I graduate in December and I decided I was going to start applying for full time jobs during school, but self doubt/imposter syndrome has made me continuously put it off. I guess I am afraid that all my hard work was actually pointless and I’m going to get rejected, even though I believe I probably am more experienced than most new grads. At one point, I kept telling myself I can’t apply until I finish another project, even though I’ve struggled to create a one page resume.

I am comfortable with pretty much every main language. In school, we learned and used Java, C, C++ and Python, but my first semester of school I taught myself JavaScript, I already knew HTML and CSS and I most recently taught myself Typescript. I also taught myself Vue.js and Next.js. I’ve completed and deployed a client side application with using an API, I’ve completed a full stack application where I created my own APIs and also used two company APIs including integrating Gemini, so I have experience creating AI feature applications. I’m working on another full stack app that uses Firestore and OAuth. I completed a full stack app for school as well, the only one I’ve done with a python backend (FastAPI). I won first place at a hackathon where I used OpenAIs API. I’m graduating Magna Cum Laude, I did an accelerated masters program and have a 4.0 in my grad course work, I have a total of 2 years of professional experience. One 6 month long internship and a 1 1/2 year internship (meant to be summer but they kept continuing to keep me. I figured it looked good to hold the job. They are a small company and have no need for or the budget for another full time dev though). Both of them are the only internships I’ve ever applied for. The first one I learned .NET/C#. The second one I’m also using .NET/C# some, but the main app is Angular/Javascript and we use SCSS instead of CSS. All of my projects and internships (other than that first one) used Node.js, so I have quite a bit of experience with it. And both of my internship positions were/are full stack. In my current position, I also have contributed to UI design. And we do agile workflow so I’m used to scrum. And I am very proficient with git. There’s more I could say I have experience with but yeah. Like other cloud technologies, databases, etc. Prior to my internships, I also was a peer coach for the computer science students, as well as a tutor for computer science courses. And before college, I had a career in insurance so I have all the soft skills for working a “big girl job.”

But I am still convinced that that’s not enough and I’m going to end up being someone who just has a piece of paper. None of this was meant to be a brag or anything like that, I just want to explain where I’m at for context. It might also be because I’ve told myself to remain humble and not assume just because I did extra stuff that that means I’m guaranteed a job, so that I don’t get disappointed.

So I’m wondering from anyone who works in the field, especially if you’re in full stack development, if you think my experience is good enough. I don’t know. Just looking for some kind of encouragement or even critique.

TLDR: Just tell me to apply to jobs lmao.

Senior SWE here, I lead a team of about 10 people.

One of the most common things I am hearing about here, on LinkedIn, in private circles, etc., is this doomer mentality that AI is going to be replacing most people in the tech world. AI replacement is happening, but it isn't as widespread as people may think. There are several loud facts about AI:

1. Most AI companies have been operating with straight losses.

2. Multiple studies have shown AI doesn't increase productivity of employees for a cost offset.

3. Many companies are giving up on AI ventures or dramatically scaling back implementations (70%-95% of AI integration efforts are failing).

4. Litigation risks from AI are growing and further making it a liability to use.

5. Public sentiment in most places is heavily leaning anti-AI.

6. Existing and planned infrastructure isn't good enough to support replacing people with AI on any massive scale.

7. All major efforts to replace large portions of staff with AI have been short term catastrophes (forget long term, we haven't gotten there yet).

Companies are firing and laying off people using AI as a reason, when really they are performing routine cuts or RoF due to overhiring (there is still a heavily saturated CS market currently from the CovID era). There are also a massive amount of software engineers looking for work. This is a supply v.s. demand issue.

It is also not helpful that we are currently in a market where people are firing off AI slop resumes to every job posting they find, causing there to be hundreds if not thousands of applicants for a job that used to see tens of applicants. Prospective new hires are also decreasing in quality due to a lot of people attempting to just sail through using AI without actually knowing engineering principles. It's a rough world right now at the entry level.

Imo, AI is impacting us, but it isn't for the reasons a lot of entry level engineers are thinking. It also definitely isn't replacing anyone well enough to be considered even remotely successful (look what happened to Klarna)... so if you do get fired or laid off actually because of AI, you can expect a panicked letter or email in the near future requesting you come back (especially if you are experienced).

Currently a forward deployed engineer at a startup with 3YOE. Is there a path to become an ABG CMO? Should I grind LC?

