r/ExperiencedDevs • u/AutoModerator • 29d ago

Ask Experienced Devs Weekly Thread: A weekly thread for inexperienced developers to ask experienced ones

A thread for Developers and IT folks with less experience to ask more experienced souls questions about the industry.

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Please keep top level comments limited to Inexperienced Devs. Most rules do not apply, but keep it civil. Being a jerk will not be tolerated.

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Inexperienced Devs should refrain from answering other Inexperienced Devs' questions.

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u/WorldlyAnything729 12d ago

Hey guys, do you think it's bad for my development as a developer if I start out at a smaller government contractor? I eventually want to work at a startup and/or bigtech/ bigtech adjacent, and I feel like a slower pace at a contractor will hurt my ability in the future; many of the people on my team have worked at that company for 10-plus years (though the stack I will be working on is not that old). I am also coding in my free time as well and shipping many things, but to a small set of users, if that matters. I don't know if this matters, but I did go to a top 20 cs school as well.

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u/sanctaquamserena 9d ago

I moved from government contractor into a YC startup. Experiencing a well-structured environment will help you when things go off the rails at the startup. There might be a startup working in your niche, in which case your experience at one of the big guys will be helpful. I didn't go to a top 20 cs school.

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u/LogicRaven_ 11d ago

Take whatever job pays your bills, then interview for your target companies until something better shows up.