5 ms·

I'm a software engineer with a great job in midwest but I have never been happy here and have been contemplating about just packing my stuff and moving to Seatt

by sakopov 11y ago

I'm a software engineer with a great job in midwest but I have never been happy here and have been contemplating about just packing my stuff and moving to Seattle for the past 3 years. I don't have any job leads but I have enough in savings to get a place for 6 months. Does anyone think it's sane to just move without job offers?

smithkl42 11y ago
Probably so, if you've got good technical skills. At the very least, you ought to be able to land a couple of contracting gigs to tide you over until you find the right long-term position. There's a lot more demand here in the Puget Sound area for good technical skills than there is supply, so unless you're just not a very good developer, you ought to be able to find something reasonable.
- voltagex_ 11y ago
  A week of rejected job applications has me wondering if I'm not a good developer at all...
  - smithkl42 11y ago
    Don't worry too much about that. Apply for a ton of jobs, for weeks, if not months. Assume that for 80% of them, your resume will get tossed immediately, for no good reason whatsoever. Not your fault. Similarly, for reasons beyond your control, you'll probably fail half of the phone screens, and when you actually get called in, you won't get past 90% of the interviews. Don't worry about it: that's just how it goes. Those numbers will vary substantially with the market, your experience, your innate horsepower, and your asking salary, but the fact is, although there are a lot of developers out there, and employers are careful who they hire, there are also a lot of job openings. Play the numbers game: my rule of thumb is to apply for 100 jobs to get one that you want.
arjunnarayan 11y ago
Spend a month learning to interview with a book like Cracking the Code, and yeah, you'll get a great job.
cossatot 11y ago
You might move a bit farther out of town to extend your savings. Plus if you're outdoorsy or would like to be, being 20 miles closer to the Cascades makes getting out midweek feasible and beating the crowds on the weekends.
- sakopov 11y ago
  The outdoors is exactly why I want to get out to Pacific Northwest. I always find myself chasing nature here. Thank you for a great tip!
  - mikestew 11y ago
    I live in Redmond, and "the outdoors" is literally a block down the street, starting at the local trail. Take the dog on a run two miles down that trail, and we're in a wooded park with trails. Two more miles and we're in the Redmond Watershed park with I-don't-know-how-many miles of wooded trails. And that's "outdoors lite". A 30 minute drive gives me a choice three mountains with (if I had to guess) at least 100 miles of trails, some of which you probably won't see another person. I once did a 24 mile run on Cougar Mountain, and never hit the same trail twice (though I did pretty much exhaust the trail system after 24 miles). Drive a little more, an you get skiing, snowshoeing, forest roads galore for your dual sport motorcycle. Hell, go dog sledding if that floats your boat, I've seen 'em out there. If you have 6 months saved up, you should have no problem finding a job. Yeah, you'll get rejected at a lot of jobs not because you suck but because tech hiring sux balls. But I'd bet you'll find something. If you get out here, hit me up if you like; email in profile.
marssaxman 11y ago
Yep. Plenty of jobs here, and affording a place to live is only a problem if you're not a software engineer.
pnathan 11y ago
I'd actually suggest interviewing first and getting flown out. I'd suspect you can swing a job within 3 weeks.

by sakopov 11y ago

smithkl42 11y ago

Probably so, if you've got good technical skills. At the very least, you ought to be able to land a couple of contracting gigs to tide you over until you find the right long-term position. There's a lot more demand here in the Puget Sound area for good technical skills than there is supply, so unless you're just not a very good developer, you ought to be able to find something reasonable.

voltagex_ 11y ago
A week of rejected job applications has me wondering if I'm not a good developer at all...
- smithkl42 11y ago
  Don't worry too much about that. Apply for a ton of jobs, for weeks, if not months. Assume that for 80% of them, your resume will get tossed immediately, for no good reason whatsoever. Not your fault. Similarly, for reasons beyond your control, you'll probably fail half of the phone screens, and when you actually get called in, you won't get past 90% of the interviews. Don't worry about it: that's just how it goes. Those numbers will vary substantially with the market, your experience, your innate horsepower, and your asking salary, but the fact is, although there are a lot of developers out there, and employers are careful who they hire, there are also a lot of job openings. Play the numbers game: my rule of thumb is to apply for 100 jobs to get one that you want.

arjunnarayan 11y ago

Spend a month learning to interview with a book like Cracking the Code, and yeah, you'll get a great job.

cossatot 11y ago

You might move a bit farther out of town to extend your savings. Plus if you're outdoorsy or would like to be, being 20 miles closer to the Cascades makes getting out midweek feasible and beating the crowds on the weekends.

sakopov 11y ago
The outdoors is exactly why I want to get out to Pacific Northwest. I always find myself chasing nature here. Thank you for a great tip!
- mikestew 11y ago
  I live in Redmond, and "the outdoors" is literally a block down the street, starting at the local trail. Take the dog on a run two miles down that trail, and we're in a wooded park with trails. Two more miles and we're in the Redmond Watershed park with I-don't-know-how-many miles of wooded trails. And that's "outdoors lite". A 30 minute drive gives me a choice three mountains with (if I had to guess) at least 100 miles of trails, some of which you probably won't see another person. I once did a 24 mile run on Cougar Mountain, and never hit the same trail twice (though I did pretty much exhaust the trail system after 24 miles). Drive a little more, an you get skiing, snowshoeing, forest roads galore for your dual sport motorcycle. Hell, go dog sledding if that floats your boat, I've seen 'em out there. If you have 6 months saved up, you should have no problem finding a job. Yeah, you'll get rejected at a lot of jobs not because you suck but because tech hiring sux balls. But I'd bet you'll find something. If you get out here, hit me up if you like; email in profile.

marssaxman 11y ago

Yep. Plenty of jobs here, and affording a place to live is only a problem if you're not a software engineer.

pnathan 11y ago

I'd actually suggest interviewing first and getting flown out. I'd suspect you can swing a job within 3 weeks.