Life as a Software Engineer is NOT What They Tell You…

You've probably heard that a software engineering career is one of the best in the world. But what you may not know is that it's really hard.
Think again! This video takes a look at the harsh reality of life as a software engineer. Long hours, hard work, and stress are just some of the things you'll have to deal with. So before you take up this career path, make sure you're prepared for what's in store!
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[@Josh-ge1cr]

I am working at my first job now and it's over 100k with great WLB. Literally a 5-6x increase from my last job. But getting here was ROUGH. I self studied on and off for 3 years, went to a coding bootcamp (hack reactor) and still learning on the job. Tech is glorified on social media because you can get 6 figures without a college degree (I don't have one), but the amount of work you have to put in is a lot. If you love getting stuck on the smallest issues and getting through them -- you'll do well.

[@rdean150]

Just wait until you're in year 5 or so. You'll look back at the early days and long for that WLB again. The more experience you get, the higher the expectations from you. The higher the bar, the more work you gotta put in. The higher the pressure. Less sleep, more stress.

[@patriotlightning7791]

Happy for you mate.

[@codingwannabe]

I'm on year two of self teaching on and off. Your scenario gives me hope.

[@Josh-ge1cr]

@@rdean150 I don't mind since I'm young and I hope with all of these more responsibilities -- higher pay :) nothing in life comes easy. Higher the pay, higher the stress / responsibilities.

[@eddieoconnor4466]

I mean I'm atruggling?....but I'm not gonna stop....

[@thedevlife]

100% agree, not trying to sound cliche, being a software engineer is not all sunshine and rainbows. It takes a lot of work, but it is worth it for all of those like us who persevere. Love the content!!

[@CrisTryingToBeProductive]

Perseverance is a must for this job

[@mz.crl92]

What is persevere

[@TheSoulCrisis]

@@mz.crl92 To survive and endure!!! :D

[@sephorasmuse]

My first job was brutal - I was thrown to technologies that I never touched. They gave me Angular/HTML/SASS/.Net which I was fine with at the time. I was given RabbitMQ, AWS - Snowball/S3, Elastic (ELK), etc. It was a struggle since there were times where I worked late and on weekends. At my current job, now I'm learning Rust, Ruby, React, and Java. Yes. You are learning all the time.

[@alanespaguetiis2460]

I'm curious about this situation, do they pay u for learning? Like ur not like really involved into projects but learning these new techs, or ur actually really involved in projects and are required to learn at a fast pace to get along?

[@sephorasmuse]

@@alanespaguetiis2460 In my previous job, I wasn't paid to learn. I already came with a background in Angular/.Net/SQL and did web development/design in college. However, I had to hit the ground running with Rabbit MQ, AWS, and Elastic. I also did some DevOps - Open shift, Jenkins, Docker. I'll be honest I had to learn on the job while doing research during my downtime. The smaller companies give you crappy benefits but you're exposed to more tech. However, in my current position they are paying me to learn which is fine. I think coming from another OOP language and dealing with another Frontend framework, the similarity is there. They expect me to hit the ground running. EDIT: Yes. I'm involved with existing projects (creating a new microservice from the ground up) or creating a new project (updating an app from AngularJS to Angular/React).

[@brianruizy]

Really good talking points! As someone who became a SWE without college degree, people think it's just easy to start learning and do it. And now I have some awesome WLB. But it was really a bunch of long nights and discipline to get my first couple of interviews.

[@rdean150]

Yeah man, the past 2 years have been the most grueling of my 12 year career as a software engineer. Not because of the pandemic - not directly at least - working from home is a double edged sword. You're always at work. And the whole world going digital overnight lead to a wave of urgent, high visibility projects with absurd deadlines. 12 hour days became common. My mental and physical health suffered significantly. The stress turned me into an asshole. I know I'm not alone in this. Between the Great Resignation and then the whole Quiet Quitting thing culminating in the biggest drop in productivity in the U.S. labor force in decades in the 3rd quarter of 2022. The country has collectively burned out.

[@heidijay8021]

It’s good to hear this. I have succeeded in projects and jumped to 9 different companies in 3 years. But those companies were “customers” for the company I started with and have been with for the past 3 years. So I have jumped from company to company, but I also haven’t. My 3 years has been filled with so much learning. But I have so much more to learn. Careers in tech is all about learning and working hard to improve our skills and learn more skills. It’s like having 2 full-time jobs.

[@user-uz8js5bm9i]

11:03 I nearly spat out my coffee laughing. Big Bro, been following your channel since 2017 before learning a line of code and now I make way more money than I did back then. Your videos were inspirational during the early grind years and continue to be. I would love if you made more videos covering your journey from mid to senior roles. Also, I love the format of these longer videos and podcasts in additon to your main channel.

[@GlowinginTech]

Great video! We understand the struggle and appreciate the honest insight, it's not something you see very often, which is something we talk about a lot Hope you're still finding lots of joy and finding ways to relax and decompress. Longevity in your career depends on you going at a sustainable pace ❤️

[@CokefishR]

I trust your advice because what you said about junior developers happened to me as well in my first 4 years. But one thing you said about how most people don't leave their jobs when they've settled in for decent pay: I'm still trying to figure that out with the people around me. I don't have as much experience as you.

