CS Students: Proving Their Expertise

“Hi all, so out of desperation I took a job in graphics programming where all I do is just prompt like an idiot. I am not required to work on any complex systems or anything like that due to security issues. So im stuck here just doing openGL stuff. Very low visibility unimportant stuffs. The main problem is, after my contract ends im absolutely FUCKED because im not making anything relevant to today's market. I am just a labourer for shit nobody cares about. People there also dont really see”

“Got placed into a project where the scope was not defined well and I have to figure everything out myself. I got my design turned down by senior engineers like 3 times cus there were flaws I could not anticipate or answer. I’m really fucking tired and I think I’ll be stack ranked and piped out of here given my talk with my manager’s expectation. Manager is allocating more people to my project but idk if that will be enough. I also have not taken vacation days and work about 9 hours per day. Some”

“Yep, there are safety critical areas that you can work in as a developer. And, guess what, they frequently come with mandatory certifications if you want to work there. If not for you as an individual then for your product. It's actually the exception that you need to have a licence, by law, to work a job. The default is you don't. The big areas that require this are healthcare, financial services (e.g, financial advisors) and the law. These are all jobs where you have a duty of care to”

Even if it’s not developed with company technology?

“Cool portfolio. I would look at software developer adjacent jobs, like software QA, software product delivery engineering, etc. Take on any small developer tasks you can find at the company (or find something that can be automated and do it) and demonstrate your coding skills wherever possible. After some time, ask to switch to a developer role or wait until there's an internal opening for one (some companies create internal openings specifically for existing employees who want to switch fro”

“Hi, To give some context as to why I'm here, I'm working a dead-end job where I'm managing small server clusters. I've reached the ceiling of what I can learn from it. I risk stagnation and needless to say, it is bad for my career. CV here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eZXyiTWeZQ0vAF8aX9K8jwjRSEnJI5NY/view I've taken it upon myself to learn stuff by setting up a homelab, installing tooling and simulating environments. Have also started working towards RHCSA certification.”

“I wouldn’t ever say that I have forgotten how to write basic code but it definitely is causing some stagnation and atrophy”

“I’m working on all three of these. I had zero social skills and nonzero interest in computers as a kid, that’s why I majored in computer science. That I haven’t embraced vibe coding might be that spark trying to stay alive. I’m warming up to LLM assistance to offload the boilerplate drudgery, but not full on vibe coding. I’m thankful to live near a larger city to be able to open myself up to a social circle.”

“Hi everyone! I recently started a PhD at the intersection of AI and computer networks (July 2026). I don’t have a background in networking - I previously worked as a full-stack developer and have some experience in data science - so a lot of the field is new to me. What I’m struggling with most is explaining my technical progress during weekly/biweekly meetings. Even when I’ve worked on the code, experiments, and tried to understand what I’m doing, I sometimes completely block when I have to exp”

“Disclaimer: This is not a low effort AI post I swear I've been a software engineer professionally for almost a decade now. I work with Unity primarily for my work. It's no secret that not only has the industry at large suffered heavily, with competition being more dire than ever, but also there's a global push towards being able to use AI effectively My question is, regardless of how much one values AI as an addition to software development, how do you most effectively balance Keepin”

“I'm a recently BSIT graduate been applying for jobs but no luck because I don't have much experiences they need. Now I'm having trouble to whether if I did passed or get into the BPO job then I won't have time to study for CompTIA A+ because I do want to start as an IT Support and this certification is will definitely help me land one. I do have a some insecurity since my other classmates have been accepted while If i proceed for A+ its just gonne be focusing on studying. Having”

“Hi, To give some context as to why I'm here, I'm working a dead-end job where I'm managing small server clusters. I've reached the ceiling of what I can learn from it. I risk stagnation and needless to say, it is bad for my career. CV linked in the first comment. I've taken it upon myself to learn stuff by setting up a homelab, installing tooling and simulating environments. Have also started working towards RHCSA certification. I'd greatly appreciate any feedback to the”

“I will say I tried breaking in by just taking a consulting gig and then proving my worth. I did this for NBCUniversal and Disney. it did not work... It's a carrot the constantly dangle. But I will say it gave me opportunity to talk to recruiters and managers directly, still cut throat. I did an interview and I missed a Right join question and that was it, I was told I do not have fundamentals, yet I work there...what?”

