constant rejection from interviews over 6+ months is literally driving me mental. Is SE the only solution? (even tho I don’t enjoy coding) Is it easier to get jobs with masters? I’ve tried to get into Business/Data analyst and entry level PM jobs for so long now. Its been a dead end for me. I don’t know who I should. Any advice is much appreciated. TC 0
PM is tougher to get into for sure. I recommend swe and role change after
How tough would u say it is to transition from SWE/DA -> PM? Or even vice versa
Your experience sounds like it would be a fit for jr. roles within: Business Intelligence, Business Operations or Analytics teams. Not sure if that aligns with what you want to actually do.
Yes, those are some roles I’ve been looking at too. Yes, that definitely aligns.
If you're getting interviews, then it's not about having a master's or not. It's about your interviewing skills and possibly your technical skills specifically. A degree gets you an interview. An interview gets you a job.
I agree it sounds like you need to up your interviewing skills
Great way of putting it
Masters is overpriced. Do a boot camp or some projects
I was thinking of doing online masters which is around 10-12k Boot camps are expensive too 15 - 17k
Is your ideal role being a PM? Have you been able to get feedback when rejected? Anything constructive? If it's just an issue with your past experience/resume, that if you just could get your foot in the door, you'd kick some serious ass, you might consider looking a temp-to-perm contracts. If you see any for a PM it often means a serious long-term position is needed (i.e. it truly is temp to perm), but the hiring manager can't get headcount yet. BA contracts though tend to be more often project-focused/truly temp jobs.
Yes, PM is my long term goal. No, I haven’t received feedback. If I did it’s mostly been around why I have diverse exp or didn’t stay in one position for too long. I had a internship in PM and it was something I excelled in. However, breaking into PM was difficult so I tried BA & consulting. Yes, I’ve been looking at contracting roles too, but it hasn’t been going great. I get submitted to the positions. Either I don’t hear back or I do, but there’s a candidate with way more experience or the role is closed. Usually with contracting roles too, they hire people that have done contracting roles with them before.
Sometimes it's an utter crap shoot and being at the right place at the right time. If you at least have an internship as a PM I'd look at associate PM/BA ft roles and contracts, which it sounds like you're probably doing already. As disheartening as it is, keep at it and keep refining the way you describe yourself in interviews. Maybe also explore any/all product networking events in your city to talk to more and more people that have more experience than you. Colleagues in your own backyard may have more specific advice.
Stop everything you are doing and go through Cracking the coding interview and elements of computer programming. Maybe try the Algorithms Manual too.
You suggest I move into SE role? I don’t have SE experience and that’s what most recruiters look at.
Yes go SE!!
What’s ur YOE? Background? - there’s never only 1 solution - it probably is generally easier to secure offers with a masters although a good amount of the time, exp is all that’s wanted (whether academic or YOE)
YOE: close to 2 (diverse tech roles I’ve held) CS grad. Held roles like BA, Consultant
BA and Consultant with a CS degree rip. What a waste.