[@blendertv872]

I'm currently in the middle of a career transition into software. Right now I make books for the worlds largest printer. I work 12 hour shifts, I'm on my feet all day, I don't get to see my family, and the job demands my constant attention otherwise I will cost the company thousands of dollars. And not to sound like a D, but working in the manufacturing industry sometimes I'm around people I would rather not be around because they pretty much hire anyone who walks through the door. I attended college earlier in life, but for some reason I didn't think the promises being made in the tech industry were true, so I left. Now, 10 years later, I have friends who are making big money and loving life while coding. Seeing that brought me back. Landing my first gig has been incredibly difficult. Like, it's almost insane. In the past month I've applied for 50+ entry level/junior dev jobs, and I've only had one interview. Earlier this year, I applied for a job as a company director, having no experience in the position or anything that would prepare me for it whatsoever. I went through the entire hiring process, obviously didn't get the job because someone more qualified and deserving also applied. I'm just saying this to compare the reality of getting into tech. I have projects on my github, I have good experience coding, and now I'm finishing the degree. Like sheeeeesh.

[@tonydataiga]

People think this way because that's how it's advertised. They tell us that entry level devs make $75K, but it's not until after investing so much in learning that you find out that "entry level" jobs require 5 years of experience!

[@theeALister]

It really depends on the company and possibly even the location. There are some companies that can offer this but you have to possess the requisite skill set in order to get hired by these organizations.

[@FandZ23]

WOOOOOOORD 👊 well said. I average 16hr. days on the regular and that's just managing daily tasks ...if I have a go live/SW deployment/in the midst of a dev cycle those 16hr shifts last 7 days and some projects are within a cascading timeline so that leaves me 1 day to catch up on sleep...also factor in traveling/timezones differences. I often times feel myself quoting Roger Murtaugh."I'm getting too old for this" LOLOLOL passion for this is a REQ All my personal projects get pushed aside and if you're responsible for an entire team of Engr's. AND actually care about their development/ knowledge base etc that takes priority Although I am way behind on your vids, enjoyed watching your content over the yrs and ty for always sharing the facts

[@minsugamaxsalt]

Thank you for your input

[@YeetYeetYe]

I think that's why it's so common to see all these developers burning out. Look at the youtube developer community.. a TON of people have quit (Dorian Develops, Tiff in Tech, etc etc)

[@chrisseantalks]

And we can make much more from KZbin then we do at our 200k jobs lol

[@theplasmacollider6431]

Work for military contractors. Slower pace with more family friend policies. Working in Silicon Valley and other startup culture companies will burn you out.

[@yaguking]

Im living by a personal philosophy that i came up with years ago. Nothing in life is free, but the best things are worth the effort. Podcasts like this are whats helping keep the fire fed.

[@louis_dev6981]

Totally agreed with what you said, and I appreciate you sharing that on KZbin, it motivates me to keep grinding and growing as I just got my first job in tech as a self-taught developer and started to see some of the dark side of working in a small tech company which you mentioned 😢

[@OEThe11]

Same here. Congrats to you. I'm lucky that my job is mostly remote and a good group of people top to bottom. Even though I'm the only Android Dev, I do feel supported, for sure.

[@cedricclifton408]

@@OEThe11 what’s a typical work week hours wise look like for you as a junior?

[@The_Riff_Whisperer]

I'm a poor immigrant, i didn't speak English when i got here and i had to join the military, i had to work 18 hours a day for 8 months making less than a burger flipper on deployments because they don't give you the "cool" jobs in the military if you are not a citizen, my ship was designed for the cold war, it was hell, but i was able to go to become a citizen, now I'm using my G.I. Bill to get a computer science degree and now I'm also on a management position in the military... for someone who had to start from less than zero, this kind of mentality is why Americans are getting outsourced by people overseas because those guys have crappy lives and they are hungry for a decent life.

[@jt4351]

Amen, brother. Fellow immigrant here. I worked in kitchens, but never past 14h days. Now I get to tell people how long I'm working. I'm off at 5 and no one dares bother me after that time.

[@bubbyprime]

