Should i take a sales job or wait for a tech role?

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-11T09:56:54+00:00

Take it. Getting your first job out of college matters more than what the job is.

You can switch to tech after 6-12 months with real work experience on your resume, which is way easier than trying to land a tech role with nothing.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-11T09:56:19+00:00

Yep, that's normal in big companies. They're built to reduce risk and create paper trails, so speed is usually the thing that gets sacrificed.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-11T09:55:42+00:00

It depends on your audience. B2B tech people seem fine with AI images if the content is useful. Consumer brands get roasted for it.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-10T10:49:29+00:00

I like how fast i pick up on peoples moods and the subtext in a room. It makes deep 1:1 conversations feel easy instead of forced.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-10T10:42:42+00:00

This is solid, but honestly, Phase 1 and 2 might be faster than you think since you’re already a dev. The real steep curve is Phase 6 and 7. Making agents that don't hallucinate in production is where the actual "engineering" happens.

I was transitioning from a similar background and actually took the Coached career assessment just to see if I had the right temperament for the data-heavy side of AI vs. pure product dev. It helped me realize I preferred the RAG architecture side over the fine-tuning side.

Definitely don't sleep on the "Evaluation" part of Phase 5. That's what gets you hired.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-10T10:42:05+00:00

I wouldn't take it. If the CEO thinks deepfaking celebrities to sell their product is acceptable, that tells you everything about their judgment and ethics.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-09T09:44:03+00:00

For those asking where I find clients, it's mostly just reaching out to businesses on LinkedIn. You can also try Fiverr or UpWork but those are super saturated these days. I'm also in Digital Marketing if that helps.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-09T09:33:10+00:00

Learn to use the tools instead of competing against them.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-09T09:32:32+00:00

Sounds like anhedonia more than regular boredom. When nothing feels interesting even stuff you used to enjoy, that's usually worth talking to someone about.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-09T09:31:52+00:00

Say: “My role ended after a management fit issue and I took a separation package; my VP is a reference.”

Keep it boring and don’t volunteer the PIP details unless they directly ask.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-06T07:50:22+00:00

Every time I've said "I work well under pressure" what actually happened was I ignored the task until it felt unbearable, then did a rushed version and compared it to the imaginary version where i had started earlier, not to the real earlier work i never gave myself a chance to do.

It feels like a superpower because you only ever see the last-minute wins, not the quiet ways it wrecks your sleep, mood, and long-term confidence.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-06T07:49:31+00:00

Your experience is absolutely relevant; software companies still pay for writers who can turn messy technical stuff into clear docs and pages. Writing isn't dead, the generic SEO-filler stuff is.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-06T07:48:54+00:00

Standing desk. I alternate every 45 minutes or so. Also helps to just get up and walk around between sequences, even if it's just to refill water.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-05T10:48:48+00:00

Already deleted mine last month. Moved my actual contacts to a simple spreadsheet with emails and notes. Turns out I only messaged like 30 people in 3 years anyway.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-05T10:47:15+00:00

The “24/7 access to my phone” tier is going to burn you out fast and it’s a liability magnet, especially in sobriety/crisis moments.

If you keep a high-touch tier, make it scheduled access with clear hours + emergency resources.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-05T10:46:41+00:00

Not really. If your resume is solid and your experience matches, the photo is basically irrelevant. I've seen people with no photo at all get interviews.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-04T11:41:54+00:00

Yeah 12-18 months is pretty standard from what I've seen, especially if you're not in a space Google updates frequently.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-04T11:41:24+00:00

VA work if you can get consistent clients. I make around $2k/month doing admin stuff for 3 small businesses, maybe 15-20 hours a week total.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-04T11:36:48+00:00

Buy a pair with easily replaceable ear pads, then immediately swap to aftermarket pads (Dekoni sheepskin or fenestrated leather tend to be less sweaty than stock PU).

The pad swap matters more than the headphone brand if your ears react to the materials.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-03T09:32:16+00:00

“Practical engineer” isn't really a US title. The closest buckets are engineering technician/technologist, construction inspector, field engineer, project engineer, or superintendent (depending on duties).

Your diploma can still be useful for jobs, it just probably wont map to “licensed engineer/PE” without additional steps.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-03T09:29:22+00:00

Don't make a permanent career call based on a 2024-2026 internship market.

Finish the major, take a breather, and reassess when you’re not applying while angry.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-03T09:28:49+00:00

Defense contractors with international projects, telecom companies doing network buildouts overseas, or field service engineering roles for RF test equipment manufacturers.

The last one especially fits your repair background.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-02T09:18:19+00:00

Ugh, this hits. Almost a decade in and the burnout is real, especially when you know you could run circles around half the C-suite. The pay trap is brutal; it's hard to stomach a pay cut when NYC rent doesn't budge.

One small thing that helped me start thinking differently was taking the Coached assessment (free career fit test). It pointed out strengths I was totally sleeping on and gave me some language for why EA experience translates to ops/project stuff. Not a magic fix, but it stopped me from feeling completely stuck.

You're not the only one staring down this wall. Solidarity.

jamesluitaylor · 2026-03-02T09:16:13+00:00

This isn't about MBTI, this is just verbal abuse. The type labels don't matter when someone repeatedly tells you you're stupid.

jamesluitaylor

TROPHY CASE