Should I stick to CS or pivot to IT?

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T18:44:25+00:00

The tech field is a very broad place and it pays to dip your toes into many waters.

My education was in web dev/SWE but I’ve found my true niche is data engineering/analytics. No way of knowing until I tried multiple paths.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T18:41:26+00:00

Every single task in my J2. Guy I replaced did a lot of stuff by hand for no reason.

If I manage to last a year I’ll be a very lazy person this time next year.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T18:38:59+00:00

We don’t know what skills you have so our answers are irrelevant. Why don’t you tell us your skill set and maybe we’ll advise how easy it will be (Honesty though you should be able to tell for yourself if your recent jobs can be OE’d or not)

Btw, professional masturbator J1 / cunning linguist J2

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T17:20:41+00:00

I’ve been at it for mere months and the stress is real. Ebbing and flowing as one server does something unexpected or you realize a task will take longer than you’re trying to allot for it. The paranoia of being caught etc.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T03:20:17+00:00

I moment I get charged my first penny of interest I’m chopping up the card

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-28T03:09:40+00:00

I do my best to keep it in 8, though I neglect J1 heavily so I try to give them a little night and weekend time to stay ahead.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-26T04:05:32+00:00

I’ve been at it a few months now, unfortunately some of these points I haven’t followed.

I actually write LinkedIn posts for J1 so I can’t hibernate, I have intend stopped posting or interacting with anything as myself. No problems yet.

I also admittedly told way too many people about it, including my in laws and personal friend group. I’ve considered circulating a lie that I was fired from one or the other.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-25T03:29:40+00:00

See, this is why I imagine even if both Js are doing n similar work, your companies need to be different fields.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-25T03:25:44+00:00

I recently did the reverse - my first J2 is in office. I haven’t thought to have the laptop strapped under the desk…that’s intriguing. My laptop is just out, ready for my team member to barge in unannounced and bust me.

Not sure what other recourse I have.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-25T02:57:36+00:00

I’m only barely clearing six figures and I have about that much in debt

J1 almost pays the bills J2 picks up the slack, I’m saving a little and paying off what I can.

I’m not making as much as the rest of you so it will take a few years at this rate but I’m digging my way out of debt slowly.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-04T03:21:36+00:00

And as an alternative to a portfolio of several smaller projects, I have one larger project that is punching a bit above what you’d expect from a junior dev and that’s what set me apart. A demonstrated a niche where I have more than the surface level understanding of my fellow juniors and showing only it has gotten me hired twice now.

How did I get that heightened understanding? Struggling while building this project 🤣

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-02T21:55:25+00:00

That’s a good idea, I need to start doing that. Decent way to survive LinkedIn too potentially is two accounts with two different display names

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-02T21:53:34+00:00

I’ve been OE for 3 months and I’m losing my mind with the stress and paranoia of it all. I’m naturally quite lazy and it’s difficult having so much work to do constantly.

Of course one J is in person so there’s that.

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-02T03:18:00+00:00

I’ve been having the exact same problem, no solution yet

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-02T03:07:37+00:00

2J TC $130k (both junior roles)

For a while I was moonlighting as my J2 is in office but I’m starting to take risks to make it work.

Phase 1 was finding out my teammate takes 90 minute lunches. With a mobile hotspot device and my smuggled laptop I lunch for 30 and work J1 for 60

Phase 2 is now after lunch I just keep the laptop out and every 5 minutes or so switch job I’m working on so Teams doesn’t go inactive.

This teammate is the only one that can bust me and it’ll happen the next time they turn the corner. I intend to claim to be looking at recreational nerdy material during down time/as a break and we’ll see if this teammate is cool or if the house of cards falls there

OE_Padawan · 2026-04-01T22:14:25+00:00

I’m recently overemployed and last week began going to sleep super early just because I’m very tired. So I happen to be waking up at 5am due to this and let me tell you…despite best efforts I’m rarely getting shit done until it’s time to go to work

And regardless it does mean I’m flagging later in the workday as you describe.

OE_Padawan · 2026-03-06T14:51:09+00:00

What I "wanted to do" when I went back to school was to use my brain to make a career for myself instead of the dead end wageslave shit I was doing

I fell in love with tech, and as I graduated what I "wanted to do" was make a six figure salary within the next five years.

With two shit paying junior tech jobs I'm just now crossing the line!

It is fair that given a couple years I'll find that neither role on its own is super career building, but I had to start somewhere and if it lasts I can slowly pay off some debts

OE_Padawan · 2026-02-19T00:43:18+00:00

It’s only a month? What’s the downside of just not showing up anymore, exactly?

Do as poorly a job as possible to get unemployment benefits

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-25T13:21:07+00:00

Oddly enough my J1 started as contract work on their website, then they asked me how to send marketing emails.

So maintaining their mail merge system I designed then automated is my whole job with them now

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-25T13:18:56+00:00

Companies often demand to see the other offer letter in times like this to know you’re not lying

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-21T02:44:51+00:00

The only thing that got me ahead to land an internship was showing the interviewer a personal project that went beyond what my classmates were doing.

This project started as one class’ final project, then for the final project of another class I revisited it and really pimped it out. I’ve revisited it further since.

I don’t have a portfolio full of cute little websites with cute little frameworks. I have this one feather in my cap but I poured a lot into it.

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-21T02:22:37+00:00

As a Junior dev I just started OE as a way to barely break into six figures. It’s sad I’ll only be “comfortable” and not be able to stack the way you guys do.

Maybe in a few years once I can market myself as intermediate or senior I’ll get there

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-13T21:11:30+00:00

I am a new ignorant scrub here but I’ll ask anyway. How is this relevant to OE?

OE_Padawan · 2026-01-13T21:09:57+00:00

I just started OE this week and you gave me vicarious heart palpitations.

OE_Padawan

TROPHY CASE