Should I change my career or it's too early?

Career Advice
#1

I am 26, currently have 3 years of experience on C# and my knowledge here is pretty strong. But at the same time my knowledge in ‘near’ topics which I also come across have much to wish for. Topics like deployment, docker, algorithms, linux, bash, kafka, other languages like go or python.
On the other hand I have my interest in machine learning and deep learning and finished a few courses. I have one idea that could be promising. It also needs lots of investments in studying and don’t have much in common with my regular dev job.
So I don’t consider myself a ‘proper’ developer yet, and thinking about trying something else in an entirely different field, so feel pretty lost on where should I go, as both options seem kinda interesting and promising. Should I

  1. Advance to some level I think is okay for me as a developer and then try ML
  2. Abandon study in ‘developer arts’ and focus on ML
  3. Try doing both (difficult due to time restrictions)
#2

Hey Alexandr,

nice to meet you! :wave:

What does 3 years of experience on C# mean?
40h/week full-time dev in a company?
20h/week hobby programmer?
1h/week video tutorials?

1 Like
#3

3 years in enterprise, been working on mobile payments platform for the last 2 years

#4

Hi @alexandr-osprey !

Welcome to the forum!

Only you can decide what path is right for you.

It sounds like you are really interested in machine learning.
I would start studying that.

I wouldn’t up and quit my job right away unless you have a whole bunch of money saved up where that is an affordable option.

But I would just study on the side and see if this something that you really want.

If so, then you can make the career change when you are ready. :grinning:

#5

It sounds like the best way to answer your question is to starty applying for the jobs that you are interested on. If you don’t get a job offer, you can always ask the interviewer for feedback on where you need to improve to qualify.

#6

Hello Alexandr.

Three years’ work experience in C# makes you a proper developer. In payments-platform work you’re dealing with other peoples’ money so you have to do your job well. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not a proper developer.

Yes, there’s lots to learn still. But continuous learning is necessary in this great profession. If you’re still doing this a quarter-century from now you will have spent a quarter-century learning new stuff. Seriously.

ML is good stuff. If you’ve taken the courses you know that. But you learn the most when you use ML to solve real-world problems with real-world data. The best way to do that is to find work on a team doing this stuff. With your developer experience and your ML training you are a viable candidate for jobs like that.

If your current employer has a team like that, have a conversation with their supervisor saying you’d like to do that kind of work. Ask for advice about what you should do to prepare for that. (Supervisors love it when we ask them for advice.)

2 Likes
#7

@alexandr-osprey :point_up:This a thousand percent!

I don’t know defines “proper developer” in the first place but you are one.