5 ms·

Some more free advice, in no particular order: * Try to get at least one job offer every year, even if you don't accept it. * Look at the requirements for you

• breput 2y ago
  > Look for work in major U.S. tech hubs like the Bay Area. Pay is better and network effects are strong, so your next job will be easier to get. Jobs and the network effects happen all across the country. As you get older and maybe don't want the grind, or have a family, or just want a better work/life balance, this will become apparent. Basically, always have at least two people who will support you for your next job.
  • tibbar 2y ago
    There are plenty of tech hubs besides the Bay Area, that's for sure. But I can tell you that when I moved from a small company in a small economy to a moderately-well known startup in the Bay, the rate at which recruiters contacted me jumped from maybe a few times a year to multiple times per week. And after a few years, many of my coworkers started their own companies and invited me to join them. By contrast, I have very talented friends who did not make the jump to work at a tech hub, and they don't have the same kind of network or opportunities. With that said, I very much agree with you about wanting work life balance, making sure there are people who will support you in your next job, etc. However, I think that this is much easier to optimize for when you do have an established career and an extensive network already.
    • breput 2y ago
      I didn't mean to nullify your experience. You've undeniably right about how there have been spheres of influence where people and capital come together. Every area of the United States has some kind of forced name of "Silicon *" for a reason. I just don't think this will be true in the future. Move where you want to, maybe have to work harder to break through, but that was also true in the Valley.
      • tibbar 2y ago
        I would love for this to be the case!
• DeathArrow 2y ago
  >Steer away from skills like web development that are clearly getting eaten by LLMs. What do you mean by web development? Would backend qualify? Would microservices qualify? A complex application is much more than coding.
  • luxuryballs 2y ago
    this and why not use LLMs and become an even more productive web developer
    • noisy_boy 2y ago
      I see the evolution, atleast until things get drastic, to be where the interviewer will allow LLM use and observe how fast you can deliver the objective while dealing with hallucinations etc.
  • tibbar 2y ago
    I'm mostly thinking of frontend dev work, but also some types of light backend work that you might see in a CRUD app. And listen, I've done that work, I've done a lot of it, and I saw that it's mostly a career dead-end, becoming more and more automated/copiloted away. It's not a career moat to be a mid-level React developer. By contrast, some things I think are worth pivoting into include infrastructure, databases, data engineering, stats, etc, and I've spent the last few years pivoting into those areas. An interesting counter-point is that if you have great product and design skills, this is a great time to learn frontend development, because it's more accessible than ever and can supercharge your existing skills. But the days of being a pure frontend coder are probably fading.
    • krishnakanna18 2y ago
      > infrastructure, databases, data engineering I work as a backend dev, without an opportunity to work on these at my current company. How do I learn and showcase these skills effectively. Thanks!
      • 2y ago
• scarface_74 2y ago
  Amazingly enough, I and millions of other developers have managed to find jobs outside of the Bay Area. Personally, I’ve been finding jobs quite easily 10x since 1996 - the last 2 in 2023 and last year. > Look at the requirements for your dream job and figure out what you need to learn to qualify. Those jobs in the Bay Area mostly require you to “grind leetCode” and system design. They really don’t require you to know the latest frameworks, databases, Kubernetes, etc
  • tibbar 2y ago
    Hey, as I said in another thread, I did not start out working in the Bay, and ended up here somewhat by accident. It shocked me how much easier it was to find good jobs here, and I'll stand by that. With that said, of course I say this with no judgment to anyone not in the Bay or other tech hubs, it's friendly advice from personal experience. > Those jobs in the Bay Area mostly require you to “grind leetCode” and system design. They really don’t require you to know the latest frameworks, databases, Kubernetes, etc Hmm, it sounds like you have a negative opinion of Bay Area jobs in general. I'm asking people to first figure out what work sounds interesting to them, and then learn the relevant skills. If you have the skills, the Bay Area probably has the right job, too. Of course these jobs also exist elsewhere, I'm not sure why I'm triggering this reaction...
    • scarface_74 2y ago
      I’ve worked for BigTech. If you look at how to pass any of the interview processes, it’s basically all about generic coding interviews. That’s it, those are the only “skills” you have to have to get into the BigTech - pass coding and system design interviews. And there are thousands of developers looking for jobs - even those who are coming out of well known tech companies.
      • tibbar 2y ago
        I agree, that is how many big tech interviews look. I've done 'em too. If one's dream job is a generic, mid-level role at BigTech, then the path is clear - get very good at Leetcode and system design, and flag down a recruiter. My dream jobs tend to be more eclectic, and not necessarily at giant companies. I'm more interested in getting really skilled at a particular type of technology and being hired to work on that. And this kind of targeted recruitment still exists at big companies, too. But also Leetcode doesn't scare me too much, so maybe I'm dismissing it too easily. I've done a lot of those problems over the years, and I'm FAR from great at them but it's never been the blocker to a particular role in practice.
