The reason for this post is that im considering seeking for a different opportunity elsewhere. It may sound like imposter syndrome but I would say it’s an honest feeling that I have at the moment after doing some self reflection. And would be great to get suggestions from blinders and open to critics: 1. I have 5 yoe in total, 1.5 yoe at MSFT, lv60, no promotion yet but was put in promotion cycle twice by far. Haven’t got one due to budget issue according to my manager. Not sure how true that is but it was him that first brought up the topic and suggested to push for my promotion, not sure how it works. 2. I work hard and take pride in work assigned to me. Tried to deliver things with the highest quality, etc. Thanks to that I have good perf reviews so far 3. But I may not be necessarily good at my job. I’m just kind of patient enough to look at codebase and understand what they do, do research online or get help from experts, then piece things together and get the solution (a lot of copy and pasting from GitHub or existing codebase you could say) 4. Add to #3, i didn’t have an interest in this career but instead I followed what everyone wanted back then, which is computer sciences. because of this I had a rocky road when pursuing CS degrees, and never had a long lasting mentor. My foundational knowledge learnt back in school like AI, ML, distributed system, networking or security are not as robust as new hires. I also barely use them in work so I pretty much forgot all of them. 5. Not sure if my resume experiences are impressive. I don’t necessarily know the ins and outs of my project in the past as the infrastructure is finished by people that left the company. For example, I never worked directly on any implementation of a distributed system, but instead I create features upon the existing system, mostly how to utilize them. The only thing I can talk about in an interview is probably bragging how much data this system can support, but if they asked me anything in detail, like loadbalancibg, etc, then I’m screwed. 5. Haven’t leetcoded for a while due to how busy my org is (azure core). But I think it’s only a matter of time and effort when I actually invest in it. That’s the high level overview of how I think about myself atm. I’m open to questions and can elaborate more on details, I really appreciate any suggestions from folks. Thanks a lot!
Are you in Azure core compute?
Ask Blinders
Yesterday
1098
Why is our country owned by Israel? I don't want my tax dollars fund genocide. How can we stop this nonsense?
Cars
11h
1233
Electric cars depreciate 10 times faster than gasoline cars
AMA
3h
673
I have worked at TikTok US core tech for 3 years. AMA.
Tech Industry
15h
1283
Horrible Netflix ML interview experience
Fitness
10h
1946
Very thin yoga pants
Your approach outlined in point #3 is truly commendable. Demonstrating patience and resourcefulness in understanding and solving challenges is exactly what employers value. I would certainly consider hiring someone with such a proactive attitude. As for point #5, being part of Microsoft's Azure team already places you in a position of interest for other companies. Your experience in such a crucial organization undoubtedly piques curiosity and makes you a desirable candidate for interviews elsewhere. Addressing the gap in domain-specific knowledge is crucial, but thankfully, resources abound online. Utilizing the wealth of information available on the Internet, particularly on topics like distributed systems, can bridge this gap effectively. You may share a similar preference to mine; practical learning often trumps theoretical study. If so, you might appreciate a hands-on approach like the one offered at https://app.codecrafters.io/catalog Regarding LeetCode, even tackling the easier problems can be beneficial for honing your pattern recognition skills. Think of it as starting with lighter weights at the gym to build a habit before progressing to more challenging exercises. Consistency is key, and gradually tackling harder problems becomes more manageable over time.
Really appreciate your feedback! Let me looks into that website. Yes Reading theories are quite difficult for me to understanding things thoroughly. In fact, my last mentor did suggest me to learn by doing which is what I prefer. But to clarify more, I guess my concern is this: 1. I’m not sure which area I’m interested in to develop further. 2. I do have domain knowledge on things I directly worked on, but not necessarily the infrastructure of it (I would only look at them if I spotted error coming from those level). Features built upon complicated system are not that fancy I would say 3. But yes I do have lack of those specific knowledge like distributed system (I only know the very basic) and have no hands on experiences with them. I think I noticed that this is sometimes what hiring team is looking for. But sometimes people don’t, for example, I somehow got lucky and passed MSFT hiring event interview and didn’t ask me too much fancy questions If this is the case, what should I do?
Motivation is an important part of the learning process. I would recommend to identify what you actually enjoy doing first: designing systems, building systems, testing systems, hacking them, maintaining them, doing things from scratch (green field projects) or working on established projects, etc. I, for example, have worked different roles throughout my career. I have built websites, back-end systems, video games, have done penetration testing, built big Kubernetes clusters, designed and also reverse engineered binary file formats, worked on cryptocurrency systems, built payment platforms, and the list goes on and on. I basically enjoy learning and building new things. That’s my passion and what keeps me motivated to continue working in this industry. Once you find your passion, you’ll be able to design the next couple of years of your career and work towards your own goals. Don’t forget to “touch grass” from time to time, literally and also figuratively, in order to maintain perspective. I have never had a mentor in my life. Sometimes I wonder if I would have made more progress and/or faster. As the saying goes —“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”— which emphasizes the importance of collaboration and teamwork for achieving long-term success and progress. Maybe do both: design your own path and ask for feedback from your mentors (plural). Determine what works for you.