Hi y’all! I hope you guys are doing well. So basically I am going through a lot right now. I just need some advice. The thing I am going through is the following and yes I copy pasted from reddit cause the advice there wasn’t the best I’d say. I was hoping if you guys could help. Thanks in advance!
I’m feeling really stuck and could use some guidance. I have a CS degree and worked for 1.5 years at a major financial firm building data pipelines, working with financial datasets, and using technologies like Python, SQL, and AWS. I was put on a PIP earlier this year and eventually let go, so I started applying for jobs during that time and have now been unemployed for a few months. I’ve sent out 400+ applications with minimal callbacks, tailoring my resume to each and every job. The tech market is absolutely brutal right now with mass layoffs and companies choosing overseas teams over domestic engineers.
I’m at the point where I don’t even know what direction to go anymore. I’ve been considering pivoting to becoming an actuary since my background with financial data analysis seems relevant, and I’ve read that programming skills are increasingly valued in that field. The work seems like it would fit my analytical mindset and the career appears more stable than tech. However, when I looked into it more, I found conflicting information about how competitive the entry-level market actually is, and I’m not sure if I’d just be trading one oversaturated field for another.
I’ve also tried applying to healthcare IT roles and local banks and credit unions thinking they’d be less competitive than major tech companies, but even those seem incredibly hard to break into right now. I’m getting rejected from positions that should be a good fit for my background, which is making me question if there’s something fundamentally wrong with my approach or if every industry is just this broken.
The financial stress is getting to me, and I’m doing some gig work to survive, but I can’t keep this up much longer. I even considered joining the military, but I’ve been on antidepressants and would need to wait at least a year to be eligible.
Has anyone else made a successful pivot from software engineering to another field? Should I stick with trying to leverage my existing technical skills in adjacent industries, or is it worth investing time and money into studying for actuarial exams? I’m really struggling to figure out what my next move should be and would appreciate any advice or perspectives from people who’ve been in similar situations. Should I just grind hard on leetcode at this point for SWE jobs with how terrible the job market has been?
I’m honestly just feeling defeated and don’t know what path forward makes sense anymore. Any guidance would be really helpful
A few suggestions:
Create a portfolio site. Pictures, logos, and a little text. If you have the skills, install Wordpress and set it up with a portfolio theme. Each entry shows off something you did. Built an app that saved $10K. Put that in. Screenshots if you have them. Opensource code, college projects. If you don’t have a good screenshot, get a semi-relevant image from freebie image sites like unsplash.com (with credit). Not too wordy. Nobidy likes reading a short story. Punchy two liner. Also, make your PDF resume available from the site.
If you don’t want to deal with Wordpress, create a static HTML site using Jekyll (with a theme) and host it on github pages or Cloudflare for free. Vibecode it if you don’t know how. set it up with an easy, memorable domain name related to your name.
Next, write some short articles on things people in the same background as you might be interested in. You mentioned Python, SQL, and AWS. All are good. Post them to Medium or Substack. Cross link them on social media.
If you have the skills, make a video screencast covering the same topic as the blog post, and post it up on your own Youtube channel. Do one per week (or more often) while you wait. Put a link in your portfolio. Link from video description back to your portfolio.
If you have the energy, start a related podcast. Start with a survey of the latest news in areas you’re interested in. Just need a cheap USB mic. Post once a week. Again, cross-link with your portfolio or other channels.
Join local Meetups and show up. If one doesn’t exist, consider starting one. Host it at a local bar. People will show up just to chat and grab a drink. Invite someone interesting to give a short talk. Post links everywhere. Expect a lot of no-shows. Don’t take it personally.
Volunteer to help a local non-profit. Help them put up a website, clean up a database, or run some reports. Maybe a stretch project. Use it all in your portfolio. It’ll help you learn new things and stay uptodate.
Ask on Nextdoor or some other local site if people need in-person IT help. Setting up computers, fixing networks, or cleaning up phone problems. Charge a modest fee for individuals. Slightly higher for small businesses. Insta-print business cards with your contact info at Kinkos or Office Depot for $15. Leave 2-3 everywhere you do a job, so they can hand them to a friend, especially if they’re elderly. Pin them up in the local senior center and laundromat.
And lastly, consider getting a teaching cert and teaching high school, or going back and getting a graduate degree. Will likely have to borrow money, and it will take a year or two. But by then, job market might have turned around and with a graduate degree, you’ll be worth more.
If hard up for cash, pick up gig work, but leave time for doing these other things.
Best of luck!