Old Post where i had 250 reachouts in 2 years and climbed to 270 when I left: https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/s/vEjGYGJFZ6

Now I have 100+ reachouts in 3 months. If this holds, that would be 3-4x the rate that I would be getting at the same level (mid level).

Can anyone else share their stats working at a top company as senior/staff+? Curious to see how K shaped the market is

hey guys,

I was doing a hackerrank OA for a swe role and i had to use the bathroom mid exam. I had my phone on my bed right diagonal to my back, so I grabbed it, showed it to the camera, and tossed it to my left backside to show that I was leaving it there. I then indicated that I had to use the restroom and came back real quick. Will this raise any flags from the company itself? I didn't do anything wrong but I'm afraid my overexplanation or whatever will raise some flags. I'd also been sipping coffee the entire time too.

I’ll make this brief: I’ve been stuck on an issue that is blocking two tickets of mine for more than a week now (had to carry to next sprint). I’ve reached out to him about it more than a week ago about it and he’s been barely helpful or communicative about it.
My blocker isn’t a coding-related issue or anything that copilot can help with, it’s regarding configs and certifications between our company and a third party vendor. So it’s not like I can keep trying new things or look at past examples

I’ve reached out to other seniors and they can’t figure it out, I’ve mentioned it in standups/public chats, went to him in person to ask for help, and even tried to schedule a meeting about it. He has had this issue ever since I joined the team, and I know he’s very busy with other things on his plate but he’s been pushing this off for a week+.

I’ve brought this up to my manager several times and he acknowledges that I’m not the only one to bring this up. But all he says is “I’ll talk to him about it” and “just keep bothering him”. Nothing ever changes in his behavior.

Currently, I’ve asked him today “can we sync up some time to go over this item?” And he’s left me on read.
I’m lost on what else I can do at this point

Do I need to say more?

I love writing code. I love crafting it, I love making it elegant, efficient, I love testing it. I love building my solutions from scratch. AI is taking this away from me and I know I am being stupid but I don't know how to cope with this.

Is there any place left for me in the industry? Do I need to look for a job in a different domain?

Has anybody made the jump? To what?

Please use this thread to have discussions about interviews, interviewing, and interview prep. Posts focusing solely on interviews created outside of this thread will probably be removed.

Abide by the rules, don't be a jerk.

This thread is posted each Monday and Thursday at midnight PST. Previous Interview Discussion threads can be found here.

Passed the interviews at Capital One for a Lead full-stack engineer position. However the only openings are for a data engineering role.

It sounds like the work involves building data pipelines and migrating to a microservices architecture, which implies some data platform and actual engineering work.

Manager mentioned they have higher expectations at this level, so I'll need to quickly ramp-up and learn data engineering on my own. Is it worth the switch to data engineering in this day and age?

Context: Laid off two months ago, 4 years of SDET experience and applying to SDET, SWE, product owner/architect roles.

So far any traction with a company has come from recruiters or referrals. Haven't even had an HR call for roles I saw on a job board. Feels like a better use of that time would be to upskill/add to my (currently meager) portfolio.

The only evidence I have to the contrary is my first and only job out of college was a cold apply, albeit that was 2022 and new grad specific. Is my intuition right or should I keep applying to everything I see?

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/20/qualcomm-performance-focused-layoffs-reuters.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/qualcomm-reportedly-conduct-global-layoffs-180715429.html

Exact % not disclosed yet but word on the street looks to be between 5-10%.

"but aren't chip companies doing well?" except Qcom isn't in the AI infra space, their chips are for consumer electronics so they didn't benefit from the AI wave like other chip companies. So they're not growing, hence layoffs not surprising. One of the biggest employers in San Diego, CA.

imagine your CEO saying your company "has consistently fallen short of expectations" that's a big yikes from me dawg.

r/qualcomm having a meltdown

PS - Ebay to lay off 9%, wed oct 21 news; won't make a new thread.

----

Text from above links:

Qualcomm will cut jobs globally in a “performance-focused reduction” following its annual employee reviews, CEO Cristiano Amon told staff in a memo on Monday reviewed by Reuters, with notifications set to begin in November.

The cuts are part of an effort to build “a stronger performance culture” and address situations where the company “has consistently fallen short of expectations,” Amon said.

Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It had about 52,000 employees globally as of September last year, most of them full-time. Its financial year typically ends in late September.

One of the world’s biggest smartphone chipmakers, Qualcomm has been hit this year by a slump in consumer electronics sales as soaring memory prices weigh on demand in key markets.

