Maybe it's time we stopped romanticising IT jobs and started thinking about building our own companies.

Everyday layoffs, job insecurity, and fear of AI aren't going to help us move forward.

Instead of competing for fewer jobs, let's create opportunities. Start small, build solo companies, collaborate, help each other, and generate employment.

Look at what China is doing. There's so much we can learn from its entrepreneurial mindset and manufacturing ecosystem.

We have the talent, skills, and technology. We need to start building rather than waiting for the next job opportunity.

And trust me, you'll survive and probably do much better than you imagine.

I'm saying this from my own experience. It's time to change how we think about work and success.

There is hardship initially but once you are over it then its really fun, No boss and handling everything on your own start from development to delivery and customer feedbacks etc. Yeah Growing business takes years and not months/weeks.

There is no safe job anymore, You have to take a risk and face the reality..

We have our own neighbour China as a big example that how to go from rag to riches. No country can ever developed just doing job/services for other companies.

You need entrepreneurs, Anyone who is saying India will be developed by 2047 need to show a plan how you will convert job seekers to job generators

Finding good hands-on engineers with 10+ YOE is becoming very difficult.

In India most people are forced to move away from hands-on roles + get into management / architecture / coordination roles with little to no hands-on experience.

I have been taking many technical interviews. Most senior candidates are struggling even with basic hands-on questions. You will be surprised to know that people are not able to tell me output of SQL joins question or write 10 lines of basic python code.

Some keep circling around the question for 5 minutes without actually answering it.

To be frank, I find juniors (3-5 YOE) much stronger. They have good hands-on + try to solve the problem and get straight to the point. Even communication skills, I find them much more better in articulation.

I see many people from US with 10-15+ YOE still working as individual contributors. Many of them are really good. Apart from FAANG and a few top companies, its very hard to find hands-on talent in India.

On Reddit, I keep hearing opposite -> that juniors are writing AI slop and have no idea what they are coding etc. but my reality seems to be opposite.

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It's been a month that I have been laid off from my org and even after 500+ applications, tailoring the resume wrt JD, cold emailing HRs and Asking for referral hasn't helped at all.

All this happened just a few days before of my birthday and what a gift lol

Meditating and trying to pass through this phase as calmly as possible, keeping my mental peace intact. I was working in pune earlier. Although open to interviewing anywhere.

I had experience in Full Stack development, working with Microservices and Disturbed Systems. GoLang isn't in demand below 5 YOE in the market, although I am applying everywhere since I know Java too.

Any suggestions, guidance if possible.

Would be happy staying connected.

Attaching my resume here to see to understand the view of hiring managers, managers and engineers here.

Expectations vs Reality Stories which could help newcomers too.

Is there anyone else who is realising agentic development with reels has destroyed their cognitive thinking?

But what's even the sol to it when the friction is removed so much and demand from employers is so high for eg demanding multiple pipelines completely automated deployed app within a day

Ig i will get my hands dirty with CP just to make my own neural network better

As the title says. I'm looking to switch but not getting any callbacks. Applied to 300+ jobs for now. Mainly on LinkedIn. Is there anything I'm doing wrong or something that's not good enough in my resume.

Would love some feedback and/or criticism on my resume. Also does having a 3 year education instead of 4 a factor for Recruiters?

I'm currently in my final year of B.Tech and have an offer of 4 LPA. However, the joining date is quite uncertain and could be as late as December 2027.

I'm confused about which direction I should take next:

1. IT placements: Continue improving my technical skills and prepare for off-campus opportunities (TCS NQT, Infosys, Accenture, etc.) to get a better-paying IT job.

2. Government jobs: Take a leap of faith and dedicate myself entirely to preparing for government exams.

3. MS abroad: Explore opportunities for a Master's degree in a foreign country.

I'm finding it difficult to decide where to invest my time and effort. I don't want to make a decision I'll regret a few years down the line.

I'd appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have faced a similar situation or have experience in these career paths.

What would you suggest, and why?

I'm a Data Engineer with 2.5 YOE, currently working at an NBFC. I have an M.Tech from IIT Hyderabad (non-CS background), and this is going to be my first switch.

I've been applying to Google, Amazon, GS, JPMG and similar companies whenever a relevant opening comes up. But I barely get any callbacks. Even with referrals, things haven't really moved.

The confusing part is that I see people with similar experience making these switches, and I genuinely don't know what I'm doing wrong.

