Reality Check for Software Engineers in 2023 | Episode #18

In this video, I reflect on my seven-year journey in the tech industry and discuss how it has completely transformed my life. Despite starting as a software engineer without a clear understanding of the role, I have grown in my career and tripled my income since my first layoff.

However, the tech industry is much more challenging than people realize. It's not just about getting your first job but also having the endurance to continuously learn and adapt to new technologies. The learning never stops, from front-end development using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to diving into data engineering and learning Python, Postgres, and more.

In addition to the constant learning curve, the tech industry also goes through periods of layoffs and reduced job opportunities. This video explores my experience of these challenges and shares insights on staying relevant and competitive in a constantly evolving field.

Join me as I discuss the importance of endurance, adapting to change, and investing in your tech career.

Sponsored by coding dojo

[Dokkaebi]

I just started getting into coding because I’m just literally out of options and in a really rough spot right now. As a single mom trying to care for a 5 year old that is completely is disabled, I can’t go into a regular job, but remote jobs are pretty limited outside of mostly tech jobs. It’s basically the only opportunity I have to care for her and be able to keep paying medical bills or buy food. I feel like I’m drowning in information and stress but I have zero interest in quitting, so I’m so thankful for your videos. They’ve given me hope when I’m feeling discouraged and they feel so honest and relatable, so thank you!

[GrantSchulte]

You hit the nail on the head about health. It's so easy to put all your effort into your work and building your career that you start cutting back on exercise and healthy habits. After a full day (plus some) of non-stop collaboration and critical thinking, it becomes very difficult to get in even 30 minutes of exercise. But if you don't get that small amount of exercise (which should be easy to do!), you don't think as clearly or work as efficiently, making you work longer and get more exhausted and therefore further sacrifice your health. Having some sort of a routine and not losing sight of the fact that we work hard as a means to living a full life is the key to ensuring you don't work yourself to death.

[gooddev]

Getting a job as a self-taught developer was so much easier back in 2015-2016. I remember your videos that you mentioned that you knew a little bit of html and css and not enough js while you got your first job.
Now a person who knows React.js can't get a job. Times have changed.
Companies don't want to hire a self-taught developer and train them.

[eveguelarocha]

Coding is getting easier because of today's tool, but the competition is getting harder because a lot of people are learning faster

[georgebaraza]

I'm currently in my lowest form in life. My Actuarial Science degree has gotten stranded due to financial struggles but that hasn't stopped me from pursuing my higher purpose in life.

Got into tech 2 months ago and I've so far learnt HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery and will shortly be doing React in a weeks time. I've also built my portfolio website and working on building other websites and landing pages, which I'll keep adding more flavours to as I keep learning more. I'm optimistic this journey will turn out well for me regardless of the challenges I'm currently facing. It's during adversities when legends are born. Thank you Chris for having such a channel to inspire aspiring Web/Software developers like me. 🙏

[DevMinerDerrkio]

I finish my CS degree in August. I found your channel long before going back to school, but school was the option for me. Finding that first job is so hard, straight uphill battle. Best of luck to everyone in industry or looking to be

[cjbtantay]

Pretty much sums up my experience so far. My role is in the backend, but I have to know how to deploy serverless apps, use those ETL tools to migrate data from db to another db, add metrics and create dashboards in datadog for analytics AND do my own qa, testing, and do my own releases. On top of writing clean, performant, maintainable code, refining through feature requests, spiking/doing discovery on work that has not been figured out yet. Which is also on top of communicating that to my teammates who are highly technical and coworkers who don't know what a variable is. Don't get me started on collaborating, always thinking about architecture, always trying to make complex things simple. AND I ALMOST FORGOT... Keeping up on the frontend landscape on the weekends since theres always something new on that side.

What I always tell people who want to code is (even now) getting in the door is one thing which is a hard task for any era, but staying and thriving is another and is the most important. It's all about the skills and the grit. Chris is spot on here.

[boot-strapper]

after a almost a decade of doing this, ive concluded that tech is complicated, but it doesnt need to be. People in the industry keep re-inventing the wheel. I hope we can settle onto a small subset of tech, and utilize AI to just make it easier for all of us in the coming years. It doesnt need to be like this.

