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> If this were a year ago, I'd feel good; grind some leetcode, get hired at a big tech company for a good salary. This dynamic is one of the reasons we're seei

> If this were a year ago, I'd feel good; grind some leetcode, get hired at a big tech company for a good salary. This dynamic is one of the reasons we're seeing such large layoffs right now. Even many of the companies that are rolling in cash simply got too aggressive with hiring in recent years. Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eventually. I've heard more stories about in-progress FAANG interviews being cancelled than I could possibly count. Most FAANG companies are still hiring, albeit very selectively. They're also trimming staff through large layoffs and also smaller, less publicized team cuts. I suspect many of these are soft landing cuts, as I've seen a sudden increase in the number of ex-FAANG resumes landing in my inbox. A lot of stories about how people are just "looking for a change of pace", but I suspect they see the writing on the wall. > I used to be a software engineer. Then I went to law school, and now work in biglaw. I am a year out of law school, and have been working on a legal tech startup with a friend. If we cannot raise in the next couple months, I wish (almost need, really) to bail on the biglaw job and go back to being a dev. In your case, "used to be a software engineer" is already going to put you at a massive disadvantage relative to all of the experienced engineers who were recently forced into the job market by layoffs. You could try to lean on the startup experience, but keep in mind that hiring managers won't be eager to hire someone who admits to working on an entire side startup while having a dayjob. That could mean the employee wants to continue working on their startup while collecting paychecks, which is a lot of risk to take in a job market that is crowded with applicants.

perspective3 4y ago
> Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eventually. It's ironic that the trackpants set that got into leetcoding over medicine because the lifestyle was better are now getting fucked by the fact that if you're doing useless shit in programming, you truly will get fired and fucked. At least if you grind in medicine, you are helping people. That said, the lifestyle options like radiology that those same trackpants kids get into will have their comeuppance too, just in longer time scales.
- UltimateFloofy 4y ago
  but healthtech is doing pretty well!
  - nitrixion 4y ago
    Very well, but people don't seem to want to apply to jobs in Healthtech. I say this as my company has many active openings that we just don't get many applications for.
    - cvhashim 4y ago
      Are you paying well enough for the current market?
    - ss108 4y ago
      Given the highly regulated nature of healthcare, would it be a meaningful plus if a software engineering applicant had a legal background as well, or is basically irrelevant?
    - devKnight 4y ago
      Try posting in the monthly who's hiring, and freelancer posts. You might get some bites
- cvhashim 4y ago
  Eh idk, medicine has its own challenges. I was a premed years ago. I’m thankful I made the change to swe. Grinding leetcode is still a great investment in the long run as long as you keep skills up to date and are a competent engineer.
ss108 4y ago
>In your case, "used to be a software engineer" is already going to put you at a massive disadvantage relative to all of the experienced engineers who were recently forced into the job market by layoffs. No doubt. Luckily, I did actually do some job searching for dev jobs from March - May this year, and I did get interviews, etc., so hopefully the situation for me isn't that dire so long as I can perform. Whether my doing a startup while employed at my last job is seen as a negative is going to be really up to them, but all I can do is assure them I am not continuing. Luckily, this has made me a competent dev again. The honest truth is I would feel pretty happy to be free of both the biglaw job and the startup (I believe in the idea, but it's difficult, especially with another full-time job, Jesus it's getting unsustainable), and would love to just focus on being a software engineer again, and would have a level of gratitude for the job that would outstrip most other candidates. But they have nothing to go off of as to all that aside from my word.
- arealdevel 4y ago
- haskellandchill 4y ago
  > and would have a level of gratitude for the job that would outstrip most other candidates most candidates who don't already have a job probably feel this way
PaulHoule 4y ago
That's an important point that a company might think that an economic slowdown is a time to let go of the bottom 20% of workers but it has the paradoxical effect that the better people see things getting worse and they are the first to go.
sys_64738 4y ago
Companies like Facebook often hire bodies just because. They don't have actual positions for them during interview as it's more about leveraging them when they start, which might be months away. They're generally not hiring to fill open positions.

perspective3 4y ago

> Anyone who knew the drill could grind leetcode, study interview guides, apply to enough FAANG companies and get a job eventually. It's ironic that the trackpants set that got into leetcoding over medicine because the lifestyle was better are now getting fucked by the fact that if you're doing useless shit in programming, you truly will get fired and fucked. At least if you grind in medicine, you are helping people. That said, the lifestyle options like radiology that those same trackpants kids get into will have their comeuppance too, just in longer time scales.

UltimateFloofy 4y ago
but healthtech is doing pretty well!
- nitrixion 4y ago
  Very well, but people don't seem to want to apply to jobs in Healthtech. I say this as my company has many active openings that we just don't get many applications for.
  - cvhashim 4y ago
    Are you paying well enough for the current market?
  - ss108 4y ago
    Given the highly regulated nature of healthcare, would it be a meaningful plus if a software engineering applicant had a legal background as well, or is basically irrelevant?
  - devKnight 4y ago
    Try posting in the monthly who's hiring, and freelancer posts. You might get some bites
cvhashim 4y ago
Eh idk, medicine has its own challenges. I was a premed years ago. I’m thankful I made the change to swe. Grinding leetcode is still a great investment in the long run as long as you keep skills up to date and are a competent engineer.

ss108 4y ago

>In your case, "used to be a software engineer" is already going to put you at a massive disadvantage relative to all of the experienced engineers who were recently forced into the job market by layoffs. No doubt. Luckily, I did actually do some job searching for dev jobs from March - May this year, and I did get interviews, etc., so hopefully the situation for me isn't that dire so long as I can perform. Whether my doing a startup while employed at my last job is seen as a negative is going to be really up to them, but all I can do is assure them I am not continuing. Luckily, this has made me a competent dev again. The honest truth is I would feel pretty happy to be free of both the biglaw job and the startup (I believe in the idea, but it's difficult, especially with another full-time job, Jesus it's getting unsustainable), and would love to just focus on being a software engineer again, and would have a level of gratitude for the job that would outstrip most other candidates. But they have nothing to go off of as to all that aside from my word.

arealdevel 4y ago
haskellandchill 4y ago
> and would have a level of gratitude for the job that would outstrip most other candidates most candidates who don't already have a job probably feel this way

PaulHoule 4y ago

That's an important point that a company might think that an economic slowdown is a time to let go of the bottom 20% of workers but it has the paradoxical effect that the better people see things getting worse and they are the first to go.

sys_64738 4y ago

Companies like Facebook often hire bodies just because. They don't have actual positions for them during interview as it's more about leveraging them when they start, which might be months away. They're generally not hiring to fill open positions.