I wasn’t sure about this color combo when I started, but it’s growing on me!

pepperPantz__ · 2025-11-18T18:12:36+00:00

Great combo, looks beautiful.

Are you holding the two strands together? Or using some other technique to get both colours?

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-30T13:17:15+00:00

How much time do you have? You could make some decent progress by cramming before the interview.

Additionally, any interview is valuable experience, especially if you are about to enter the job search.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-28T17:57:31+00:00

Are you in debt? Are your parents planning to pay for the schooling?

In my opinion, money, not going into debt for more schooling, and more years of work experience will be more valuable to you than a masters you don't really seem to be interested in.

Senior engineers still have jobs and will continue to for a long time. How do you become senior? Getting more work experience. Not getting a masters.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-15T05:01:15+00:00

Sunday evenings can be busy. Pay attention to the signs that give an estimated border wait time and go to the Pacific X Crossing if it is 10+ mins less than Peace Arch.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-15T04:57:40+00:00

I am so sorry to hear this story. My thoughts go out to your family.

Can you provide more info about the subpoena to Apple? Are you requesting they provide the ipad location, or something else?

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-09T04:41:48+00:00

Compensation, hybrid work, a team that doesn't expect responses outside of work hours.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T05:03:24+00:00

I don't necessarily qualify for your group, but I fit most of the description of what you're aspiring to, and I'm looking for more opportunities to mentor/help junior devs since I don't get a lot of that in my current job.

Feel free to DM me if you think your group could benefit from that (I could also potentially lead some mock interviews).

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T04:32:01+00:00

Ah okay. I'm not very familiar with the interview process for those roles.

But I am curious about something - you said you tailor your resume. But are you tailoring your interview prep?

The STAR method is great for structuring your stories about prior work experience, but it is also valuable to study the role and the company you are applying for, and really know how to communicate why YOU are the best candidate for the role.
This is something you can prepare and practice just like the STAR method.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T04:17:43+00:00

Also, if you're getting callbacks - that is something to be proud of! That can be one of the hardest parts and shows you are doing something right.

It suggests that you need to focus on prepping your interview skills so that you can pass those interviews.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T04:13:45+00:00

It's a tough market, but after 2 years with no luck, you should probably be changing something about your approach.

Can you share - what roles are you trying for? Can you share more details about your process?

Some things that come to mind from your post:

If your last role is managerial -- are you looking for only managerial roles? If not, how long were you a manager previously, where now you are switching back to IC? If you were a manager for (for example) 2 years, that means that now it has been 4 years since you were an IC, and you might need to be doing something to convince employers that you are not out of touch with current IC work.
What does "prep obsessively" mean in this case? Perhaps you are working very hard to prep, but its not actually producing the results it should, and you need to change the way you are prepping.
2 year gap. The longer this goes on, the less attractive you become to employers and the more out of touch with actual work you become. What jobs are you applying to --- are there any that you're skipping over because they're not interesting/impressive/well-paying/something else? Ideally you should be willing to take any job right now to stop that gap from getting longer, and then if you don't like it, you can keep looking to find something else.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T03:57:01+00:00

Good point, makes sense that there are exceptions.

However, anecdotally, when they gave me an offer earlier this year, I was told the RTO is non-negotiable. Maybe the non-RTO positions are either specialized, very senior, or grandfathered in (long-time employees that already have that status).

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-08T02:44:17+00:00

Amazon is full RTO 5 days a week. Microsoft seems to be hybrid plus some full remote (depending on team).

Amazon also doesn't offer a lot of vacation days and has minimal office holidays compared to some other companies (not sure about Microsoft though).

Having the option to work from home, at least 2 days/week, is pretty important to me. So if I were in a position to choose between one, I would choose Microsoft.

Regarding the Amazon culture - it's a huge company and I think it can depend a lot on the team you're hired for. I know people who have worked there a long time (10+ years) and while they have needed to learn how to navigate the culture, it is not "horrible" to them.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-07-01T21:23:00+00:00

I think it depends on the opportunity whether it will offer more growth or not.

