Just needed to get this off my chest, apologies if it's incoherent. Could also use some words of advice. I majored in Industrial Engineering and followed that up with a master's in Engineering Management. And now I'm a quality engineer at one of the largest tech companies in the world. I should be overjoyed with my evident success and rejoicing in the fruits of my labor. But I'm not. I didn't realize till I was halfway through my master's program that I actually didn't like what I was doing at all. I would complain to my peers how boring my upper-level courses were, thinking that it was pretty normal, and they would look at me funny and tell me how they didn't relate at all and that they thought it was exhilarating and they could see themselves doing it for the rest of their lives. This confused me until I realized that in fact, most people do really enjoy the things they study, and perhaps I was in the wrong program. But, with only 6 months left, it was too late to switch. Now, I'm a quality engineer, and while I don't mind Cisco as a company, the actual work of being a quality engineer is mind numbing. Most days I WFH, starting late and ending right at 5pm, with minimal productivity, in order to avoid torturing myself with this inane BS. I'm working on the CS50 AI class right now and finding it much more interesting, fun, and stimulating than my actual job. So it's clear to me that I should have gone the software engineering route. But it's also becoming increasingly clear to me that without a degree in SWE or CS, I don't stand a chance at passing the grueling technical interviews that even graduates from top SWE/CS programs have a hard time passing. I feel like I majorly screwed up when I was 17 years old, and I'm now stuck in a career I don't want to be in with no way out. Bootcamps don't feel like the answer, because they're mostly vocational training rather than a real education, and they almost exclusively focus on web/app development (which may or may not be what I want to go into - I need help figuring that part out too). As for going back to school and doing another 4-year degree, I don't think I have the money or the stamina to do that. Self-taught? Maybe, but I don't know where to start with that. What recourse do I have here? Or do I just have to accept the consequences of my 17-year-old self's decisions and just put in the hours in an unfulfilling career to survive, and hopefully make a fulfilling life out of my evenings and weekends? (NB: I know the last paragraph is overly dramatic, and there has to be a way out of this. I'm just having a hard time seeing it right now and could use some help.) Age: 24 in a couple months TC: 111k YoE: 4 months #burnout #mentalhealth #depression #careerchange #careeradvice #newgrad
Do a master’s in CS/ML - you’ll be able to learn in a more structured way and gain the legitimacy of a formal degree. With the tech slowdown I don’t know if a bootcamp is enough to get you going.
You don’t need a CS degree to pass the interviews.
You’re fuckin 24 years old!!!! Multiple devs at my job didn’t start coding until after that. I’m personally trying to pivot as well, from an even less related field, and I turn 27 soon. I’m not going to a boot camp or degree, just leetcoding and talking to engineers about their work. And I’m sure I can do it. Bet you can too
not all companies have LC hard interviews, especially for junior dev positions. i think backend Java using Spring is a good choice. sure the language is old and not as sexy as others, but lots of tutorials and examples out there. and you know what, the companies that use that are usually the medium to bigger enterprises. those are more stable companies compared to startups.
You are just 24. The possibilities are endless. Boot camp or CS master anything will work. Just don’t give up.
Was in almost exactly the same position, I did a 1 year masters in computer science at a leading university (Europe). Learnt almost as much as they teach in an undergrad 4 year degree, and uni looked good on my CV. Had one giant module for algorithms and data science, which was basically the background knowledge for the leetcode part of tech interviews. That said, you don't need a degree or masters to pass the interviews. That's just what I did.
Do NOT get a master's Do NOT attend a bootcamp Download an algo textbook and spend $100 on LC Premium. Setup a nice GitHub with a few example projects then apply to startups
You’re 24. You can do whatever the hell you want. Seriously. I don’t use my degree at all. At the end it does not matter. Finish the degree if you want, do what makes you happy.
Already finished the degrees, just feeling the sunk cost effects (both temporal and financial)
Congrats on finishing your degrees. You can still go into another field. Degrees don’t replace experience, youll still be in an entry level job. Why not do an entry level job in something you enjoy. In your interview explain how you started career a and want to pivot to b and how things you learned in school can be used in that role. After a certain number of jobs nobody even will look at your degree.
When I read this I thought you would be like 35-40 yrs age range but your 24! You are still young and can still pivot into something in swe
Yeah, I'm definitely glad I'm having this epiphany now rather than in 10-15 years. I just don't know HOW to make that pivot. All roads seem to be either prohibitively expensive & time-consuming, or just downright ineffective.
Make space in your life for doing what excites you and the rest will follow. As an engineer it’s tempting to try to figure it all out before the project starts but that’s not how it works in life. Building a skill takes time and is a serious investment so continue learning about yourself through skill building (taking a course is a great step btw) and stay open.