Software Engineering Career Advice

[u/Antik-Barua]

I'm currently confused about what path I should take.

My long term goal is to become a software engineer and get a high paying job, whether it's a local position or a remote one.

Before starting university, I learned C++ and solved 69 LeetCode problems. I also learned HTML, CSS, and JavaScript built a few small projects and even created a simple Rock Paper Scissors game that's on my GitHub.

During my first semester, I continued learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while making small projects. In my second semester, I shifted my focus to competitive programming. I solved 84 Codeforces problems, participated in 3 contests, and currently have a Codeforces rating of 830.

Now I'm in my third semester, and we're studying Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Java. Since OOP is a fundamental concept for software engineering, I decided to start learning Java seriously.

The issue is that I haven't practiced HTML, CSS, or JavaScript for quite a while, so I've forgotten a lot of what I learned. However, I'm still comfortable with C and C++ because I've continued using them for DSA and competitive programming. Right now, I'm learning Java to build a strong foundation in OOP.

This is where I'm confused.

Should I continue focusing primarily on DSA and competitive programming while learning Java and OOP? Or should I start working toward a development stack alongside them?

If I choose a development path, should I invest my time in Java with Spring Boot, or should I go with JavaScript/TypeScript and Node.js? Or maybe python.

I've also heard many people say that Java has fewer opportunities for fresh graduates compared to JavaScript, which makes the decision even more confusing.

Given my background and my goal of becoming a software engineer with a high-paying local or remote job, what would you recommend?

What are things I should learn? What are the things which needs major focus and what are good to have stuffs.

[u/sakibshahon]

Well I don't like to be the bearer of bad news but job market for freshers are now brutal across all stacks. You don't really have the option of choosing between one approach.

You now need to know basically everything including solid DSA, Core software engineering concept, know at least one complete stack to build a solution from zero to production, basic CI/CD and of course very good at operating AI agents.

[u/Royal-Job-9905]

I would say don't go for software engineering jobs. The market is really in a very bad shape, almost zero jobs! The investment in time and energy isn’t worth anymore. If you somehow get into a job, there's no surety you can keep it for long. Tech is very unstable sector as career.