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RaveI just want to brag about one of my new mentors
I work with a woman who has come out of retirement to work in education again. Not only is this woman completely mind-blowingly good at what she does, but she's a pleasure to be around. She is very intelligent, a wonderful conversationalist, and has a deep warmth about her that all adults and students feel immediately. I watch the students interact with her and fawn over her, they adore even being near her. They don't even want to leave her room, not for recess or P.E. I've often watched students do this with their "pretty" teachers, but to watch them with this older woman who keeps her hair cropped short who always dresses for comfort, and maybe hasn't worn makeup a day in her life, is such a good illustration to me of the value women bring when we are authentic and real.
She never married or had children. She lived with a woman she met in college and they traveled together all over the world, having numerous lively experiences until her death a couple of years ago, which prompted my mentor to return to work. I'm unsure whether they were romantically involved or just very close friends. I know the bond was very deep, as she's had waves of grief come over her from time to time as we've stayed late chatting after work, and she speaks so reverently of her life companion (whether romance was included in that companionship or not).
She's a goddamn feminist icon and I don't think she even realizes it. She has simply lived life on her own terms and created so much meaning by doing so. I just needed a place to rave about how much I respect this woman and hope to absorb every possible lesson she has to teach me. I wish the experience and wisdom of women was given so much more weight.
People like her are the ones who should be leading communities and nations, goddammit!
The layoffs have been brutal but they have primarily been in the tech industry.
Every industry needs tech.
My husband works for a nation wide retailer as a developer. His job was never really up for concern for layoffs. He's making the backend of their online website (and they sell big things that are hard to ship, so a bigger project than a little e-commerce software).
I do work in big tech. When it's good, it's really really good. When it's bad, it's horrid.
Looking back, I should have jumped on a start up when I was young and childless and mortgage less. The whole lifestyle -- living with parents, or four roommates in a tiny apartment -- all of that nonsense. You can more easily get a higher ranking title, gain lots of experience in many different areas, and can get equity.
Then after a start up or two, that's when I would switch to either a big tech job (where I am at now) or a non-tech-industry tech job, for stability. Nobody wants to be pregnant and worried about job security.
If you do go the start up or big tech route, you need to understand that a good bit of your salary will be paid in equity. Essentially, stocks. Until it goes public, they are difficult to sell. Once it goes public, if you were one of the two digit employees, you will have a life changing opportunity. If it's big tech, it's probably already public , so just be sure you understand how stocks work and what capital gains tax is, and long term capital gains tax. A disproportionate amount of my brain now has to be dedicated to understanding stocks just so I can fully utilize my total comp.
Startup and big tech can be big risk big reward. If you're not into that, do what my husband does.
I would strongly suggest not getting too tied down to obligations with a partner if you are both in start ups. I know the environment is intense and that can encourage work relationships, but it would be better to have someone in some other industry and the other person doing the risky business of start ups. Marriage is probably fine, but not the kids or the mortgage. Just a few years ago, I was raking it in and the primary breadwinner (mostly in equity). Now, I'm just glad I have a job and my husband is keeping us going.
I would also suggest that if one of you persists in start ups even after mortgage/kids, that you try to live off of one income, and the rest goes to savings/investments.
Whatever you do, don’t admit you are a feminist to them.
Are you set on computing? A lot of financial sector careers seem to like comp sci.
It’s a hard world out there - good luck.
I'm in a computer science adjacent role with a liberal arts degree.
Learn languages that aren't "cool" anymore but are still widely used, at least enough to know your way around them. Every other comp sci major will come out of school knowing a,b,c but you'll set yourself apart if you also know x,y,z.
Consider taking some classes in scrum/project management and getting a certificate. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to get in your spare time if you put in a few hours a week. Same with Microsoft certs. Just go online and see which interest you and which have hits when you type them into the job boards keywords.
Have portfolio projects that aren't the typical thing everyone has. For example, every front end developer builds a weather app and to do list. Make something unique to show off.
