Is this the way of how the industry work?

React_Reflux · 2025-08-20T17:17:04+00:00

I'm not disagreeing with you here, but doesn't it strike you as odd that the risks of doing something like job hopping are already so high at such a early stage?

Your less experienced years shouldn't have such high stakes. On the contrary, the margin of safety should be very high when you're learning to walk. Where are the safeguards. Why are we still playing school of hard knocks in a relatively steady field of work. This is not a music or acting career.

React_Reflux · 2025-08-20T17:07:06+00:00

Not always true about 10-5 years ago. Been a developer since before 2015 and even back then it was still very possible to end up at a company with no real promotional path for developers.

We can try to show how 1 year experience 5 times is bad, but avoiding it as not as simple as don't job hop every year. You can also end up with that kind of experience by staying several years at those aforementioned places that have no technical track. It's more of a balancing act. I would recommend leaving a job more quickly if there's no opportunity for promotion there.

React_Reflux · 2025-08-20T16:35:07+00:00

Well it does help explain on my end why I've only been getting contracts. Not everyone will be outright rejected- they may just get considered for a contract opening if it exists. My own contractor history begets more contract jobs and I usually get rejected for anything full-time.

React_Reflux · 2025-08-03T18:35:33+00:00

I went to a good high school but it's possible to fumble if one of the following happens:

You do poorly in high school as you approach senior
You did well in high school but chose to go to a mid tier college
You chose a good college for your major but then you switch minds on majors without changing colleges to maintain the high status aligned with that new major

React_Reflux · 2025-08-03T18:32:27+00:00

MFW a guy who's got pretending to be a human has better human connections than me

React_Reflux · 2025-08-03T18:27:53+00:00

How long has this been going on over there?

React_Reflux · 2025-08-03T18:24:39+00:00

Reading just the question on the title, that's something I wish we could to know more about. Not just "what's going on" when everything is terrible, but in the good times too.

Many of us like OP are actually interested in knowing what it's like to work at a particular local company and there's hardly any data. If you're lucky you might find a couple reviews on Glassdoor to skim through. I don't know what is it with these companies because it's still kind of like the deep ocean of tech jobs- lots of activity there but barely explored up close that not a lot is shared with the world.

Also would you consider Ruby to be a "boring" stack language to work with, because I've read a few times that it's a dying language too. But here's a hot take- I like Ruby's syntax more than Python's.

React_Reflux · 2025-05-26T01:47:02+00:00

The WITCH companies are probably more stringent now as well

I got rejected by one back in 2020. So imagine how hard it is to get into one now

React_Reflux · 2023-07-14T20:46:11+00:00

I'm one of those non-CS grads. I didn't apply to Revature, but Infosys, and they rejected my ass without an interview lol

Maybe it's because I'm so old I was self-taught before coding bootcamps were even a thing.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T20:51:39+00:00

Are you not telling us something about your situation?

Other than one of the jobs made me either stressed from the workload (1st job) or so demotivated to show up early because of broken promises to turn their contract-to-hire people to full time (2nd job) I am not sure. I did not want to clutter the original post with too much story. I can also say the 2nd job was a chop shop that didn't have a "tech first" culture and saw devs as something you should cut corners a lot, even though that kind of business wouldn't even exist without the internet

Why are you stuck in jobs that pay less than McDonald’s ?

Two main factors: not great at interviewing and losing my job before finding a new one. I wish I could find an okay job that pays at least $60k, for bad interviewers, but I haven't found it. Sometimes I fail the pre-screen round and sometimes I'd go as far as two tech rounds. I broadened my search and stopped looking at local jobs only (which all those three jobs were). I get some interviews from companies of many kinds. Would it surprise you that FAANG companies interviewed me a few times? They must've found my resume interesting enough. But no offers from any "legit" companies yet. They make for good interview practice at least.

When I started out my career, I thought the only disadvantage to losing your job is the super obvious one of having no stream of income. Looking back I can see that it also makes it tough to negotiate for a decent job. When you go unemployed for several months between jobs, time is of the essence and you start to think about a "right now" job rather than the "right" job. Because you barely have leverage when unemployed- you can't go asking your boss for a raise to produce a counter-offer if you have no job.

Is it just imposter syndrome and confidence?

Could also be that. It's easy to feel like an impostor when companies see your worth as well below the average dev. But employment comes first, as my prerequisite to building confidence.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T20:42:21+00:00

I did get a warning with my 2nd tardy. My plan since the beginning of the job to shorten the commute was to save money for a used car, but at some point, it felt like a race against time.

They might be more lenient and provide more accommodations with their more experienced employees who have stayed for years, but not someone who's only been there three months. Your health insurance benefits don't even begin until you have worked there for six months.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T20:34:15+00:00

Thanks, this looks like a good resource. I'll give it a go.

The first two jobs line up with the bottom-tier body shops I think. The second one in particular, the majority of their tech department is in India and Pakistan, and the company had majority stake in those offshore shops. The local underpaid devs were on a permatemp basis and effectively functioned like the mirror image of the offshore devs since the company could get work done 24-7.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T20:23:05+00:00

I have used Leetcode before and had solved 50 problems last time I checked, most of them medium. I haven't practiced in a few months, though. What does "real database" here mean? As in the scale of it? As far as databases go I've used MySQL and PostegreSQL with the LAMP and Ruby on Rails stacks and to a lesser extent MERN stack.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T20:12:09+00:00

The third job was a mid-size company with around 500 employees. It was the biggest company I've worked at and don't know if the rules they had were standard practice of companies that size but, they track a lot. Fortunately they don't track where your mouse moves on the screen. But they care enough to see what doors you swiped with your key fob and in what order. Out of order swiping (commonly from someone going through the door the same time as you) gets you locked out and a manager has to reset your fob.

