Switching from defense to tech industry?
Is it worth it to try and switch industries considering I only have hardware testing experience/am not an elite leetcoder? I’m thinking it’s better to double down and try to climb the career ladder in defense and enjoy the work life balance benefits, knowing I probably can’t match the talent needed here on blind with 600k+ TC or something ridiculous like that. Glassdoor has more realistic numbers of $127k average to $161k base salary which would be more realistic numbers for me to achieve. But I’m making close to that number now anyways so moving from where I am now to the bay wouldn’t be worth it for those numbers. Still, there’s something nagging me that I’m missing an opportunity to make a higher TC, even if that means moving to the Bay Area/higher COL area and sacrificing some work life benefits. Is the philosophy here on Blind to jump to tech/finance no matter what, TC rules all? Or playing devils advocate here, would it make more sense to stay in a comfortable job now and pursue side businesses to make up for the extra income?
It’d be really difficult to go from hardware tester to an average SF/SV developer. You’d probably have to go through an accelerator program like hackreactor, and even after then, you’ll have to pay your dues working 50-70 hour weeks as most who take a chance on you will be early startups who are not afraid to work you to the ground. It’s pretty cool on the other side though! I know earlier people who came out of Hackreactor programs in mid-2015, and now have 3-4 years of experience and are solid mid-level programmers making solid TC
Thanks for this reply, this is the most thought out one in this post yet. I’ve been trying to find work life balance discussions in tech but have only heard good things, none of the 50-70 hour weeks you’re talking about. I have worked 60 hour weeks for about a month and that wasn’t any fun - wouldn’t want to do that again. But I figure it’s better to keep climbing in my position than try to switch and start over again
Yes
What's your current TC?
Between 127k - 161k, but again I’m comparing Glassdoor salaries in the Bay Area for my similar role and position. I’m in a lower COL area of course and I’m not trying to inflate my salary on blind (I’ve seen people claiming 1MM+ salaries which would mean they get paid more than the average CEO. I’m nowhere near that exceptional)
Do what you enjoy.
True. This is the best philosophy. There’s a fine line between enjoying something though and doing something economically worthwhile