How long to stay before leaving?
How short would be too short at my first job? Every day I come into work and want to shoot myself. I’ve only been here 4 months - literally been doing bug tickets 8 hours a day every single day. Do companies really care about employment length? I need a position that’s more relaxed.
Relaxed in what sense?
A position on par with freelance work. Generally “I want this feature, get it to me in 8 days” if it takes you 5 you can just sit back and chill.
Profile?
Under a year at a first job would raise flags. Have a reason ready.
Unfortunately most companies aren't like college where once you do an assignment you are done. Given they are paying you they would like you to be working rather than sitting back and chilling
I was under the impression most major tech companies have that policy. At least that’s what I’ve heard about google for one
Lol you think Google is rest and vest? We have 6 month review cycles, and trust me, you will be on your toes. Now it is of course less stressful than other FANGs, where they PIP indiscriminately. But given that everyone at Google is very accomplished technically, you can't bullshit your way to staying employed. Your attitude is the best way to get fired quick. Expectations are high at Google. They just aren't unreasonable to where you are constantly stressed.
At first I thought you are whining about not learning enough, then I realized you are talking about more relaxing job than working 8 hours a day within first year of your first job. Welcome to the real working world where you will get paged at 3 am in the morning for an issue needs to be fixed before everyone wakes up.
A good way to learn about an existing system is by fixing bugs. After enough time you would be able to somewhat understand the system and will be ready to do more diverse work.
I left my first job after seven months. The job market is so good for engineers that people don’t really care if you have a short tenure at a company on your resume. As long as it doesn’t become a pattern on your resume then you’ll be ok. I find that my work ebbs and flows, which is pretty natural in tech. The best situation is when you find something that you can really get into and become passionate about. When I have this, I want to work more than 8 hours a day. And this is when I feel like I am really learning and growing in my career. It sounds like either freelancing or consulting may be a better fit for what you are looking for? Or you just need to find a project that you can really get into. Bug fixing can get old really fast. I’d definitely voice this to your manager, especially if you’re at the point where you’re ready to leave the company — you have nothing to lose.
If you get a better job just take it and if you think it could be a problem, leave your first job off your resume