I don't think I would apply for a SDET job. The sense I get of such a job is that I - would need to write automated tests, often in a proprietary language (yes

I don't think I would apply for a SDET job. The sense I get of such a job is that I - would need to write automated tests, often in a proprietary language (yes I am quoting you, but it hits the nail on the head) - wouldn't learn anything from the SDE perspective so it is a dead end if I don't want to do SDET forever - would be under tight deadlines and would be encouraged to write unmanageable code - would be working on rapidly changing APIs/UIs and so would want to write unmanageable code because there is not too much reason to invest in quality code that will be obsolete in a short time Generally, it is a potential code monkey job, little skill and domain knowledge required, and easy to outsource.