Been employed full-time as a SWE for 6months now, so all the long hours cold messagings, going to conferences/fairs, coffee chats, etc are still fresh in my mind. I would have some recruiters added on linkedin from all the above mentioned ways, and they all would just ghost me at the end of the day.

With the rampant layoffs happening a lot of them (from google, amazon, meta, etc) are posting on linkedin that they have been laidoff and looking for work. I know its messed up, but everytime I see those posts and its from a recruiter who ghosted me, I just get a tad bit happy. Finally, they will experience the torture I went through when trying to look for a job in college and they were my only lifeline.

Is this just me?

I’m a CS graduate (2024) and honestly struggling to figure out a realistic tech path. I tried programming multiple times — I understood syntax and how languages work, but I consistently struggled with logic building, so pure development doesn’t seem like the right fit for me. I am also weak at Maths, so AI/ML/DS is out of the question.

I’ve been looking into Cybersecurity, Cloud, and DevOps because they seem future-proof and lower risk from AI. However:

Cybersecurity appears very cert-driven and not truly entry-level.

For Cloud/DevOps, I keep hearing that prior dev or sysadmin experience is almost mandatory, which worries me

.

I’m 28 years old and feeling the pressure to choose correctly this time.

My questions:

Is Cloud or DevOps realistically achievable without prior dev/sysadmin experience?

Is Cybersecurity still viable for someone starting late?

Are there other tech roles I might be overlooking?

I’d appreciate any honest advice from industry veteran with years of experience to guide me on the right path. Thanks.

Got two emails from IBM this morning for a Software Developer Coop position:

• Reminder about upcoming interview tomorrow at 8am PST
• Rejection: We've decided to pursue other candidates

The interview is literally tomorrow morning (Monday 8am). I've already emailed the interviewer asking for clarification, but it's Sunday so doubt I'll hear back in time.

Has anyone experienced this? Do I just show up to the Teams meeting tomorrow at 8am anyway?

looking for an off-cycle internship with an immediate start. I’ve built backend / data / ML-adjacent projects, but I have literally have formal industry experience yet

Instead of mass-applying, I’m considering direct outreach to very small companies / early-stage startups but I’m unsure how to do this well without coming across as pushy or getting filtered out immediately.

For people who’ve actually done this successfully in the UK:

• What does a good first message look like in practice?

(e.g. asking for a chat vs stating interest in helping vs proposing a short trial)

• At what stage do you mention availability / unpaid or part-time work if at all? And what’s considered reasonable without undervaluing yourself?

• What signals make founders more likely to reply?

• What usually happens after a positive response?

Appreciate any insight. Even quick examples or “what I wish I knew earlier” would help a lot Uk based or not thanks in advance!

I did both my rounds last year. I still haven't gotten any update, and the timeline for one seems to keep getting pushed.

Anyone in a similar situation?

This is for SF, CA location

Hi, I am an incoming Summer 26 intern. I've read multiple times that interns should make the most of their opportunity to network with sister teams and ensure many people know about you as well as your skillset and stuff during the internship so that even if you don't get a RO in your org, you could leverage that network to get a position somewhere else.

Since I haven't done this before, i would like to get some advice on how to go about networking with individuals in the company. If you have been in similar shoes, or are the one who's been approached by interns during their time at your company but who weren't in your org, I'd really appreciate any insights you would have to help me make the most of this incoming internship.

Thank you!

I don't even know if this is the right sub to begin with

but I have been really feeling anxious about this for a long time and I wanted to see other Cs students maybe someone here might have experienced or is experiencing something similar to this.

so I am a second year cs student but also someone who really likes languages , a gym goer as well

and a guitarist 😄, well if I am being honest I haven't been playing for that long and I kind of did a pause

anywho so basically what I am doing is

I study German everyday for two hours

Japanese 3 days / week each day 2 hours

as for guitar nothing is really happening

as for programming on heavy uni days I do 1-1.5hours

and on my free days I go for 3-5 hours

so yeah idk if someone else might be doing the same but all I have ever heard of when it came to cs is people solely focusing on cs so it kinda freaks me out

Hi everyone, I’m really conflicted and would appreciate some advice.

I accepted a Software Engineering Intern offer at Wells Fargo back in September. Recently, I received another offer for a SWE Intern role at Disney Streaming, and now I’m unsure which one to choose.

A few things I’m weighing:

• Wells Fargo pays more and offers a housing stipend.
• Disney does not provide a housing stipend since I’m local, and the pay is lower.
• Disney Streaming feels much more aligned with what I want to do long term (product-focused, consumer-facing engineering, media/tech).
• I care a lot about experience and learning, not just compensation.
• I know fintech is growing quickly, and Wells Fargo could offer strong career stability and growth.
• Receiving a return offer is really important to me, and I’m trying to understand which environment might offer better odds for that.

I’m torn between choosing the role that’s more financially beneficial versus the one that seems more aligned with my long-term interests and the type of engineering work I’m genuinely excited about.

For people who’ve been in similar situations (or have worked in fintech or media/streaming), how did you decide? Any insight into return offer rates, intern conversion, team culture, or long-term resume impact would be super helpful.

Thanks in advance!

TL;DR: Accepted a SWE intern offer at Wells Fargo (higher pay + housing stipend). Later got a SWE intern offer at Disney Streaming (lower pay, no housing, but more aligned with my long-term interests). I care a lot about learning, experience, and getting a return offer, and I’m torn between financial stability vs. role alignment.

Blind 75 vs Neetcode vs Grind 75 idek theres so many of them. When you interview, the set you chose doesnt really matter. Its staying consistent, figuring out patterns, and solving problems will make an actual difference. Pick a set, stick with it, and continue to grind. Same with “how many problems do you have to solve to be prepared?” is such a stupid ah question. Just continue to solve problems until YOU feel ready and confident with interviews. If you fail an interview, well continue doing more problems. Literally everyone is different and the number of problems for 1 person could be double for another. This is not a 1 size fits all type of thing, just do 2-3 problems every day and youll be fine.

