I'm a CS student but because all my classes are online I have spent most of my time in the last year working for a startup.
It's a team of 20 people but I'm one of the two only technical employees. We are building a pretty interesting tech product adjacent to the core business.
But now I feel myself spending more and more time doing basic tech support for the rest of the team. It's probably a decent business decision because maintaining the infrastructure is essential for them to make money, it's just not what I want to be doing.
Am I right to worry if this will hurt my career opportunities in the future? Should I be looking for a job at a company more focused on software development?
I've got a dev friend who makes lots of money, more than I ever will, and while I'd be just fine with what he makes for the next 20 years, he will job hop after 2 or 3 years. When he gets bored or he sees another company could use his help to grow, he will opt to go for the newer startup than remain at the established company. Of course, his salary demands do rise as well, but I believe it's just been easier for him to leave for a new company than demand a raise, a raise which only keeps him satisfied for so long before he's just more about the challenge.
I've worked at the same job for nearly the past decade, and my salary growth has pretty much been stagnant after the first 3 years. With the fact that my company keeps being bought out or "our sales are down", there are always poor excuses for not giving raises, but I accepted that a long time ago -- and instead of getting upset about it, I've used it to my own advantage to create my own "bonus" and "raise" system.
What I've been able to do at my company has allowed me to grow personally and professionally. Whereas my friend was always about helping other companies grow, I've started my own business, developed my own web apps, acquired my own customers and client base, written a book, run a popular website, etc.
In addition, there are some benefits that come with seniority, as I know what I'm supposed to do and what the job entails.. it's become part of my lifestyle; I work remotely; and I've got nearly 40 days of PTO. I've also been there so long that when my supervisor threatened to fire me -- and he has done so monthly for the past 6 years, I finally called him out on it, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and told him to do it and to either offer me a severance package with a year salary or allow me to collect unemployment. I waited for the follow-up email, the letter, the phone call... nothing happened.
Will I ever leave? Only when I see the ship is going to sink. My own reasons for not wanting to leave are the fact that I'm comfortable where I am and I've grown used to the people I work with. I'm also older and I suck at interviewing, so I don't want to deal with the risks of having to look for a job again until I need to do so.
So... make of it what you will. Be like my friend... or be like me. Both of us are quite happy and content in our lives.