• sangeeth96 2y ago
  > Steer away from skills like web development that are clearly getting eaten by LLMs. You had it going well there but then had to ruin it with a take like that. If you’re talking about your trivial, github-filled example scenarios of frontend, sure. But then we could say the same for all other roles, including backend logic that’s regurgitated all the time. Like with everything else, the non-trivial bits need work and skills.
  • wiseowise 2y ago
    Except that they’re right, a your “non-trivial bits” will like 5% and rest will be dealing with idiots copy pasting AI slop.
    • sangeeth96 2y ago
      I'd personally try to stay away from anything built this way, if I can get a whiff of it (and it's not super hard to find the slop right now). But, even if learn to agree on this for the share of throwaway apps or internal tools that might not need sophistication or care, my point was that the same take applies to the backend side as well and I'd argue that's a more at-risk domain since data is usually in a serializable format to be fed into LLMs and doesn't have the challenges of visual input.
• SwtCyber 2y ago
  On avoiding web dev: I get the concern, but I wouldn't write it off completely. LLMs are changing the game, but they're not replacing deep expertise in architecture, scalability, or understanding real-world business constraints
  • wutwutwat 2y ago
    I don't think they meant architecture, scalability, or understanding real-world business constraints I think they meant literally web developers, or, aka, frontend folks doing html and css. I've worked on backend systems that run web sites and apis, for over a decade, and I've never once referred to myself as a web dev. That title has always been frontend specific imo
• n_ary 2y ago
  > Steer away from skills like web development that are clearly getting eaten by LLMs On the contrary, here in my corner of EU nearly 60% of new jobs are frontend or full stack. Anything else left is mostly SAP consultant or DevOps. I think, the whole WebDev is dead end is just false lies to dissuade new entrants. Literally most successful business with a digital solution is web stuff with some automation that would otherwise be ms excel sheets shared via email. Also this whole panic over LLM is overblown, I know of some brilliant experienced people in other professions like Electronics, Mechatronics, Aerospace, Material Science and literally all of them are finding the job market “very difficult at the moment”. It is the bad global mood in general used deceptively by opportunists to spread false fears of their LLM/AI. At the end of the day, an insurance seller has hundreds of concerning reasons to convince you why everything is dangerous around you and you really need their product. Now apply that to AI sellers.
  • tibbar 2y ago
    There's another factor here I forgot to mention - web development, as a specialization, tends to be paid less and has a lower career ceiling in many companies than backend and infra engineering. This is a personal observation on my part but I've seen many other people remark on this. True full stack engineering, I think, is reasonably safe from the robots at the moment. If someone likes building products, I'd basically recommend that they not go 100% full-bore on frontend engineering, definitely go for "full-stack", and accept that a lot of frontend code is trivia that you can just ask the LLM for these days. I would also recommend that they develop solid product management and UX skills.
    • eastbound 2y ago
      Certainly. Front-end and UX skills go together. Front-end dev as a beginner → UX → PM later, would provide the same salary as back-end dev -> DevOps / K8s.
    • ativzzz 2y ago
      > a lot of frontend code is trivia that you can just ask the LLM for these days If you're building CRUD yes. If you're doing anything remotely complex or novel, LLMs fall apart, much like they do for complex backend tasks. There's a lot of cool, highly customized stuff you can build with JS, and LLMs don't do a very good job at general problem solving. They're still helpful for writing small, specific functions, or providing high level guidance
• gitaarik 2y ago
  Why would web dev be eaten away by LLM's and other fields not?
  • intelVISA 2y ago
    Why would making a $5 shirt be eaten away by power looms and haute couture not?
• dzonga 2y ago
  Good advice -> but is an error or blindness > * Steer away from skills like web development that are clearly getting eaten by LLMs. funny enough all the hyped YC / Bay area startups don't make as much as your typical CRUD webapp. Devs we tend to be attracted to tech. but what makes good tech doesn't mean it's a good business. That's why your typical bay area startup depends on vc funding & will likely spend 10 years without being cash flow positive.
• roland35 2y ago
  Good advice in general. I would add - try to pick a skill which gives you a deep understanding in something fundamental which will always be relevant, rather than a particular shiny tech. I would love the bay area, but unfortunately it is extremely inaccessible for me and others once you have a family. Trying to find a place to live in a good school district seems like it takes minimum $2M for a house. Renting is less long term secure when trying to maintain consistency for kids. That's not even get into earthquakes and wildfires!
  • titanomachy 2y ago
    If you’re usual child-raising age then you probably have 6-10 years of experience, and there should be lots of jobs that pay $500k in the Bay Area. Buying a $2m house on that salary is pretty doable.
    • roland35 2y ago
      $500k would likely be a staff level salary offer. I think a senior role around $350-400k is probably more likely as a new hire coming in which is definitely great money, but still hard to take a $20k+ monthly mortgage with! Especially since a lot of that salary is variable equity income which can go down (ask me how I know!!)
• AnimalMuppet 2y ago
  Ask yourself: "What do I need to learn now for the next five years of my career?" Learn that. Five years from now, ask yourself the same question.