Should I switch domain when I have 10 YOE in Android?
I feel a deep sense of anxiety that my skillsets are becoming obsolete and is quickly becoming out of trend now that AI is becoming the most hottest tech.
The biggest motivation of considering a switch is:
- I would like to venture into a new domain that will be lucrative/high in demand + continuous career growth. I'm not 100% sure if AI is the domain that I will enjoy working in, but if it means that it will open doors in the long run and sustain my SW career I am considering to make an effort to break into the new emerging tech even it means I have to take a pay cut or enter into down-leveled position.
- I am becoming more unsure whether Android is still a skill that is high in demand. I don't know if there is a high demand now nor if there will be a high demand in the future since it the mobile industry has stopped evolving. I fear that if I stay in this domain my market value will slowly decline.
- I lost interest in Android. I am unsure if I should stick with the tech I am comfortable with, climb the ladder, or take the risk to venture a different path.
Do you think there is a way I can leverage my experience and skills to come out on top? I'm having trouble sleeping with these thoughts and not sure if I'm crazy thinking about this tbh.
Discussion
(2 comments)- 310 months agoSenior Software Engineer [IC3] at Nvidia
I'm hearing a couple of different things here.
The biggest one is whether this is going to be the highest-demand area. It doesn't matter if it is: you have 10 years of experience in it! There are many mainframe and Cobalt developers who are well-paid for their deep expertise, even if many would not say that work is the sexiest work nowadays. If your goal is to optimize your career growth and compensation, I would personally rather stay in Android.
I am also hearing that you have lost interest in it. If that's the case, you can explore around and see if you prefer other areas. If you do this, beware of the novelty or "shiny object syndrome", since that will wear off. You'd probably get better bang for your career buck by trying to find new applications of Android that excite you or overlapping areas. If you want to touch AI, why not find an Android role that also has some exposure to AI? That's a good way to leverage your deep expertise and seniority in Android while learning a bit more about AI in a familiar context.
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10 months agoStartup EngineerJust my two cents but your anxiety may be stemming from a lack of confidence or belief in yourself. Instead of seeing it as your skills are decreasing in value, it would be better to see it as a chance to enter a new stack where you can bring all your experience and expertise to augment it. It might seem like some whiz kids are so much further ahead of you, but the reality is that it's impossible to know many things deeply. Dig a bit deeper and you'll find that those same experts will lack the skills that you've honed for many years simply because they were focused on something else-- and the thing is, they'll still need your skills and talents to accomplish whatever they're trying to achieve.
