And in the age of AI it's so easy to teach yourself, that if you don't make the effort yourself, you're not worth making the effort on.

Tech becoming mainstream is what ruined the job market. Prior to the “tech boom” most people in tech were genuinely interested in software engineering, pursued personal projects, coded outside work, etc. There was passion. In the new generation of younger engineers I’m seeing…

It’s really just a simple cost-vs-value equation. Tutorials turn you into a good follower of a predefined path. You pick up syntax, not real problem-solving. A junior who needs constant guidance becomes a net cost, they use up more senior time than they generate value.…

They fail to realise u r being hired to contribute. U arent entitled to anything. At the end of the day its a business and it needs to earn money. Its not clg.

As a senior software engineer, 90% of the job is going in and solving problems, without them bubbling up to your manager. Your manager wants to hear at standup, this was the problem, this is the solution, working on it / done. Including the colloboration steps for team alignment

I realized in a recent interview that 'waiting for the thing to appear' is kind of ridiculous. i've made things at work that i was genuinely interested in and that helped in some way. but that was born out of an issue i had. perhaps there's a path for 'born out of an interest'

I feel like every good developer has been on both ends for what you just described.. Wanting to learn easy and choosing to learn the hard way.

Why guess when you can know?

Agreed, have opinions but don't be opinionated

I mean neither you or John is wrong but the fact is that there's actually very few engineering jobs and everybody on YouTube keeps telling kids oh yeah learn this AI bullshit and you can get a job. The blame is just not people who don't want to do work. Also you need a relevant…

Well said

honestly, wanting a role without really loving the work is like trying to drive a car without liking the road.

Feel this. I think geohotz said it best with his blog post on "tech entryists" Lots of new grads seem like those pigs with sticks of carrots attached to them, no direction, just blindly following money in hopes that'll make them rich enough to hide the fact they hate their jobs

It’s true, a lot of people focus too much on ticking boxes instead of understanding the craft. But I think it's also a systemic issue. Schools and certifications often prioritize outcomes over fostering curiosity. If all you’ve seen is structured learning, it’s hard to break…

The gap between tutorials and real dev work is brutal. Juniors can recite Big O but freeze debugging a failing API call. The real skill is comfortable uncertainty - being okay not knowing the answer but knowing how to find it.

Totally Agreed, but I dunno if it’s country specific or financial issue for students or their families, that they focus on getting a job (or any job) rather than being a better developer, and it’s true for most cases I see here & we can’t change it, as it’s not in our control.

Regular people who just want a job should be able to get one. Programming shouldn't have to be your life to work for a company. And even the people who are passionate about it and code in their free time (like me) can't get offers anyway. It's a real problem.

Bro, you or I can mentor them, they’ll be solid in a year, you haven’t been in corporate enough, H1B Abuse is real, full stop, some new grads don’t like to code as well, its multifaceted

Junior Developer is literally that transitional role from learning how to learn to being a functional member of the team. You're learning how to function on bigger projects. If you can prove you're already at that point you get the developer role.

Agree, the number of people who repetitively ask me about what to do is outrageous. Man, that’s your job to figure out. That’s exactly your job. Do a search look around. I can only share the problem.

TLDR: most "programmers"are clueless about programming

Absolutely. However, its a double edged sword too. Many recruiters & employers will reject resumes with side projects. I've hiring managers post they will not hire people with side projects. Can't win with that kind of mixed signals.

I like how accurate this is

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maybe the boomers who complained about schools handing out participation trophies were right

Totally agree. It’s wild how many think coding’s just about ticking boxes

idk i think this is bullshit because its more about how you present this to the people who hire you. this only breeds psychopaths or people who are desperate and act like this isnt also easy to fake. tech used to be more meritocratic before this happened because itself knowledge…

It’s more about the journey and mindset than just ticking boxes.

as someone still in school, the biggest thing i have heard from industry is people don't take ownership, and also has been the biggest thing I have worked on with professional experience

That's just being smart though, it has nothing to do with being a good developer. Learning to figure things out by yourself can be taught from childhood, it's not something inherent to coding. I don't particularly enjoy coding, but that has nothing to do with how well I can write…

What kind of initiative do you see as key for breaking into those roles?

Very true Something that still sticks with me is how 2 professors made me see my own abilities One specifically asked me what I wanted to do after graduation and that I shouldn't aim to be a "code monkey" The other flat out said I had the problem solving skills of a scientist…

How do you optimize for this tho? Ask people if they owned a Compaq when they were 7 and spent every single waking free hour on that mfer?

I thought about this for a while. Being a new developer is insanely confusing. It doesn't last forever, but getting over that hump is difficult. It's not easy for employers either. I wonder if we need training that is closer to a real work environment. I'm trying to imagine how…

Wanting entry-level experience doesn't equal loving the work it's just a stepping stone to something else

Yeah..

This is mealy-mouthed bullshit. You can’t train yourself any further than making YT tutorial apps without being part of a team.

This is the most difficult - realise what you want and which person you want to become

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