Quote:
Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD
I am also job hunting - Upper management didn't approve my promotion so I'm on the hunt.
I'm in my late 20s, looking to work at a company where I genuinely care about the customers (currently just software developers).
I have promising inbound opportunities but need to focus on landing roles I truly want.
Goals:
1) Learn from inspiring Product Managers for a couple of years.
2) Explore side projects/startup ideas to prepare for a startup accelerator.
3) Network to find potential technical cofounders.
Concerns:
1) Burnout if I don't connect with coworkers or customers.
2) Securing the right opportunities, experiences, and mentorship.
3) Improving cross-organization collaboration and communication.
Similar to BIC_BAWS request:
What was your personal experience choosing between pay and passion?
How could you see the following 3 jobs working for me in late 20s/early 30s?
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I never cared much about pay or passion - I just chose to work at places where I could learn a lot and where I thought I'd like the people. The thing with pay is that it's so much anyways that an extra $50k isn't meaningful and the thing with passion is that there's so much BS that happens at work that it can really extinguish the excitement you have for your passion. I also didn't care much about the industry either - it's so much of the same shit, different container.
For my last few jobs I had a list of things I cared about learning and I sought jobs that gave me those things. For example, 2 jobs ago I decided that I needed to get more hands-on as a product leader - I had been managing big teams (15 directs) and had become more of an administrator and my craft was rusty. I looked for a job where my team would be smaller and that I would get to do some hands-on work so I could "sharpen my knife". I was also sick and tired of reporting to the CEO (or c-suite) so I looked for something that kept me a couple degrees removed from the CEO.
That all said, the two things I tell early career tech workers when thinking about their whole career is:
1. Go work at a place with a really high bar so you know what the standard can be. When you work at small places the bar is always lower b/c you work with inexperienced people and the processes are missing. Go work at a place where the talent bar for people and process is really high for a few years. You'll probably meet a few people that become future mentors or who you will always look up to (I worked with a Director of Eng at Amazon that was so capable and intelligent that I aspired to be just 10% as good as him). Too many people end up not working with the people of the highest tier in their lives and then get upset that their career is not progressing - well the problem is they aren't setting a high enough bar for themselves.
2. Go work at a small, scrappy place where you have to wear many hats and get to learn the whole business. Learn the value of relationship building, understand company financials, know how the sausage gets made across a company.