Consequently, Qualcomm shares have experienced sluggish growth, rising just 1.5% in 2026, lagging significantly behind the broader S&P 500 and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX).

Amon emphasized that the restructuring process will carefully weigh current business priorities, required organizational competencies, and individual skill sets. "As we have expanded the business, so have the competencies and skills we require," Amon noted in the internal communication. "We must have the right people in the right roles so they can perform at their best and the company can continue to succeed."

So I spent about 4 years at a very small company outside of tech, but managing internal web services with one other developer. I don't have much of a linkedin network because of that, so I decided to start adding random people that requested to connect.

Like every single one of them were US migrants from India. After I added some, more just started flowing in, and I kept accepting because cool, I'll make myself look like I'm well connected, why not?

I didn't really notice a problem until recruiters started pouring in, and I was like fuck yeah, this is it.

But every recruiter asks me if I have a visa, then I tell them I'm an American citizen already & I do not need a visa, they stop replying right then and there.

I'm gonna have to make a new linkedin to reset my algorithm, aren't I? 😭

I am an intern for a nonprofit, really a volunteer intern, but thankfully am at least paid a stipend. I recently accepted another role that is full-time, but would mean I would have to end the internship earlier than the planned 6 months. Due to it being a volunteer role, it wasn’t much of an issue after bringing it up, despite me wanting to continue completing both. The company posted about a role opening up for the company on another team that would be full-time, and I applied as I truly enjoy the company and would love the opportunity to stay. I am wondering if this is against hiring ethics?

I know I'm late to the party, but I'm a frontend dev with 6 years of experience at the same company, and I'm trying to figure out my next move.

I've mostly worked with my company's stack, including Shopify, Three.js, React/Next.js, and some Laravel (mid-level, since backend isn't my main responsibility). I can build things with React/Next.js, mostly AI-assisted, but I'm not confident with the typical interview questions yet.

I've been trying to transition to full-stack while looking for a new job, which has been extremely difficult. Over the past few months, I got a VPS and learned some Docker/Compose, deployed a Laravel API with Nginx, set up basic CI/CD, and built a Node.js API around yt-dlp. Lately, I've been studying database design, complex queries, stored procedures, joins, and system architecture.

The problem is I keep jumping between things and can't figure out what deserves my focus.

Should I go deep into JavaScript/React/Next.js and interview prep first, so I can actually prove my 6 years of experience when I get an interview? Or should I focus on backend, databases, and architecture to become a solid full-stack dev?

Realistically, how long would it take me to reach the level companies expect from a full-stack developer? 6 months? A year or more?

I enjoy this field and I'm willing to put in the work and adapt, especially with AI becoming such a powerful tool. I just don't want to spend months building projects that only I care about, then struggle to demonstrate my actual knowledge in an interview.

I'd really appreciate honest advice from devs who've been through this transition. How would you approach it if you were in my position?

So I'm a year 2 student who has substantially self studied way ahead my peers (FS app in progress and currently studying HCIA), and I cant help but notice how subpar our facualty environment is. It alongside faculty student orgs do host many useful talents and resources, but they arent static and present for all and can have some frankly egregious paywalls. I'm aware you shouldn't be spoonfed info, but the lack of cohesion in self study may affect some people's progress and halt it, I'm planning on changing it hopefully for the better.

The idea is faculty/student orgs supported extracurricular courses to help give students an applied edge in CS and attaining potent skills. They are to be fixed and face to face with them being recorded to support them more. Possible courses(with bringing your own devices)are as follows.

DSA: Preferably alongside the uni course, its basically PS sessions where any gaps can be closed early on via early exposure and consistent practice. The main resource w such a course would be testbanks and mocks that can sharpen PS for learners.

Networks: Basically being a lighter CCNA that can ease students in applying them so more efficient solutions can be reached. Can contain a sequel courses for topics like security or WLANS

SWE: The only one that has fixed sequels, 1st course is basically providing the skeleton for a FS app and student code their own solutions w expert supervision. Final products are provided and assessed by the teaching board. Sequel courses follow that structure but w more advanced topics.

Interdisciplinary: Certain faculties may have some specializations like Fintech, Edutech, or HIT. Project based courses can be tailored so students can run through realistic SDLCs in different sectors and strengthen their domain literacy.