The only interview opportunity I got was when an Apple recruiter randomly reached out to me on LinkedIn. Cleared two coding rounds but messed up the system design round. I had prepared for DE system design, but was asked to design a scheduler, which was more general SDE system design. Wasn't prepared for that.

I've been working on improving since then, but honestly, getting interview calls itself feels like a different battle.

For people working at FAANG or similar PBCs, how did you get your first interview? Do you need someone from the actual team to push your profile, or is this just how difficult the process is?

Since this is my first switch, I'm honestly confused if I'm even going about this the right way. Would really appreciate some honest advice.

I've been noticing that onsite opportunities seem to be rare in GCCs and product-based companies.

GCCs and product companies generally hire locally for their global teams, whereas service-based companies still work with clients who may not have offices or dedicated teams in India.

This potentially creates opportunities for employees to travel onsite or even relocate to client locations.

Are service-based companies now the better bet if your career goal is to get international exposure or work abroad? Or are there still decent onsite opportunities in GCCs and product companies?

Hey everyone,

I’m a final-year engineering student about to enter my last semester. I recently secured an offer at a Big 4 firm (7.6 LPA CTC: 6L fixed, 1L joining bonus, 60k variable), starting with a 6-month internship this January.

Because of my college's placement policies, I’m now blocked from sitting for further on-campus drives. While I’m grateful to have a solid safety net, I want to aim higher and find a role that better matches my skills and experience.

I’ve been applying off-campus and sending cold emails for the past few months, but like many others in this market, I’m barely getting replies, assessments, or interviews.

I definitely plan to take the Big 4 internship and full-time role if nothing better comes along, so I have zero downside. However, I want to give my off-campus search one final, strategic push over the next few months.

For those who have successfully cracked high-paying off-campus roles or made an early switch in this market:

• What channels are actually working right now? (cold mail? LinkedIn?)

• How are you getting past the resume screen when standard applications are going into a void?

• How early to prep for a switch if I plan to do that in the future at the current company

• Does Big4 tag actually help a freshers resume?

I've been preparing for SDE 2 roles at top or mid tier tech companies. Currently following neetcode 250 sheet for problem solving and have done 90 problems. I plan to switch in coming 3 months. For leetcode, Im able to do 1 on a weekday and 4 on a weekend on average considering I've to attend 5 days office mostly. My target package would be 35LPA+.

Im thinking like dedicating most of the time for DSA until i cover the sheet. I feel like DSA has more concepts to practice and master and only limited I can learn per day as it is requires more mental energy. I see there is a certain classic set of problems for LLD to pratcice. For HLD, I've read first 3 chapters of Alex Xu's system design interview book for basics. So Im thinking if LLD and HLD practice can be ramped up at last since in these rounds maybe I can come up with atleast basic design as these rounds are subjective too.

Does starting system design practice late be problematic i.e. like DSA will it take similar prep time?

And are there wide range of topics in system design that cant be ramped up quickly and will need spacing? I see DSA patterns cant be crammed quickly as it can be mentally challenging.

I'd appreciate guidance from folks who have cracked mid tier or top tier companies as SDE 2 to efficiently utilize my prep time among these 2 major rounds. I believe for other rounds it wont take significant portion of my prep time.

Thanks in advance.

I have 4YoE as a backend engineer, prev 2 companies were Fintech and 5 months ago I joined my current company (one of the popular unicorn startups in india which has a really good engineering team too. Non Fintech)

I received an offer from FalconX fully remote but as a contractor, from the conversations I've had it doesn't look like a hire and fire role and they actually have a long term plan for me.

The pros are Fintech back in resume to establish myself as a domain expert in future lead roles, fully WFH, chill WLB.
At current startup it is 5day WFO, 10+ hrs devoted to work daily but lots of learning.

Confused if i should switch again for a 30-40% hike within 6 months.

Current base: 45
Offered contract base: 62

I recently saw a lot of people building around Galaxy with memory (Software) or with another software which allows user's to install other Android OS on their Galaxy through OneOS

What's the secret sauce. Is it only AI or something huge going on?

I'm an Indian software engineer at a small US startup that builds healthcare software for clinics. Most of our engineering team is in India. Long term, I plan to move to the US.

Why I want to be there: I don't think I can really understand how US healthcare runs from India. I want to spend real time inside clinics, watching the front desk, intake, visits and billing, in as much depth as possible.

My role: I can code, but that isn't my main job. My main job is to turn real clinic workflows into clear requirements so the India team can build faster. Later, I'll lead the rollouts at clinics once the workflows are right.