“Hey guys I'm looking for an internship or a fulltime job offer, if there's an opening in your company or you know someone you could connect with, I'd be really grateful. My current tech stack- Nextjs, Typescript, MERN, PostgreSQL, Clerk I can pretty much build anything and with any tech stack with the help of cursor/claude submitted by /u/Euphoric_Broccoli457 [link] [comments]”

“Hey guys I'm looking for an internship or a fulltime job offer, if there's an opening in your company or you know someone you could connect with, I'd be really grateful. My current tech stack- Nextjs, Typescript, MERN, PostgreSQL, Clerk I can pretty much build anything and with any tech stack with the help of cursor/claude submitted by /u/Euphoric_Broccoli457 [link] [comments]”

“Other industries have establishments that not only guard the professions but also make them slower to adapt to the times. A big part of the tech industry is challenging the assumptions we make about the way things are done and that extends to the hiring process for practical reasons. It’s probably the most meritocratic industry in terms of salary jobs. It’s also easier to prove what you can do with tech compared to other industries, especially thanks to the open source community and the ability”

“Hmm I guess depends on what you want of your career and who you want to surround yourself with. Some companies will parade as "tech companies" but then lack any clue what that means. I worked for a tractor manufacturer and this was them to a t. No, it wasn't Deere but I think they do a better job on the tech side in general, however I've heard it isn't so great either. After the division I worked for was acquired I slowly watched all the best talent and people I look up to”

“For those who have worked as Solo IT professionals what kept you going, at what point did you determine to shift, and those who have left the solo IT jobs what did you pivot to? I spent some time in help desk some years back, spent 2 years as an underpaid tech that had global admin over Microsoft suite, a few months with an enterprise level solo IT site job (was pretty solid and chill but boring with toxic management - not much progression in the job), to now signing on to a new solo IT gig for”

“Hi, Lately I have been thinking about trying luck in another field, I have 6 years of experience spanning from Helpdesk and Desktop support to Cloud and Infra Engineering. I have a bachelors in CS, and a bunch of certs. I cannot get any interviews for any role. This has been going on for a long time. I currently have a desktop support position that pays shit ($55k in DFW, Texas area) and i only got it because of a favor. What are your experiences leaving IT and what did you move to? submit”

“I'm guessing you haven't been to many interviews? Sure there are "lesser" companies where the bar is low and where they conflate SWE with IT, but if you wanna break into the 200k's realm, it's really not that easy. Certifications have very small scope compared to the totality of tech. Undergrad knowledge can very easily be verified with any number of ad-hoc test formats (OAs, quizzes, etc), but it's meaningless to test on, say AWS CloudFormation, if you're an iO”

“I just graduated in computer science and honestly, most of my classmates and I are struggling to get any jobs. What are some careers we can transition to? I was thinking maybe banking could be possible but I have no idea what are good, stable, possible careers to transition to. I'm willing to locate anywhere in the world, with preference to China and Japan. I've decided to delay the inevitable by going for a postgraduate in computer science lol... submitted by /u/KingLordship”

“So a little about my situation: · 2026 B.Tech CS passout (July) · No on-campus placement · Tried off-campus for \~6 months – no luck To avoid a career gap and get to a metro city, I took a 18k/month non-tech associate analyst role at GlobalLogic (Gurugram). My plan was: Take this job, move to Gurugram, and keep applying for tech roles on the side. But the reality hit hard: · Morning+night rotational shifts · 5 AM wake-up, 6:30 AM cab, return at 5:30 PM · Completely exhausted by the time I get ba”

“So I am already more than 4 years in and I think I still dont know what I am doing. I know many people in this sub say and feel this but I mean it. I do some simulations on a code. When I was hired, I was supposed to run the code and do my research by simulating cases. 6 months in my supervisor (who was also the creator of the code) left! Along with that particular section of the code. He had also published a lot of papers on the same. Now as a new phD I was left with a blank computer with no pr”

