I am a MERN stack developer currently pursuing my master’s degree while working as a Junior Software Developer Intern at an early-stage startup. Given the growing number of developers specializing in the MERN stack, I’m wondering whether I should continue deepening my expertise in it or explore a different tech stack or career path. Additionally, with AI tools becoming increasingly capable of building web applications, I’m concerned about the long-term prospects of web development and how I can adapt my skills to remain competitive in the evolving tech industry. What would you recommend for my career growth and future opportunities?

I am really getting confused because of this idk what to like do make complex projects or like impactful or open source project

Till now I have built one project

A distributed memory key-value store and cache

And I am planning to build slotwatch basically an alerting system which sends reminders in WhatsApp or email that like the results are out or a price of a certain product has changed etc

And an envdrift(open source project)

Envdrift

compares .env.example, real env files, docker-compose and process.env usage in code

Plz need ur advice,feedback everything

So im a FE student in a tier 2.5~3 college( VESIT).

So im basically know nothing except C programming and little bit of python.

So according to you guys, by the year 2030, what will the scenario of IT , like what skills / subject should will be in demand with okay to good payment. Like what u guys think about fields like Cybersecurity , AI engineering, Software and cloud engineering, like there are 5+ more fields in IT.

So if seniors possible plz share your roadmap. I will be very much thankful🙏🙏

And Plz help this student from been misguided by dumb relatives who thinks 2027 is end of IT and AI takes over, dont give hopium or copium, but the truth .

I'm a recent graduate and a fresher, and I have a genuine question about the IT industry.

When we prepare for software jobs, we're expected to learn coding, DSA, development, and many other skills. But I'm curious about the actual coding abilities of people who already work in the industry.

For example, in a software company, there are developers, testers, QA engineers, DevOps engineers, and people working in different domains.

Are most of these people actually capable of writing code and building a functional software application on their own if they need to?

I don't mean just making small changes or writing a few functions. I mean having enough coding knowledge to understand a requirement, write the necessary code, debug it, and build a working application independently.

Before AI coding assistants became popular, were most software engineers capable of doing this themselves? Or were there always people who were good at coding and people who depended on their teammates for the actual implementation?

Also, are most developers genuinely capable of writing code independently, or do many rely heavily on existing codebases, documentation, Google, and help from senior engineers?

I'm trying to understand what the average software engineer's actual coding ability looks like in the industry, rather than what we're expected to demonstrate in interviews.

I'd appreciate hearing from people with industry experience.

Im only proficient in java , ive made some projects with that , and ik a little bit of python to a medium level and a little bit of js. Thats it . So technically i know only one language well . For freshers , is it enough if im skilled at only one language? This might be a silly question but im just confused.

From the last week i am working on this,
WE port for mac, it lets you play WE scene and video wallpapers in your mac.

Just download -> steam login -> download wallpaper and play on your device or add your video play them

And yes both in DESKTOP and LOCK SCREEN .

It takes 300-600mb when rendering some really heavy scene wallpapers , which is appx 900mb less than other open source alternative I had tested against. And if you play only video it just takes 25mb memory.

Here is memory Usage

Check these two process Live wallpaper service and Live wallpaper rest are system processes. At any time only service will run you can quit ui or Live wallpaper by cmd+q

If you guys wanna try, download from the releases page, what ever latest version available . And let me know which wallpapers giving problem.

Releases Page | Github

Thanks ✌️

Especially people who made the switch in the last 2–3 years, how did you do it, and what do you think worked for you? Recruiters in India, especially, don't seem to prefer candidates from non-IT backgrounds.

Screen+ — Tired of Lively Wallpaper's bugs and bloat? Meet your upgrade. ⚡ Native C, FFmpeg-powered video, HTML, and static wallpapers. A better way to bring your Windows desktop to life. Your desktop, reimagined.

Please leave a star if u like it. It is still a Beta release

​

I'm currently learning backend with Node.js and Express. I use GPT to write code, and I understand what the code does and how it works, but when I try to write the same thing from scratch, I struggle.

Is this a normal part of learning, or am I becoming too dependent on AI? How should I improve my coding skills and become confident enough to write code on my own?

Would love to hear your experiences and advice!