Thanks for making these vids Chris! I’ve been watching your vids for about 3 years now. And have admired your journey. I started my journey about 3 years ago as well. Started by doing some udemy courses in 2018 and thought I had enough knowledge but boy was I wrong. I worked part time as a security guard in 2019 making 18.50 - 22.50 an hour and went to school full time for about 3 quarters then switched to part time school for two years at a community college. Decided to start applying for jobs and got rejected left and right for months. I went out and looked for apprenticeships and bootcamp opportunities. 2020 spring quarter just finished all my programming classes and thought I was ready. I took a break from class and I applied to this organization called Per Scholas. I was accepted at Per Scholas and they offered me free Java Bootcamp training and career readiness. The bootcamp was 3 months and I felt I had the skills now. Spring Boot Full Stack Java Development Skills with Junit testing and MariaDb skills. Started applying again and 3 months go by again to countless rejections and failed interviews. Thought my time was running out. Reached out to some apprenticeships like LinkedIn Reach. Microsoft Leap, Adobe Digital Academy. I also had my program manager at the bootcamp reach out to me with a new rising talent program for this HealthCare company. I took an assessment and they brought me on board. I also applied to Adobe Digital Academy and was also accepted to them but I had to turn it down because I had already accepted the other program. Now I’m a software engineer making 80k+ all because of all the hard work and motivational vids you and other KZbinrs have offered. Funny thing is that now that I’ve been a software engineer for about 10 months I’ve gotten 4 emails from Amazon recruiters to be a software engineer there. Although it is enticing I feel I need more experience before I even start applying there. Plus it hasn’t even been a full year being at this company 😂. Technically I’m a college drop out but I do plan on going back because the company may sponsor higher education for me. All I want to say is that it is possible to become a software engineer folks. You know and Chris does hit it on the point that it does take sacrifice. I had no time for hanging out with friends literally just work and studying for 2 years straight. Even if I did go out I would still be studying. I sacrificed my weekends for work and my weeks for studying. Literally no life. But if you want something so bad you’re going to do whatever it takes to finally achieve your dream. Living in Seattle Area yea this income is modest and it’s mind blowing that I’ve finally achieved my dream of becoming a software engineer but now Im craving more because I can’t even afford a home yet. At the end of the day I just want enough to buy the house I want AT A REASONABLE PRICE (geeze this housing market is ridiculous) but I can’t do that now when I’m going to need a 200k+ income just to do that. Home prices here are on average 600-700k. You guys got this. Keep working hard. Make the sacrifices you need to make. And never stop grinding. Even when you’re where you want to be never stop wanting to learn and grow yourself. I want to be able to help out others in need especially my family. Being a software engineer and doing well is how I found is the best way to do this. Keep on coding everyone! You got this!

[@leonlee6928]

for someone to talk about a topic right off the bat without a script is a skill, also makes u more credible. u didn’t say “umm” or “uhh” in this entire video, instead u paused whenever necessary. another reason why i watch ur videos

[@chrisseantalks]

Thanks bud. I said uhh a few times but you must have missed it lol

[@FandZ23]

Much agreed 💯

[@leonlee6928]

@@chrisseantalks oops must have missed them!

[@user-cf7vy4hl8p]

sometimes stability > money not fun having to jump so many ships but sometimes you have no choice. It’s good to hone your skills set often since nothing is certain.

[@vulpixelful]

I'm glad you're open about this. I've had hard times in my software engineering career but I thought it made me a bad engineer because no one talked about the hard stuff. One note I have is that people in other professions work as hard as we do (long hours, after-hours training, etc) but they are just very, very underpaid.

[@chrisseantalks]

"very, very underpaid" is an understatement lol

[@yg78t76t7]

This is why I’m in IT. More hands on and we can make as much as as software engineers provided you move past the help desk role.

[@chrisseantalks]

I never that. That’s awesome to hear :)

[@ze4116]

This is a necessary conversation. Once worked for a company and I was the on Call dev. Brutal!! All that glitters>..

[@chrisseantalks]

#oncalllife lol

[@moestaxx286]

chris i know you said it’s damn near impossible to work for a faang company as a self taught engineer (as a self taught engineer) but i am trying my best to get there. i am going to continue to work my ass off everyday, if anything i will try to pick up some freelance projects for my experience but i want to get into microsoft. i know it’s not easy but ima keep going until i get there .. i am waiting some more months to start applying because i am still grinding the interview process for the system designs & coding interviews. thanks for your video bro!

[@rah7207]

Why is this a goal. I work for microsoft and some teams are very very stressful. A job is a job. Oncall in teams like Microsoft Azure and business critical teams are terrible. Sure Microsoft is a great company, but chill and take life easier. I miss my old job. I want less stress tbh

[@ramirovaldes4889]

Another thing people that make these videos don’t keep in mind is that this is true of almost every career. Hard work and long hours are everywhere but not always with the pay.

[@csl9495]

As a Scrum Master/ PM once upon a time, Devs were treated like laborer workers. They sort of had to even clock in so that I can gather that data for my montlt reports for Hours. They had to work after hours if it, just to get jobs done. And random requirements such as learning such and such languages always was forced upon them. This was such an ugly realization. Mainwhile management staff didn't do shit but create reused reports and do client face meetings, where they both discuss technical jargon that they knew nothing about, and then they pass on these near impossible requirements on to the devs. And due to this "agile" system with is an iteration of sprints the onslaught of delivering work is nonstop haha.

[@h34rt86]

I love people , who r genuine. Love u bro.

[@chrisseantalks]

🙏

[@jamarkusnoname3324]

Absalutely agree with you bro!

[@ramiroalvarezvaldes3498]

There is definitely a lot to learn. It’s a moving target. Lol, now we have GraphQL, micro services, micro front ends. Containers, serverless. We are moving into AI/ML data science. AR/VR. Software engineering requires a lot of work, and lifelong learning.

[@Dreadheadezz]

You talk that talk. These ads make it seem like getting a career in software is some get rich quick scheme. Nice to see someone shed light on how difficult the journey is.

[@KendallRivera15]

Man I’m bout to be 30 and this is my ticket outta of the 30,000 a year at a factory working 13-15 hours . And I’m actually enjoying coding even when I’m stuck and hit a wall I have the urge to come back to code . I code for 48hrs if it means my family will have a better life . But I know being in tech ain’t easy

[@louisvuitton1859]

Pace yourself, brother. It’ll serve you well in the long run. Burnout is very high in the software industry.

