Junior Engineer Career Development Videos, Forum, and Q&A

I started working as an entry level engineer at my current company a little over a year ago.

I'm working with my manager to aim for promo in this next half (cycle would take place at the end of the year) to go from L3 -> L4. We both feel reasonably confident about putting up a packet. I also really like my manager and my team. I feel that I'm learning a lot and have decent WLB. Additionally, the L4 compensation range at my current company appears to be near top of market.

However, the L4 -> L5 promo timeline at my current company appears to be somewhat slow (2.5-3 years) and there's always some risk that the promotion doesn't go through this cycle.

Is it worth passively looking for jobs on the side to cross promote to L4 or should I just focus that time and energy on building a stronger promo packet for this half?

I am seeing many people making posts about Gaza or Israel on LinkedIn. American politics are becoming extremely polarized and many people feel a responsibility to speak out for what they believe. Gaza and Israel is the main example right now, but there are others. I also saw this trend when SCOTUS overturned Roe Vs Wade.

I might be seeing only a small percentage of people on LinkedIn but many high level engineers, managers and others at top companies are bringing politics into LinkedIn.

To be clear, I am not trying to make Taro a place for politic debate.

There probably is not any right answer to this, but I would like to hear opinions.

Thanks

I recently joined Meta as a junior engineer and my hope is to be able to try out several domains (guessing realistically 2) to see where my interest lies. I’m not on an AI team currently, but given the rise of AI, I hope to be able to explore that area.

However, I understand that switching teams will disrupt my productivity and growth as a junior engineer. I’m wondering:

• When should I approach changing teams/domain? More specifically, is it better to change teams after being promoted to mid-level?
• How should I approach changing teams?

My manager had assigned a mentor for me on my team to help onboard me. My assigned mentor asked me about what timing works best for me and I told them I gave them full discretion around timing and cadence since my calendar was basically completely open compared to theirs. By the time we had our first 1:1, it was a 15 minute time-slot right before our daily standup. We would have these mentoring sessions ~2x a week for a few weeks before these mentoring sessions just fizzled out and stopped completely.

Now my manager is urging me to continue these mentoring sessions with the same assigned mentor citing that the reason they fizzled out was because my mentor "was not sure whether I wanted to continue the sessions and was waiting for me to set up more sessions if I was interested" even though I had expressed enjoyment of the sessions we have had thus far.

Should I be proactive here in reengaging my assigned team mentor and scheduling mentoring meetings with them? I wouldn't mind having a little more time than 15 minutes per session and in a different timeslot than right before standup, but I respect that it is tricky considering the mentor is remote and in a timezone 2 hours behind the rest of the team. I also wouldn't really know what to proactively ask them for during these sessions beyond typical work questions as part of working with them on the same team. How proactive should I be here?

Back when I was an intern, I worked incredibly hard, often times with late hours. Aside from the personal downside of burning yourself out, is there any other way this can hurt you career? Can it skew the team's perspective of you in a bad way?

My sub-team was 3 people (an L5 tech lead, an L4 engineer, and me), but now it’s just me since the others left. My manager is hiring other people in the coming months.

How can I best onboard the new people and set myself up to lead the team?

The question applies to everyone - but particularly to juniors with little experience using cloud services.

For instance, I once built a CRUD web app using Firebase. However, I was wary of providing payment info, given the numerous stories of people getting large bills from accidental overuse or DDoSing. Thus, I wasn’t able to use Cloud Functions, leading to me using Firebase antipatterns.

For instance:

• Creating new user’s profile data in the frontend (instead of a Cloud Function)

• Building a dedicated backend to securely make third-party API calls

• Manually versioning my production data by downloading JSON (no backups available on free tier)

I even considered migrating my web app to Supabase, which doesn’t have this problem (and is also SQL-based), just so I could avoid doing silliness in my code.

More recently, I’d like to build a hacky side project needing a service from Azure (or AWS, or Google Cloud). I could build an MVP in a few hours on the weekend (in fact, I already did - now I just need to connect it to the service). However, I’m wary of providing payment information.
I understand the typical policy is to forgive accidental misusages.

However, I’d prefer to use these tools properly instead of relying on goodwill (which, as , isn’t always reliable).

After all, it would be atrocious marketing to punish small players when most of cloud providers’ revenue comes from large, established organizations operating at scale.

How might I approach this? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts - I know Taro runs on Firebase!

I am a new graduate working as a data scientist at a mid-sized company. I'm wondering about the importance of LeetCode for data science interviews. I'm comfortable with SQL and can handle hard-level SQL problems, but I struggle with medium and hard-level coding questions (non-sql/algorithm style) on LeetCode. On the flip side, I am very comfortable with ML and DL algorithms. Should I focus more on building ML/DL projects or on mastering medium and hard-level LeetCode problems?

