I have 2-4 years experience with mostly database development, and some Java. Also some experience with AWS. I now have a ‘senior’ title.
I have really gotten frustrated with the SQL world because of it’s immaturity in terms of testing, software principles, and what not. So I’m looking to job hop sometime soon. I would also like a role where I’m getting a broader sense of technology - rather than just writing SQL procs. For instance - hooking up API’s, writing OO code, etc.
Since I’m early in my career - maybe it’s worth apply for entry level jobs in different roles as a way to broaden my experience? For instance - a junior in a different part of the tech stack or role. I guess I am currently situated to apply for data engineering jobs, but I’m not sure if I really can handle all of my frustrations with SQL all the time.
I was wondering the following, any insight on any of these points would be really helpful:
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Did you ever pivot which engineering role you throughout your career? Like going from a BE developer to a FE developer for instance? What was that like?
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What roles are which you would recommend? Which should I investigate? Anything within IT would be cool to hear about.
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How should I spend my evenings/weekends in preparation for a new role? For instance, what trainings would help me land that role?
I was planning to just start studying algorithms in preparation for any interview, but maybe there’s other roles out there where a different preparation would be better.
I would add that I’m willing to hop laterally and/or take a pay cut, if a new role gives a great opportunity to broaden my skillset.
Hi, @testingiiiivvv
Since 2-4 years is not too long into your career, it won’t raise many red flags if you go after a junior role. Your reasons to switch are solid. However, here’s my take on all of this:
Don’t get hung up on titles. They can be very misguiding and limiting. I have been a senior team lead at one company and then told I am a high intermediate at the next. However, if you were officially a senior in your last role, then certainly put that on your resume!
Another consideration is that you don’t really have to switch careers to work on a different tech stack. I have been a full-stack developer in my career, but I have had roles where I was fully front-end or fully back-end.
Sometimes I would be heavily involved in the dev-ops stuff, or completely kept in the dark. I did what was needed. I’ve never learned Angular, for example, but I was doing a ton of work fixing up an angular codebase for about 3 years.
Perhaps just find a company that’ll give you a full-stack role. Let them know you’re open to working with anything (maybe not SQL so much).
Training and prep for interviews can depend on the size (and other factors) of the company. The main things you want to practice are algorithms and data structures (Leetcode 75), and general knowledge of the languages and tools you have on your resume. Also, don’t forget to look at system design and behaviorals. Interviewers do a lot of behavioral questions ( “Tell me about a time when you disagreed…” ) and system design questions or entire interview sessions on system design.
One more note on algorithms and data structures. Don’t just grind through Leetcode. After every example, go and see the top answers, look up which algorithm should be used for this example, make a list of the aglos you’ve mastered with notes on their usage, etc. You can do a lot of Leetcode and get the test to run, but you might just walk away learning bad habits.