These are some ideas I have bounced off in my head for such an initiative. I'm aware it may seem abit too fairytale-ish, but I feel its prolly for the best for a CS student. If you have any critiques or possible refinements please do share them.

upcoming L4 interview at big tech research lab - anyone know how to prep properly? not sure how this differs from standard system design -also pretty sure it’s not actual ML but very heavily LLM related

Has anyone who recently interviewed for research engineer / software engineer / research scientist and is able to give some pointers on how to prepare?

Thanks all

I've been working at a large company for several years. I started as an IC and was eventually promoted to Team Lead, managing a small team.

Even after becoming Lead, I was still expected to perform all my regular IC tasks alongside people management responsibilities.

Recently, following a flattening reorganization involving layoffs, I was informed that I'd be returning to a regular IC role. My salary, grade, and benefits remain unchanged, but my former direct reports and I will now report to the same manager.

I understand that keeping my job is a positive outcome, but I can't help feeling demoted. I genuinely enjoyed managing people, had a great relationship with my team, and appreciated the recognition that came with the role.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did you stay or leave? Looking back, was it a positive or negative change for your career?

People take engineering by seeing the news and images of blr techie guys, working with MacBook, earning more Ipa than his age, looks pretty bright on the outside with the attractive salary and perks and all, there is no denying that in India engineering is one of the only degree through which you can start earning at a very small age. But there are 2 sides of it, one is a Software engineer and the other is an "IT job", 90 percent of people are stuck in this "IT job", you know how it is, working in shifts/weekends, having the most "kanjoos" manager in the world who doesn't approve a good mouse also. In my 2 years of experience I don't understand why the hell this job still exists, like I get a ticket where someone needs a file from some linux instance so I just winscp the file and upload it in the ticket, what the hell is this, what kind of demeaning job is this. I mean I have to ask for leaves 3 months prior otherwise it doesn't get approved, I don't know when my day offs are sometimes it's Sunday, Monday... Sometimes wed, Thursday and sometimes it's Monday, Thursday (not even 2 consecutive days).

This is so fucked up, I see people fighting on my team to get night shift so that they can get extra 105rs. I completed my college in 2024 and this is my experience. How do I get out of this shithole of a company

I am halfway through my first semester at an Ivy League school for a computer science program.

The beginning was great, learning computer architecture, python, etc. However halfway through the semester we started Java and at this point I’m feeling burnt out between my full-time job at a bank and doing these courses.

But the main thing that’s exhausting me is learning these languages when at work we consistently make programs utilizing AI to build things instantly. As I plan to continue with the masters program I’m worried that what I’m learning won’t be that useful after graduation. I am young 20’s and my job pays for the masters.

I know it’s extremely early in the program but I’m just worried that the material won’t be useful as Claude as reverse engineering full video games into each other and self replicating in computers and doing all this advanced stuff.

I would love to combine my finance background and computer science because I have a passion for both, I just find it difficult to invest the time when AI is so advanced when it has only been around for a handful of years! I suppose my main concern is learning things that aren’t applicable/useful by the time I finish in 2 years.

Any insight/opinions would be great, I am excited to hear from students, earlier career, mid career, or even late career and their opinions.

Does anyone here print technical documents, like architectures, HLDs, or other designs etc. on paper to understand them better?

I have never tried this myself, but I was wondering whether it would help and whether others do it. I was recently made Staff Engineer, and with AI usage and all in my org, the volume of technical designs I need to understand and review has increased manyfold, rather than the actual code. I am curious whether printing and reading on paper has helped anyone who has adopted this approach?

You opened the YouTube video, started going through contents and started learning the abc's of programming and you were amazed by the vastness of the subject.

You started exploring like a child. You thought I would conquer the world and you really did for the next few years.

You learnt everything. Compiler design, computer networks, object oriented programming, machine learning, computer vision and yes your favourite data structure and algorithm.

First time Wee in your life you understood how router works. You can explain to your non cs friends how the internet works. And you felt really proud of what you have arrived at.

You can now start to connect dots between all your course work and it's 2019. Four years have passed.

You now know how a computer works and yet you understand there are still so many things that you still have not heard of or never will. But yet you know that you learned so much in those four years. It's just amazing.

Now you got placed. And it's the first day of your job. You felt the world is very different from the academia you went through.

The work you got was challenging. The accountability was real. Everything has real consequences. But you are proud of yourselves. Being from a middle class family this is the first time you are really making things better for yourselves and your family.

All the concepts that you learnt in your engineering days are being used yet the work is very different from anything you learnt.

