Transferring to tech
So I'm pretty early in my career and have realized defense isn't the fit I thought it'd be, was hoping to work on more meaningful stuff but after my original project was cancelled I haven't found something that fits the bill, plus the culture is awful (slow paced, apathetic management). I've been trying to move over to tech, but the only recruiters reaching out on LinkedIn are defense/gov related startups and online applications seem like black holes. Any ideas to get my foot in the door? At this point the biggest hurdle seems to be getting an interview.
Are you less than 2 years in? If so, consider an MBA at a top school to help transition to product management at MAGA/FANG.
I'd like to but I can't afford a quality MBA at this point. Aiming to get one in my mid to late 20s. I'm about to start a MS in CS though to bridge the gap
If you're that early, you have plenty of time. Aim to start at ~27 which means preparing and applying the year before. The earlier you start the program, the better the ROI because jobs coming out of MBA are all in a TC range of $175-250k.
Had a friend (BS in CS from a state school with 3yoe) move from a defense company to Apple. In his free time he wrote some Mac software, and contributed to Mac related OSS. Through this he was contacted by a recruiter through that project (I think on IRC, if you can believe that). TC went from 75k to 180k.
Sounds like a dream! Thx for sharing!
Referral