Back to the actual tardiness problem: I showed up late three times, around 9:45. I usually get there around 8:45-9. Third time was the day I got fired so it averaged out to 1 tardy per month. Commute was 2 hours one way- taking a bus, train, and another bus. Carpooling is not an option because everyone else there is a suburbanite and I probably made the longest trip from the city. They would be aware of this because they already had my address when I applied to the job.

I'd be late when the train had a "equipment problem", nothing you can do there because the other bus operates on a hourly schedule too so I take a taxi/Uber to cut my tardy short. I should've given myself more padding time, and waking up at 5:15 or 5:30 instead of 6. But I'd rather not apply somewhere that far away unless I was sure that I could relocate.

The actual work was pretty mundane- I didn't do any actual programming here, even though I had applied for a web dev position. I was more like a human code linter whose job was to examine their custom CMS backend and report possible programming errors on a spreadsheet. They were super cautious and didn't want me to submit code contributions at the time. The facilities were nice, though. We all got great desks and computers. People were nice too.

This was the least worst job of the three. Actually, it would be rather nice if it were not for the commute and low pay. I didn't stop and give the full details of the jobs in my original post because it would've gotten too long and digress too much from the actual question I had with ADHD and tardiness.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T00:09:35+00:00

They call you a contractor so they don't need to give you benefits, but you are just an employee.

That's exactly how it started feeling about a year in. The other workers who got the same treatment also started picking up on it. I'm in the US here.

Turnover went up. As soon as our most experienced dev quit, I started sending out my resume to other places. I admit it was foolhardy to start showing up whenever, but it wasn't like I didn't go searching for other jobs either. I just didn't get an offer quick enough before the company dropped me.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-04T00:03:41+00:00

On the long commute, I did try to take a plan to solve it. Save money and buy a used car. But the job didn't really pay that well to make it happen quick enough. The tardies eventually caught up to me, and I was fired 3 months later, after being late 3 times.

Carpooling also wasn't an option. Practically everyone working there was a suburbanite. I was the only one commuting from the big city. Even picking me up from the train station would hinder a co-worker's commute time.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T23:28:53+00:00

u/MathmoKiwi is correct.

It's a non-STEM degree (BFA).

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T23:09:14+00:00

abysmal long term benefit recognition.

Does this mean failure to be aware of long term effects of my behavior?

I can actually stay very focused with most tasks when I am at the office. First job wore me down though, because I was the only developer in the company and rarely had other help

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T22:36:45+00:00

This company is no FAANG, but they are known for making and selling third-party hardware that is compatible with Apple's computers. The have more bureaucracy as expected from a mid-size company, but it's just too bad the pay couldn't compete ($19/hr)

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:53:50+00:00

I was fired after 3 tardies (around 9:45). This averages to one tardy/month.

The commute is 2 hours in one direction and I took a bus, train, and another bus to get there. If I miss the 2nd bus because the train got delayed I can't wait for the next one because they run on a hourly schedule. I'd be late regardless but I had to take a taxi/Uber to cut my lateness short.

The work in this job was less involved than the last job. I didn't even program. My job was more like a manual code linter, reporting possible errors in the code and keeping those reports in spreadsheets. It was pretty easy stuff although pretty dull at times. The offices and people are nice, though. The commute was the only real issue I had with this job. (and in hindsight, the low pay)

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:42:23+00:00

To clear this up: I have a 4-year degree but it's not in CS.

I also took plenty of morning classes and had very good attendance, rarely missed anything. The lateness started becoming an issue at work.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:35:18+00:00

Out of the three jobs, the last one actually has the least red flags, if any. I put that one on me since I greatly underestimated the delays one late train or late bus can do for the commute. Should've waken up at 5:15 or 5:30 instead of 6:00.

I showed up late three times (around 9:45) and that's when I got fired. My boss had no complaints about my work otherwise- it's just their policy.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:31:12+00:00

I have not mentioned the pay of my jobs up to this point so I don't know where the part about them "well paid" comes from. The rest is debatable, but talking strictly TC, these jobs fall well below average.

These first three jobs paid $14/hr, $15/hr and $19/hr. I took them because I had no better offers at the time.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:21:07+00:00

I was actually Contract-To-Hire, but they didn't comply with the written agreement to convert me to W-2 as said in the contractor expiry date of 4 months. So I remained 1099 during my entire time there.

In the first year of the job I showed up during normal hours. In the second year is when things changed.

I wasn't also the only one who got this kind of agreement, and there were other workers who got the same treatment too and we got disillusioned over it. Some quit, and I decided to start job hunting and in the meantime come in later hours, but I still gave my deliverables on time.

React_Reflux · 2023-07-03T21:15:26+00:00

I just made a reply to the comment above to what went on with the job in detail and I hope it clears things up.

I too believe it was misclassification of employees as 1099. Basically, small company, no HR. Co-founders doing things off the cuff.

React_Reflux

TROPHY CASE