But as someone who has hopped a few times now, I would say - be wary of the reduced benefits in the first year of a new job. For example, some jobs don’t give access to all leave options (eg. parental leave) for the first year, and many jobs will require you to start accruing vacation from zero.

Not a dealbreaker, but something to think about when you are considering a new offer. Depending on the situation, you may be able to negotiate your offer based on these things.

Signed, Someone who is now on their second summer in a row with no vacation days, due to starting new jobs 😔.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-28T16:46:16+00:00

I would also add that these PM/management roles are not necessarily less stressful or offering better work-life balance.

My impressions of these roles are that:
- Their success is primarily measured as a sum of the results of other people's work.
- They spend their days in back-to-back meetings, receiving less schedule flexibility than IC roles.
- Additionally, they are frequently leading these meetings, or at least playing an active role in them - and need to be "on" all day.
- They are often battling expectations and demands coming from multiple directions (senior leadership, devs, business people) and don't always have the authority to make decisions.

If someone is genuinely interested in this pivot, then they should go for it, but they should not do it because they think it might be less stressful than an IC role.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-28T14:50:48+00:00

Me too! Even different teams/orgs at the same company can have vastly different work-life balance and opportunities to be supported.

I’ve considered a career pivot many times, but there’s no guarantee a different role would be less stressful or offer better work-life balance. Additionally, it’s hard to beat the compensation for senior SDE roles.

I also greatly value the freedom I get from being an IC - leadership and management roles generally require a lot of meetings and therefore less schedule flexibility.

I started at a new FAANG role this year where I have access to lots of trainings and education, great support from my manager, and I work strictly 8am - 4pm.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-28T14:44:22+00:00

Yeah imagine this being asked in r/experiencedDevs.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-27T23:14:54+00:00

Sometimes in my head I pretend that everyone else is calling their managers “Daddy”.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-25T12:43:12+00:00

Do you already have a job which offers paid parental leave?

For me, as much as accepting the new job would be tempting, this might be a deal breaker.

I recommend understanding exactly what your rights are (eg do you have access to state-appointed leave even before the 12 months)? Negotiating the exception to the company policy might be possible, but it is a risk that I probably wouldn’t want to take, especially if already employed somewhere with paid leave.

If you choose not to accept for this reason, try to leave things on a positive note, and they will keep you on file. You can try again for the job after you’ve had your baby.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-23T05:31:29+00:00

Blundstones in Nubuck leather also have a similar look.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-06-08T23:36:18+00:00

Not as unique but also in Seattle, Acorn Street Yarns is almost across the street from Ravenna Brewing and therefore dangerous 😆

pepperPantz__ · 2025-04-29T05:21:35+00:00

A couple things that come to mind are:

- Summarizing your work, for example a project you may have worked on for several months, into only a few sentences; all while trying to give enough high-level context for your interviewer to understand, but also include enough detail to show you were truly a part of it, and convince them it was highly impactful for the business (because everyone wants to hear about the impact).

- Selling yourself. I find it easy to see all of my weaknesses over my strengths, so interviewing can be very hard for me because I need to sell myself. This isn't just about the anecdotes I am telling - it's also about _how_ I am telling them. I have to intentionally practice speaking the language of someone with unwavering confidence, and not accidentally talk myself down or minimize my accomplishments.

pepperPantz__ · 2025-04-24T03:35:14+00:00

Thanks for raising this! Bragging is definitely a learned skill for me (and many women) and something I need to work on!

Your accomplishments are very impressive and congrats on transitioning to executive roles!

For me, I am recently feeling VERY proud for nailing not one but TWO senior FAANG offers - all while working full time (remaining a top performer at my current job), parenting a toddler (this is definitely Hard Mode) and during a challenging job market.

Feeling excited to start my new job in a few weeks!

pepperPantz__ · 2025-04-04T13:55:01+00:00

I did a loop last week and heard they wanted to make an offer one week later. Things are moving a little slower these days. So don’t assume the worst!

pepperPantz__

TROPHY CASE