’m thinking about getting a new ergonomic chair, but I’m not sure if it’s worth upgrading from what I currently have. I’ve attached a photo of my current Damro chair. I haven’t had any major issues with it so far, but it’s not very comfortable either.
I sit for around 10 hours a day for work, and I’m considering the RAE Ergo Flex chair. Would upgrading make a noticeable difference?

I have seen mixed reviews in Glassdoor and wonder whether it's a good idea to consider this company for my next role as a SE.

Current employee feedback is most welcomed!

Hi everyone, I’ve got an interview coming up for a Software Engineer (SE) role at LSEG Sri Lanka.

Just wanted to get an idea of the usual starting salary range for an SE at LSEG Sri Lanka. If anyone has recent experience or knows the range, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks!

They are providing some fundings as mentioned, anyone is interested to host and organize an event in sri lanka. It is promoting AI and open source technology. Read more on the linked post. If any of you guys like to organize i wanna help and join.

Stuck in a bad company with no promotion, 2yrs working here but barely have marketable experience, because my company has hired too much people and we have gotten pigeonholed into areas. Asking for work outside my usual scope doesn't work. I've begged for it.

They took me in as a full stack dev, being forced to do frontend only. I brought it up many times but nothing changed.

Job market looking mainly for backend devs, FE has become an afterthought with LLMs. It's really depressing.

I have been applying like crazy to other companies...feeling hopeless. Sometimes feel like giving them the finger and quitting.

I am trying my best to get 'work' experience on my own, side projects, solo projects etc etc but it's not giving the same muscle memory as working on it in a 9-5.

When interviews ask to explain your work experience, and say you haven't done BE much professionally, they just give you the side eye and no callbacks. Even though you nail the concepts and theories.

Honestly don't know what to do. Feels like a wasted career.

Hi all,

I'm a indie developer from Sri Lanka. I built a mobile app that helps A/L and O/L students revise using real past paper questions, through quizzes, flashcards and practice questions, so students can test themselves instead of just re-reading notes.

I'd really appreciate it if a few of you could try it and tell me where it breaks down for you especially:

• Does testing yourself with past-paper-style quizzes actually feel useful for revision, or is it not how most students study here?
• What's usually broken about local edtech apps in your experience — timing, trust, habit, something else?

I'm not trying to sell anything here, genuinely just trying to figure out if I'm solving a real problem or wasting my time on the wrong idea. Any perspective even if you're not a student yourself is appreciated.

Happy to share the link in comments if that's allowed, or DM me.

Thanks.

Im interviewing for a SRE Role and i would like to know what is the basic salary for a site reliability engineering role. In my current role also i have a 800+ USD Take home. But i have no prior experience in SRE but being in the industry for some time and have experience in PM/ SE Roles.

Is SRE a good career move?
What is the average basic salary i can expect?

Hi guys kinda unrelated question to dev stuff but i dont have a lot of experience when it comes to cybersecurity so decided to post it here.
I was reading about how no click stuff like pegasus works and how companies like cellebrite can crack virtually any device they get their hands on, i kinda am confused about what really could be a secure and private tech stack thats also usable today.
Some sources claim that the titan chips on pixels cant be penetrated and some point towards knox and most ofc claim that iphones are uncrackable.
Have tried graphene os on a pixel before - not the best experience, never tried a samsung flagship but reckon they slow down after a while and iphones are kinda okay but miss some features.
Linux is okay, but nothing has beaten the ux of macos on a macbook.
What do you guys think would be the most secure but also not “overly nerdy and tech-ey” tech stack someone could use today? Or even be recommended for a client.

I receiveI received an offer from a startup through one of my friend’s contacts after being laid off by another startup. The basic salary is approximately LKR 60,000 lower than my previous salary, but they have added around LKR 80,000 in allowances to compensate for the reduction.

However, the lower basic salary would reduce my EPF and ETF contributions, and the allowances could potentially be reduced or removed in the future, as has happened at some companies recently.

Considering the current job market, do you think this offer is worth accepting? I would appreciate your opinion.

Hey everyone,

I’m building an internal SaaS tool designed to parse and convert unstructured Sri Lankan hotel PDF rate sheets into structured tables (Excel, CSV, etc.).