I got laid off 6 months into my first job out of college. I'm just struggling to land Jr. SWE interviews in this climate.

Other Taro Engineers I've talked to say I have a solid resume with multiple internships, projects, and relevant experience for my level and the people in my limited network are happy to refer me and often say I am a strong fit.

But my guess is that despite having a strong resume for my level I'm a junior so I'll need handholding regardless

BUT, I'm just barely landing any interviews. Even with referrals.

Things I've tried:

• Applying Applying Applying. I spend 1-2 hours a day just applying because well, I'm not getting much interviews and dont have much else to do. ~1 every 150 apps land me an interview
• Networking, attending coffee chats, asking for referrals. But I am only a Junior and my network is fairly small and concentrated at previous jobs who are not hiring anymore
• Often people want to refer me. But their company isnt even hiring anyone with < 3-4 YoE

Fellow Taro members, does anyone have any advice or thoughts on landing interviews in this climate?

Any advice or words of wisdom is also appreciated in tackling this market.

How would you fill this gap of 3 years on my resume? (I had personal problems during Jan 2020 to Jan 2023)

Before this gap I had my own Startup where I made Innovative Web Games and now I am working at a University as Full Stack Dev since 8 Months.

I am a new grad SWE at meta. It has been around 6 months with the team and I am still struggling to be confident. How do I ship code faster? How do I trace through react components or hack files efficiently? I have received feedback around learning to independently scope out timelines and to be more effective at communicating about work. How do I make sure I become a trusted team member? And does the feedback indicate negative performance? How do I turn it around?

These days companies are making candidates wait weeks for an offer decision so that they can interview more people. Is it a bad idea to tell them that you have another offer to prevent this even if you don't really have another offer?

I was going through Alex's DSA course however I don't quite understand a few of the concepts he mentions. For example, Alex mentions that the difference between a yes and a strong yes is that a candidate asks more clarifying questions and edge cases. Aren't these pretty much the same thing? Shouldn't we clarify all of the edge cases in the beginning? Also, shouldn't we discuss alternative solutions before we start coding? Also, time/space complexity as well?

I don't think this is the case however because Alex says not to do the happy flow + edge cases all at once but first to code the happy flow -> account for edge cases (after).

I think what Alex is trying to mention from this course is when given a DSA problem we should do basic edge case clarification and verbalization of our solution to very quickly get a solution out and then try to come up with more edge cases/solutions to see if we missed anything (as this is how software is built in real life. I wanted to confirm this point. Sorry if this is a ramble.

I graduated University of Toronto computer science () with a decent GPA around a year ago. Following graduation, I applied to hundreds of jobs, networked aggressively, and skilled up as much as possible for around three months straight, every day, for the entire day. I landed a ridiculously small number of interviews, and I ended up landing a low-paying dev job with a stack I did not want in a tiny company with no employee benefits. Not exactly the tech bro dream 🥲.

Comparing with many of my peers who have similar backgrounds to me and who landed great jobs straight out of college, it's hard for me to know whether I'm falling victim to LinkedIn survivorship bias (i.e. I'm only seeing those who succeed) or if I am missing something here. Perhaps it's that I didn't do any internships during college, or that the market is bad right now, or that one simply needs referrals to get interviews. I am hoping to gain clarity on this.

My formal questions:

1. I am a graduate of one of the top computer science programs in North America, have a decent GPA, and have a portfolio of college projects. It's hard for me to assume my resume is that suboptimal that it undoes those facts. Why are companies not interested in interviewing me?
2. I have two years of experience total at two different companies, both of which are very small consultancies owned by friends of friends, which I suspect may be hurting my application. Is it better to apply for recent grad jobs or internships (which I'm applying for anyway) with no professional experience listed on my resume?
3. Something that I've seen emphasized on Taro is that it is much more attractive to specialize. For example, in the resume course, Alex recommends applying with a small number of technologies you are proficient in / have experience with. As a recent grad not getting interviews, I am (a) nervous I'll get thrown into a tech stack I don't care for, but thereafter only have a real chance at success interviewing for jobs with that stack, and (b) not actually proficient with any tech stack, so not sure I can craft a "specialized" resume. What are your thoughts on this, and what does a strong recent grad resume look like?

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer and for Taro's support in the job search!

I unfortunately reached a year gap in my resume. But I recently finished up an accelerator called iga in which develop a game and realise on itch io or steam do you think this will be a solid experience to list in my experience section or go in my project section

I have a question about Alex's course, "Get More Interviews: Write a Stellar Resume as a SWE."