“It's just that household name tech companies are a different world, and your success or failure in the type of environment you just described doesn't give us much signal about how you'll do at a senior role in FAANG+. Honestly, I would be more than happy to take a new grad role at a big tech company. I would make more money, have less responsibility than I do now, and probably learn a ton for co-workers. Sadly this is not a thing with recruiters want to do with somebody with 15 YOE,”

“I meant more that interviews don't tend to take that form post-claude-code. Specific stack experience, live coding, etc, are less pertinent than ever. Transferring deeper engineering knowledge and experience to apply it to a new stack, and learning a codebase in a language you're less experienced in, is basically a non-issue. Nobody should be complaining about the process of building a react frontend anymore. Shitting on react because of its core design is still valid though lol”

“ngl networking is what actually gets you promoted faster but doing genuinely hard work is what keeps you from getting quietly managed out when budgets get cut, seen both play out at internships. I used to think grinding on side projects alone would speak for itself but nobody on the promo committee has time to dig through your github, they just remember whoever showed up and talked at the last three events. best combo imo is picking one or two visible hard problems to actually own well, then let”

“Hey guys, So I recently graduated with my bachelors in May of 2026 in Information Management & Technology (IT basically) and have computer science like background (studied comp sci for 2 years, then switched major). I have some experience, projects, and skills that should be landing me entry level jobs but it seems that nothing's working. I apply literally day in and day out and have nothing to show for it but rejection letters. And if that wasn't enough, these entry level software e”

“(Hi everyone! Quick note: I'm based in Spain, and I used AI to help me translate this into English, so excuse any weird phrasing). Hi all. I’m a Network Engineer (CCNP level) and I'm stuck in a classic IT dilemma. I need some outside perspective before I make a move I might regret. Current Situation: I recently returned to a big tech company I worked for in the past, but on a different project. The Good: The work-life balance is great. Fixed morning shift, zero stress, and a decent, aver”

“Not all developers are made equal. There's a particular oversupply of CS graduates who are only in it for the money and have no real ability to demonstrate their skills. A company wants to hire good devs because they bring more value than they cost. A company that can hire a dev at $200k isn't going to opt for four at $50k just because they can, especially because none of those four will generate the value the competent one does”

“At face value, it seems to me that other careers such as business analysts, consultants, doctors, lawyers and pilots value experience, contacts made over the years and resume built far more than software development since one’s newly learned skills quickly get devalued over time. Now, on top of this, their also seems to be a quite layer of ageism in the industry where companies have a preference for younger engineers who are more willing to give out their hours than older engineers. Any thoughts”

“At face value, it seems to me that other careers such as business analysts, consultants, doctors, lawyers and pilots value experience, contacts made over the years and resume built far more than software development since one’s newly learned skills quickly get devalued over time. Now, on top of this, their also seems to be a quite layer of ageism in the industry where companies have a preference for younger engineers who are more willing to give out their hours than older engineers. Any thoughts”

“I know the ship is rocky right now with all the new tools. But ive never been able to break into big tech. At almost 10 years of experience 15 non professional, ive always wanted to work for a place like netflix or youtube. But ive never gotten further than a “weve decided to move forward with other candidates”. Ive heard you need to know someone, but how did you get to know someone without randomly adding them through linkedin? And almost all of the jobs are 1 for 1 my skillset. submitted”

“Dilemma is that my career path has been nonlinear and it seems like the ATS software doesn’t know what to do with me. I can’t land interviews to save my life. Starting to feel hopeless. There is no relationship between my experience, intelligence, work ethic, capability… and my ability to access a job interview. I (38) and willing to invest in school/training. Recent Roles: * operations manager * executive director * small business consultant * academic program coordinator * volunteer and progra”

“I honestly envy people who can code. I’m learning IT, and lately I feel like I must learn how to code if I want to keep up or advance in my career. At the same time, coding isn’t something I’m naturally passionate about, and the thought of having to learn it just because “everyone in IT should know how to code” gives me major FOMO. Anyone else in IT feel the same way? Did you eventually learn to code, or decide it wasn’t necessary for your career? Thanks in advance! submitted by /u/e”

“There’s a lot of degree-agnostic engineering roles that still use your skills. I work in SCADA software now doing project engineer stuff. Documentation, architecture, custom scripting, etc. I like it way more than pure SWE, I get to travel to customer sites for work. And it’s much more social(some may not like this). Plus, anything that deals with public utilities is going to be much more stable than speculative tech starts ups and AI.”

