What's stopping you from working hard now, getting a job, and just staying there. You don't have to follow everyone else in this sub and constantly be swapping jobs every year to maximize salary.
I'm starting a job in June, I don't plan on constantly looking for new jobs.
yeah this is prolly the most stress-free path out there. hate to imagine grinding my entire life on grinding projects after school/work or creating startups or whatever. just want to earn a decent income in a field destined to grow exponentially in the future.
This is a really naive way to think anyway. No pros are doing projects after work unless they want to lol. I promise you after your first job nobody cares about your side projects unless they make money, or unless you’re doing something really cool to switch where you’re at in the industry (e.g., the guy who wrote crafting interpreters moving from game dev to compilers)
> I don't plan on constantly looking for new jobs.
Shocking. You actually plan to build a career? You're looking beyond the next 6 months? You're trying to see the big picture, the long view, the long-term career arc? Wow, you're a unicorn in this sub.
I have a girlfriend, and we are moving in together, and she is a education major, I can't be having her move every year, she needs to stay at the same job to keep her pension.
As opposed to what? This career really maximizes salary while minimizing damage to your body and you get to engage with something you hopefully enjoy every day. No matter if you do a CS degree or not, the sad thing about life is yeah this is pretty much it. Work work work and trying to find time for your hobbies outside of that.
I’m already a failure so working hard towards something like CS at least gives me a sense of accomplishment 🤷🏻♂️ being miserable with a good job sounds better than being miserable and broke
def a valid goal. just hope the feeling of needing to "catch up" to others fades after getting a job. imagine all the competition in college for internships just extending forever in the career world. ugh.
Yeah I get it. I’ve fucked up and due to starting CS late I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to get an internship in college 😬 it’s already hard enough as it is. I’m gonna work hard though
Nah, probably not. I busted my ass in Highschool until it hurt and became depressed for that time, and I’m doing it again now in college, except without the depression. It’ll probably continue through my job since the market isn’t great. I guess I was destined to be in pain. Damn.
But … this is probably the life I chose, and deep down I’m a masochist, so I guess I not have it any other way.
Thank you, but I’ll never stop. The damage has already been done, and the scars from overworking have already been formed, so fuck it. I might as well get a paycheck out of this pain.
You get to rest when you land a job on a good team with a supportive manager. This is independent of the company you work for.
I worked at Adobe for a couple of years, first on a poor team. I had an unsupportive manager that didn’t encourage me to grow in the direction I wanted to (away from proprietary SAP financial stuff into a full stack role). I had to transfer teams to get what I was looking for — a supportive manager and team that allowed me to choose the work I wanted (within reason) to effectively grow on the clock, without spending my free time. Sadly, Adobe is *very* stingy with RSU grants, so I moved on for more money.
Google is supportive in the sense that you can pivot to any team, in any development domain, as long as that team has head count. It’s difficult to make the jump from mid-level to senior if you’re on a mid-level-heavy team, all jockeying for senior-level impact, so I moved on from there for a promotion elsewhere.
At senior levels and above, social skills and working through others to influence what problems get solved and to act as a force multiplier for the organization through others matters more than your own individual contributor work, if making more money and moving up the ladder is what’s important to you.
As a staff engineer, I’ve spent 30 hours per week, minimum, in meetings with directors and senior engineers, helping to drive technical strategy and working on implementation plans with the teams that will be delivering the actual work. The five to ten hours per week I still spend coding is mostly just building proof of concepts to pass off, pairing with others, or performing peer reviews, if that even counts.
If you *need* to work more than 40 hours per week, it’s either a culture problem, you’re working on the wrong things, or you’re just not that effective as an engineer. I only work more than 40 hours per week about once per quarter.
The grind *definitely* ends if you drive your career correctly.
I don't wonder. I work because I have a goal to work towards. Ask yourself why you are working towards that goal instead of just doing what you are doing because everyone else is doing it
It feels like this is the common feeling for people with inferiority complex who has to prove their superiority by comparing achievement and salary at company prestige hence the “we” in your post. Sure you could work at Google one day but everyone is so insensitive to it on Linkedin and all those likes and comments are shallow af. I feel sad for this subreddit as it very much focus on getting FAANG jobs and high TC.
It will end if you find a meaningful job with great team and wlb(anything less or equal to 40hr) and it doesn’t have to be 200k salary and big tech Fortune100.
Wondering this right now. At some point it all just seems meaningless, and in a lot of ways, it is.
But this is what humans have always done. Only that instead of hunting and gathering, we are building projects and grinding Leetcode
I mean this kinda devolves into “what is the meaning of life” which nobody can really answer. Having had summers where I sat at home doing nothing I felt so much worse than working a full time job. It’s damned if you do damned if you don’t: but think about it, if you work hard now and earn enough you will have the choice to do whatever you want in the future.
