Finally landed my first tech role as SWE at Slalom Build. Pay isn't great (as other tech roles) but still the highest I made in my life, and isn't too bad for 0 YOE. I'm 26 years old. How long should I stay in this job before starting to look for the next step in my career? Should I actively look for better opportunity? or do recruiters reach out on LinkedIn once you have enough YOE (so i've heard). Any recommendations on what to specialize in? I'm leaning towards Data Engineering, but I'm currently working with cloud computing. TC 99k + 10k (base + bonus) YOE: 0
If it's your first job and if the company you're working for will let you learn a valuable set of transferable skills, then stick with for at least a year or two, this is just so that you can become a competent dev. I think solidifying your skills and becoming a good dev early on your career trumps the pay bumps that you might be able to get from jumping ship too early. At this stage of your career, being a complete noob, you won't be able to make much more anyway unless you go into FAANG, if you can land a FAANG job then switch. One last thing to keep in mind also what makes a good TC in one region could be peanuts in another, so that is something to factor in as well. Current TC 105k Yoe 7 New TC next month 205k