[@KendallRivera15]

@@louisvuitton1859 thanks man … I get burnout from my job now and it’s so toxic . And I get pay peanuts without O.T so I look at it as it can’t get any worse in tech . I guess my mentality is prepared to code and work long hours and grow

[@lottexy]

you got this. also unless you're aiming for FAANG or big tech, WLB is amazingly well. I work at a bank as tech, earning 60k USD annual for my first job and i barely work 10 hours a week lol I get what this guy is saying but he's a little "overexaggerating" on WLB. It's really really not that bad unless u join some crazy company / get paid 100k annual / or u absolutely have 0 CS background. ( which makes no sense since u need some background to get a job in the first place )

[@KendallRivera15]

@@lottexy right now I want to get an entry level jr position I know I won’t be making 6fig for a few years but 60000 is better then 30,000 a year especially with all the b.s of short staffing and more work at my job plus it’s a dead end to me but that just me I respect anyone who grinding in low paying jobs busting there ass

[@cruzergo]

I feel you bro. I used to work in the factory too. Now working as a Dev is not easy but life is better than working in the factory.

[@StevePlaysBanjo]

I love the honesty of this. But it would be interesting to hear him 6 years from now. You’re paid for what you know - not for how hard you work. Keep at it. It gets easier. And a lot more fun.

[@chrisseantalks]

Hmm it’s not only for what you know but what you can produce with what you know. But if you’re at that level where it takes very little effort… I envy you haha. But no regrets. I love working on tech and excited to see where my career will go in 6 years 🥹

[@josephaviles8289]

You inspire me with the challenge you describe

[@lilp4p1]

I do get the point but I don't 100% agree pragmaticaly there is a spot for every kind of people in every carrer. You could for sure have an average carrer in tech and you dont need to be all the time at the top of your game yes you will be irrelevant but they are irrelevant companies to go to. I think the problem isnt with the carrer in general but more to the personal choices each individual makes, right now with social media and all, people are "pushed" to do as much as possible. I personally dont think its bad i am legit doing the same I want all the good percs of beeing the top of "devs" but it isnt a problem I think it's more a choice and if one day i find it to hard, so what ill become irrelevant and then move to a less technical role and thats life at some point my brain wont be able to suck up that much info at once. Maybe my point is irrelevant but I still think it's more of a competition problem like if we worked in sales or any other filled up job IT is year by year loosing its glamour now have to find a new career with the cool bels and whissles

[@akashif._1]

well done to this man who made sacrifices- well done man I'm proud

[@lepidoptera9337]

What sacrifices did he make, exactly? ;-)

[@williamsshakesaspear4714]

working 60 plus hours a week as welder at 25 dollars an hour while getting burnt the fuck up, working in harsh weather conditions, and doing irreparable damage to your eyes VS. working 40 plus hours a week as an entry level computer programmer at your house while making more than a veteran welder. I'll always choose the second option

[@chrisseantalks]

I remember working 70hrs a week and still not making ends meet but still not comparable to the damage you build up toward your eyes :/.

[@lepidoptera9337]

You won't have that entry level job for long if you try to pull a 9-5 in a tech shop. The reality is that you have to deliver whatever workload your boss assigns to you, no matter how long it takes. If you don't, then your evaluations will be crappy and you won't get that bonus that you need because they are giving you such a low base salary. In your second year they will replace you, at the latest, with a kid who doesn't mind working harder for even less money.

[@agi-news]

I also feel like theres a big difference between getting into tech because of money and getting into tech because you love the field. When you're generally interested in the field, learning and adapting to new technologies and tools is so much easier then it would be for someone whos getting into it for the money. the truth is that you constantly have to adapt and learn new things. There are people out there that think learning a language is what they need to do, when in reality, the theory and logic of coding is what matter the most. Give me any language and google and I can code in it right away. people that focus on one language instead of the theory and logic would not know where to start.

[@rdean150]

1000x this. Software engineering is not for everyone. Not by a long shot. You need to legitimately enjoy building things, thinking abstractly, finding multiple solutions to technical or logical puzzles. If you legit enjoy solving math problems, you'll probably enjoy being a software engineer. If you are only choosing to go into the field because of the money, you are probably better off going a different direction. Like the man said, there's a reason senior software engineers are paid so well. Its because there aren't nearly enough of us. Because it's pretty fcking difficult.

[@spkim0921]

Surgeons sometimes operate for 24 hours straight. Lawyers work 16+ hours per day. Us developers who survive CS degrees and joined hackathons probably have experience sitting down and coding for 24+ hours. The difference is that surgeons cannot afford to make mistakes at the cost of losing a life; us software engineers shouldn't be making mistakes but if we do, we go back and debug and squash the bugs; but make sure to squash the bugs, or it may cost potentially millions. If you don't have what it takes to sit down and operate/defend clients/build software or architecture while turning a blind eye to physical time, you don't have what it takes to become professionals in these fields. Clear as that. It doesn't mean you should give up; it means you first should ensure what you truly value in your life, not just now but also in the future, and also if you are ready right now, if not, what will it take to get ready for this. Yes, you will encounter genius 10Xeres who do the workload in shorter amounts of time. But so what? Let them do what they do, and you do what it takes to get the work done. In the end, it pays off equally.