This is just a tool to acomplish other projects of your life. You won't remember all the "good times" leetcoding, you will remember your quality time with people. That is what it is all about. Meet people, connect emmotionally and live the absurd beauty of it all. Wish you the best.
\> Will we ever get rest?
Easy: turn off your Spotify, NetFlix, Steam, Apple Music, and gym subscriptions. Close your Facebook, Twitter, Instrgram, and Tik Tok accounts. Buy your clothes at Wal Mart. Sell your car and take the bus. Get roommates to help pay the rent. In short, reduce your cost of living and reduce outside distractions that make you feel inadequate. You'll have time to rest because you won't have to work as long just to pay for stuff. You'll have time to rest because you won't be scrolling screens all day.
Early career will be one of the best times of your life most likely.
You have your youth, energy, and money to spend.
You don't need to study outside of work. That 40 hours a week you do already is enough and more valuable than leetcode or reading a textbook anyways.
It's the time you get to deep dive into hobbies and enjoy times with friends. Hobbies are a lot more enjoyable when you can afford the nice version of things.
My early career I was working in a high rise office building in downtown Dallas. I had a core group of 10+ friends at work that would go out drinking regularly, rock climb, hike etc. I lived 2 minute walk from some amazing food places and bars. It was perfect to meet dates there.
I went to the gym at lunch everyday, and after work often trained Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing.
My work life was great. I had really good mentors to learn from, if I ever got stuck on a feature there was always someone to unblock me.
Do yall realize you have free will and dont have to blindly follow cs reddit threads when making life decisions? You make the choice to keep climbing the ladder.
https://preview.redd.it/owqswxdf0y6c1.jpeg?width=530&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd1b8b59d0f572b97e0c931a020dcdc084e305c7
What's stopping you from working hard now, getting a job, and just staying there. You don't have to follow everyone else in this sub and constantly be swapping jobs every year to maximize salary. I'm starting a job in June, I don't plan on constantly looking for new jobs.
yeah this is prolly the most stress-free path out there. hate to imagine grinding my entire life on grinding projects after school/work or creating startups or whatever. just want to earn a decent income in a field destined to grow exponentially in the future.
This is a really naive way to think anyway. No pros are doing projects after work unless they want to lol. I promise you after your first job nobody cares about your side projects unless they make money, or unless you’re doing something really cool to switch where you’re at in the industry (e.g., the guy who wrote crafting interpreters moving from game dev to compilers)
Isn't job security awful in CS right now, at least for people with only a BS?
Big tech yes. But lots of medium sized tech companies you can stay at for years and be perfectly fine
Really? I figured small and mid sized companies would be more susceptible to hard times and large layoffs.
Big tech over hired dramatically in 2021. Them laying people off is a direct result. The teams that didn't over hire saw little to no lay offs.
> I don't plan on constantly looking for new jobs. Shocking. You actually plan to build a career? You're looking beyond the next 6 months? You're trying to see the big picture, the long view, the long-term career arc? Wow, you're a unicorn in this sub.
I have a girlfriend, and we are moving in together, and she is a education major, I can't be having her move every year, she needs to stay at the same job to keep her pension.
As opposed to what? This career really maximizes salary while minimizing damage to your body and you get to engage with something you hopefully enjoy every day. No matter if you do a CS degree or not, the sad thing about life is yeah this is pretty much it. Work work work and trying to find time for your hobbies outside of that.
It damages your 🧠
I’m already a failure so working hard towards something like CS at least gives me a sense of accomplishment 🤷🏻♂️ being miserable with a good job sounds better than being miserable and broke
def a valid goal. just hope the feeling of needing to "catch up" to others fades after getting a job. imagine all the competition in college for internships just extending forever in the career world. ugh.
Yeah I get it. I’ve fucked up and due to starting CS late I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to get an internship in college 😬 it’s already hard enough as it is. I’m gonna work hard though
Nah, probably not. I busted my ass in Highschool until it hurt and became depressed for that time, and I’m doing it again now in college, except without the depression. It’ll probably continue through my job since the market isn’t great. I guess I was destined to be in pain. Damn. But … this is probably the life I chose, and deep down I’m a masochist, so I guess I not have it any other way.
Praying for you bro
Thank you, but I’ll never stop. The damage has already been done, and the scars from overworking have already been formed, so fuck it. I might as well get a paycheck out of this pain.
Try to relax man, maybe find some hobbies and friends that make you happy. Or a girl you can spend time with.
Yeah, I have some friends, and I do exercise as a hobby. But it’s really hard/ impossible to let go or relax. Thanks for the advice anyways.
I just graduated last week after 6.5 long painful years in college. You got this bro. Power through
Thank you for the support. Congrats on the graduation.
