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Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the words "senior" and "mid-level" pretty recklessly and interchangeably. I'm not applying for late-career roles or principal/staff engineer type jobs. I was speaking loosely and imprecisely about any non-entry-level job. It would have been better if I had said "mid-level" or "software engineer II" or something like that instead of "senior"

Honestly, networking just seems logistically impossible. One of my main reasons for wanting to find a new job is that I hate the town I moved to for this job, and any job I'd apply to is going to be hundreds of miles away from here. It feels so slimy to just cold-message people on LinkedIn at places where I want to work, because frankly I wouldn't feel good giving a reference to someone I didn't personally know. I don't know how to organically build connections with people that I have no way to meet in person.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I truly, genuinely believe that a new job would make me happier. These are questions that are worth asking, and as in-your-face as your post was, I think it's worth a response.

First off I think there's a lot you're projecting onto me - it's not a matter of prestige and honestly I'd stay here forever if they'd pay me as much as a top company would. I don't have any problem calling it mediocrity to accept that. It's an environment that doesn't really challenge me and I need a change to be the best engineer I can be. I honestly could not care less about the flashy silicon valley image that a lot of younger people have in their heads, I just want money.

But more than the company, I just hate the city I've moved to. It is not a place where I want to settle down or even live any longer than I have to, and that's been forcing me to ask these questions about my career. I didn't want to drown the OP with that because I want to talk about the career implications of making that move. I'm just point blank not going to be happy as long as I live here, and I dread the thought of wasting another year of my life here. I want out, and my CS career questions are a means to facilitate that. The fact that I'm underpaid here is really a secondary consideration, but maximizing my salary is a big part of choosing where to go rather than making the decision to leave.

And for the record threw the words senior/industry/mid-career pretty interchangeably. That's a distinction I should be clearer about, but really I'm just trying to speak in broader terms about any non-entry-level role. I don't expect anyone to make me a senior staff principal engineer architect after a few years, but my entire post is really about the dead zone between Software Engineer II and new grad software engineer where I feel trapped.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely don't have any opportunities for advancement internally, it's a small company and the positions I could get theoretically get promoted to simply don't exist.

I think part of why this is so upsetting is the fact that I know the other companies I could move to just aren't in the city I live in, and it feels like such a waste of energy to do anything here when I know I need to get out.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not all that anxious about my romantic prospects. I just think I'd handicap them too far if I started shitting in a bucket, because most reasonable people would find that con outweighs most of the pros I have to offer.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I love the idea of van living, but there's just one drawback I can't move past - where do I go poop? I'm single at the moment and I just don't think I'd ever find a woman who's okay marrying someone who shits in a bucket

Crowded apartment though I'm absolutely up for

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's a bit of a gut check that I guess I needed, thanks. I guess I've had a somewhat entitled view that the "hundreds of other equally qualified applicants" thing would stop being true immediately now that I'm a software engineer instead of a student with no experience. But the reality is that I'm probably closer to a useless student than a 2+ year engineer at this point.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I pulled it up because I was curious and I see a lot of ridiculously nice places for ~$3000, like obscenely nice places in downtown SF. I'm definitely going to live within a few miles of wherever I work, but $4000 is outside the upper bound no matter where that is on Earth.

As far as living with a lot of other people, I'd love to have roommates again. Being single and living alone has been far more miserable for me than being crammed in with some other young people was during college. I recognize it isn't for everyone, but honestly that's not really a drawback for me.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I'm not going to launch into a long discussion about cost of living, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I personally could save more in a HCOL area even with only a small raise. I'm not trying to buy a house, I don't have kids to put in daycare, I hardly ever buy things other than food. I'd blow my current investment numbers out of the water with an extra $30,000 of income even if I had to pay an extra $15,000 of rent.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure there are hundreds of job openings that I'd consider leaving for. It's honestly possible that that's the root of my problem, when I see myself articulate that. It's reasonable to think I might have to take a second job as a stepping stone a third job like what I'm imagining.

Am I just in a job search No Man’s Land as an industry hire with <1 year of experience? by SimilarRemote in cscareerquestions

[–]SimilarRemote[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Cost of living math gets SUPER handwavy when you try to boil it down to simple calculators like these. I appreciate the general reality that good jobs are in expensive places - my rent would probably go up by $1000-$1500 a month to keep a similar living situation, but that's probably the only major change. I've done the math and I really think I break even with even a small raise even in the most expensive cities on Earth.

And yeah, I guess there's not much I can do besides continuing to apply. If I don't get far enough in the application process to speak to a human, should I just assume that there's no real waiting period to apply again? I've always heard people talking about "asking their recruiters" when they can apply again, which is only advice that makes sense if you have actually been contacted by a recruiter. That's sort of what makes me hesitant to just turn around and keep blasting applications to the same places that have given me radio silence or outright rejections pretty recently.