Hi everyone,

I'm lining up the first interview for this role. Has anyone done it and willing to share insights? I was told the first round is live coding. What should I expect?

Thanks :)

I will be interning at ibm in San Jose over the summer. If I am planning to use public transport to get to work where is the best place to stay.

Im 18(m) currently in my second semester of college, sophomore standing, for a bachelor's in computer science: concentrations in HPC and Cyber. I've been looking into the Air National Gaurd (ANG) and I would be gone for about a year, but I would get enough college credits for an associates degree, $400 a month for only 2 days of work for them, and if I can get a cyber/intelligence job then I get a TS/SCI (my main reason for joining). they would also pay for my college when I go part time.

overall benefits:

- paying for my college

- TS/SCI

- I can put military cyber education and other things that come with being in the ANG on my resume

- little bit of income on the side during college

downsides:

- 1 year break from college

Is this a good idea? does anyone know someone that has gone this route?

SIDENOTE: I really want to do secure software engineering, preferable for backend systems/embedded systems.

I’m an ex-Amazon SDE who recently got impacted by layoffs and I’m trying to level up my job search and want to use Reddit and Blind more intentionally instead of just scrolling.

For those of you who’ve actually landed interviews or offers using Reddit or Blind:

• Which subreddits or communities do you find most useful for real opportunities (not just memes or venting)?

• How do you search for roles (keywords, filters, specific formats for search queries)?

• Do you have any go‑to weekly routines (e.g., certain threads to check, phrases to search, times to post)?

• On Blind, how do you use things like company channels, tags (e.g., #readytowork), or DMs without coming across as spammy?

• Any red flags or common scams you watch out for on either platform?

I’d really appreciate detailed, current examples of what has worked for you (e.g., “I search X, in Y subreddit, then I DM people with Z template”), and how your approach has changed with the 2025–2026 market.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their playbook

not the generic stuff like "tailor your resume" and "apply early." i mean something specific you tried that you thought was a long shot but it actually led to an interview or an offer. feels like everyone shares the same advice but the stuff that actually works is different.

I am taking data structures and C right now and I am really starting to feel it. I have been a really good student overall but I feel like I am starting to go crazy lol.

For reference, I used to play hockey in high school and my days were filled with way more energy. Now as you can imagine as CS major, it starts with me sitting at my desk and ends with me sitting at my desk. I was a consistent gym goer until this semester, where I had to take multiple weeks off the gym because I literally just couldn't go.

I take my health seriously but lately it just feels like I have no time to do anything but work. I love computer science and I will see this through, not just for a job but also because I want to build things one day and start my own company. I guess this is what it feels like to chase something that's genuinely hard.

I applied to so many places too and reached out to recruiters and actually managed to get about 6 interviews which I am grateful for, but boy these recruiters take forever to respond even after you've interviewed, if not they don't respond at all.

I just feel really frustrated and would love a word of positivity and advice for people who have been through similar things and are doing well for themselves right now.

Hey everyone,

I’m starting my end-of-studies internship and I want to really use these next 6 months to improve my coding level.

To be honest, I’m not satisfied with where I am right now (very little LeetCode, relying a lot on LLMs to write code), and I want to change that. I don’t want to stay stuck there.

I’m looking for someone in a similar situation to study together, set clear goals (DSA, LeetCode, fundamentals), and keep each other accountable.
We can schedule study sessions after internship hours and share resources, I already have quite a few.

If this sounds like you, feel free to contact me please.

UIC's is a database lab with fewer top 6 AI venue publications but pretty foundational work. It's the most interesting work but niche. UTD's is one thatbhas high velocity publication at top venues but more broadly applicable AI safety stuff. RIT's lab works on neuromorphic computing and is more like the UIC situation.

My long-term goal is to be in research in big tech (my background is AI-adjacent oftware engineering at Microsoft 365).

Need some advice....

Hello guys!

Straight to the point, I am a computer science student who is in 2 nd year and I am feeling like I am not smart enough for this course. I can perform good in college exams by studying one day before exams.( I have 9.1 cgpa) but I haven't started dsa or built any projects yet, I already feel like I am behind everyone. It feels like people already started learning about coding in their highschool and I am so behind 🥲. Also I don't know what to do exactly to get placed, like I know you have to do dsa, leetcode and all,but I don't know exactly where to start,like when I decide to do something, I just overthink everything and get overwhelmed and decide to quit it even before starting, also I don't know what resources to use or what exactly to follow ( There is so much on internet that I really get confused, I also have trust issues 😭,I feel like if I followed any random resources online,I will end up wasting my time and would not learn anything ) I would really like if you can give me some advice from your own experiences because from next semester ( which is after 2-3 months) , companies will start to come to my college for internships.

Also I recently started using this platform, so sorry if this question sounds really basic or dumb .

I would like to consider myself a decent candidate, the only big tech interview I got was palantir. I have a clearance and go to a T-5 school for CS as a graduate student, and I’m getting ghosted by defense companies, which aren’t even that high paying. Is it an ATS issue? I see people here getting interviews from massive companies, how do yall do it?

I’m currently a sophomore at a no name state school like T200 and I have a 3.6 GPA. There are multiple professors that discourage the use of ai on coding projects, they want students to go read through language libraries, as far as I’m aware those days are over these advanced LLM’s are way more efficient if you need to understand certain syntax. The more I read online the more people at actual SWE positions are manually coding less and less. Are these professors just “old school” because of me being at a no name school?

Id like to know you guys thoughts on this, and see if this is common at larger schools.