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For senior software engineers and engineers who have been in the tech space for a long time... What advise would you have a recent CS graduate. I have worked on my own tech startup and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I learned alot of new things. Met alot of different people. I have also done internships at reputable companies (not FAAMNG) and found little motivation in it. I felt tired after each day because I found the work boring. Do you thinks it's worth it to gain more experience through working at larger companies? Is work at large companies always boring or was it just me? What about working at or creating a startup? Any advice on future paths will be appreciated. I was considering doing MBA.
Go startup if you don't care much for money early on. I did and learned a whole bunch, but if you start at a big company you'll have a head start on terms of net worth (if you save correctly, negotiate, etc)
How was your experience with a startup early on? Would you change anything if you could? Has it helped you at your work at FAANG?
Most coding is tedius and monotonous. The best engineers still crank that shit out because good work ethic. And the more good you get, the more interesting work is handed to you. If you wait for work to come to you and do the minimum to get by, expect mediocre raises and promotions. Really think about it. You are being paid like 150 an hour to write boring unit tests. Suck it the fuck up. Stop being a diva. 150 an hour for a unit test. Can life be any better. Challenge your mind elsewhere. There are other parts of our job which pose other challenges like dealing with people/personalities/dogmas. System design has its own sets of challenges. Optimizing for latency can be hard. Dont be a code monkey. Talk to business folks. Learn to speak up. Learn to lead. You will move up and get the best projects this way.
Thank you for the comment. I 100% understand what you are getting at. The only confusion I have at this moment in my life is what you said yourself: "150 and hour for a unit test. Can life be any better." I am just trying to figure out how I want to define the "better" in my life. Should it be though going into new/exciting experiences IMMEDIATELY (startup) or money and have a chance at progressing relatively slowly (working at big companies). Thanks for the advice.
Excitment will come and go. In 10 years you will have seen it all. My advice is dont chase excitement. Join based on the people. People will make your job shitty or fun regardless of the tech stack and product. Start up vs big company? Whichever has better people.
Try things that excite you while you can. Once the bills pile up for family you may have no choice but to suck it up at a FAANG.
So life gets... worse.... lol
All my friends who work at FAANG say they only do it for the money. Is that really the case? It's hard to believe that nobody enjoys their work at these big companies. Yet I haven't met one person...