#SoftwareEngineering #JobMarket #CareerChange #TechCommunity #WorkCulture
Hey everyone! So I’m a 31-year-old software engineer and I absolutely adore coding – I even spend my free time on it! 🎉 I’ve had an amazing journey: a BA in Computer Science, teaching roles, and I even created a course on APIs. 🚀 But right now, things aren’t looking so great at my company because the culture seems to be on a downward spiral.
Here’s the scoop: after some new leadership came in, I unexpectedly got a bad rating at work. 😔 My team leader has started nitpicking over minor issues that didn’t even impact our projects, and it feels like I’m under constant scrutiny. When I checked with some senior engineers about my rating, they were just as confused as I was – saying the reasons for my rating were almost laughable!
This sudden change in management has made me think: Is it time for a career switch? The job market isn’t looking great, and I question if I’d find another remote job that pays as well as this one. I’ve even thought about becoming an electrician! 💡
Here are a few pain points that come to mind:
- Leadership Changes: New management can set a completely different tone for a company. It can create anxiety among employees who feel uncertain about their future. 🤔
- Nitpicking Culture: Constant scrutiny can kill morale, making employees feel undervalued for their hard work. 😞
- Communication Breakdown: When constructive feedback turns into nitpicking, it creates mistrust. A positive feedback loop is crucial for growth! 🔄
So, what should I do? I genuinely love software engineering, but feeling undervalued is exhausting. I really want to explore different options that could still make me happy. What has worked for you when dealing with a toxic work culture? Have you faced similar situations? 💬
Drop your thoughts and experiences below! Let’s discuss possible career paths or tips to handle leadership changes. 🌈
This is happening to me too. They may not be trying to fire you right away, but they are trying to push you down the ranks in preparation to possibly fire you in the future.
I honestly was blown away at how easily people can behave like this. My current manager wrote in my review that I had ‘bad judgement’ because I suggested in a meeting that we should consider rewriting some code that the team got some bad specs for. We talked it through further and he explained to me we don’t have any time, so I said okay and that was that. I didn’t force it or anything.
Switch careers because your current job is bad but it’s still something you enjoy that pays well? That doesn’t sound like a logical choice. If you’re good you’ll find your way through the current market eventually, the cream rises to the top eventually.
Anecdotally speaking, the job market seems to be picking up a bit. Quite a few of my laid off colleagues were picked up recently.
But life is too short to go through the bullshit that you’re going through. If I were you I’d go on FMLA/Short term disability, if possible, and use that time to job hunt/study for interviews. That might buy you a few months.
My manager did the same thing to me and I ended up finding a job in 3 weeks before I got put PIP, then during the PIP just promised to deliver a bunch of stuff and then played video games instead and refused to work. Then got 2 months severance plus a 30k sign on bonus from the new gig. You could do the same.
Use your spare time to look for another job instead of changing career. If you find something else, go for it. But don’t just leave work without having another one aligned, with a contract signed on and confirmed like written and all that.
It is true the job market right now is no good. But I don’t think one bad manager at one company should cause op to change professions.
I would not work too hard at the current job. Then I would start a job search for the next position. Due to market conditions, it might be a long time to get an offer. But don’t throw everything away just yet.
> I’m thinking all of this likely means my team leader HAD to give someone a bad rating, and I was the weakest link.
For context this is true at a lot of companies, especially medium – big tech. Management is almost always forced to identify the weakest link on the team and rate them as such, even if they’re rockstars.
Be aware of this if you plan to move to bigger, more eng oriented companies. Every review cycle, somebody is getting a bad rating, it’s all but guaranteed.
Did the new leadership at your company come from a company with a reputation for stack-ranking or regularly culling a certain percentage of employees?
If you want to stay, document everything: successes and your side of the story for anything your manager seems to be trying to ding you on.
Not every company is going to be doing this, but with the job market for software engineers not being what it once was, different employers are putting the squeeze on employees in different ways. That’s not to say every workplace for software engineers has gotten worse in the last year or two, but a lot of employers are trying to take advantage of the current job market. You may be able to find something better without changing careers, but it might be difficult and time consuming right now.
Yeah definitely do not switch careers. The team lead has been given orders to cut the “weakest” engineer, and he’s decided to pick you. It’s entirely possible that he picked you for unfair reasons and is now just nitpicking, for example you might just be more open in communicating while the others are better at hiding their mistakes.
It’s time to find a new job. This will be a lot easier then finding a new career, and if you like software engineering there’s no reason to give up on it. I’m sure plenty of teams would be happy to have you
My manager made me do this to a guy on my team. They wanted to get rid of him even though I didn’t.
You are getting laid off in the next wave. They are giving you this warning that it is coming. They are also manufacturing the justification for why you are being let go.
It is not personal, so don’t be insulted. You do not want to continue working at this company if this is the direction they are going.
You need to start your job search now so you have a head start when they do let you go. Or have enough savings to bridge the gap.