Current plan:

• I have a B1/B2 visa.

• Trip 1: observe clinics we work with, then go back to India and write up what I learned. My salary stays in India and I get no US pay.

• As an engineer I'd naturally want to build or fix things while I'm there. My understanding is that this isn't allowed on a B-1, so I plan to keep the trip to observing and meetings. Please correct me if I have the line wrong.

• Next year, the company plans to file an L-1 for me so I can work with clinics in person and eventually relocate.

Questions:

1. How long is reasonable for this first B-1 trip? Friends say 3 weeks at most. I was thinking 4-6.

2. Can I keep helping my India team remotely (calls, code reviews) during the trip, or is that risky?

3. Which visa route actually fits best? We're exploring L-1, but I'm open to anything. My understanding so far:

   • L-1A (manager) leads to an EB-1C green card, but needs one year at a related company abroad, and days spent in the US are subtracted from that year.

   • O-1A has no lottery and no year-abroad rule, but the evidence bar is high.

   • H-1B is a lottery, and the new fee situation is uncertain.

   Which would you pick in my position, and why? Has anyone gone the O-1A route as a startup engineer rather than a founder?

4. If L-1: how should I plan US trips this year around the year-abroad rule? How long does an L-1 last, and what's the usual path from there?

5. If CBP asks about my future plans, I intend to say honestly that we may file for a work visa later. Is there any issue with that?

I'd especially like to hear from people who went from B-1 visits to an L-1 or O-1. Thanks!

I'm an Android developer with 7 years of experience and looking to transition into AI Engineering.

I'd love to hear from people who have made a similar switch or are currently working in AI.

Where should I start? Should I learn Python, ML fundamentals and Deep Learning first, or directly dive into Generative AI, LLMs and AI application development?

Looking for a practical roadmap, recommended resources and projects to work on. I'm willing to invest 6–12 months in making this transition.

Would really appreciate any guidance or personal experiences.

I'm almost a fresher, with very limited work experience, and I'm a little confused about what I should be prioritising at this stage of my career.

Here's a quick background:

- I spent around a month working full-time as an Analyst at my first company. I eventually left because of a toxic work culture, an unexpected change in my role designation, and a 6-day working week that hadn't been communicated beforehand.

- Immediately after that I got a 6-month Product internship at an e-commerce company. There was no PPO provision but my time there was great and I got to learn.

- I eventually joined my current company as a Product Analyst. I've been here for just about a month.

Now, here's where my confusion begins.

My current company is in the edtech/e-learning space. The leadership is genuinely good, the work culture is great, it's fully remote, and the compensation is around 8 LPA, which I think is pretty decent at this stage.

However, I have this concern about getting pigeonholed into the edtech industry. I've noticed that many people who have worked here previously have moved on to other edtech companies, and I'm worried that spending too much time here might limit my options later.

On top of that, just a few days ago, I received a call from a recruiter at a fairly reputed Bengaluru-based company. The role could pay around 14-15 LPA if I clear the interview process.

Now I'm confused about whether I should even consider this opportunity. If I switch, I'll have two very short stints of around a month each on my resume. Does that become a serious red flag this early in one's career? Would recruiters question my stability?

Or should I simply stay where I am, make the most of the good culture and remote setup, and try to complete at least a year before considering another move?

Also I'm unable to feel settled, scrolling linkedin and cold emailing has kinda become my fav passtime.

Would appreciate perspectives from people who've been in a similar situation.

I'm currently working as a Test Engineer, and all my official employment documents (offer letter, salary slips, experience letter, etc.) mention the same designation.

I'm planning to switch careers, potentially to a Backend/ SDE role.

What happens during BGV if the designation mentioned on the resume(Software Engineer) differs from the designation(Test Engineer) mentioned in the offer letter, salary slips or experience letter?

Suppose the recruiter says during BGV, "Your previous designation was Test Engineer, and we're hiring for a Backend Engineer position. You mentioned "Software Engineer" on your resume. We cannot consider you for this role." How should one handle such a situation?

Should I change job role to 'Software Engineer' on the documents keeping rest of the details same?

I hire for a small startup, and notice period comes up in almost every call. If the role can wait, 90 days is fine for someone strong. If it can't, I ask whether their current company does early release or buyout, and I only take the answer seriously if they've already asked their manager. An offer in hand with a fixed date helps too, since it tells me the date is real. What I'd avoid is saying 30 days and then it turns out to be 90. For those of you who switched on long notice, what actually worked?

