I joined a startup as junior swe a month ago. This is my first full time job. I was given my first project and asked to provide a timeline estimate. I gave them an estimate of 4 weeks, they cut it down to 2 saying it would take my mentor 2 weeks. I managed to get it done by 2.5 weeks (including ramping up on tech stack and reading several parts of code base I wasn’t familiar with) by working on weekends. My manager was pissed that I didn’t meet the deadline. Then there was a bug after release, team mgr and manager started blaming me for not testing enough. Every work hour is accounted for, so my sprint plan has 35 hours per week (5 hr for meetings, daily standup etc) Every sprint task I plan should be 30min - 1hr with no buffer time. If I have an issue or error I can’t say that to extend timeline for the task I’ll have to work extra hours, there is no separate time allotted for testing they say each task you do should be tested then and there. Is sprint planning supposed to be so tight? If I face bugs, issues etc I will need to work overtime, but I almost have to work 10-11 hrs every day. Sometimes even on weekends. Tc : 110k
Quit, I bet you are not getting equity enough to make up for the stressful environment.
Job market is bad for new grads :’
This is really stupid and this startup is going to fail.
This is a really dumb way of running a company and not normal at all. OP you should push back. Some managers think it's their job to push you until they face resistance and then settle at an equilibrium. If you're a pushover this style of leadership can really destroy your sanity.
I’m afraid of losing the job if I push back, I’m actively applying though will leave as soon as I get an offer
That's probably wise.
Damn you went from interning at Meta to making 110k at a startup and working at weekends?
🤕 yes
Suck it up for a year and find a better job. Nobody reasonable expects a fresh grad to do anything useful for at least a month.
Lol sounds worse than Amazon and that is really saying something. Please hang in there. This is not normal. Is your manager technical? If they are not - this will be part of the problem. I hope this startup has strong technical leadership
Yes he is technical. As for tech leadership every engineer I mean literally everyone here joined as junior engineer fresh out of school and have become managers etc in a couple of years. I am not sure of tech leadership but I feel code looks like a large school project
Junior engineers becoming managers in a couple years.... this place sounds like a complete joke.
No this is not normal and a very bad working environment. Push back of leave.
Saying you should be able to do exactly what your mentor does is complete dick move. Either they’re wasting everyone’s time pairing you with a mentor who can’t actually help you, or they’re simply setting you up to fail. Either way, it’s them not you
Definitely quit. Not worth sticking it out. Startups are tough, but this is next level toxic.
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You need a mentor or coach. Worth the investment. Most people figure out this when they’re after 30 so you’re ahead of the pack slightly.
FWIW story estimation is the hardest one for most at first. You always want to add generous buffer but not so much you’re coming off incompetent. Here’s a start https://careercutler.substack.com/p/make-yourself-known-at-work I found Jordan’s career work on LinkedIn and he has some good tips on the rules nobody teaches us.
Thanks! Will check out.