Ask HN: Confused Software Engineer

2 points by root_node 9y ago ↗ HN

I am in need for help but not sure whom to ask. To be honest, my other developer friends are also on the same boat. So, I hope somebody out here can help me. I am 30yr old software developer with 9+ yrs of experience in Java/J2EE. I have worked throughout the stack. I have managed mid sized teams and I have also worked as an individual contributor. I have reasonable exposure to Python and R. I have done some good work in building APIs, learning frameworks like Spring, Hibernate, Jersey, AMQP implementations (the usual mix), and work on personal projects where I got to learn a bit of NLP/ Machine Learning. I am confident about evaluating a framework, learning it and putting it to use in the project. Although, I never got a chance to master any of the frameworks I'd learnt. Largely, my fault. Whenever I start looking out for a job I brush up my core Algorithm/Data Structure skills and it helps me get through the interviews. Since I've worked throughout the stack I get questions ranging from OOPS to Continuous Deployment. I answer things which I'd done/read in the past. But I feel miserable for not keeping up.

I find it difficult to solve HackerRank problems on a daily basis because my work demands me to learn/focus on something that's totally unrelated to these problems. For example, one day it'd be a new BPMN tool, or a new NoSQL DB, or even a new Javascript library. I try to keep up but it just becomes too much at times. I feel tired and overwhelmed. I also want to have a life outside of work. I want to be able to read books, watch movies without the fear of it jeopardizing my career.

Questions:-

- Has anyone feel/felt the same way? How did you overcome this dilemma of "want to do everything but end up doing nothing" ?

- How do you manage your time?

- Can a person be successful in his/her career and at the same time have fun outside of work ?

Thanks in advance

3 comments

[ 2.7 ms ] story [ 17.4 ms ] thread

cyberpanther 9y ago ↗

Totally understand and feel the same way. Unfortunately too many companies hire on knowing the latest buzz words than the ability to learn fast. So I try to always learn some new things but not to go crazy. I think you can be successful but you just have to be patient and find the people who respect you.

beat 9y ago ↗

What do you mean by "successful career"? What does that look like? Merely employed? Maximizing salary? Moving into management? Starting your own company?

At this point, with the skills you have, you should be very easily employable in this market. You could get a job at a big company, and sit quietly for 40 hours a week. You'll learn what you need to learn (which at big companies, is mostly internal), and have plenty of time to read, watch movies, have a family, or whatever else matters to you.

What the hell are you working yourself to death for, anyway? What are you afraid of?

throwAway098478 9y ago ↗

I have about 10 years of experience. Full stack, dev ops, whatever has been needed really. Have always gotten excellent performance reviews.

I quit my job a couple of months ago. Thought it would be easy to get another one. I've been rejected at least 20 times so far, and it's very...tough emotionally.

I guess this is unrelated to your question. I guess my advice is that you can't do everything at once. Decide on the top two things you want to work on, and do those. Forget about everything else until you've finished one.