Hi,
I’m a recent Computer Science graduate. I want to get into development, but the job market is really tough right now. Somehow, I managed to land a job in the IT field (help desk: fixing Wi-Fi and computers), which I’m grateful for, considering the current market.
I know how hard it is to find another job, but I’ve been consistently applying, hoping to get lucky and land a role as a software engineer. The situation at my current company isn’t great—my manager was let go just two weeks after I started, and one of my peers lost their job today. HR has scheduled a meeting with me for this Friday, but they haven’t provided any details. I have a bad feeling that it might be the end for me, too.
I don’t have another job lined up, and despite searching for the past four months, I haven’t been able to find a part-time job either. I have about $3,000 left in my bank account, which will probably last me another four months, since my rent is around $550.
Right now, I can’t see past my current situation. I can’t imagine ever affording a house in Toronto with how expensive it is. I’ve thought about relocating, but I probably don’t have enough saved up to cover the costs.
I wonder if life will get any better. Ever since my manager lost her job, I’ve been under constant stress, worrying about losing mine too. And even if I do get another job, I wonder how long I’ll be able to hold onto it—especially since it’s hard to see how I can settle down with the kind of salary I’d be making.
I also don’t have many friends, and the one close friend I do have is also struggling with his job, so I don’t want to burden him with my problems.
Comments
Yes, life will get better. It may suck for awhile but it definitely gets better.
I assume your resume/c.v. is up to date with your current position, right? The only thing you can do is to continue to look for new opportunities. Are there any types of side gigs you can do such as be an Uber/Lyft driver? I’m just throwing ideas out because I know Redditors love to tell someone they’re wrong so hopefully one of them has better ideas. Sending positive vibes your way. Hang in there!
Starting out is hard. If you’re not happy with your current job, train on the job you want and put out applications. I’m at the other end of the IT career wise, first job was nearly 40 years ago. I’m still training for the next gig. Tech is expansive and a constant treadmill of learning new things, but there are also so many directions you can go.
It’s a grind getting started and learning the skills to advance, but keep at it and some day you’ll look back on an exciting career and marvel at how technology has changed.
I didn’t have the internet in High School, the WWW didn’t come out until I was on my second job. The changes have not slowed down, I just did a Gen AI bootcamp a few months ago and am exploring that whole new field.
I hope it’ll get better for you.
While you’re waiting to land a software development job, I have an idea that could perhaps give you unpaid development “work experience” from a hobby, if that would interest you.
Ultima Online has a number of free shards derived from open source C# ServUO code. I’m sure some of the shard admins would love help bringing their game ideas to life. And it’d give you something to talk about and put on your resume.
Resources:
The job and money stuff will work out. I’m more worried about you having no friends At an age when people normally have the most.
Oh gawd. I’ve been there in your predicament several times. Yep, I got sacked. I was a good worker. I got fired. It’s the worst. Without our jobs, there goes we, right down the drain. You may not be fired, by the way. Wait till Friday, see if you can still stand if they pull the rug. Think frugal. You have to get through all of next week. You seem to have so much on your plate, I wouldn’t worry about decorating your house. In a year, you may look back at this moment with relief, because you got through it. Creative visualization. Put yourself in better times, and help that manifest. Don’t give up, you’re too young. Young people struggle. I know I sure as hell had my full. But each time I got fired, “I had to get right back up and put myself back in the race. That’s life, that’s what people say. Shot down in April, back up in May” (Frank Sinatra). You will get through this. Thank goodness you have some money put away. Keep looking, you need to pay rent. I stumbled back up, got some furniture and a dog. Eventually, I fell into a job I didn’t hate going to, and things got much improved. You can do this. It stinks, but you will get through it. (P.S. You write really well).
You might consider subscribing to LinkedIn Learning and take as many courses and get as many certifications as you can fit into your evenings and weekends. It will bolster your CV, and keep your mind off workplace stress.
Honestly with AI being able to do so much coding, I would try to learn some other, IT- adjacent skills. Look into SCADA , always in demand. Example – https://g.co/kgs/9EXJA6A
I am genX. I graduated during a big recession in the mid 80s . There were 70 applicants for the first job I got. Have forgotten how many I applied for before that.
