I’m a software engineer with 25 years in the tech industry and I’m currently unemployed after being laid off from Big Tech.
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions from college students and junior engineers asking the same thing: how do you move forward in today’s brutal tech job market? That question takes me back more than 20 years to when I was a brand-new CS graduate. Back then, the world was very different. A degree from a good school was often enough to get your foot in the door.
My first job dropped me into a high-pressure consulting project just one month before launch. I was fixing bugs for a major telecom client, despite barely understanding unit tests, build systems, IDEs, or even Java dependencies. I learned the hard way, with the help of patient teammates, late-night launches, production chaos, and mentors who cared more about growth than perfection. Today’s junior engineers are far more skilled than I ever was, but the landscape is stacked against them. Asian Dad Energy
Entry-level roles are scarce. Graduates compete with laid-off mid-level engineers, offshore labor, senior engineers augmented by AI, and even entire data centers replacing human work. Interns build real, production-ready systems and still don’t get offers.
Support networks are thinner. Job security is fragile. Too often, the industry feels like it’s sacrificing its next generation. In this video, I share hard-earned perspective and practical coping strategies for junior engineers trying to break in, from being honest with yourself about why you’re in tech, to building real-world projects, maximizing internships, preparing strategically for interviews, applying broadly, and staying flexible about roles, companies, and paths. No false promises. Just honest advice from someone who’s been there—and still cares deeply about the future of this profession.
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