Hello Blinders, Please help me figure out if I am a good fit to continue being a Software Engineer. I have about 5 years of work experience as a Software Engineer (Not working at Visa). I started out as a New Grad. Concerns 1. In my 1:1s my Manager mentioned I have self starter problems, wants me to work more independently. 2. I’m in a Tier 2 company. I didn’t apply to any startup’s because I wanted to learn from seniors by asking questions, getting help. I expected a collaborative environment at work. I also offer help to others for projects related to my domain/expertise. Are the SWE at other companies like FAANGMULLA also self starter/independent workers? 3. I sometimes get stuck with debugging, and need a second pair of eyes to fix an error. Sometimes the error is trivial, but I feel bad I couldn’t figure it out by myself. 4. I had to use APIs and features of another team to make my project work. I asked doubts to the Tech Lead of the other team and I guess they complained about me to my Manager. 5. I need to look at LC solutions. I can’t figure out the answer by myself. I may get the naive O(n^2) solution, but can’t think of the O(1) by myself. 6. I find it hard to grasp white papers, RFCs, official documentation, cryptography and some complex stack overflow answers at times. I feel the need to ask for help, but then fear I will be PIPed. I find it easier to follow topics from YouTube videos and Tech talks where they have flow diagrams. But not all new topics are covered on them. 7. Is there an IQ requirement for being good at SWE? I have a GRE score of 313. Quant (163/170) and Verbal (150/170). That is equivalent to an SAT score of 1170. Math/Quant score is 84 percentile. I have observed a general trend that higher quant score individuals are a better fit for SWE? Is there enough supply of high IQ individuals to fill the demand for SWE jobs? 8. I fear my slow learning will impact my WLB hours/week to get the tasks done as I progress in my career. 9. All the interview questions from LC/System Design have solutions and with practice people figure out the patterns. I don’t feel confident about being a self starter to solve a tech problem that’s never been done before. People say interviews are harder than the actual job, but I doubt that. 10. Should I move up the ladder to FAANGs or down the ladder to maybe Tier3/Tier4 companies. Which companies have a more collaborative environment? I have only worked at one company so far. I don’t know what is it like at other companies and the FAANGMULLAs. Based on the concerns above I am confused if I should continue being a Software Engineer or change career tracks. Please advise. TC 200K #tech #software #softwareengineer #faang
I'm the same. Not smart enough to become a Staff+. Can probably finesse myself into Senior role but after that I will most probably be found out as a fraud.
Maybe try a different company to see how things are? Don't be too hard on yourself. Maybe you lack confidence? It's hard to judge from this post alone, since it's just from your own perspective.
OP I am in a similar boat too... Interested to see if any helpful pointers will be posted in the comments... Just curious, can I ask which company you are currently at? It sounds similar to my experience at Amazon where peers complain to the manager if you ask doubts... Oh also even I had GRE 313...
At some point many of us have felt “imposter syndrome”. Don’t let yourself be influenced by best stackoverflow answers and LC’s most efficient/complex solutions - these are answered by those with many more years experience. You can test yourself by moving to a new team - might help broaden your view
I found a twin here.
I think its a combination of imposter syndrome and passion for software engg in general. I guess i fall into the same bucket. I feel i cant probably go past mid level engineer anytime soon( i have more than 10 yrs exp). May be i could becomes a good manager but definitely not senior technically ever. You can coast along at the same level by knowing the limitations or may be transition to managerial stuff.
don't feel bad friend, you are not alone
Don’t worry. It’s just because you did not have a good fundamental in CS. Accumulate the knowledge and you will be good at at least L4 level in FAANG. From there, try to get to L5
If you enjoy the work, you should continue. It sounds like you’re doing OK since you got the first promotion. Startups are generally bad for people that lack confidence/initiative because you’re expected to do a lot of different things fast and pivot often. Just find a company where it’s a bit more laid back and people are helpful.
Wow. So much text. You must be very anxious
They say it gets harder to change career tracks as you gain experience, so I’m seeking help to decide soon.