Junior hiring in the SE space sucks right now.

“But plenty are. I got a job in aerospace out of college because space travel and space exploration interests me, and working on satellite software is interesting. Its not the highest paying SWE job, not as glorious or fancy as FAANG but it's in the 6 figure range and its fully remote and it would take an incredible and stable offer for me to leave”

“I just graduated with my bachelor's in computer science with a concentration in data analytics. I am also fortunate enough to have landed a job before I graduated. For context, I am in my early 20s, just graduated, and I’ve got a job lined up for a government software consulting company. The work is meaningful, it pays well, has good benefits, and has a low risk of layoff/AI. However, it will require me to move wherever they want me to go, which is fine at my age; I need to explore anyway. M”

“Yes. I’d add your roles and responsibilities directly into the post , because that gives people enough context to judge whether your experience is transferable to IT PM/PMO or other higher-growth roles. Here is the revised Reddit post with your full career history and responsibilities incorporated: Title: 28M with Mechanical Engineering + IT + 2+ years of Project Management experience — what career transition makes the most sense? Hi everyone, I’m 28M from India and looking for some honest caree”

Bad for Juniors right now 😂

Yes

“you are definitely not "too dumb" for corporate software engineering since you've passed multiple FAANG interviews and graduated from a great IIT. It's actually relatively simple to get "noticed" by leadership. You should set up an automation (I use a claude routine) to check what slack threads your manager and your skip have been active on in the past day. Then, jump into projects or even one-off issues as fast as you can. You'll quickly gain their trust. Another”

“Dilemma is that my career path has been nonlinear and it seems like the ATS software doesn’t know what to do with me. I can’t land interviews to save my life. Starting to feel hopeless. There is no relationship between my experience, intelligence, work ethic, capability… and my ability to access a job interview. I 38 and willing to invest in school/training. Recent Roles: operations manager executive director small business consultant academic program coordinator volunteer and program coordinato”

“Hi all, I've managed to land a role successfully as an IT Support Analyst (Field Support). I've completed a cert III and cert IV in IT at TAFE (based in Sydney, Aus) with some homelab experience (hybrid identity & intune MDM). I'm just wondering about the following: What to do from here? I'm aware to just gather as much industry experience as possible but is there anything else? Any certs I should go after? How did you guys decide what field you want to specialise in? s”

“Thanks I was just thinking about something similar last night. I've been worried that moving into data engineering might be more at risk of job loss than governance work since 9 time out of 10 I get approached by a recruiter about anything, it's DG stuff and never anything data management related. But at the end of the day, you still apply data governance when you're building and maintaining data solutions. If I end up desperate and unemployed, it probably wouldn't be seen as a r”

“I am currently a senior graduating this fall. I do not currently have a post-grad job lined up but on my resume I have three technical engineering positions: one contract job, one internship, and one research position. I currently am working another contract job, however it’s not a technical engineering position and is instead grading AI content based on whether or not it’s AI generated. There’s no actual technical work to it. I could make it sound extremely fancy with technobabble on my resume,”

“Hey guys, Just wondering if anyone here has made the move from telecoms/field engineering into network engineering. I’m in the UK and currently work as a telecoms engineer. Most of my experience is on the physical/network side of things – fibre, FTTP/FTTC, ONTs, exchanges, patching, troubleshooting broadband faults etc. I want to eventually move into a junior network engineer/NOC type role. I’m studying for my CCNA at the moment and doing labs alongside it with Packet Tracer, Wireshark and some”

“Lately, I have struggled with properly explaining what I am doing in technical terms. I do just fine with general explanations and have no problem with actually implementing these systems, but I forget what word you are supposed to use or just assumed it would be the same as another industry. I work as an ML engineer, and I worry it is costing me job opportunities when I forget to use words like "inference", "invoke", "Token refresh," and all the other new words tha”

“specialize advice hits, i'm still a student but even in coursework the moment i started going deep on one thing (db/query performance stuff for me) instead of doing shallow projects across everything, the projects actually got interesting and i had way more to say about them. kinda wish someone told me this in year 1 instead of year 3, would've saved a lot of time spent on generic todo-app-number-47 type builds.”