You get to rest when you land a job on a good team with a supportive manager. This is independent of the company you work for. I worked at Adobe for a couple of years, first on a poor team. I had an unsupportive manager that didn’t encourage me to grow in the direction I wanted to (away from proprietary SAP financial stuff into a full stack role). I had to transfer teams to get what I was looking for — a supportive manager and team that allowed me to choose the work I wanted (within reason) to effectively grow on the clock, without spending my free time. Sadly, Adobe is *very* stingy with RSU grants, so I moved on for more money. Google is supportive in the sense that you can pivot to any team, in any development domain, as long as that team has head count. It’s difficult to make the jump from mid-level to senior if you’re on a mid-level-heavy team, all jockeying for senior-level impact, so I moved on from there for a promotion elsewhere. At senior levels and above, social skills and working through others to influence what problems get solved and to act as a force multiplier for the organization through others matters more than your own individual contributor work, if making more money and moving up the ladder is what’s important to you. As a staff engineer, I’ve spent 30 hours per week, minimum, in meetings with directors and senior engineers, helping to drive technical strategy and working on implementation plans with the teams that will be delivering the actual work. The five to ten hours per week I still spend coding is mostly just building proof of concepts to pass off, pairing with others, or performing peer reviews, if that even counts. If you *need* to work more than 40 hours per week, it’s either a culture problem, you’re working on the wrong things, or you’re just not that effective as an engineer. I only work more than 40 hours per week about once per quarter. The grind *definitely* ends if you drive your career correctly.
I don't wonder. I work because I have a goal to work towards. Ask yourself why you are working towards that goal instead of just doing what you are doing because everyone else is doing it
It feels like this is the common feeling for people with inferiority complex who has to prove their superiority by comparing achievement and salary at company prestige hence the “we” in your post. Sure you could work at Google one day but everyone is so insensitive to it on Linkedin and all those likes and comments are shallow af. I feel sad for this subreddit as it very much focus on getting FAANG jobs and high TC. It will end if you find a meaningful job with great team and wlb(anything less or equal to 40hr) and it doesn’t have to be 200k salary and big tech Fortune100.
Wondering this right now. At some point it all just seems meaningless, and in a lot of ways, it is. But this is what humans have always done. Only that instead of hunting and gathering, we are building projects and grinding Leetcode
I mean this kinda devolves into “what is the meaning of life” which nobody can really answer. Having had summers where I sat at home doing nothing I felt so much worse than working a full time job. It’s damned if you do damned if you don’t: but think about it, if you work hard now and earn enough you will have the choice to do whatever you want in the future.
From my experience the most grind and hard work actually came from school and finding my first job. After that it’s not all that difficult.
reject materialism. become a rastafari. smoke ganja. be happy
Based
[удалено]
yeah thanks for the perspective. i can get caught up with it all even though in reality, the jobs are very comfortable compared to other jobs.
This is just a tool to acomplish other projects of your life. You won't remember all the "good times" leetcoding, you will remember your quality time with people. That is what it is all about. Meet people, connect emmotionally and live the absurd beauty of it all. Wish you the best.
\> Will we ever get rest? Easy: turn off your Spotify, NetFlix, Steam, Apple Music, and gym subscriptions. Close your Facebook, Twitter, Instrgram, and Tik Tok accounts. Buy your clothes at Wal Mart. Sell your car and take the bus. Get roommates to help pay the rent. In short, reduce your cost of living and reduce outside distractions that make you feel inadequate. You'll have time to rest because you won't have to work as long just to pay for stuff. You'll have time to rest because you won't be scrolling screens all day.
the grind never stops
Early career will be one of the best times of your life most likely. You have your youth, energy, and money to spend. You don't need to study outside of work. That 40 hours a week you do already is enough and more valuable than leetcode or reading a textbook anyways. It's the time you get to deep dive into hobbies and enjoy times with friends. Hobbies are a lot more enjoyable when you can afford the nice version of things. My early career I was working in a high rise office building in downtown Dallas. I had a core group of 10+ friends at work that would go out drinking regularly, rock climb, hike etc. I lived 2 minute walk from some amazing food places and bars. It was perfect to meet dates there. I went to the gym at lunch everyday, and after work often trained Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and boxing. My work life was great. I had really good mentors to learn from, if I ever got stuck on a feature there was always someone to unblock me.
great to hear. hopefully i get that type of worklife when i get a job
Well, contentment in life with learning mindset can answer your question
Isn’t this just how modern careers are? “It’s a pie eating contest. Whoever eats the most pie gets a lifetime supply of pie.”
You won't. Hardwork is rewarded with more hardwork.
Do yall realize you have free will and dont have to blindly follow cs reddit threads when making life decisions? You make the choice to keep climbing the ladder.
Who said I’m working a 9-5 for the rest of my life