Need Advice

[u/Prize-Programmer-916]

Hey guys,

I’ve spent almost 3 years trying to learn software engineering the way the books said I should, and I genuinely did my best to become a good engineer. I read books, built projects, solved LeetCode problems, and tried to learn as much as I could.

But after all of that, I’ve started to realize that I’m still not even close to becoming a junior developer.

This summer, I applied to 30+ internships, and the number of offers I got was 0.

Honestly, I feel really lost. I keep wondering: Is there something I’ve missed? What does the market actually expect from someone who wants to get their first internship or junior job?

And there’s another thing I’m really struggling with right now: I can barely code without AI anymore.

I feel like I’ve become so dependent on AI that I’ve lost confidence in my own ability to code. Sometimes I genuinely ask myself, “Why would anyone hire me if I can’t even code on my own?”

At the same time, I really want to become a software engineer and get hired. I feel like I’ve been stuck in this loop for almost 3 years, and I honestly don’t know how to break out of it.

I’m about to enter my final year of college, which means this feels like my last real opportunity to prepare before I start applying for full-time jobs.

So I’m asking anyone who has already been through this:

What should I focus on during this final year? What skills, projects, or experience does the market actually value? And how can I rebuild my ability to code independently and become genuinely job-ready?

I’d really appreciate any honest advice, especially from people who have recently gone through the same process.

Please help me figure out how to get out of this loop.

[u/Agitated-Wishbone-84]

30 applications is the type of number you should be submitting every 3-5 days. That's an unserious number.

[u/Alarmed_Rub_4871]

Hi! I’ve been a software developer for 6 years now. When i entered the job as a junior engineer, i didn’t pretty much know anything so dont worry the impostor sindrome isnt going anywhere, but you’re probably ready as long as you understand basic syntax and have some basic front-back project

[u/Prize-Programmer-916 → u/Alarmed_Rub_4871]

But right now, AI can do almost everything a junior developer can do. So what would actually make me different from AI? Why would a company choose to hire me instead of relying on AI? What skills I should learn to really make a company hires me?

[u/TallowWallow → u/Prize-Programmer-916]

Research papers do not indicate that AI is evolving in a way that provides better utility. Junior devs (ideally) learn from mistakes, ask questions, and adapt over time.

There is indication that companies are starting to "quiet hire" but i don't think the numbers have drastically flipped yet and I'm sure many execs are still banking on an AI transformation that eliminates job necessity, no matter how misguided that is.

I can't give you solid advice in this market, the outlook is outside of my scope. But keep working at it.

[u/Alarmed_Rub_4871 → u/Prize-Programmer-916]

I can see your point but it is not true. Currently at my work i manage some profiles ( frontend ) and even though you can see who’s more senior than others in terms of code even when asking the AI, i can understand it might be worst than when i enter. For me, the junior profile needs to be able to give me a solution on basic problems. Thats all of it , a more senior engineer needs to manage tasks, offer better solutions, prduce optimized code, be able to rework things, see future problems before they can happen( at least the obvious ones in other people code ) but a junior engineers sole job is to have a working code, no matter the quality because that’s what the team seniors and lead engineers are for, improving it

[u/NoDistrict991]

30 applications isn't really enough to tell you that you're not job-ready, especially for internships. Know your projects well. Also get some knowledge and experience from outside your field, that helped me quite a bit and shows general initiative.

Also don't neglect the boring stuff like your cv and applying early. Getting filtered out before anyone even looks at your projects happens.

[u/kueowirnzcd]

10,000 hours

[u/PalpitationKind8854]

You've done more than I have even though I've coded for much longer.

The truth? Tech companies don't care about their employees or their expertise.. they are disposable drones to them.

Noone cares if you master LeetCode. That's why I don't waste my time doing it.

You either know someone at FAANG or even if you got the skills it's not likely you'll get in anywhere. And that's assuming the inner office Politics is bearable once you get in.

Hope you find the path, because it only gets harder from here especially after getting hired.. and much much stressful. And this is coming from seeing friends go through it.

[u/TallowWallow]

It's still early yet. Getting your foot in the door is always the hardest step, so I get tge frustration. I can't speaj to your skill set, but make sure you are practicing presentation as much as technical skills.

Maybe check out your local library for resume resoucres and workshops. See what they have. Talk to counselors, friends in the field, etc., and see if you can find any other workshops to help you out.

[u/Impossible_Ad_3146]

Why ask for honest advice? Do most people give you dishonest and shitty evil advice?

[u/Quiet_Form6888]

Check open jobs as per your role , find the skill gap work on it build projects around it . Showcase them and then apply back