[@ObinnaWGMI]

Behind every great man is trauma he had to overcome. Congratulations man!!

[@cobramentality7171]

It's not for the faint hearted it's very frustrating and exhausting at times but it's definitely worth it

[@chrisseantalks]

100%. It’s not easy but I love it.

[@lepidoptera9337]

No, it isn't. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you can make a change to the better. Look at the bios of your company's C-level management. THAT is how you "make it".

[@pedrozurita6846]

People think we just sit in front of a computer and type. They tend to gloss over the part where we actually have to think about and through the problems we're trying to solve.

[@J4RMAMS]

I graduated from a boot camp and I’ve been working on my skillset. I haven’t been able to land a job after applying for a ton jobs. Entry level is difficult. It’s been really tough.

[@cruzergo]

Layoffs are coming or have begun. Being a Software engineer is hard but not as hard as being a nurse. So I'm not complaining at all!

[@maruf7956]

why nurse is hard

[@cruzergo]

@@maruf7956 Nurses absorb all the complaints from their patients and their patients' relatives. They also need to follow their bossy Doctors' orders. On top of that when they are understaffed, they are supposed to pick up the slack. It is stressful both physically and mentally unlike us Devs who only get mentally drained.

[@theplasmacollider6431]

@@cruzergo Software engineering is a different kind of hard.

[@elsonxcode]

I am happy to have successfully completed my first freelance contract.

[@josephl6727]

I appreciate your honesty. You're right about not constantly learning. This applies for all careers.

[@TheKre8ivemind]

How much experience do you think youll need to land your first job? I work alot of 14 hour days at UPS and have been teaching myself html css for about a year and currently, javascript. I got the responsive web design CERT, and am currently 1/3 a way through my javascript book (orielly edition) and i have a c# and a python book im yet to get to. I also have 2 web pages ive designed although css isnt my strong suit. im currently working on making a battleship game, and using this current project to try and better my css (like the boardgame).

[@thomascuvillier7250]

drop c# and python altogether, focus on javascript and SQL (if you wanna be fullstack). You can circle back to python later if you need it but vast majority of web dev work doesn't need it, it is mostly used in data science, etc...

[@TheKre8ivemind]

@@thomascuvillier7250 thank you!

[@TheKre8ivemind]

@@DJ-xp9bs thank you! Im taking notes

[@NaturalNutritionist333]

Focus on yourself boys!!

[@RossPfeiffer]

Now imagine this much work and you're actually trying to change the world

[@devstuff2576]

Lose the ego.

[@shloksrivastava1627]

The rewards are too much to let go, I mean if I work 15 to 20 years and I am 25 now, I can get around 2 properties to live and to rent, enough money for retirement and kids education and to enjoy rest of life. It just I have to somehow keep going for these next few years...

[@sergiojimenez3445]

Do well you time management and set boundaries between work and personnal, that is my piece of advice, but yeah, it is hard, but it is harder to not being able to provide and take care of your beloved ones.

[@lepidoptera9337]

They won't let you set boundaries in corporations that have employee rating systems and systematic turnover of the lowest performing 5-10%. Either you run at the speed they set the treadmill to or you fall off.

[@atomp153]

What camera do you use! The quality of your videos are 👌

[@chrisseantalks]

Thanks bud. Canon r6

[@atomp153]

@@chrisseantalks great work and great insight! Thank you. Hope your channel grows huge. Have a great weekend.

[@RealParadox85]

Chris is Red Pilled, chose purpose over women lol, respect. Normies will say "you work too hard" but like you said, this world is expensive. I make over 100K, single man, and barely survive. No flashy car, but rents keep going up, food and gas too. If you want a FAMILY? I honestly think you need 300K to be comfortable.

[@CokefishR]

You can cut down on rent by just renting a studio. You're single right? You probably don't need to spend much time inside anyways.

[@chrisseantalks]

Yup. Where I live and want to live, 200-300k is the minimum lol.

[@chrisseantalks]

I’m single and 100% prefer a house over a studio. I have my own home gym. Can write off 2 out of 3 bedrooms on taxes. Backyard for the dogs and a garage for my car is amazing. I especially love the fact I share no walls with anyone so I can watch movies in my home rejected as loud as I want lol

[@oneolympiagamer437]

Hello Chris Sean my name is Reginald and I am 32 thinking of getting into game development and I appreciate your videos.

[@gabrielfono844]

I am full time software engineer but I want to get a degree

[@pierrehenry3483]

Crazy how those two women didn’t want you focusing on your career to be a better provider for them (family) and if you had progressed with them they would leave you for the lack of money since finances is the number one reason for divorce.

[@LifeWithRilla]

Keep it up Chris. I agree 100%... My first company I had some serious health issues that I needed to focus on so I didn't learn much out side of work hours. It's something I"m working towards and making some extreme sacrifices for. My weight has become an issue. You have to make sure to also take care of your health. If not it'll catch up to you. During my bootcamp I started stress eating. I gained 120lbs. Got diagnosed with low testosterone, gained massive anxiety issues, needed to start cpap for sleep apnea, had a lot of issues. Now, I'm about to start the process to undergo bariatric surgery so I can loser weight and not have all of these issues. It's hard to focus and continue to learn when you have extreme low motivation, are mentally drained and have extreme brain fog due to low testostorone etc. Everything you're saying is true and made me realize like sure this surgery is intense but the benefits and energy that will come from it and the health benefits will seriously outweigh the cons.

