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Ask HN: Will accepting a systems engineer job make it harder to get a SWE one?

3 points by propsyseng ↗ HN
I'm a new grad (this spring) from a state school majoring in CS. I love software development, and although I only started in college, it's what I want to do in my career. However before then I wanted to be a 'sysadmin' and did a lot of Linux/DB/cloud stuff (starting with game servers and forums) so I have a good amount of experience in I guess what would be called "systems engineering." Hence why I was given a good offer at a proprietary trading firm doing just that. But I'm worried that I won't feel fulfilled or I'll have my professional growth stunted by accepting the position, and that recruiters/peers will see me as 'just' a systems engineer; even when I have a CS degree and will likely be writing code (just more along the lines of automation/scripts/some APIs) every day. On the other hand this is the best offer I've had yet (including over SWE roles) and I don't want to let it go.

Am I just overthinking this first professional role or are my fears that I'll be pigeonholed later justified?

4 comments

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quag
Yes, your fears are justified. Not only will it change how others first interpret you, but it will also change your world view as you will only get to see things from a systems engineer perspective. Systems engineering can be a gateway into software development. But if you can be a developer just do that, don’t use a stepping stone you don’t need.
propsyseng
This is certainly concerning. Would it look bad if I asked to apply to the software engineering role after already accepting a systems engineer role?
beckingz
Knowing how to run software makes you better at writing it!
propsyseng
I think so too. I always saw myself as kind of a dual backend software/infra engineer and from the sound of the position I would get a lot of experience working with the systems I'd be integrating as a backend SWE. I feel like I can be happy in both positions and maybe even gain more transferable skills than if I were a SWE. I may still try to apply for the SWE role instead to see if I can pick either one but I feel content with a SysEng role either way.