I got an internship as a back-end developer

I’m looking to get in the field a long-time, I’m midway through my CS degree, and that was my second interview for a dev position, I was really happy when they reached to me, the place is really cool, but, they want to pay me a lot less than my actual internship does, I’m at IT suport right now, and though it’s not what I like to do, it pays me more, and I have lots of time to study, right now I’m really in need of money.
I’ve been wondering weather it’s ok, to jump in this new position and make the effort to live with less, I would really love the experience as a developer, or maybe studying by myself will prepare me better for future interviews…

Obviously, only you can decide what you want to do.

You have to ask yourself:

Will working in this dev company be a better investment for my future? or will self-studying while staying in your IT support job be better?

Which would hold more weight in future developer interviews?

  1. You self-studied for several months, or
  2. You have actual work experience in a software development company?

Which is more important for you right now? (there’s no right or wrong answer here, each person’s circumstance is different)

  1. Money (stay in your current job)
  2. Gain Experience (move to new position)

Do you have people dependent on you? (wife? kids?) that taking less pay is not an option?

Do you just support yourself? Can you survive with less income? Move in with parents temporarily, just rent a room instead of apartment, sell assets, etc.

Also, want to add that this is not a final move. You can take that low paying dev job, sacrifice for a while, gain and learn a lot of real-world experience, then find another higher paying dev job.

or you can stay in your currenet job, learn a lot of stuff on your own, and apply for a better paying dev position down the road.

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I think @owel makes really good points but I also wanted to add a couple more.

Some companies take advantage of students, plain and simple. They know they are desperate for experience and the companies just don’t like to spend so they make it seem that they’re doing you a favor by offering you the position. In many cases, if you are capable, you are helping them out more than they helping you. Also in my geographical area, people with internships were not more likely to be hired than people without. (I’m specifically talking about Computer Science students here not others). So as was said by owel, you should decide on what is important for you right now, but I wouldn’t worry too much about the experience given your program will eventually lead to a dev. job anyway (when you graduate or next year when you are up for a new internship).

One other thought, try to negotiate for a matching salary. There’s no harm in asking. They won’t withdraw the offer, but they may offer you more money when they realize that you already have a job that pays more. (you’re worth it, ask for it!)

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@hbar1st @owel Thanks for your time, I thought it through and came to realize that maybe it isn’t the time, though I know it’s a great oportunity. I talked to them, still waiting an answer about weather they can give me a better offer, if that doesn’t work, I’m gonna stay where I’m now and keep studying.

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How was the interview questions ?

Turns out they were pretty understandable, and agreed to raise the offer, so I’ll be starting next week, don’t know what to expect yet, but well, happy I’m finally making into programming as a career…

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:money_mouth_face::tada::tada::tada::tada:

woohoo! Wish you the best!

That’s great! Congratulations!