“So i completed my B.e last month jn IT and m applying to multiple jobs but i think i am not that of a cracked coder to get off campus job without referrals. As i have told my peers also for references but they have been keeping me on hold and this sitting back at home is not being good for me. As i am also trying to to enhance my skills in a better way, So for experience should i get into this senior technical support executive in infosys as i can switch later and i wont be home sitting + i can”

“Sankey: https://imgur.com/a/EpUYS3c I wanted to share a positive experience to counter the flood of doomer posts coming through lately. Background: I graduated from Waterloo in 2022 with 6 internships (1 non-CS-related, 1 bank, 4 CV/robotics). My first full-time role was at a robotics start-up in San Francisco, which was awesome... until I got laid off due to lack of funding in 2023. Applying for jobs at that time was PAINFUL because I hardly had any full-time experience, and layoffs were happen”

“I graduated 2 years ago with a cs degree from a non target school, and I have not been able to get a software engineering job yet. I have been mostly been doing some freelancing gigs these past couple of years, and have been working in education. I’m wondering how does the gap between my graduation and not having a software engineering job is affecting my career, and should I go back to school for my masters to utilize getting an internship since I wasn’t able to get one during my bachelors degr”

“Full-stack + AI engineer, currently grinding at a startup but always got room for something interesting on the side. Also not opposed to a full-time move if the right thing comes along. Comfortable with React/TypeScript, Python, cloud infra, and LLM/multi-agent systems. Built stuff that turned a 2-week manual process into a <24hr automated one, open-sourced a rate limiter doing ~2M ops/sec, and shipped an LLM eval tool that runs 100% local with zero API cost. Side project, freelance gig, or a”

“To give you some background, I have a BCA degree and previously worked as a Junior Technical Support Engineer for 2.5 years, followed by about 2.5 years as a US IT Recruiter. I recently had to take a career break due to a family medical emergency, but I am now ready to get back into the tech industry. I’ve been researching different fields, but the rapid advancements in AI have left me a bit overwhelmed about which direction to take. I’m looking for a resilient, future-proof career path. Initial”

“"tech is collapsing" is an opinion, not a truth. read "The New SDLC With Vibe Coding", a Googl e white paper about context engineering. It's really (past) time to adapt to the way modern software is being built (with AI, purposefully as an engineering discipline, not "vibe coding"). If you do that, you can maintain employment.”

“What does looking at a laptop have to do with software engineering? Where does everyone think you work? Where do you actually work, and what do you do? Does your dad have a Jump-to-Conclusions mat?”

“Hi all, I transitioned from a much different industry later in life by going back to school and getting my bachelors degree in CS. 6-8 months after I graduated I landed what is basically a Help Desk/Tier 1 support role in a small company doing extremely niche government contract work on the overnight shift. I’ve since been promoted to a management role but as I mentioned, teams are small, just a couple of people. I feel like I am constantly at a crossroads of what to do because on one hand, this”

“Basically what the title says. I’m incoming Dec 2026 grad looking for new grad roles in US. For context I’ve only had backend internships and only got iOS internship interview once that I failed during first round of leetcode interview. Even when I only applied to mobile roles I got matched with backend role hahahaha I have distributed a few small apps on Apple Store but nothings too fancy or niche and havent been able to get big downloads. I’m working on this part since its the only way I can g”

“Pretty much the title. Im finishing up a degree in CS from a pretty good uni in Canada. Did a few internships as well, and have good grades. The problem is I don’t really enjoy it. Since high school I’ve been attracted to law school, even did a bunch of law related extracurriculars, but ended up going to CS for undergrad cz it was the safer route imo. With the impact of AI, the future of a CS career I half heartedly care about, looks bleak. Law school and potential IP / tech law is what I am loo”