Will taking a job in one sector set my career path
Hey I’ve been pretty luck last week and I managed to get 2 job offers.
One is a good gig at a massive, old school financial group. I’m talking I have to wear a suit and tie. My biggest worry though is the tech is old and my coworkers and higher ups don’t seem bleeding edge so I doubt I’ll be flexing my developer muscles. Plus they have a volleyball intramural league
The other company is contracted for 6 months with a really cool tech IoT company. Job through Insight Global, Full remote, Has amazing Glassdoor reviews, cool projects, I crushed their technical interview so I feel like I can actually contribute.
I’m leaning towards the financial group because money matters and I want to feel secure.
What I’m worried about is after 2 years I’ll be 27 and I’m scared that working as a SWE for a financial group won’t look as good so I’ll never be able to work on a project that I’m passionate about again
Any advice?
I’m going to buck the trend here and advise the more conservative position. I took a developer job in the insurance industry right out of college, and I have no regrets. The work is rarely exciting, but it’s stable and not very demanding. I have great work life balance. And developer jobs in non tech related industries seem to be largely immune to the upheavals and layoffs currently affecting the tech world.
Ya I chose the safe job, I thought about it and the other job was reallly similar to my last one so I thought I’d at least get new experience while I wait for the Software market to bounce back a bit more
Take whatever job will pay the most while demanding the least amount of time spent on the job. It doesn’t matter of a job pays a quarter million and lets you work on trendy tech if you’re on the job 80 hours a week; that’s just you getting fucked in the ass. If you’re working 40 hours a week or less (ideally much less) you can do passion projects on your own time.
Don’t look for friendship, community, or emotional fulfillment on the job. If you find it anyway, it’s a trap. Do the job, get paid, and GTFO. Be a mercenary, not a company man.