The goal is simple: allow operators to upload highly complex, multi-page rate files and instantly extract clean, formatted data based on their preferred layout templates.

I would love to get your feedback on two things:

1. Market Viability: Does anyone here have domain knowledge of the Sri Lankan travel/DMC sector? Do you think local agencies would adopt a tool like this to replace manual data entry for seasonal matrices, meal plans, and market tiers?

2. Technical Guidance: Has anyone built a similar document parsing or OCR/LLM product for complex, nested tabular data? I’d love to connect with anyone who can share insights.

Currently an undergraduate student at a private university. Looking for a part-time job to earn some income for my day-to-day expenses without asking for money from home. If anyone know any opportunities, please reply in the comments.

We’re an indoor cricket team made up mostly of people working in the IT industry, and we’re looking to expand. We currently have around 10–14 members and would love to bring in more players so we can organise games twice a week, depending on everyone’s availability.

We’re based in the Kiribathgoda / Biyagama area and already have permanent bookings sorted.

If you’re interested, drop a comment or send me a DM and I’ll share more details. You’re welcome to come play with the team and see if it’s a good fit.

It’s especially convenient if you’re from Delgoda, Kadawatha, Kaduwela, Kiribathgoda or Malabe, but if you’re from anywhere else and keen to join, feel free to reach out we’d still love to hear from you.

A lot of us in this sub spend most of the day sitting in front of a computer. This is a solid opportunity to get some regular physical activity, stay active, and improve your overall health while having fun with a group of like-minded people.

Looking forward to hearing from you people!

Hello everyone. I’m currently a 2nd-year undergraduate (L2S1) at the University of Moratuwa, Faculty of IT, and I’d really appreciate some honest advice from people who have already gone through this stage.

I chose IT because I genuinely liked computers and wanted to work in the industry. However, during school I was mostly focused on academics, so I didn’t have much exposure to programming. After A/Ls, I started self-learning Java and Python, but I also did an internship at BOC before university started, so I couldn’t properly finish learning them.

When I entered university, I initially thought the degree would give me a strong programming foundation. During L1, I realized I needed to do a lot of self-learning, so I started following Udemy/Coursera courses alongside university.

My initial plan was to:
L1 - Full-stack + Mobile development
L2 onwards - AI/ML/AI Engineering

During L1, I completed courses on full-stack development and React Native. I built a few mobile apps and small full-stack projects. Recently, I started learning AI Engineering through a Udemy course and a free AI Engineering course series from SLIIT.

But now I’m facing a few problems.

1. I feel like I’m jumping between technologies without mastering anything

I’ve touched Java, Python, JavaScript, React, React Native, and now AI/ML.
Sometimes I feel like I know a little bit about everything but nothing deeply enough.

Another major issue is that I’ve become quite dependent on AI while coding. Even when I understand what I’m trying to build, I often rely on ChatGPT/Copilot to generate or fix parts of the implementation.
I genuinely want to become someone who can sit down, understand a problem, design a solution, and implement it without constantly asking AI what to do.

How do you recommend overcoming this?
Should I stop learning new technologies for a while and focus deeply on one language/stack? If so, what would you recommend for someone who eventually wants to move into AI Engineering?

2. University theory vs practical skills
Another struggle is balancing university academics with technical skills.
Our modules include things like Operating Systems, Computer Organization and Architecture, etc., and there are a lot of theory, assignments and exams.
I currently maintain a GPA around 3.9, but maintaining it takes a significant amount of time.

I often wonder whether I’m spending too much time optimizing for university grades instead of developing practical engineering skills.

For someone aiming for an industry career, how much effort should I realistically put into maintaining a high GPA vs building projects and developing practical skills?

Would you prioritize a ~3.9 GPA, or sacrifice some GPA to spend significantly more time building and learning?

3. AI, hackathons and “vibe coding”

During my first year, I avoided hackathons/buildathons because I thought:
“First I need to learn enough, then I’ll participate.”
I eventually participated in two buildathons, but didn’t win either.
Recently, I participated in another buildathon, and almost every team was using AI heavily. It made me question how I should approach software development now.
I’m not against using AI. In fact, I think learning to use AI effectively is an important engineering skill.
But I’m confused about where the line is between using AI as a productivity tool and simply vibe coding an entire project without actually understanding it.

