Stick with my current full-stack background or pivot to mobile for side projects / job search?

Hm. I graduated at the same time too. With all the data points you've given, I don't think this is even a tech stack issue. You're using bootcamps/degrees as an intellectual crutch.

Like,

• more bootcamps/degrees won't help you feel smarter
• switching tech stacks won't help you build cooler things

You still need the core SWE job search things like writing a great resume and passing the interview rounds. But doing the same thing everyone else has been doing... phoning in for a 9-5 isn't going to cut it anymore.

If I were you, I would

• Find a meaningful open-source project that you'd be willing to commit to every single day for ~2 months
• Write a killer resume. If you're not getting any callbacks after 15-20 applications, it's a dud. Every line should be a banger.
• Practice interviewing, once you start landing at least 2-3 a week. Your resume isn't an effective hook until then.

You can do it. If you need some help, we can set up a much more granular action plan to get this done. You're in a much better situation than I was in mid 2023 (MS dropout, no CS degree). Ping me on Slack or Linkedin if you need to

Personal Anecdote

You're in a bit of a hole, but that's fine. I've been in a similar situation before. It's never too late to turn it around. My brutally-honest resume is:

• Graduated 2019, bombed maybe 30-40 interviews (including Confluent when they were $1B valuation)
• 2020, got wrecked by pandemic + worked some odd jobs
• 2021 - 2022, played mobile games on my iPad + did CS courses
• 2021-2023, went through the motions doing a Master's in CS
• 2023, dropped out and did open-source
• 2024, finally got an AI job after I got tired of working in a restaurant (tips were good though)

Not the optimal path. But hey, at least I have fun building things now. And I washed dishes really fast after Thanksgiving dinner.

NYU is a top school, you got a classic 4-year Computer Science degree. That holds a decent amount of weight. Because of this, I have some hope that your problem is largely a resume problem.

Here are the steps I recommend:

1. Go through the resume course and apply all the advice: Get More Interviews: Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer
   1. To reinforce, you can also go to the Taro community resume meetups like this one which is literally happening in ~1.5 hours (5PM PT, 8PM New York): https://www.jointaro.com/event/dsa-mock-interview-resume-review-group-session-f7ba3/
2. After you polish your resume, apply to minimum 250 jobs. Unfortunately it's the holiday season right now, so you can apply to jobs in December but don't expect to hear much back. In other words, don't count them towards the 250. Once 2025 rolls around though, each application counts towards the 250 quota. Digital ink is cheap, so applying to 250 jobs can easily be done within 1 month. From here, 1 of 2 things will happen:
   1. You get interviews (5+ chances) - Now it's a math problem. Just keep applying and expanding top of funnel. If you are preparing right, you will eventually get a role.
   2. You aren't getting calls back - You simply don't have enough meat on the bone. Now you need to do something like open-source or side projects as Elliot mentioned.

All of this is covered in the master job searching course: Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer

Make sure to apply to a lot of startups via platforms like Wellfound. The smaller, the better. Those companies are more willing to take a bet on talent as they don't have much leverage. This is also covered in the overall course.

Stick with my current full-stack background or pivot to mobile for side projects / job search?

To answer the original question, I don't think a mobile pivot is a good move. You have actual work experience on different stacks. If you are going to do side projects (which you probably should unless you are doing open-source), you should stick with your current strength, which appears to be web-dev (Vue / React / JavaScript/TypeScript). Front-web is pretty solid for side projects. In this market, it's far better to be pragmatic and build on top of existing assets.

If you were to do mobile, you would need pretty compelling side projects just to have a chance as you are starting from 0 (minimum 10,000+ users probably). I got my 1st Android role in 2015, but I had already started working on Android side projects as a UCLA student back in 2013. So after 2 years, I was able to have a few apps with 10,000+ users. I imagine you don't want to spend 1-2 years being unemployed on a risky mobile pivot, so I think sticking to web is far safer.

On a side note, employment and work experience are king. Even if you hate a job and aren't doing anything there, you should keep it. You can massage the narrative in interviews to make it seem like you were doing something, similar to what I did with my PayPal experience. For the future, don't quit jobs unless you have something else lined up.