Had an HR screening call today. She asked me about my expected hike, and I quoted a much lower number than I had in mind.
Honestly, the job market is so bad right now that I have started asking for less just because I don’t want to lose an opportunity.
And this lady goes, “Why are you lowballing yourself? Don’t do that. We have a good budget and you have good experience. I’ll put a 60% hike for you.”
I swear I wasn’t expecting that
I have become so used to keeping my expectations low that I didn’t even know how to react when someone actually encouraged me to ask for more.
Nothing is confirmed yet, I still have interviews to clear, but that was such a nice thing to hear.

I am about to clear my 7th semester end exams in December and by January I'll be starting my 8th semester, which is nothing but Internships.

My current position:

• I am good with Java, Python and SQL.

• I have 8.63 CGPA.

• Tier-3 university.

• Working on DSA.

• Hate Web-Dev.

• No great projects made/worked on.

• Should I think of masters or MBA, or any other high value non-tech job.

My anxiety:

• Sometimes I do enjoy coding, but once I stop I just can't lock-in. But yes I do love coding, problem solving and building software for real world application.

• I am not sure what field/role/career I want to pursue ahead, I am always confused and I get bored or annoyed easily. Hence, I lack consistency in what ever I start with.

• I do not have a roadmap, and everything seems so complicated/impossible/complex to me.

• I get stuck in Learning rabbit hole, and hence causing me burnout.

• I do not know the basics of how to Job hunt and I am very scared of politics in the IT industry, I have been bullied in my childhood hence the fear of intimidation remains.

• I really want to enjoy the work I am doing (**"**enjoy" meaning like/interested/have a grip on it) and not the monotonous work.

• The current IT market is very bad, no hiring and also the learning curve for minimum pay is so high!

I have to get a job/internship by the end of 2027, because:

• Financial situation of my household is very bad, both my parents do not have a job or an active income, my mother needs help, she has been carrying a lot of load and my dad puts his money in stocks which he isn't really good at.

• I do not have any freedom even for basic things like diet, clothes, hanging out, buying basic shoes.

• My parents are very elderly, as I was born very late, my mom is in her 60's and dad in his 70's. So I have to achieve something and provide them a comfortable life.

What I am asking for right now:

1. Give me list of things I have to learn to clear interview rounds, and to land a decent SWE job, so I can get stable.

2. A roadmap would be appreciated and a direction.

3. I do want to go for AI, and I am a bit aware of basic things required such as: Math for AI, Python and it's libraries for AI. But there are soo many other things and roles within AI and I am confused what to choose and learn to get a job in AI.

4. Anything that could help me, any advice, or help me know what I should actually be doing right now. Tips on Job hunt, skills to learn and personality development.

5. Any alternative path except for IT, anything! Different career, job role or field where there is scope and I can earn really well.

Yes, I know most of them might crash out saying it is my fault for not putting in efforts to learn or explore during my engineering days. And I agree I was lazy or ignorant about it.

If you guys have been through such struggles or hard times, please do share you experience and guidance. I am ready to dedicate my time and to upskill myself now, also I like everyone else do work great in high pressure moments like these.

Thank you!

I've been exploring ML/AI engineering opportunities recently, and one challenge I've consistently faced is building meaningful professional connections.

I have around 2.5 years of experience and an MS in Applied Data Science from the US. I've been trying to connect with engineers, recruiters, and hiring managers on LinkedIn, but most connection requests go unanswered. Even when people accept, it's difficult to turn those connections into actual conversations.

I understand that people receive tons of referral requests, so I don't blame anyone for not responding.

I'm curious to hear from developers who have successfully landed interviews through networking recently.

A few specific questions:

1. Cold outreach: Have you received referrals by messaging employees you didn't personally know? What approach worked?

2. Hiring managers vs. employees: Who has been more responsive in your experience?

3. Alternative channels: Have GitHub, Reddit, Discord, alumni networks, or tech meetups helped you build connections that eventually led to interviews?

4. Referral timing: Do you usually ask for a referral before applying, or apply first and then contact someone?

5. Actual outcomes: If you've successfully received interviews through networking, what did you do differently from simply sending connection requests?

I'm especially interested in experiences from people in ML/AI or backend engineering, although insights from other software roles would be helpful too.

I'm trying to understand which approaches have actually worked for people in the current Indian job market.

Would appreciate any real experiences, including strategies that didn't work.