Feel sorry for those who get left behind. It only gets worse from the first layoff.
Ignore what the new leadership is saying. It is all lies. They only care about making the numbers on the spreadsheet better.
You enjoy the work, so I would stay in the industry. You are in the right job, you just are not working at the correct company. Your company changed and is no longer the same. You need to find a different company where you are a better fit.
Look for another job. My bad job colored my world view and made me think that the entire industry was like that. All I had to do was find a different job to completely change that but I was in hardcore denial for a bit. Don’t be like me, try it out somewhere else. Be picky.
I wouldn’t let that one person and the few months you experienced what you did effect your outlook on a 80+ year old life and career tbh
Lol do we have the same manager? Brush up your resume and get some referrals. Market really isn’t that bad
Switch jobs? Yes. Switch careers? Maybe (but probably not?)
It sounds like you enjoy the field and the work. You feel underappreciated and your manager is doing weird manager things. Other jobs / other managers can be better.
For the appreciation point though in particular: general advice would be over communicating with your lead around expectations and the work that you’re doing to match or exceed those expectations. Basically make it very clear to both you and them what’s expected, and then make it very clear what you’re doing and prompt them to evaluate you in your 1:1s. If you’re matching and exceeding, they’ll realise it when you prompt them and show more appreciation to you.
Start looking for a new job now and make it your main focus – do it while at work on their time. There is no salvaging this situation. Their feedback are lies and their decision has been made. Market is terrible so you need to give yourself as much time as possible. I wouldn’t leave the industry for this reason, but you may have other reasons. You might be forced to leave the industry if you get let go and can’t find another job.
Even if you don’t actually get laid off, start looking for other jobs. There’s no reason to stay with a company that treats you like this. You can find something better.
I wouldn’t throw away something you love just because your current company sucks. It’s not easy to find something you enjoy doing for work.
Despite the doom and gloom on this sub, there are still jobs out there for good companies. Go find one.
It sounds like your current company is about to go through a restructuring and in the next 3-6 months a lot of people are going to be let go.
The thing is – these people exist and infest everywhere. People who rise to the top by criticizing others but not actually producing anything (look closely, you’ll notice that the loudest criticizers never do anything themselves – otherwise they’d open themselves to criticism!). I do believe that, with few exceptions, that’s the path to the top of the org chart in most places, so it doesn’t really matter what career you choose – you’re going to spend the rest of your life fighting with these bastards anyway. Might as well stick with something you enjoy.
A bad relationship with your lead means perhaps you can simply look to switch teams since you’re at a large company if you want the minimum change. A mistake I made before was clinging to a specific team or org when things started to go south for a couple years more when in fact the power was in my hands and I could’ve switched teams/orgs at first sign as it was a big company or went somewhere else probably for a pay increase as well. If you’re a competent software engineer remember there are plenty of folks that will pay you and you shouldn’t feel like anybody is doing you a favor when we know you’re employed because you are meant to be a net positive. Also the job market seems to be picking up although maybe that’s different for remote roles.
It seems like you have a target on your back and you’re going to be the black sheep for the next layoffs or pip that happens. Start looking for a new job.
Just as a warning the culture rot seems to be in most companies these days and is a result of businesses feeling the pressure for various reasons. Higher rates and lower growth environments but investors still expect crazy returns. This is where the performance culture comes from, trying to extract more value about of employees.
Meta, google, even top places are degrading to the point where they could be a terrible experience.
If what you care about is culture just make sure you screen for that or adjust expectations. There’s definitely a relationship between high pay and pressure cooker environments.
What, realistically, are your options?
You could do nothing right now and stay in this job that is going south and hope for the best. But that sounds like a really bad idea.
You can exclusively start looking for another CS job now, while you have ramp.
You can exclusively start looking for another job outside of CS now, while you still have ramp.
Or you can do both, look for both CS and non-CS jobs.
Is there a reason not to do the latter? You can always say no if you find something that isn’t sufficiently compelling, and you can always leave something (and never put it on your resume) if you take something and then shortly thereafter land something better.
You’ve already been fired, they just haven’t told you yet.
The market may be picking up, but the career is definitely getting hyper competitive especially for remote work from home jobs. I wouldn’t be surprised if this toxic behavior becomes more common. Switching development jobs first is a good idea. Never hurts to explore other careers and options though.
I work at a big tech, and it is very org dependent. In my previous org I had very friendly and collaborative work environment. I switched teams and basically I learned a bunch of politics to keep myself afloat. Here are the rules:
1. Never admit your own mistakes.
2. If there is feedback, accept it and say you will improve.
3. Criticize others work.
You’re welcome.
You seem like a competent and passionate engineer stuck with a shitty employer. Start looking for a new job now
>31/F, love software engineering (I even do it in my spare time). I really enjoy the actual work that I do at my job.
Nothing else matters after this line. Find a new job. You’ll find it. If you were someone who was just in it for the money I’d come up with suggestions for other jobs but if you like the work, there’s no reason for you to leave the field.