[@JordanShackelford]

It's so hard to get into tech especially for me cuz im from small rural town in arkansas and I feel like I don't fit in with the culture. i'm already 27 and I still havent got a tech job yet

[@yg78t76t7]

27 is still young. I would say if you don’t have a job by 30 then you should be worried.

[@QAxdummies1]

Finally someone speaks the truth, don’t get me wrong learning code is amazing but you really need to have a passion for it otherwise the long night studies, frustrations etc etc etc will wipe you out.

[@lepidoptera9337]

That's the same in every profession. If all you want is a mindless job, there are plenty of those, too. How about becoming a janitor? ;-) Of course, if you want to have a lifetime of problem solving fun, then you need to become a real scientists. Oh... wait... that comes with the pressure to get funding. Shite. ;-)

[@mayorityz]

It’s interesting that I came across your video. I have been in tech 8+ years now. Currently making 8 figures yearly, in my local currency, which is a lot by most people’s standard. But bro, you are right. It is hard. Working all the time, learning all the time, no time to actually really enjoy what I earn. I’m married, and work from home, but my lady says I don’t spend enough time with her and my two boys. But I try. I really do. Competition is fierce, mehn. And the tech space here is shaky as well. You may not meet an office the next day. So, I still take on side gigs, even had a second foreign remote job last year. It’s was killing as I was a senior on both teams. I had to leave because the owner was really terrible and won’t let me work. But mehn, it’s tough work. I am up early (3am) and sleep late (10-11), having to attend meetings, review code, handle partnerships. It’s taken a toll on my back, and I am having to watch my eating habit now. No sugary stuff, which it’s turns out I’m addicted to. I love tech, but to honest, I’m looking for something less pacy. Mine may be because of where I am, it may not apply to everyone. Any advice would be appreciated at this point. Cheers to all techies.

[@leonlee6928]

i rly hope u get enough rest my friend, 4-5 hrs of sleep is not very healthy, but i’m sure u are aware of that. i’m still self teaching to program so i’m not in the position to give u any advice, just know that u are doing well!

[@eduardolongoria3744]

Get a standing desk with treadmill

[@vinaypalwe]

9:53 can u tell me more about the skin disorder is that why ur lips keep peeling? If so let me know please as I have the same problem too.

[@chrisseantalks]

Nah I just need to drink more water haha. But it’s psoriasis.

[@supersonic174]

I study a software engineering degree. I think some people sell their entire life to work which I personally am not interested in. I think if you want to earn big money from work, then yeah you have to work a lot. For me though, I hope just get a chill software job hopefully, so I can work on other things like martial arts.

[@lepidoptera9337]

So you want to be a software blackbelt. ;-)

[@kristopherleslie8343]

All jobs likely have technology and information whether people recognized that is a different discussion. Learn to be an owner :)

[@shaheer675]

I've seen many "Day in the life" videos of software engineers working at big tech companies that start their day at 9 or 10 am and finish around 4 to 4H30 pm. They spend a big part of their day doing non-productive things e.g. cafeteria snacks, lunch, bike rides, etc. This plays a big part in the (misguided) perception created around these jobs.

[@chrisseantalks]

Well there a days I finish my day around 3 or 4. Sometimes I’ll do all of my work in 3 days lol. But it’s not always like that. There are weeks I’ll work 70 hours. But in average I work 40-50hrs a week which is because I work at a startup. If I worked at a larger company that would probably go down to 30-40hrs per week.

[@nikolozmacharashvili1212]

hey man i have a question for you. what if you take a little bit longer than time given, but you always come with 100% results... is that allowed on the job ?

[@chrisseantalks]

Hmm i think deadlines are very important to keep. But yeah understandable if you can't. There have been quite a few times I couldn't make a deadline and asked for an extension. It really depends on the team. Every team is different.

[@nikolozmacharashvili1212]

@@chrisseantalks one more question, where should I look for junior developer jobs ?

[@Arnott_me]

Once you are a developer, you are a developer even if you are at weekends or holidays.

[@Kopalchuck]

Bro I get that it’s not an easy job or a get rich quick scheme. But I’m on the road for weeks at a time living in a truck driving 3,500 miles a week. Rarely home for over 34hrs working 70hrs a week. I mean I’m not looking for a perfect easy job but I also know for a fact I’ll have a better work life balance than I do now.

[@nique7098]

idk man I know a lot of people after working a few years in tech their job just becomes boring so boring they start taking on side hustles or even whole other jobs, and theyre already making great money

[@chrisseantalks]

This is not true. It may seem like it but I don’t know many people trying to start a side hustle.

[@nique7098]

@@chrisseantalks what do you mean its not true I'm telling you I KNOW people that this is the situation

[@mariedesignz1659]

All careers worth having have long hours. I rather work these long hours doing something I truly like over working the same hours on an assembly line breaking my body down

[@chrisseantalks]

exactly

[@mariedesignz1659]

@@chrisseantalks Thanks for the great content as always! I’ve been in tech for a year now. It’s night and day. The frustration is worth it when figure out a bug, just to run into another one on the next line of code lol.

