RIDDLERTHIS

I worked for a large investment bank directly comparable to GS. I was a data and systems analyst that ended up doing pseudo-SWE work in addition to my other responsibilities. The interview process was stiff, rigid, felt outdated and very intimidating.

Ended up getting the job coming from a no name school with minimal experience. The reason why I got it, and why I seem to obtain most of my jobs, is because people say I'm "likeable". To this day, I have no idea what that means in the context of software development, investment banking, or technology in general as I work strictly behind the scenes and never in a client-facing capacity.

I will say, it was the best job I ever had; albeit, our dress code was always full business suits and printers and fax machines were still used. My boss ended up becoming a phenomenal role-model and mentor and taught me how to think critically about my work.

This was actually really helpful and a fun read on my favorite physicist! I appreciate your response, this helped me come to a decision!

I wanted to thank you for your advice and the time you took out of your day to respond with such a thoughtful reply. I really took it into account with my decision making. Just today, I decided to take a more coding-oriented position and turned down the management roles.

I'm saving your reply into a Word doc so that I can use it going forward. What stood out specifically was your first sentence - I'm not tired of writing code and still feel more passionate about developing rather than managing. It pays less but I feel as though I will be happier in the end.

In any case, I wanted to thank you kind stranger, for your words!

I understand this article is specifically referring to data centers, but big tech, depending on how one defines big tech, is certainly coming to some small towns. Bozeman, Montana is a great example. Snowflake has recently relocated to town, Aurora has a software and hardware dev office, many other large and small tech firms are located there. It's quickly growing with a large cadre of tech firms specializing in everything from computer vision to anti-drone technologies currently in use by the US Marines. There's a reason its one of, if not the fastest growing small/micro town in the country. -> access to engineers out of MSU, and the beauty of the area attracts folks from all over the country.

I think I agree with your description.

I'm currently sitting on three job offers - I originally thought it would be easy to choose, but I find myself absolutely paralyzed right now with an inability to make a decision on any of them because I feel as though I will be expected to know more than I think I know, or to perform at a level beyond what I feel comfortable performing at. I've had a lot of great feedback from my peers and those in more junior roles, as well upper management, but still do not feel confident.

How do you if you are capable of moving from a familiar set applications and systems to one where you've never worked with any of the applications and only know the system by theory?

Some folks are pushing me to move entirely out of code and into management but my passion is writing code, working in databases, and designing systems but the opportunities I have before me now pay more for management rather than getting my hands dirty in the code.

Can't sleep or eat because of constant anxiety over "what if I can't perform to their expectations and get fired?"

- How do others deal with this?

I can relate to the whole "never-ending job interviews" as described in the article.

Two months ago, in June, a company reached out to me regarding a senior level back/front hybrid role. This company previously ghosted me two years ago but still had my resume and were now willing to hire me right away for a substantial increase in pay.

Before I accepted any offer, I shopped myself out on Indeed and found there is a huge demand for folks like myself right now. Here's a taste of how it went: Company #1: Fintech startup. Two separate 30 minute, non-technical interviews. Third interview was a four-hour long interview involving multiple LeetCode problems. Fourth interview they wanted to discuss my performance during the third interview, and then schedule a fifth interview. I declined because a) I felt this was overkill and unnecessary, and b) one of their developers was rude and condescending because I am self-taught. He went out of his way for 8 minutes to berate me. I had never experienced anything like it.

Company #2: AI-focused firm in analytics. Hiring for a management-level role. Went through three interviews. First was a 30 minute screening. Second was an hour long overview of my technical background. Third was mostly a follow-up to the discussion that took place during the second interview. And at the end of the third interview they informed me there would be four more interviews to meet the team, write code, and a whiteboarding session. I declined and said I'm not interested, again because of the time factor mostly.

And I noticed this process repeat itself for most companies. It's mentally exhausting, plus I have a family, my current job requirements, and other responsibilities.

The interview process is really unpredictable to a degree. Some folks want to see substantially more coding than others, taking into account similar job roles and descriptions.

I see a lot of folks who have interviewed with FAANG companies, and while I don't have any experience with them, the process sounds somewhat similar.

I worked on the tech-side of healthcare informatics with researchers and healthcare economists. What you say is correct. The cost/benefit ratio of hospital admittance and hospital stays has been quantified to an alarming degree. Not that we shouldn't be looking at such costs, but I feel as though it should involve some level of humanity. The other, often overlooked angle of healthcare in the U.S. is the dynamic at play between for-profit and non-profit hospitals. Both of which require and actively seek profit of course. As others have stated - we need a complete overhaul of the healthcare system here. Something that would require a Teddy Roosevelt-esque stature of a man (or woman) to get started.

Sad day but his past courage propelled us to new heights in similar ways his death will. Through remembrance and lessons learned. I've known his nephew for some time and he has a collection of very cool trinkets and memorabilia. Rest in peace general!

What would have been the right time? When you were a student studying during your first degree or your second? In hindsight, I think it is almost dubious to assume that exposure to this article would have helped you at any given time in the past. It's quite possible you would not have come to the same realization about tech entrepreneurship had you not obtained your AE and had the experiences that you did.