I have been trying to find a job for the past 2-3 months, and the psychological toll that it has taken on me is enormous.
I planned on going for a PhD, but eventually got tired of academia and of practically starving. I am finishing my master's in December. I have sent out my CV for review in r/cscareerquestionsEU, I have received good feedback, I have been told that my CV is strong and that I may be suffering from my own successes.
Most of the responses by companies are flat out rejections without any information as to how or why. I have been told that I am overqualified for positions. By others that I was underqualified. I have been given excuses of the form "we are looking for somebody who has more experience with XYZ tech" as if there is some kind of barrier that prevents somebody from learning said tech.
At this point I am practically begging for anything to not starve and pay the bills.
I am really sorry for venting here, but I am at a breaking point.
I too was looking for a job last year and it made me wholly depressed. Rejection after rejection, not knowing whether I'd be ask a leetcode easy, or medium, or whether I'd be grilled on some obscure/gotcha language features (C++ takes the crown in that domain). The randomness of it all, passing the technical tests but failing the interview with the CEO. The wide range of topics on which you might be quizzed on. Frontend, backend, javascript quirks, typescript. You worked with C++ 3 years ago? Then tell me what that piece of code does. Sorry it's undefined behavior according to the page 756 of the C++ standard version 17. You don't know how to answer this question about databases and you call yourself a backend developer? You don't know this very specific feature of SQL? Solve this leetcode problem for me. And then again the next day, and the next day, and the next week. And the week after that. And it's been two months and you've been rejected 10 times. And then you go on HN and you read that the market is hot, the market is white hot! But you, you're ready to snap at the first offer that comes to you because you're emotionally drained. Leetcode in the morning, sending applications in the afternoon, then some leetcode again before going to bed. Repeat everyday, even on weekends.
Hold on and try to resist. Also, try to focus on one language / one position. For example you can chose backend / C#. Or Frontend / React. Or systems programming / C++.
In my opinion, if you already went to a few interviews for the same role, you kind of know what kind of questions you are asked.
Also, I find leet code as a waste of time in preparation for the interviews unless you shoot for a FAANGs.
It took me two year to change job. The expectations are absolutely bonkers right now, the selection process capricious and often even if you jump all the hurdles there's little guarantee that salary on offer comes close to what was in the job listing.
Don't be sorry. If anything, people should be venting more and showcasing the absurdity of the job market. We've normalized the idea of just biting through a really emotionally taxing time for no particular reason and companies are taking advantage of it.
I have previously expressed that I do not mind working more or paying more in taxes if it means that the community around me benefits from it. I see it as a form of mutual aid. It is in everyone's best interest to help our community and make up for each other's bad luck.
You should find a position as a junior developer without much problems. Right now is a big need for developers in many countries.
Try to see what is the best web site for your country / region to find developer work. For me is LinkedIn. Prepare a bit more for the interview. By now you should know the type of questions asked.
You can ask right here on HN for a jobs. Also there are periodical jobs posting on HN, you just have to search and find when.
My skillset is mostly in Machine Learning. I had ML internships, research assistantships, an MLE contract.
I can't get junior dev jobs because they are asking for $tech-du-jour and they told me that, they told me that they don't care that I have a master's from one of the top universities in Europe but they care that I lack experience with a particular tech stack.
Then you have two solutions: apply for ML positions or learn a tech stack needed for other type of position. It shouldn't take more than a few months to learn .NET, Java, Python + frameworks and libraries up to the level needed to be a junior developer.
If you need help identifying a type of position and a learning path to put you on track towards a developer job, taking into consideration what you already know and are comfortable with and also the market, I can help with that.
I'd like to get into backend, it seems that go is the go-to (hah) language for it these days. I have experience with C & C++, and some minor experience with Go so the language is not an issue at all. I am just not sure what the best way to achieve experience with the language is.
> Most of the responses by companies are flat out rejections without any information as to how or why. I have been told that I am overqualified for positions. By others that I was underqualified.
Can't both be true?
You have a part-PhD, hence too qualified for almost all entry-level dev jobs.
You have too little experience, hence underqualified for any non-entry-level dev job.
I was expressing that I am in a situation where I am too specialized for regular SDE roles but at the same time I lack the experience to get anything beyond those.
I don't know what to do at this point to be honest.
The PhD stipend is well above starvation levels and you can go to internships during summer to earn more money and accumulate experience. I have seen many, many people in FAANG with PhDs in SDE/DS roles and they can relatively quickly reach senior levels as well.
I don't know your situation but I while there are certainly ultra-competitive CS programs (e.g., Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, CMU), there are many research-focused universities in the US (R1) that are totally good-enough for doing research and getting a recognized degree. In a lot of less competitive universities, there is no admission committee per se; you just email the faculty you're interested in and if he wants to recruit you, then it's basically done.
There are good research universities in the R2 list as well (RIT, IIT, etc.)
I was right where you are about 18 years ago. Take heart. I still have challenges finding roles even with excellent credentials, patents, open source projects, successful companies, massive successes, and demonstrated excellence. It is always a bit wrenching.
I have a brother in law struggling in a similar position to yours.
Something helpful that I've learned being on both sides of the table many times is how much of a random process it can be. The bulk of the effect has nothing to do with you. I find that infuriating but it also has helped me deal with the petty, arbitrary, and sometimes just evil experiences to be patient for the right fit.
I feel that being trained as a software developer is not enough to find a good job. You have to seriously train in job finding. How to write your CV, where to find listings, to which position to apply, what questions are asked on interviews for the positions you are interested in, what to tell on a interview, what not to tell.
I've changed my job 3 years ago after a long time with a company. I was scared about the process, but after some preparation and a few interviews I began to do well. I kind of knew what I will be asked and replied to interviewers what they wanted to know. After 2 years I changed my job again and it was easy. Now, I am at it again and I doesn't seem too difficult. I do better than many engineers. Probably I am not a better developer than them, but I am better prepared for the interviews. Even the way you talk and how you project your confidence matters. If you "read" the guy doing the interview, tell a joke that he will appreciate, talk about something that you think he will approve, will win you bonus points. Being pleasant, Mr Nice Guy, will help because interviewers are people and they want to have good team mates who they will have a great time working with. This might even be more important than engineering excellence.
I agree that there are factors unrelated to ability to fulfill the role that increase the probability that a person is hired. That is simply a failure that some are more willing and or able to take advantage of. A good process evaluates ability to fill the role.
I planned on going for a PhD, but eventually got tired of academia and of practically starving. I am finishing my master's in December. I have sent out my CV for review in r/cscareerquestionsEU, I have received good feedback, I have been told that my CV is strong and that I may be suffering from my own successes.
Most of the responses by companies are flat out rejections without any information as to how or why. I have been told that I am overqualified for positions. By others that I was underqualified. I have been given excuses of the form "we are looking for somebody who has more experience with XYZ tech" as if there is some kind of barrier that prevents somebody from learning said tech.
At this point I am practically begging for anything to not starve and pay the bills.
I am really sorry for venting here, but I am at a breaking point.