Harsh Realities of Being a Software Engineer in 2025

[@theoglenn]

Having to learn the latest and greatest tech stacks, developer tools, and crunch leetcode problems is definitely an ongoing grind. This path is not for the faint of heart. I graduated with my bachelor's in cs last may and still can't find a junior developer job lol

[@BizzaroBrainBoi]

👀

[@Pulsefire1995]

Personally, I think leetcode is obsolete.

[@randyt700]

@@Pulsefire1995 personally, i dread those "behavioral" interview questions like "describe a time where you had to make a difficult decision or showed leadership skills". I much prefer just whiteboarding or technical questions like leetcode because the former really gauges your ability to sell yourself, how well you tell stories, how creative your communication skills are and I always find that harder to do on the spot than reasoning/thinking through a technical/coding problem. it always feels fake no matter how honest your examples/experiences have been. but again, that's just me. of course i can prepare and write responses for those types of questions, but they just feel scripted and unproductive.

[@Pulsefire1995]

@@randyt700 I also do not like those questions, since it is unrealistic and typical corporate questions. But I still stand on my statement saying that leetcode is obsolete. Most of it doesn't relate to the work that you will be doing and there is no evidence nor statistics as of right now that proves that leetcode makes you a better coder or "smarter. I know the founder of leetcode is just making money out of it just cause of those questions that isn't related to the workforce.

[@chriss.3884]

@@Pulsefire1995 how is leetcode obsolete? isn't it extremely beneficial for passing technical interviews which largely cover data structures / algorithms?

[@chooseadventure2311]

800,000 + devs fighting for ~60k jobs def a shit show

[@marktulsoto8685]

Just believe in what the bootcamps tell you...

[@imnugget8085]

Man at that point I would pay 50k so i can hire more if there so many

[@dasaauploads1143]

​@@imnugget8085you can pay 12 K USD / year to outsource them from third world countries

[@elderofzion]

i have never leetcoded, i suck at live coding, i don't know much about data structures and algorithms yet somehow i'm still able to land a job. maybe i'm just lucky, dunno

[@mikegonzalez2012]

That's because no one hires juniors. Get to mid or senior level and it's easy to get a job. I still get about 100 messages a week from recruiters. Also look for a niche part of CS. If you are specialized there are less people looking for that particular job.

[@walkingin6375]

Self taught dev here, I just landed a Senior React Consultant position for a pharmaceutical company. Likely to be a contract to hire. Interview was straight forward with the PM and pay at $45/hr. It's my first full-time position as a dev, aside from my project experience, and my tutoring and coding that I've done. Don't lose hope or be dismayed, if the drive is there and you apply yourself, there's still plenty of opportunities.

[@wonjaehwang7670]

What do you mean by straight forward

[@vjnt1star]

42 Leetcode problem "trapping rain water" I remember doing this one when I was looking for a job earlier this year!

[@gjbh___]

No wonder as a senior software engineer I’m constantly burnt out.. so many requirements

[@cristineeross]

For those that would have missed this or read the comments for some more hope: it's not just the FANG out there if you are passionate about programming!! Corporate jobs are like this, but knowing certain practical skills gives you more options. Small companies for example may pay you less, but there is no micromanagement, you get more attached to the colleagues, and you can learn to build something from the ground up, you're not just fixing small bugs in a codebase that you don't even understand. And although this means smaller projects at first, they can grow with your skillset. And the selection of candidates is totally different. They are usually more flexible, and more family-friendly. Yes, there is a downhill right now in tech for several reasons, but it's temporary I'm sure. So what matters here: are you really passionate about programming or not. If the answer is yes, you can make it. You might need to give up on your instagram compatible cool tech lifestyle for a while, but you can totally make it! Thank you Catherine for sharing your experience in your videos, I think your points are 100% valid and real and they are indeed really useful to consider if someone is thinking about a software engineering path. Lots of love! 🤗

[@catherinelijs]

Thank you so much for your support and for your thoughts!

[@gregorybjorgvin6785]

This is great Catherine! Wish you're channel to grow rapidly

[@catherinelijs]

Thanks for the support!

[@bobdaniels3692]

honestly everything you said is right. I think now if anything you just need to make yourself a better candidate to get a job

[@loganbus]

Consider that nerfing CDR is kind of like giving an indirect buff to gun builds, since CDR mostly only applies to spirit damage output. It might make the game too shooter-y. I agree that cooldowns should be longer especially for ultimates though.

[@fernandobelotto]

Great video, really on point!

[@catherinelijs]

Thanks so much!

[@thatomothapo450]

All of what's happening would be a killer season 7 on silicon valley 😅

[@catherinelijs]

I know right! I wish they brought that show back

[@drednac]

Estimations are really simple logic. .. Software engineering is largely problem solving. It is logically impossible to know how much time it takes to solve the problem. That's why estimates in software developments are educated guesses at best and this needs to be understood on all level of the company or you are in a big trouble.