Now I’m looking at retirement
Been laid off twice. Won a few awards. It’s a journey with ups and downs. Try to relax during the downtime. Don’t get to cocky during the goods times
Build a strong support network. Enjoy your time away from work. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Try and enjoy the roller coaster
Now that I’m thinking about it, I was laid off when I was the sole provider for my wife and kids. Those were very very dark times…… but I almost for get about now
Rent is the biggest money sucker at the moment at $550 a week its costing you $28,600 a year. Do you rent a two bedroom place? If yes can you get a flat mate to reduce your rent by 50% of what it is currently? Similar in your shoes I would look into finding shared rental place which should be cheaper? When my last job ended two decades ago I started selling stuff on ebay and still do to this day. And I might add I make good money doing it and so do many other people. It might be worth looking into. I used to be like you struggling when I was younger. Investing in a property and stocks was the best thing I ever did. I still struggled for years but was paying off my own place instead of throwing away money on rent. See what is said by your company on Friday hopefully they don’t let you go. If you get a new job try to save a lot more for an emergency fund. Try to save at least 6 months worth of cost of living so you will be okay in the case of any future job change or other situation. The advice I gave some of my friends was to start their own businesses even a cleaning business or any kind of business. The ones that did are now set up well financially. Good luck I hope any of my advice is useful to you.
It always seems like that around your age. Keep your focus on moving forward, believe and know it will continue to improve, save money as you can. Be diligent. It tends to work out.
There’s always employment agencies. They send you on interviews and when you get hired you owe the agency a finders fee. At least you’re near a big city. You may have to work out of your specialty for a while, but at least you’re staying afloat.
You might even change fields. Life is weird, we never know what the universe has in store for us.
I’m very sorry for all of your generation that is having a difficult time getting into your preferred profession. It is tough on the old folks as well trying to keep our jobs before full retirement age.
With that said, with your school qualifications try to find a way to get a substitute teaching license. From where I’m from with a bachelor degree you only need a principal to nominate you and then follow the district protocol. This should hold you over these time. You get paid per diem and depending on the district the pay (at least from where I’m at) is not that bad. It helps pay some bills.
In addition, with you next position, do your very best to save at least 18 months (for me) of emergency funds to lessen the anxiety of not being able to afford a place to live.
I wish you success.
Trained as a programmer in the 1980s. Could not find a job, so I accepted a position as a “computer operator” at a car dealership. It was essentially a data entry job but I changed the backup tapes daily. After a few months, that landed me an overnight computer operator job, which eventually led to a programmer position with that company. After a few years and a few jobs, I was pretty set. It turned into a 30+ year development career I retired from this year.
Just keep moving on. I wish you the best.
Immediate concerns – HR talking to you may or may not be a layoff but you should prepare yourself. DoorDash/Uber are quick ways to continue having income. In fact I’d just do those in your spare time if I were you.
You have a computer science background – why the heck aren’t you building your own projects? There’s a lot of actually insane things you can do right now as a single programmer so why not try them?
Idk. Life is tough. Mine didn’t get better until I was in my mid 30s. Also I changed some things about myself to be a better person?
Some basic advice:
– Learn everything in sight
– Get to know people in the field you want to eventually get into; ask about openings and necessary qualifications
– Don’t be afraid of a challenge
– Expect to work your way up
– Do your job above and beyond; get noticed for your work ethic
What you will learn, is more than just one job, but the way the company works.
Which will pay off in the future, because you will have additional skills that will allow you to broaden your job choices in the future.
Good luck
I spent 35 years in information technology and retired 14 months ago. I started with a degree in social work from a state university. I didn’t have much luck with that either, being a parole officer was not my bag. I got additional education in computer programming. I started at help desk and worked my way up to senior software engineer the last 4 years of my carrier.
You have a degree in computer science, that’s a start, just remember it’s the beginning. Maybe a certification in Kubernetes will help. Communication skills are very important, maybe find a communications course.
You have most likely heard it’s not what you know but who you know. That means getting some networking going. Start contacting companies and ask for “Informational Interviews”. This will get you out there and talking with hiring managers. (It doesn’t matter if they are hiring, if they like you they may know another company that is.) Find out where people who are in IT hang out, go there and talk to them, I know it’s not easy talking to people but we work with people not with computers. Write some good code and put it on git and maintain it.
Burden each other with your problems. That concept (not burdening others) is how we were trained by our parents. Get out of that mind set and start communicating with your friend and talk to other people. It truly helps with the feeling of being alone.
You have a meeting with HR wow that’s great you may be the only one they are keeping and they are wondering if you are willing to stick it out while the company gets it’s act together. That means more responsibility but not necessarily more pay. If you lose your job on Friday, it’s not your fault the company is not successful “IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT”. If that happens then find a job where you must be with people and communicate, I tended bar for 5 years, it was not great but it paid the bills. Then do all the information interviewing and networking you can do, that will be your job.
Work like your life depends on it, long hours, short weekends, on-call craziness that’s IT.
Edit: Find a contract gig and do a great job, then take the next one and the next one. Eventually you will get on full time.
You never know maybe HR wants to see if you are interested in more responsibility or a promotion. It doesn’t have to be bad news. Either way I wish you well in the future, we never know where life might take us.
There’s no way to know because life is too unpredictable, as is the predictability of how what happens in the United States in the next four years is going to affect the world’s economy.