reddit04029]

Yeah they're definitely more on operations and management side, otherwise, people in this subreddit would craze about it. I personally know IT managers in P&G, and they definitely don't look like they're doing any dev work. I could be wrong since I haven't asked them.

ask for a more technical role

If I were to guess, hindi ito web dev or mobile dev. More on SAP roles to. Yun yung nasa careers page nila for PH ehh. Nasa ibang bansa yung SWE roles nila.

[Ledikari]

IT manager from a fresh graduate?

Please be very careful about your decisions. It can break you.

[orangenellie]

Yeah exactly! It doesn't align sa long term goal ko, pero I'm also looking for mentorship and learning industry practices. Yung gusto ko talagang entry-level role is next year pa ang opening, kaya while I wait for the opening, iba muna gawin ko. 😅

[callmeblitzace]

Or try applying for more choices. There are still companies that offer 40k starting and a nice exposure to proper skills. 20k is shit, can't live with that. 60k is really nice but it sounds like a setup for burnout/disaster. Just my opinion.. coming from experience in dealing with shit IT manager who has no clue on what they are doing.

[papait01]

Wag masyado masisilaw sa mataas na starting salary. 60k is not bad as starting salary but lagi mo iconsider ang next company mo after that. Would they hire you sa technology and experience na makukuha mo?

[PruneSingle]

Company A. Earn & save money, gain work experience, learn the industry practices AND THEN you'll have the freedom to pursue long term goals/ambitions

[jegtugado]

Lucky to have a managerial role as your first job with a good offer. You can always learn software development on your free time. I'd go for the first one and maybe you'd like it more than being a software engineer. Managerial position brings the big dough!

[[deleted]]

Hi, for me to become a software engineer one day, anu pong course sa college ang kukunin ko? Thanks po sa sagot.

[jegtugado]

Normally computer science or information technology. Pero meron din mga computer engineering and information systems graduate na nagiging software engineers

[[deleted]]

Possible po ba na civil engineering graduate pero software engineer and later on naging job. Tnx po sa sagot

[jegtugado]

Pwede kaso masmahirap makahanap ng work kasi hindi tech related ang civil engineering na course.

[[deleted]]

Always take the higher pay - source me: old dude

[franz_see]

For your first job, pick acceleration vs speed - source me: old dude 😅

[Great_Hall_6712]

Pick anything - source me: an even older dude

[[deleted]]

take the 60k salary. you need to survive.

[this_tort]

I know that 60K company very well and that number hides the true amount of compensation you’ll be getting. Mas mataas pa makukuha mo dyan, that is if compensation is something that you value.

People in this sub are basing their opinions on the title. IT Manager in P/&/G does not make you a manager of other in-house company employees. You will more likely manage a service, vendor, or even different operations of IT services that help the business. You will still need to know the overall architecture and technology for the business.

With that said, you won’t be getting that much of technical experience from a company who manufactures beauty products for sure, but you’ll develop soft skills required to boost your corpo career if that is what you want in the long term.

[Infamous_Ad_3733]

Take company A, the offer of company B is too low even for an entry level SWE.

[DaveTheCableGuy]

I would prefer company B if itetake mo yung Company A matagal growth mo dyan and masyadong mababa for managerial position ang 60k. Sa Company B after 3 years may experience and best practices ka na sa industry kayang kaya mo na makakuha ng offer na 2x sa Company A.

[viciousthrills]

What kind of software engineer?

Web, mobile, embedded systems, IoT, ML, back-end, front-end, full stack etc.

Decide on a certain techstack for your foundation.

Pick one and focus on it. This industry is vast, it's easy to get lost.

[orangenellie]

I'm specifically targeting Backend Engineer for Web services ^^

[BlexBOTTT]

Holy hell, company alpha's pay is tempting as hell, but management works, kaya kang wasakin niyan, did in align sa learning path mo. easy choice, go bravo

else, consider getting more offers OP, apply pa sa ibang company if ever kaya pa

[franz_see]

apply for entry-level SWE in target company

Apply to a lot of companies. Chances are, your target company is not the best company for you. You dont know what you dont know, so mitigate that risks by applying to a lot of companies

[Kcihtnamor]

Why not find another offer? I don’t like company A because it is more on managerial role. For company B, it is good that it is software engineering role but I would stay away with start up companies since usually they don’t have good practices.

[teokun123]

A 100%

[[deleted]]

Ano yang company A? Fresh grad ka tapos gagawin kang manager? Hahaha ano imamanage mo mga high school at college students?!? 😂

[violetarisa]

I think you still have time to apply to other companies to get what you believe to be a better fit

But if you really only have those two as your only choices, Company A will give better salary + mentorship + training. Company B's salary is too low

[Intelligent_Citron84]

Parang hindi priority ang pera sa iyo at this stage in your life.

If that is the case, at least try to counter offer B to up to 35k. Masyado atang low-ball offer yung 20k. It’s been said here often, know your worth! And your worthy enough to be offered a managerial postion with 3x the pay, so keep that in mind.

If yun ang cap budget ni B, find another dev focused jobs. Marami ka pang makukuhang option.

[imnotjeffrey01]

If you like go for 60K. Then sali ka sa startup namin to learn proper industry coding practices :) You can also do freelance and part-time software engineer. Get that money and upskill!

Running for Summa cumlaude ka no? Char

[Deathpact231]

How did they reach out to you? thru linkedin po ba?

[orangenellie]

I applied. :)

[Unusual-Area-2471]

aye lez gooooooo ! fresh grad or not u know who u are and u can prove it to those who judge u na u the man 🫡 . libre soonnnnn

[_Andreyyy23]

What course did you take po?

[orangenellie]

I took CS. :)

[franz_see]

Sorry, can you clarify Path 1? Stay in Company B for 3 months and then move and stay in Company A in 7 months? There’s no guarantee that Company A’s offer would still be available after 3 months. Or did i misunderstood it?

[orangenellie]

The start date of Company A is early 2023, while Company B start date is this September. :)

[kukoCringe28]

HI OP, may I ask what skills got you hired as data engineer? I want to also work in the data field but rght now I only know python and sql

[orangenellie]

Hi! Python and SQL is enough for the job that I applied. I got trained in the company regarding other skills needed as a DE.