[@dasaauploads1143]

You have to compete with hundreds of people, not only locally but also globally in order to get a good job.

[@badger-mr1fi]

For anyone who want to become a dev, I just landed a job as a python dev with no CS-degree and no bootcamp. It can still be done even though times has changed :)

[@sutofana]

any advice? 🙏🙏

[@badger-mr1fi]

@@sutofana Where are you in the learning process? :)

[@sutofana]

@@badger-mr1fi I am getting a cs degree, I am a junior right now.

[@badger-mr1fi]

@@sutofana From what I heard that route is best way to become a software dev. But here is my story and what worked for me: I am linguists and my original job goal was to be come a university researcher. I did but that was not for me I found out. I then needed some company friendly skills and python combines easily with linguistics so I chose to teach myself that. Then after a while I got a job as a linguist helping to develop AI (I got the job via network). That job did not require coding skills, but there was room for coding and I did that alot and it became part of my job (so I become more of a computational linguists), and now I got enough skills to be a python dev. Here are some steps: 1. Find out what businesses want, learn that and give them a reason to pay you a lot of money (imagine owning a small business and should pay a person and if that fails you might risk loosing your business and home). 2. Network with people and talk with them about what you are interested in so they actually know what you can do. 3. Build projects: If you have no degree this is a way to prove you can develop software. And remember to use good structures and documentation. 4. Get used to and learn to be productive despite lacking motivation and being tired. Meta cognitive therapy is great for that. 5. When applying for jobs, costume your applications to the company you want to work for. Visit their website and see what they are about. Remember, it is about what you can do for them. The Channel "Life after layoff" got good content about the job market.

[@mistersir3185]

i wanna contact you and ask for some suggestions how can i get in touch please?

[@md6886]

If you ready spend 10,000 hours learning, building all sorts of things.. and then apply for job you will find job no problem. If you want job after 600 hours bootcamp... not sure..

[@MrMeerglis]

10000 hours equals to 5 years of work experience, considering you are working 8h 5d a week. There is no way average person can accumulate so much hours before applying for job without dying from a hunger or becoming insane.

[@md6886]

@MrMeerglis Thats how to build experience. Yeh it takes time to build up, its best to start at school, home and college. There is many jobs in IT but not that many for juniors.

[@watcher1326]

Thank you.

[@mikegonzalez2012]

You won't get a job in Python. Those jobs are backend, AI, or data science. All of those are not for new devs. Learn Kotlin instead.

[@subinkv6849]

Python(web development) nowadays are mainly used for API integration with AI models.

[@Pulsefire1995]

so its not a good career then?

[@Chris-sd6sb]

It’s still pretty good in the US. Hard to break into in general and even harder to get into big tech, but even the lower paying SE jobs have pretty decent pay

[@catofdeepblack]

It's still very good, I would say it's above average. But you don't get a job just because you know how to open a computer or after a 3 month bootcamp. It's a job, meaning you need to have some skills. Not the knowledge of the latest next.js release, you need to be able to solve problems using code/software. If you can, there is a goldmine there.

[@7oeseven793]

yes, but only if youre very passionate. Not in just saying it, but in actually building interesting projects and learning leetcode. All of this outside your classes. This will attract internship interviews which will make it very likely to secure a job after graduation.

[@Pulsefire1995]

@@7oeseven793 The hype around leetcode is overrated and it doesn't define a person's intelligence to solve a problem. Not sure who influenced this, but there's no concreate evidence that leetcode makes someone better at code. This is mostly for competitive coding, and lets keep it honest. I don't think the CEO or HR really cares how much time you put into it. They just want you to answer their question that they pulled up from leetcode on a random google search.

[@mobiledevlife]

Great overview and nicely made video ☺ it's a bit tough in the current market, but we'll find a way, probably with AI 😂💪 Also, there are millions of small software companies that don't go through the classic LeetCode process, and that's encouraging, because in most cases the technical skills and culture fit are much more important, especially in a max. 50-100 employees company.

[@catherinelijs]

Great point and thanks for your kind words. Smaller companies are often overlooked but they can offer a great work life balance

[@thedeepend2949]

Ive been a freelance software developer for the last 10 years and this is by far the worst year I have ever had. Truth is this job is stressful and over rated as a lot is expected from you and since developers are now a dime a dozen you are easily replaceable. It is best start a business with a little more demand I am now looking into moving into a sign making business. Dont waste your time with Software Development job !!!

[@kristianlavigne8270]

The whole dev cycle will shortly be done 80% by AI, so the demand for programmers and other “tech roles” will be greatly reduced going forward 😅 “I for one welcome our Tech overlords”

[@catherinelijs]

🤖

[@Lewis-dq2xb]

I get it.. Evolve or Die lol

[@Pulsefire1995]

Like the game Evolve?!?!?!?!

[@sutofana]

as alwayyyyssss

[@sutofana]

🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