How bad is the market
Posted by ThePatel@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 11 comments
Hi folks. I am a US based software engineer at FAANG with almost 6 YOE. I am thinking about leaving my job largely due to burnout and taking a bit of a career break for about 2-3months.
However, that being said I want to just get a pulse to understand how bad the market is and if I should be worried about it.
Overall, I feel like I'm really not doing well and at a low in my life due to the stress from burnout but I don't want to leave what I have if I'm going to be in a really bad spot when looking for a job down the line so I just kind of want to understand and get some opinions from folks in the industry.
FWIW I’m not concerned with matching compensation in my new role.
Essentially two questions:
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What do you think of hiring in the industry right now (product engineering)
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How hard is it to explain re-entry into the market/career gaps?
AchillesDev@reddit
(1) The market isn't that bad in the US, honestly probably better than before covid at this point. My brother was hit with Amazon layoffs a little bit ago, and after some time off on severance has been applying and making it to final rounds at companies I don't think I'd even get my foot in the door at (my experience is more startups and now my own consultancy). On the startup side, part of my consultancy is early team building, setting cloud and data foundations, and even hiring and I've had more demand for hiring than I ever have.
(2) As for 2-3 months off, that's a blink of an eye and basically an interview cycle at a larger company. This wouldn't be a re-entry or anything like that, and probably wouldn't even be considered. If it ever comes up you can just say you took a short break before getting back into the interview process, or that you've been interviewing selectively in that time.
kutjelul@reddit
Nobody knows for sure. There isn’t one absolute truth to this, because hiring happens differently at different places.
I’ve been hearing how bad the market is since 2023. I got hired that year. A former colleague told me he had spent half a year interviewing before landing the role - this colleague was really good, I’d consider him better at his job than me. But somehow I interviewed at exactly one company, got an offer, and took it, all within a few weeks.
It’s a game of dice as much as it is hard work
cbusmatty@reddit
You should pretty much ignore any post in this thread without them giving you their qualifications. A faang engineer could go get a job over most of the people in here. I wouldn’t trust people commenting all day on reddit during working hours on job openings lol
03263@reddit
Well, I've almost run out of unemployment. I've been applying the whole time, sometimes in bulk not putting in much effort and sometimes more slowly but going to effort of writing cover letters, tailoring my resume, etc.
I got some callbacks and phone screens, and one interview. Not a single offer. Honestly there's not much even out there to apply to. I am not in a tech hub though so I'm mainly looking at remote jobs, already exhausted everything local but when things pop up I apply even if they're way outside my typical area.
I've been thinking maybe to apply to USPS to be a mail carrier.
big-papito@reddit
You are at a FAANG, so I think you will do a lot better than most. That's a massive running start.
cha_pupa@reddit
There are jobs, but the process is long. There’s a glut of qualified, laid-off engineers; a shortage of positions; and 1000s of AI-generated applications being spammed at every opening.
If you’re a solid engineer, you’ll be able to find a job, but I wouldn’t count on a 2-3 month timeframe — more like 6-8 months, and you’ll have to be applying very actively.
The good news is that referrals carry much more weight in this new world. If you’ve made solid connections and would be interested in working with one of them, that’s your best bet by far. Almost all new hires at my current job are referrals (or new grad juniors).
greensodacan@reddit
I've seen several people find jobs after career breaks. We all know what burnout is, everyone's human, it happens.
You should expect the job hunt to take months. The difficult part is getting passed the noise, because the usual channels (Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor) are broken. People in my LinkedIn network suggest applying through the corporate site instead.
On your end, figure out what your finances are. Know your burn rate and how much of a runway you have. This gives you a TON of agency and will help you prepare.
People are getting hired. Reddit tends to have a hyper-scarcity mindset that doesn't reflect reality. That said, it's a lot closer to other industries than it used to be. I was watching the news the other day, and supposedly the average candidate sends out about 300 applications before receiving an offer. That's assuming they're not just shotgunning it like Reddit recommends.
TheRealManlyWeevil@reddit
it you spent that 2-3 practicing interviewing that would be a reasonable path. the problem isn't really lack of possible openings it's that companies can be much more selective now so you have to absolutely nail the interview to get through.
as far as explaining, "i took some time off to travel etc" will be perfectly fine. no one really cares anyway, they just want some confirmation you won't be doing this again in 6 months.
Material_Policy6327@reddit
Well meta just announced 1500 more layoffs today so prob not good
OriginalTangle@reddit
Which one? Just kidding, they're all bad. At least that's true of DE and NL, and the states based on what I read on here.
Company that offered me a position three years ago didn't even invite me to an interview now.
EdelinePenrose@reddit
it won’t be easy. i think your timeline should be closer to 6-8 months if not more.
what’s preventing you from being able to manage your burnout at the current job? what have you discussed with your manager?