[@Andy-lo9sp]

Not criticizing but I’m surprised re: what you’re saying about your first job. I think you normally said really good things about it, especially the CEO, but maybe I was watching old videos haha

[@chrisseantalks]

I honestly just never shared these things in the past because their kids were stalking my social media. I wouldn’t be surprised if they still were.

[@richcollins4208]

Long hours no life thats good you stay away from bullshit and exercise your brain great career

[@chrisseantalks]

Lol no complaints

[@Mike-ce6vr]

I work in tech for one of the MANGA companies, and it’s weird when people ask when I stop working. I have to tell them the work never stops in tech. And forget about work life balance. No one is paying you $150k plus to only work 8 hours a day, and have all of this paid time off. We’re tasked with solving really complex problems. So, the mental fatigue happens too. However, it’s worth it for me because I have financial goals to hit.

[@lepidoptera9337]

At $150k you aren't hitting any relevant "financial goals" these days. With single family homes in well known tech areas costing $1 million and above you are merely on a faster treadmill to nowhere while servicing that 30 year mortgage.

[@Mike-ce6vr]

@@lepidoptera9337 I agree. But that is why you need multiple streams of income. You can also negotiate your corporate package to incentivize you to work there and help you reach your financial goals “faster.” However, relying on a corporate job to help you alone to reach your financial goals is asinine. I don’t care if you make 30k or 150k.

[@lepidoptera9337]

@@Mike-ce6vr As a junior engineer one can't negotiate much. As a middle manager, maybe. Certainly on the C-level, but few ever get there. Startups (or better their early investors) have also stopped rewarding tech workers with non-trivial stock option packages quite some time ago. It's really breadcrumbs these days for anybody but C-level management. And to be honest, I think the worst is yet to come. GPT-style code completion tools and more intelligent code generation technologies will probably not replace the software engineer anytime soon, but they will raise the required workload by an order of magnitude (measured in lines of code, number of class methods etc.). I might be an old guy (and to us old guys the past always looks better than the future), but I am not looking at software engineering as a career path that I would advise young people to take. Just my two cents.

[@Mike-ce6vr]

@@lepidoptera9337 - I respect your experience, but that hasn't been mine. I'm a middle manager working on A.I, so I was able to negotiate based on the company itself (one of the MANGA) and the type of work I was hired to do. I've also started a business, have investments, and have an exit strategy from software engineering. I'm not solely relying on my corporate job. However, I'm milking it for all that I can get out of it while I'm there. Lastly, the market is the market is the market, and for now it's prioritizing engineers. Until that changes, I would still encourage young people to consider it, especially if they want to work in tech. Unfortunately for them, there aren't a ton of opportunities out there for the next generation to make a high salary working for a corporation outside of tech.

[@lepidoptera9337]

@@Mike-ce6vr So you are one in ten. C-level is one in a hundred or less. The remaining folks will stay at the lowest level of income and responsibility for the rest of their lives. That's just how it works statistically. The market has never been prioritizing engineers and certainly not ones with nothing but a masters. At the C-level you will mostly find PhDs and JDs. Sometimes an MBA or somebody who came from sales. If you want my advice as a young person... become a lawyer. :-)

[@insainbassist]

"get rich quick" man, I just want to be able to afford rent and groceries without having $4 left at the end of every pay period

[@lepidoptera9337]

A two bedroom in San Francisco goes for $3,300 in monthly rent these days, according to the interwebs. Add all the other costs and now you are worrying about generating approx. $60k just for living every year. If you are self-employed, it's another $12k or something for health insurance. So with a $100k income you are left with approx. $4 for groceries every day. ;-)

[@KingPTravels]

Chris can you hire me? I can write coding blog articles for you and help your get more eyeballs on your social media presence.

[@chrisseantalks]

please send me some samples via an email [e-mail]

[@user-ur3sj5eh1h]

The way he paused before 'partners' at around 4:30 had me thinking he was going to say something else 😭

[@chrisseantalks]

lol what did you think I was going to say?

[@LosTinos_]

Just came across your videos. Love your content. I want to start in tech and can you guide me where to go. Also I hope your health is better now. Should look into carnivore diet brother. It healed me and a lot of people.

[@cardiddev]

where you based out of?

[@vicros4600]

I think your ideologies are self inflicted. Some people have the mental and physical focus to stay motivated and learn new things and to actually put in the work. See results and stay motivated. I think your just not motivated enough.

[@TheSoulCrisis]

Doctors and lawyers don't work 40 hour work weeks either.........the greater the reward.........the greater the price!

[@cipher1167]

Bro at least you’re making great money! Some people work all day and don’t even make over 80k

[@chrisseantalks]

Like when I worked 70hrs per week and made only 30k/yr? Yeah I know the feeling.

[@cipher1167]

@@chrisseantalks yes. Now you work a lot but what you make, makes it worth it.

[@21izah]

Honestly this podcast is just it.....