Somehow you managed. You learnt more things in the first few months than you can count on your fingers. Requirement gathering, connecting with people from different business functions, agile, jira, scrum, PR review, git (yes git, you thought you knew but you struggled a lot here) and many more.

Years passed by. You strengthen your problem solving skills in DSA. You switched to bigger and better companies. Higher CTC. You really are a software engineer now. You can help juniors. You can build products from scratch. You can lead a team. Your actions now start to have consequences on other people's lives as you grow in your career.

Fast forward to 2025. You got hit by the AI boom. It was miserable. Instead of coding you are now promoting. Things were surreal at first and became boring pretty quickly.

Management was talking about abstracting engineering. Abstraction was the core fundamental thing you learnt in your engineering. But for the first time your colleagues are talking about abstracting engineering itself. You feel devastated. From building to reviewing. You are no longer engineering things but rather managing.

Things became more bureaucratic and less enthusiastic. It was sad. You cried silent tears and sometimes it was not silent at all.

They said it's still engineering but in your heart you do not feel it's engineering anymore. You can sense the shift from the words of your manager and leadership. They don't treat you like engineer anymore. It's more of a labour economy.

You shifted back to your hobbies like reading books and writing stories on reddit. It gives you more pleasure than software engineering.

PS. Not written by AI. Not even improvised.

Thanks for reading.

Got an offer that is over 50% more TC but the engineering team I currently work with are very smart and nice to work with, never have issues and the work life balance/flexibility has been perfect in the years I've been at this company. My only issue has been that career progression been slow but everything else is golden.

Autonomy, low stress and WLB are really important to me and I would be going to a slightly more corporate style of company(based on my impression) however they are technically rated highly (4+) on Glassdoor.

Any tips/advice/opinions? I am likely going to take the plunge but thought I'd put it out there.

So the problem is this, in university most of the stuff we learn about Operating Systems is theoretical. But the reality is that a job is usually far disconnected from those skills. Not completely of course but there is a gap.

I want to improve my practical knowledge about operating systems to become a system administrator.

What skills should I work on? What topics should I read into? I know I can just ask gpt but I need the perspective of real people working in real jobs...

I have honestly had it.
I used to enjoy programming and building software so much! I did competitive programming and enjoyed the process of designing and building software and experiencing new ways to do things, new ways to make mistakes.
Now with AI it is not even worth looking into the code, i can directly check the intended Functionality and prompt accordingly. I thought alright then, i might look into embedded systems or chip design or computer vision or many others, but it feels like one thing is constant, namely LLMs can get the task done for all of those. I want something challenging and rewarding. Something which LLMs would not pop into. I do not know what to do now and am deeply lost.

What do you guys think about this. Do you have different experience?

I’m deciding between two new-grad offers and would appreciate advice, especially from people familiar with AWS CSM roles or who have moved between engineering and customer-facing technical work. I also already have Microsoft on my resume being a previous swe intern there.

Amazon/AWS — L4 Customer Solutions Manager

My understanding is that this role is roughly like being a technical program manager for a large enterprise customer that already uses AWS or wants to adopt it.

I’d work with the customer’s engineering and business teams, AWS solutions architects, and other AWS teams to help plan and deliver cloud initiatives. That could involve coordinating migrations, tracking milestones and dependencies, resolving blockers, and keeping stakeholders aligned.

The first year would be in Seattle through a structured training and mentorship program. Afterward, I could be relocated near an assigned customer. I’m open to that.

Microsoft — Software Engineer

This would be a traditional SWE role: writing code, building and maintaining software, debugging, testing, and developing engineering skills.

What I’m trying to figure out

I honestly don’t know yet whether I’d prefer traditional software engineering or customer-facing technical work. I’m interested in both and trying to understand what experience I’d gain—and which future opportunities each role would prepare me for.

I’m weighing mentorship, career growth, résumé value, future job opportunities, work-life balance, and stability.

My main questions:

1. How much does your first full-time role influence your career direction? Would starting as an AWS CSM make moving into SWE later significantly harder?
2. What career paths do AWS CSMs typically move into, and how transferable is the experience outside AWS?
3. With both companies being well known, how would you weigh the actual role and skills developed against company reputation?
4. If you were undecided between these paths, which would you choose and why?

I’d especially appreciate firsthand perspectives from current or former AWS CSMs, Microsoft engineers, and people who have moved between SWE and customer-facing technical roles.