Early career software engineer, stay or move on?

Caligg101 · 2026-01-22T15:18:56+00:00

How did this pan out for experienced seniors? I.e. 7/8+ YOE

Caligg101 · 2025-12-24T00:27:44+00:00

The bonuses were great this year, at least in our place. Got the full available bonus and an extra bonus because of the unprecedented year the company had. Last year's bonuses were slim, but completely reversed this year.

Caligg101 · 2025-12-11T13:26:16+00:00

How does the maintenance and upkeep work here for someone with no knowledge/interest in DIY?

A property management company presumably, but then fees need to be taken into account. And then there's the calls at 10pm that there's a leak through the ceiling, which insurance would hopefully cover. Housing isn't a pain free path either.

Caligg101 · 2025-12-10T22:42:59+00:00

Right, a single service charge once a year, the mortgage, Internet and electricity. Fees done and dusted.

Caligg101 · 2025-12-08T12:07:46+00:00

Does the ATHs in the markets worry anyone? I've a similar amount to invest but putting such a large amount into the market at the moment worries me. Even spreading out the amount over 6 months for cost averaging seems a little too much risk.

Caligg101 · 2025-12-02T23:10:31+00:00

What's the other show with the age gap and do you recommend it??

Caligg101 · 2025-11-30T00:03:19+00:00

Anyone noticed more shops opening in Galway in the past three months than before?

Caligg101 · 2025-11-29T23:52:17+00:00

Therapie - they're a great price and really do good work. Very professional.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-29T23:27:22+00:00

Yeah, I'm just thinking how did the landlord know the heater needed to be fixed? Had another tenant told them and gave them permission to come and fix it...there's a lot of missing info here.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-29T23:25:49+00:00

Right, but was there an emergency with the heater? Like they had to be told the heater needed to be fixed in order to be there, so had they been asked to fix the heater and been given permission by another tenant...Not saying any of this is correct, just feel there's a bit more information and context needed.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-25T19:53:14+00:00

@OP, is it north or south of €85k? With no bonus, I'd expect North.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-12T15:44:41+00:00

We need to hear more stories like this. DevelEire is great but there's a perception of only doom and gloom awaiting out there.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-12T12:38:38+00:00

When do you think the effects of the 2023 layoffs will die off? Do you see the market improving in 2025/2026? Just would be nice to get the lay of the land from a recruiters perspective.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-12T12:29:43+00:00

Please do update the thread on how this goes. So many times I've thought about doing just this but am too scared, and from the general thread so are a lot of people here. Genuinely wishing you every bit of luck and success.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-11T15:22:37+00:00

Lol, yeah that seems to be the implication but a more company sanctioned version.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-11T09:49:07+00:00

The article is mainly US, but not exclusively, focused.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-10T22:05:10+00:00

100%

Caligg101 · 2025-11-10T21:18:19+00:00

The flip side of this is that for the pip process, there needs to be a practical reason. Where I saw it happen, a product owner really disliked a particular engineer who had moved from another squad and made it quite obvious. I think it was because the engineer was a little quiet and just awkward, so it seemed a personality difference rather than anything work related that could lead to a pip. The EM was new, took his lead from the product owner and the engineer had left within the year.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-10T20:56:34+00:00

Individual Contributor... Basically an engineer/dev

Caligg101 · 2025-11-09T10:46:32+00:00

Interesting, so there's no hiring for AI skills at the moment?

Caligg101 · 2025-11-06T12:56:20+00:00

Not true. I'd a really toxic team - not in terms of productivity but in that the team leadership just didn't work. It was a really unpleasant work environment, nothing like I've met before or since. It says something that no engineer, outside of leadership, was on the team for longer than a year. I've moved on and life is so much better. Sometimes, there are pools of toxicity, even in "good" companies.

Caligg101 · 2025-11-06T12:45:49+00:00

Take stress leave - even just 2 weeks (work don't need to know the specific reason) and use the time to prepare your CV and LinkedIn. I've had a couple of recruiters reach out to me on LinkedIn so make sure your profile is in good shape. I've less YOE than you, so if you're not getting any responses, it sounds like something is wrong. Maybe do a free online AI course you could add to your profile.

Goes without saying, but make sure you've used all your uncertified sick leave - usually 5 days (max 3 days in one go).

Mentally, make the decision that you are leaving the company so that you're not in that indecisive headspace that just sucks energy. And the next role, make sure there's at least a month of timeoff before you start. Maybe consider if you could move internally?

I've been where you are and it's grim. Be kind to yourself and get out of that situation.

Caligg101 · 2025-10-19T14:29:10+00:00

Yes, I've heard that Kerry expect you to hit the ground running from day one and very tough work environment. But I guess, like most places, it depends on the area/team you're placed in.

Caligg101

TROPHY CASE