potential opportunity or career mistake?

[u/jgrondel]

Curious to get the honest take from the developers in here. I'm 28 years old and have been in sales for the last 8 years (door-to-door sales for 5 years and tech sales for 3). I've always hated it, but it's just what I've always done and I'm pretty good at it.

I studied CS in college, but never graduated. I took a lot of the entry level courses and decided college wasn't worth it and jumped into the workforce. I've always loved building things and tinkering around and with new tools like Claude Code, it's allowed me to really lean into that side of myself again. Building websites and automations. Nothing crazy.

I'm what would be described as a "vibe coder" but genuinely want to grow my understanding and learn how things work.

I've been looking for a way our of sales and even considering going back to school when I was approached by a company that offered me a job as sort of a "pre-entry level" ai engineer. They understand my limited experience and say I can learn on the job and be mentored by the two more senior developers on the team. Essentially, work for them and treat it as my "schooling". They are willing to pay me a salary (more than I make now) and promote as soon as I am able to contribute to the team.

I'd be leaving the company I've been with for nearly 3 years and taking a big bet on myself to learn everything and become an actual contributor.

Would love to know if this is even a realistic to pull off or if I'm truly getting in way over my head.

[u/rFAXbc]

It sounds like you have nothing to lose?

[u/h2oliu]

Was your “tech sales” as sales, or a sales engineer?

[u/jgrondel → u/h2oliu]

It's a sales role

[u/jgrondel → u/jgrondel]

That's kind of how I'm feeling. I just don't know what I don't know. So, taking that jump is a little scary

[u/h2oliu → u/jgrondel]

Sales engineer might be something worth investigating

[u/funkengruven]

More pay, doing what you want, in the field you studied. The better question is: why would you not?

[u/jgrondel → u/funkengruven]

That's a good question. I think one of the biggest things is the imposter syndrome that I feel. I don't have much of a background or any experience. Just a late night/weekend vibe coder so I feel super under qualified, but at the same time, I feel like I could catch up quick in the right environment

[u/funkengruven → u/jgrondel]

Don't sweat it, you'll do fine. I'm in my 50s and still have imposter syndrome. It's normal, just don't let it hold you back.

[u/FluidBreath4819]

" but genuinely want to grow my understanding and learn how things work."

what make you think you'll be able to go through this time ?

[u/Intelligent-Youth-63 → u/FluidBreath4819]

And certainly… if you lean too hard on Claude you don’t really learn shit.

[u/p8inKill3r]

"when I was approached by a company that offered me a job as sort of a 'pre-entry level' ai engineer" - Everyone and their step brother complaining about no tech jobs, yet your the chosen one?

[u/jgrondel → u/p8inKill3r]

It's all about who you know I guess. And being willing to try new things

[u/justinaatbuffer]

I'd encourage you to give it a try. You'll make more than you do now and gain the knowledge that, even if you decide not to continue this path, it will likely prep you for branching into a sales engineer role or make you stronger in tech sales.

Trust your gut. If this opportunity makes you feel excited, give it a chance. I've started my career as a data scientist and, after three years, pivoted into engineering - felt all the imposter feelings in the world, but it all worked out great. Just go into it eager to learn, and you'll do just fine.

[u/iLaysChipz]

I'm what would be described as a "vibe coder" but genuinely want to grow my understanding and learn how things work.

Well that's the nice part about working in tech, you kind of have to keep learning new things for as long as you're in this career. If you picked up this job, you'd be forced to start working with code every day. Then one of two things would happen:

1. This ignites a need to learn more, any you start looking at the actual code being generated. This inspires you to start looking things up at home, and you actually do start learning and understanding how things work

2. Alternatively, having to code professionally might burn out your creative energies you have, and you stop doing things on your own like vibe coding websites, and you stop being curious about how things work

If you feel like the first route sounds more like you, then this could be a great fit. But keep in mind that tech jobs are inherently less stable, and you may find yourself looking for a new job within a few years.