I think that the job market will be ok, just agree with the points that you shouldn't do unpaid work
Good advice, and also: never worry for a second about whether you are or are not a "diversity hire. The workplace is not a meritocracy, and I guarantee that you have already missed more chances and support due to being a woman than you will ever gain from any diversity initiative. These initiatives exist for a reason.
I'm a CompSci grad from a few years ago who spent like 5 months hunting for my first job... I wasn't unemployed since graduation; I was doing something really cool (can't elaborate bc internet anonymity) but no relation to CS. So trust me, I know exactly how bad the market is right now. But in those 5 months I got 4 offers and I've finally started at a company with the best offer.
The #1 advice I would give myself in undergrad is start looking for internships early. There's stuff posted in September and October! Speaking from experience browsing Handshake recently. I managed to get an internship every year (no big names), but I always started looking in April, so it was very stressful lol. Sounds like you're already a step ahead of me. The other thing is you need to be spreading applications all over the place and also networking with any connections your parents or siblings might have. I interned at a place my sister had interned at because she talked me up to the engineering manager. Etc. Adults generally want to help you. If you can't find an internship, maybe see if you can do Google's summer of code or get into open-source coding. Or just get a random retail job. If your problem is that you aren't qualified for internships because you haven't done one yet, see if you can be a TA, peer tutor or grader for CS classes. It might help you get your foot in the door.
Also, USE YOUR UNI RESOURCES. The career support department is really helpful and I wish I had taken advantage of it more before my alumni benefits expired.
As a senior, if you genuinely put the time in on Handshake and LinkedIn, and you're reasonably qualified, I believe you will be able to get a job. This is based on my own experience of being very qualified (4 internships, non-CS related awards etc) but quite far from graduation and still getting something like 8 interviews and 4 offers out of 300 applications. Apparently those are good numbers according to Preddit. And even if you don't land a job offer straight out of college, plenty of roles for new grads pop up for several months after that. You can work part-time and keep job searching. Also, nowadays I hear there are platforms like Braintrust where you can do AI code review and get paid for it. That could be something to look into now or later.
Edit: also LinkedIn easy apply never works. Most of the time the company doesn't even look at your application before rejecting you (you get an email when they interact with your application). You can use LinkedIn but Handshake will be much more efficient. Also, if you're not aiming for FAANG or whatever the acronym is now, as long as you're good at coding, you don't have to grind LeetCode. I am so out of practice and I didn't do a single LeetCode problem while job searching, but I aced every automated and live coding interview I was given.
I also had a double major in a liberal arts field and some unique experiences related to that and that was definitely a topic of conversation whenever I made it to an interview.
Not computer science, but a similar field, and not in the US so may be a different playing field, use with discretion:
Dont do unpaid or low paid work. Value yourself. Any time you spend scabbing against yourself just puts you back in the long term. Your future pay is largely on your current pay, so get paid.
Aim for a position at a small/medium company to start and learn on your feet. Avoid large companies.
When you get your job, move around laterally, gain diverse experience. Write it all down as you go. If someone goes on holiday, offer to fill in for them. Dont be too valuable in any one role so that you cant be moved over into another one. Ask for a small pay rise after 1 year based on your now diverse skills and value to the company. Doesnt matter how much, it matters that you can later say "I got a pay raise based on x", even if only to yourself.
Then when you hit the open job market you will have far more experience and comparable or higher pay that someone who went to a big company, did an unpaid internship, and then sat in one entry level role the whole time.
Be a bitch. Dont play politics, be direct. You cant be seens as quiet and compliant, that is seen as weak and incapable. Dont be afraid to speak up for yourself and back you own idea. Men are stupid and wrong most of the time, check your facts and then be confident and accept that you will sometimes still be wrong and thats ok.
i’m also a comp sci major & im extremely worried abt not being able to get a job after i graduate lol im just trying to not think about it. i think it’ll be fine tho one of my friends that’s a senior and is graduating next month just landed a 60k entry level position
Apply for jobs that you may only be 40-60% qualified for. Keep an open mind. I work in healthcare IT and it seems to be booming. Find an industry that you're interested in and try to get in with a larger organization where you'll be able to get some broader experience. Don't discount contractor or intern positions either, though I would not go for an unpaid internship.