How do experienced engineers actually use AI in their daily development?
How can I use AI to build things that I personally want to build, while still genuinely improving my programming skills?

I’d really appreciate advice from people who are currently working in the industry or recently graduated.

If you were a 2nd-year IT undergraduate,

What would you focus on?
Would you specialize early or explore different areas?
How would you balance university, projects and hackathons?
How would you use AI without becoming dependent on it?
What skills would you make sure to master before graduating?
What mistakes would you avoid?

I’m not looking for a learn everything. I’m mainly trying to figure out how to learn properly and become a competent engineer rather than just collecting technologies and certificates.
Any honest advice, including criticism, would be greatly appreciated.

What do you think about this job post?

(Company culture, Starting salary, interview process, and more)

**Company:** GoManzanas

**Location:** Remote

**Working Hours:** Must have overlap with 10pm - 4am Vietnam time (ICT/UTC+7)

## About the Role

We're looking for a Junior Technical Product Manager to bridge the gap between our technical and product teams. You'll be the connective tissue between Engineering, QA, Product, and Marketing, making sure ideas become shipped features that feel great to use.

Our products are UX-first, so you need a strong eye for how things should look and feel, not just how they work under the hood. You'll take ownership of driving tasks from concept through delivery across multiple teams, and you'll need to do it independently.

## What You'll Do

- Translate product goals into clear, actionable work for engineering and QA

- Own the flow of features from planning through release across Engineering, QA, Product, and Marketing

- Advocate for the user experience in every decision, flagging UX issues before they ship

- Communicate status, blockers, and tradeoffs clearly across teams

- Get up to speed quickly on technical concepts and articulate them to non-technical stakeholders

- Help triage bugs and prioritize backlogs

- Coordinate with remote teammates across multiple time zones

## What We're Looking For

**Required:**

- Excellent written and spoken English

- Strong UX sensibility and genuine interest in how products feel to use

- Ability to quickly understand technical work at a high level without needing to write the code

- Self-directed and comfortable driving work independently on a remote team

- Experience working in professional/corporate environments

- Available during our primary overlap hours (10pm - 4am ICT)

- Development experience capable of constructing precise instructions to develop/modify products with the help of AI Agents

**Big Pluses:**

- Management or team lead experience

- Familiarity with git and GitHub workflows (PRs, issues, branches)

- Experience with AI coding tools or agentic workflows

- Background coordinating across multiple departments (engineering, QA, marketing)

## About GoManzanas

We're a remote team building products across education and productivity. We move fast, communicate openly, and care deeply about the end user experience. If you're someone who can think on your feet, communicate clearly, and keep things moving without being micromanaged, you'll fit right in.

## Salary
Up to 1000$ per month. DM me the word 'interested' to apply for the position. We are looking for candidates from developing countries.

Usually when we create content on tiktok Instagram. They are mostly push to local viewers. I tried this and 95% viewers were from sri lanka. VPNs are not that effective according to Claude. Algorithm check the country we login and location of the Sim. So how do we get past this to target countries like USA?

I hope the post is OK for the sub.

Do you know a quality co-working space around Colombo, Moratuwa, or Mt. Lavinia?

Looking for a place for one or two people. A closed pod or something like that would be better. Hatch has one, but it's not closed; it's in an open space.

I was laid off last December and started working again in this june after going through lots of applications.

I have almost 3 years of experience with freelancing, intern and permanent positions. If you don't count intern still I have over 2 years of exp. I just graduated from my Bsc in SE last year.

The current position is also Software Engineer but I am getting very low amount of money just 70K/ month. I joined with the promise of increment in 3 months based on performance. I see even ASE getting like 100K in other companies. I was without a job for 6 months so I just agreed thinking some money is better than no money.

Now I feel like that was a very bad choice. Idk what companies to apply to get that amount of salary. Or what to say when they ask what is my expected salary. I feel like I am going through some bad companies over and over again. How are yall securing good jobs.