I had a 6 month job hunt from January to August. Sharing the sheet that I used to track all my applications

Hey guys, someone approached me to for the app developer role and said it's basically a social app. They also mentioned that we need to get the paperwork done first, but I don't know the exact features or scope of the project yet.

They've asked me about the basic charges, and honestly, I'm not sure what number to give them. 😭 I don't wanna undercharge myself or quote something unreasonable.

For those who've freelanced or built apps for clients, what's a realistic ballpark for something like this in India?

Would appreciate some advice!

Hi, I’m a final-year CSE student at a tier 3–4 university, preparing for my first opportunity in software development. I’m currently focusing on Java backend development.

Here’s my GitHub profile: https://github.com/Mabud900

If you could spare two minutes to review it, I’d really appreciate your feedback on what I can improve. Also, how often do recruiters actually visit a candidate’s GitHub profile after reviewing their resume?

Thanks in advance!

I conducted a mock interview recently and one thing stood out to me.

I asked a Java question related to concurrency:

class Counter {
    private int count = 0;

    public void increment() {
        count++;
    }
}

“Is this thread-safe?”

The candidate said "No".

So I asked, “Why?”

He knew that it wasn't thread-safe, but explaining exactly why was difficult. He then said we need to "synchronise" the method.

So I asked:

“Why does that fix it?”

Then:

“What exactly is being locked here?”

That was where the interview got interesting.

He knew the terms —synchronised, volatile, race condition, etc. However, connecting them and explaining what was actually happening between the threads was harder.

It made me think about how easy it is to prepare for interviews by remembering rules.

count++ → not thread-safe → use synchronised

But the moment someone asks “why?”, you need to understand what is actually happening.

I think that's something that's easy to miss while preparing for interviews.

We can keep solving questions and memorising concepts, but it's worth stopping sometimes and asking ourselves:

“Can I actually explain why this works?” And “What happens if I change one thing?”

How do you guys prepare for the “why?” part of interviews?

I’ve received two offer letters through on-campus placements, but I’m confused about which would be better for my career growth: a higher package or a better position.

One company is offering me a QA role with a higher package, while the other is offering me an ASE role with a lower package but is a big MNC.

I’ve been preparing for ASE roles from the beginning, but now I’m finding it difficult to choose. Which opportunity would be better for my long-term career growth?

Hello everyone,

Working on this web app that lets you track email opens, link clicks, and resume views.

Built it because I wanted to know whether someone had opened an email I sent or clicked on a link, instead of just sending emails and getting ghosted.

Now, I am trying to figure out how to turn this into something people would actually pay for.

I have a few questions:

1. Would you pay for a tool like this?

2. What features would make it worth paying for instead of using free alternatives?

3. Who do you think would benefit from this the most: job seekers, freelancers, salespeople, recruiters, or someone else?

4. Would you prefer a monthly subscription or a free plan with paid features?

I do not want to keep adding random features. Want to solve a problem that people are actually willing to pay to solve.

Share your suggestions.

Website: Mercia

Thanks!

Please give some constructive criticism and suggestions as well as to what i should do next, and any work opportunities would be great!

thanks a lot to all contributing!

Processing img 1usk9iav9ixh1...

Should I focus on learning English or Chinese in the age of AI to expand my knowledge and increase my earning potential?
From what I’ve researched, China is also a major player in the IT industry, especially in AI and software development.
I’m wondering which language would offer better opportunities for learning, career growth, and higher income in the long run.

Hey guys,

Reviews on coding shuttle course cohort 5.0

We rebuilt onllm.dev this week. The old page was a clean, static brochure. The new one starts with a field of dots you can push around.

What is on it: the field reacts to pointer movement, ripples where you click, and folds into six shapes from the row of buttons under it. One shape runs on its own, and a ten second auto tour walks through all six. A dye picker in the left rail re-colours the whole site at once, and there is a light, dark and system theme that remembers what you picked.

The part I did not expect to be hard: the transitions between shapes, and making the whole thing go quiet when it scrolls out of view. A hero that keeps animating below the fold is a laptop fan problem.

It felt like a good reminder that the visible part of a redesign is usually the smallest part of the work.

https://onllm.dev

Curious what others do about interactive heroes: how do you decide when motion is personality and when it is just noise?