[vulpixelful]

This is why it's important to take your PTO and spend some of your salary on real vacations. By all means, save and invest a portion of our good salary, but if you hoard it all without putting some aside for taking breaks, you can lose perspective and burn yourself out.

[codingwannabe]

I'm glad to hear you're in a healthy place man. While you were recovering I constantly looked for your videos as a source of motivation. Your down to earth, relatable and transparent talks are invaluable. I hope you've found the necessary balance to prioritize the things that bring you joy, even if that means no more youtube videos (although I hope that's not the case). Take care man!

[jesker]

I started watching you when I went back to school. seeing you start with html while I was learning. been in the industry only for a few years now making more money than I ever expected. well done getting where you are. your thoughts helped me. Appreciate you

[mariedesignz]

Your early videos helped me on my journey. I’ve been in tech since 2021!
Tech is definitely hard but worth it. The hardest part for me is lack of training on the job.

[hectorcenteno]

I have 20+ years in the tech industry, one thing is for sure, you better love tech, learning and staring from zero every couple of years. You better love to fight the computer and solve problems. Other wise this journey is gonna make you hate your life.

[maxron]

If I learned one thing working tech is that it is like everywhere else, no matter who you are, you need contacts, not necessarily friends, but people who really believe in you. Especially in the first years.

[kassimo]

First! Wow, I've been a front end dev for 7 years. I still remember your first videos, they helped me alot. Time flies!

[juliocesarferreraparicio]

Hey brother, I am a 43 year old man who has had a great career en Network Marketing, but I decided to start a new career en Tech. Im currently watching cs50 and thats my inroduction to this new career. Saw this video and just wanted to thank you for sharing such personal stuff. Want you to know you are an inspiration and always put your health first. God bless brother

[numipinkpanda]

Ever since I got my first computer (it was Amiga 500) I wanted to be a programmer. When I got to programming in High School and Uni, it was fun, but I found out that it is probably not for me to work full time as a programmer. Over 6 years working in tech now, but not as a programmer. I like to use programming to boost my work tho, use it as a great tool (programming every day at work) and it is amazing. Programming stays fun that way while I can focus on something else.

If I was working as a dev for 6 years, I would be probably making more money, but I am already making easily well above average in my country and even after 6 years I am still having fun at my job and enjoy programming.

So dont push yourself to be a programmer if it might not be for you or you dont enjoy it even at the start. You can be in almost any tech position possible and use what you learned in programming to boost your performance at the job, get better positions etc.

[codisordelet]

Hey Chris, you inspired me in my journey to joining tech and I even worked briefly at the same company as you. I absolutely hated the industry and decided to pursue architecture(buildings) instead
I just couldn't see things improving for me down the road and I didn't see myself actually having the time and energy needed to become an entrepreneur which was my intention behind becoming a software engineer. I had every intention of starting my own company and realized that software engineering is one of the worst entrepreneurial pursuits you can do unless you have patented technology, otherwise your tech startup will constantly be at risk of being decimated by the economies of scale that tech giants like google, meta, and microsoft have.
The part that sucks the most about tech is that employers will try to use and abuse you as an engineer because they don't care whether you stay or leave the company. The dynamics of the field have changed significantly since I started tech in 2016. The glut of supply of engineers has caused companies to treat you as if you are a disposable piece of junk. Tech is an awful career for people who don't have more than 5 years of experience or aren't in a more senior engineering role where not so many people qualify for your job.

[benedictntaji]

It's a scary time to be getting into tech with all the layoffs and uncertainty. I keep wondering if putting all this effort and time into learning a new skill will be worth it in the end. But i remind myself that this is my only option at the moment, a chance to turn my life around. I am tired of working these dead-end jobs, and want to do more with my life . I feel like this is the only way I can achieve that, so I block out all the fear and noise and just work at becoming a better developer. I'm happy that we have developers like you that keep it real ! thanks a lot Chris.

[unhash]

I think our obsession with "lifelong learning" is one of the major drivers why we're getting burnt out more frequently in this field.