Joining The Military
Seeing how things don't seem to be getting better, is it a valid route to join the military and be placed as a software engineer somewhere to get the needed experience? Being a junior in this market feels impossible, and I'm kinda deeply in debt. It's a struggle finding another job.
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(2 comments)- 2
5 days agoSoftware EngineerI remember looking at my bank account while I was on my first job search, the balance was really low. This was in Fall 2023, right after the huge tech layoffs. My back was against the wall financially and the tech market was at an all time low (post FAANG layoffs). I had even dropped out of grad school. I picked up a part time job at a restaurant while interviewing. It was humbling, but it only motivated me even more to succeed.
Things seem rough right now, but I think this can be a great growth opportunity for you. Unless you've tried all of the following,
- writing a killer resume
- making really good side projects and building in public on Linkedin
- going to hackathons to network with amazing engineers
- DMing startup founders and make them beg to interview you
you shouldn't give up.
From personal experience, it's 100% a mindset shift. A friend of mine gave me the same explanation you're giving for not getting interviews. I rewrote her resume and applied to jobs for her. The new resume got some callbacks. It's not the wand, it's the wizard.
Just write a better resume.
Just be a better wizard.
- 1
5 days agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroSorry to hear about your struggle - The market is brutal right now for junior engineers.
I don't know much about the military (I'm assuming you're in America), but I doubt they have a ton of software engineer positions. If they do, make sure that you're applying for those upfront. If you can just be a software engineer and don't need to join front-line combat, that seems fine. The military has excellent benefits.
Have you looked into other government jobs? Government jobs usually don't have a ton of applicants as people view the government as "unsexy", but the jobs are actually quite solid. A friend of a friend got a job as a junior engineer for the city of Stockton and California, and the salary is $120,000 (extremely respectful for a junior-level role).
I would go through the overall job searching course and debug: Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer
- Make sure that your resume is good
- Make sure that you're applying to a ton of jobs
If your resume is in tip-top shape and you've applied to 1,000+ roles, it's time for a change. If you want to stay in tech, I would look into contracting roles and freelancing (like on Upwork).
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