[@stevecrabtree9141]

In the past, your video's were real, but upbeat. Now they are sad and negative, maybe a need for a nice vacation drinking on the beach... 🙂

[@chrisseantalks]

I couldn’t be happier lol

[@stevecrabtree9141]

@@chrisseantalks still drinks on a beach...haha my wife and I go years to unwind

[@williamseipp9691]

@@chrisseantalks Could you explain? I know it's a tough road ( my father hated being a developer ) but is there are a point you reach where the benefits outweigh the hurdles along the way? I know it's going to be tough but I've just resigned myself to accept that "yeah, life is tough, deal with it" and that devs have it the best despite the difficulty.

[@chrisseantalks]

​@@williamseipp9691 The benefits 100% outweigh the hurdles along the way. You don't need to make 200-300k/yr to be happy. But damn, the fact that I can max out my 401k and still feel like it didn't touch my income is mind-boggling. The fact that I can find a job whenever I need or want is even crazier. Not even nurses, pharmacists, and doctors have the privilege we have. Yeah, it can suck. But that's when finding the right company becomes a priority only 4-5 years later in your tech career. I love where I work. WLB is great. The pay is even better, and my team is fantastic. But that will change. People will leave, and the culture will eventually change, which is when I'll have to find another job and hopefully find a great culture to work in again. Every job will have its ups and down. We're fortunate. The only downside is trying to find an excellent company to work for because we have SO MANY to choose from, you know? I no longer miss the days when I was stuck at the company, no matter how much I hated it, because who else would take me in when I had no skills or value to bring to a company?

[@cuba6959]

im lucid dreamin

[@chrisseantalks]

👀

[@dq303]

If you work hard and focus in on your stack in less then a year in tech you can reach a 6 figure salary.

[@innocentrage1]

Get in tech we have automation. No one works 8 hours a day

[@chrisseantalks]

Wait until you join a hyper growth start up

[@malcomgreen4747]

I told you years ago that you're guilty promoting being a programmer is easy, and in 6 months, you will make 6 figures

[@RossPfeiffer]

6 figures is rich? wtf

[@abi.hockeycop]

Look man... I'll work 12 hrs everyday... If you're paying me good.

[@chrisseantalks]

😂 facts

[@mohit4902]

Theres a reason techies and engineers dont shower

[@chrisseantalks]

😂 damn… our secret is out.

[@charlie-george]

Did you say $17k per quarter for your meds, Chris?

[@chrisseantalks]

Yup. Well, the list price now is 18,272.79 for Skyrizi lol. Fortunately, I only pay $250 every 3 months now.

[@charlie-george]

@@chrisseantalks Crikey that is some good life insurance. Fair play mate.

[@Gunzo568]

#7:30 ✅️

[@pazuzufraney1]

Programming is the greatest career, fun for thevnost part, except bow its locked out by india, whom had no passion for the art or quality, its about money and control... Induan H1b herds destroyed the quality of life in It, the American had t know best standards and all technologies, despite how sinple to get gired, only to be caught end of project , wirh absolutely bad coding by ibdusns only to correct their "bugs" in last month.. its hell caused by H1b take over... This is fron a dedicated programming lover since c/c++ days.. 20 years pro, and no due to contract loop, u dont get $200k plus , but still make more than a lawyer.. if not screwed in between jobs lol...nsuccessful but screwed by reptilian corps snd indian robotic beings... Hard to explain.. just have to live it

[@nightlite2013]

women can be dream killers if you let them

[@CoolDali]

Does race play a factor when trying to get a job in this field? I about 1% of programmers are black.

[@lepidoptera9337]

No, they treat your white colleagues equally crappy. The industry is just like that. It prays on people with very low EQ.

[@seangreen9590]

Sean you are probably guilty about it a little bit you was promoting to people that its easy and i told you what you achieved is not easy to im 7 years in tech andi dont make half what you make

[@chrisseantalks]

I feel no guilt at all. Tech is life changing the way it changed mine. Sorry to hear that bud. How much do you make now?

[@seangreen9590]

@@chrisseantalks not even close to half what you make, and i just got fired our entire project was scraped our boss doesn't know how to run a tech company he wasted money on many things and we wasn't ready yet finished our MVP so our owners decided to not continue the project and all this is because our stpd boss who doesn't understand how to spend money he doesn't even know what REST API is but he fake it to be the ceo i hope you do a video about this subject when someone is not s programmer enforce his stpd idea on a beautiful project and make us building something according to his old school style way off now days standards

[@notforengineers9285]

Some people are working at much more challenging circumstances and making less.. not saying that our job is easy, but come on, stop whining..

[@chrisseantalks]

How am I whining?

[@lepidoptera9337]

OMG... somebody discovered that you don't get anything for free in life. Say, how old are all of you? ;-)

[@eddieoconnor4466]

Its all good I have a 22 yr old son and no other kids..and I would enjoy the long hours.. the dead of night coding sessions and the salary...so yeah..I'm good with all of that!

[@MapleJokerRofl]

Exactly, my comments get disliked on those million subscribers videos. Because I tell them the truth. Majority of software developers I meet, hate their lives and are depressed. WHY? Because of the stress they have on themselves to even be at that place. Some are lucky enough going into it liking it and enjoying it and having no life. But reality is most of those viewers see it as an easy I work 3 hours a day and eat free company food at Google and Amazon, after just learning how to make a simple html site and ear 200k. GTFO