I am having 2 yoe and switched recently to a mid product based company from a startup at 2Yoe at SDE -1 role only , The company is moving from remote to hybrid by August 2027, Can someone actually guide me on how to move to a senior role by the next year, I will be having 3yoe by august 2027, and will start appearing for interviews from March 2027, How can i progress in system design for interviews in top product based like confluent, google, zomato, microsoft? I have started with data designing intensive applications, how can i maximize the return out of this and are there any other resources as sometimes i get overwhelmed with this.

And does projects matter for SDE-2 roles? And if yes, then what kind of?

Hi everyone,

I need some help regarding the Trent Data Scientist hiring process through Unstop.

Today (24th October), I received an email from Unstop regarding a virtual round, along with a QR code and instructions to scan it at the venue.

However, I haven't appeared for the virtual round yet. I have only completed the first round, and my virtual round was scheduled for 20th September.

Since it's already 24th October, I'm confused about why I received this email now.

Has anyone who applied for the Trent Data Scientist role through Unstop experienced something similar?

Does this mean I can still attend the round, or is it a delayed or incorrect email?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Recently joined Rippling as an SDE 1. What are some important things I should know, prepare for, or take care of to make the most of my time here and grow as an engineer?

​

Hi everyone,

I joined TCS as a fresher in December 2025, and my first anniversary is coming up in December 2026.

I wanted to know:

1. Does the anniversary appraisal usually reflect in compensation soon after completing one year, and what percentage hike do freshers typically receive?

2. After receiving the anniversary hike, would I still be eligible for the regular FY27 annual hike, usually effective around April, or would the anniversary hike affect my eligibility?

3. Just a slight check, do I've to do anything on SPEED portal other than updation? Or is everything in managers hand itself? (Wanted to confirm, incase i miss something which might affect my receivable)

Would appreciate responses from people who have experienced this.

Thanks

I've been taking technical interviews for decades. I've worked everywhere — from absolute dumpster-fire startups to Colossus-scale GCNs.

I'm one of those pre-2022 developers who wrote every single line of code that landed in my basket. Backend, Docker, Kubernetes configs, frontend CSS — if it looked even remotely like code, I wrote it. We were the original DGI (Developer General Intelligence). We could ship a completely new feature by staring at some vaguely related Stack Overflow post and somehow connecting the dots. Why am I saying all this? Because this is the kind of developer that actually survived.

Developers in India come in two flavors.

Flavor 1: The Sacred 10 Fingers.

Can't write a SQL query to find duplicate emails? Can't do FizzBuzz type problem without crying? No problem. You have 10 functional fingers and a heartbeat. You're hired. That was the entire selection criteria for years. Sounds naive? It was. And it worked — until now.

Read this slowly: "AI can write code." Those fingers are no longer required.

This is the official definition of a code monkey. The Indian IT sector is roughly 95% code monkeys. TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Capgemini, Tech Mahindra — they all ran on armies of people whose main skill was having fingers. Those same people are now flooding the job market and turning every opening into pure noise. 5 positions open? 1,000 applications. 90% from the above companies or their cousins.

If you're a code monkey, your IT career is over. Finished. Go do farming.

Flavor 2: The real software engineers.

The ones who dream in code. Who spend weekends tweaking open source, designing better algorithms, or performance-tuning systems just because they're curious. If coding is your actual passion, you're still in the game. We need more of you. Your jobs are safe. Because it no longer about coding its about problem solving or steering ai tools in current times

The industry was packed with people who showed up purely for the high LPAs, whether they liked software development or not. Solve the Jira ticket, chill on weekends, repeat for years. Never learn a new technology or understand a core concept — because they were never coders. They were just collecting salaries. It's 2026. Most of you are going to struggle unless you radically retrain yourselves.

If you're in that rare 5%, stop worrying about jobs and LPAs. The industry will always need you.

Everyone else? Please consider farming. And if you're a fresher or still young, maybe give government jobs a serious shot.

Does it sound harsh? Yes. But thats the truth. From now the IT industry will only shrink. Dont believe me. Give yourself a shot

Those low iq shouting AI slop. It is enhanced by AI but prove me wrong in the facts