Alex mentioned that labeling oneself as a "full-stack" engineer can be a trap for junior engineers, and it's better to focus a resume on either backend or frontend stacks.

I unfortunately fall into this category - I have about 1.5 YOE and take on a role of a full-stack SWE. Though I prefer backend development and feel stronger in it (I'll say its about a 65-35 for backend vs frontend), I feel my backend skills alone are not enough to secure a strong backend role. Given this, I’ve primarily been applying to full-stack positions.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do? I know this question is primarily for Alex but feel free to share your experiences on how I should navigate this!

Thank you!

I am confident about cracking interviews, but the issue is that I'm not receiving any interview invitations. I successfully interviewed for a Data Science role in Supply Chain and was converted to full-time. However, since then, I haven't secured any interviews. I've attempted to apply with referrals Links, but no luck.

Could you please review my resume and provide suggestions for improvement? Additionally, do you have any tips on how to secure more interviews?

My usual process involves going to LinkedIn, identifying a suitable job, connecting with many people in similar roles at that company, and requesting a referral before applying for the role.

This is my resume -

I had recently joined as an entry-level engineer 6 months ago, and I have been told now that I will be basically working as part of two teams, with half of my time devoted to each one. So I will essentially continue to deliver some work to my current team, while learning a new tech under the same org and delivering to them as well.

The new team I will be working with is still unsure, I have been given two options and have been told about the scope of each of them, I have to revert back with an answer in a few days. I have been told that priorities might change, and adjustments will be made accordingly. So everything is a bit dicey at the moment.

My concern relating to this is:

• Is this an indication of my current team not having sufficient work for an entry-level software engineer like me? It is a database-ops team, already having 2 senior-level developers. Furthermore, is it an indication that I am not delivering at the level they expected and hence my abilities are not of use in the current scenario?
• I haven't explicitly received any negative feedback from my manager or my peers so far, and have been overworking sometimes. However the current change is a bit overwhelming given it is still not sure where I would be used as a resource, or if my work is actually making an impact. Also even though there is no negative feedback, there has also not been a lot of positive encouragement, it is like a neutral situation where I have been told I am meeting expectations, but it feels like I might not be exceeding them, or might just be an average performer.

Just wanted to know if anyone here has faced this before, or have any insights on this. Also since the market is bad, I am a bit concerned that this change might not be an excuse for a future layoff or something like that.

When I was hired, the hiring manager said they were debating between mid-level and entry-level for me, but decided to go with the more conservative approach since I don’t know the tech stack here. How can I quickly show my technical skills despite not knowing the stack?

I know about the Pomodoro Technique but I feel that 25 minutes is too short of a time block to get and stay in the zone.

How would you organize your day into time blocks for deep work while maintaining focus and not burning out?

• Four-hour blocks with a break in between?
• One eight-hour block (if there are no meetings)?
• One six-hour block?

I am a self taught dev, and I keep getting this horrible imposter syndrome that I must know the fundamentals of operating systems, networking, or computer architecture even though it has nothing to do with my job. It almost seems that I am the type of person that needs school even though I failed out of it. How can I learn to cope with not needing to know everything? It seems like I want to learn everything but honestly it's not necessary.

I'm a junior engineer, and I have a second-round software developer interview coming up where the format is as follows: Group technical interview with three product managers (director, senior, senior) and one software engineer.

I can't find any more information about this interview online (Reddit, Glassdoor), and the HR coordinator/recruiter has not answered my follow-up question in terms of live-coding.

The first round was a behavioral recorded video interview with nine questions, and I feel like I did not over/undersell experience.

Any tips for how to prepare for this interview or redirects to existing Taro questions with this information would be appreciated. I would be glad to provide more information as well; I am trying to manage my nerves.

How to use data to come up with estimates for tasks at the initial stages? What's a reasonable time to come up with the estimates themselves (if there's research involved)?

Hi all. I have a verbal offer for a contract role. The recruiter said that they are going to send the official offer letter tomorrow. This company moved really fast and based on how fast they moved, they probably expect me to sign same day as receiving the offer.

I am in the final stages for a couple of other companies. I sped up the interviews as much as possible but I can't imagine they can get me an official offer tomorrow.

How should I handle this? I would like to finish these last interviews and see if I get an offer but the timeline is not lining up well.

Update:
I decided to take the offer. I talked to one of the companies that I am interviewing with. They said that they need over a week to get an offer out and they have two other candidates for the role. If I get a full-time offer, I will decide if it's worth it to renege the contract role. The market is so brutal that I don't feel comfortable risking my only offer, and I have no clue how the competition looks for the roles I am interviewing for.