Workplace is toxic - how is the job market?

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kosmos1209@reddit

I'm 45 years old with 20+ YOE in the SF bay area. Job market is pretty bad right now outside of AI. I don't have too much problems getting AI company interviews because of my long resume, but all interviews seem a lot more demanding and selective now. Leet code difficulties are harder, take home exercises are longer, and some companies even warns up front that they require 60-80 hours a week, or they follow the 996, which I don't all prefer.

It doesn't hurt to give interviews a try though to get some feel, but do interview while you still have a job first, unless the toxicity is really eating into your mental health that it's actually negatively impacting your interview skills too.

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SupermarketNo3265@reddit

follow the 996

Fuck that.

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kosmos1209@reddit

Yeah, fuck that, but at least they set the expectation up front so I know not to proceed. It works for some people, good for them, it’s just not for me.

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SupermarketNo3265@reddit

True, better to be upfront about the inhumane working conditions rather than springing it on you.

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csanon212@reddit

We're hiring and can't find anyone but we also pay low for anything below tech lead.

If you are OK with a pay cut, try it out

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redditTee123@reddit

you’re hiring & can’t find anyone … have you tried .. looking?

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csanon212@reddit

Yes. We use agencies. We get probably \~15 resumes for each position.

We interview most of them assuming it's not a terrible match, because the agencies themselves do some pre-screening.

So, 75% of them cannot write correct syntax to pick items out of a hashmap or write a simple loop. Another 15% can't solve a trivial (below LeetCode easy) scenario. 5% beyond that are lacking in system design or cloud skills. Then, of the last 5% there are issues with getting people who are OK with on-site work, and pay. So, we either lower our standards to someone who can't code, or raise the pay to make the position more attractive, which no one seems to be interested in doing.

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SupermarketNo3265@reddit

What are you looking for in terms of system design and cloud knowledge?

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Antique_Pin5266@reddit

I feel like there’s a pretty big difference between someone who can’t code and the 5% who are lacking in sys design / cloud. With your low pay and on-site requirements I would just lower your standards there and hope they can learn on the job

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csanon212@reddit

If it were a junior position, I'd not be concerned. At mid-level we're expecting some knowledge of system design with 3-8 years of experience.

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wesborland1234@reddit

How low? I’m applying to fucking help desk jobs at this point.

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csanon212@reddit

About $150k for mid level dev, no stocks or bonus.

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SnakeSeer@reddit

This is the biggest thing I've noticed as a 15 YOE backend dev who's casually looking--there's a lot of jobs with low posted pay rates. I expect that for smaller companies, but I've interviewed with two larger companies who said they'd "struggle" to match my current middle-rate salary.

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andrewhy@reddit

Dogshit.

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Status_Quarter_9848@reddit

Job market is in a shambles. Don't leave without an offer in hand.

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Kaizen321@reddit

Can confirm.

Shambles and rambles.

Source: 7 months; 15yrs+ exp here

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metaphorm@reddit

I'm on the job market again recently. My experience has been that inbounds from internal recruiters are worth responding to and that outbound "cold" applications are hopeless and a waste of time and energy. I'm getting plenty of good inbounds though, so seems fine to me. I have 15 years of experience and work in Platform Engineering, so my experience may be different than what yours would be.

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successfullygiantsha@reddit

Time to r/overemployed

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Appropriate-Leg3965@reddit

Never hurts to look, OP, even in a bad market. However, if you get an offer I would schedule vacation to coincide with the start, then give immediate notice when you have officially started your first day to make sure they don’t back out and leave you hanging. It’s wild out there right now.

Be aware the search might feel just as toxic as the situation you find yourself working in currently.

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scragz@reddit

I wish I had a toxic workplace, or any kind of workplace

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scragz@reddit

I'm back to doing freelance fwiw. I have a nonstandard background so I'm easy to pass over when there are 100s of other applicants. if you have a degree and a decorated work history then maybe you have a chance.

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Only-Cheetah-9579@reddit

job market sucks. it's all about who you know.

got friends in good companies? ask them

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Reddit_is_fascist69@reddit

Last two jobs were from referrals.

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big-papito@reddit

Bro come into the water, bro. The water is nice 'n' scorching.

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FeistyButthole@reddit

Like an Eskimo bidet

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MrSinilindon@reddit

bodies float by

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olddev-jobhunt@reddit

You only need one job. Just apply.

For an experienced dev, I think you'll probably be able to find something if you have some solid experience and stories to tell. But really, the market as a whole doesn't speak very much for what a single specific person's experience in it will be. People vary too much.

I think the market may be a good metric for a brand new dev, because most brand new devs are broadly quite similar, but for an experienced person... I don't think you should base your own personal decisions on it.

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wirenutter@reddit

Somma time maybe good. Somma time maybe sheet.

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Plane_Water_5323@reddit

Hahahahahah

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ForgotMyPassword17@reddit

I have more like 12 years of marketable experience (Big Tech/known startups, mainly ML) and I'm getting call backs on 1/3 when applying. So it's not ideal but definitely not GFC bad.

With 6 YOE you started in 2019-2021 which was probably the easisest hiring time in tech.

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xamott@reddit

No, 1999 was the easiest hiring time in tech. That’s how I got hired! :)

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TheBlueYodeler@reddit

Me, too! Got my first grown-up job writing HTML in March 1999, and ended up a software engineer via the Web Designer → Web Developer → Software Developer pipeline. Ah, the good old days. 😁

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No_Structure7185@reddit

its funny bc i started looking in spring 2020 and it was a shit job market in my country back then. nobody wanted to hire bc covid made everything so unpredictable.

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CarelessPackage1982@reddit

It's actually not that bad for experienced devs that currently have a job. Since you're currently employed the pressure to (have to) perform is greatly reduced. Go out there and take a look.

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spookymotion@reddit

This message is about the current Sofware job market... and part of a system of messages... pay attention to it!

Sending this message was important to us. We considered ourselves to be a powerful industry.

This market is not a place of honor... no highly esteemed work is commemorated here... nothing valued is here.

What is here was dangerous and repulsive to us. This message is a warning about danger.

The danger is in a particular location... it increases towards a center... the center of danger is here... it takes the form of C-suite assholes forcing AI on everyone, endless Leetcode interviews and unpaid take-home projects.

The danger is still present, in your time, as it was in ours.

The danger is to the spirit, and it can kill enthusiasm.

The form of the danger is an emanation of endless rejection emails.

The danger is unleashed only if you substantially disturb this market by applying. This place is best shunned and left uninhabited.

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RoxyAndFarley@reddit

I think the market is not as bad as some people make it out to be, though maybe it is dependent on some factor or another. I personally have had some offers that weren’t good enough to justify leaving my current position but then just recently received an excellent offer that I accepted. I have also seen several of the developers that were laid off from my team in the last year have all taken new positions that seem great.

With all that said, the grass is certainly not always greener and toxicity exists most places to varying degrees. Sometimes a change from one set of problems to a different set can still feel refreshing for a time though. And if you are anything like me, even finding opportunities that you don’t feel comfortable taking can at least remind you that you’re not stuck, you have choices, and that can make the toxicity more tolerable while you search for a fit that is better for you longer term.

Good luck regardless!

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