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Career Talk Job Search Queries 2 years ago
Posted on 16 Aug 2022, this text provides information on Job Search Queries related to Career Talk. Please note that while accuracy is prioritized, the data presented might not be entirely correct or up-to-date. This information is offered for general knowledge and informational purposes only, and should not be considered as a substitute for professional advice.
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I've recently graduated with a BS in Computer Engineering, and I have been looking for a job. I've had 4 internships in the past; they've been at both government and private sector, both small and large. However, I've found the common factor is that they set you in front of a computer, and expect you to code for essentially 8 hours straight. (Edit: When I say 'program', I mean programming and all that it realistically entails. I didn't sit and bang out elegant, functional code all day. I fixed bugs, researched solutions, got fed up and blamed the hardware, etc.)
Now, I'm not a complete fool. I knew that Computer Engineering would involve a large amount of programming when I signed up, and that I'd spend a significant portion of my time interacting directly with computers. However, actually sitting down and considering the next ~40 years of my life would be nothing but this left me feeling a little perturbed.
I don't hate programming; I actually quite like it. I've been working on personal projects while I'm unemployed, and I feel motivated to code in general. But I can't go for >4 hours without feeling completely burnt.
I'm wondering if there are any jobs where I can apply my skillset, while not being trapped working on one single thing for 8 hours every day. I realize that whatever "other thing" I'm doing while not programming will be tied heavily to computing/programming (tutoring, research, writing, etc.), which is totally fine. I just need something to break my responsibilities up.
I'm sure these types of jobs exist, however I don't have the familiarity with the industry to know about them.
EDIT: I wanted to clarify that I didn't spend 8 hours banging out new code. I was working on pre-existing code in almost every case. So of course, I did spend a significant amount of time debugging and working with/learning code that other people wrote. I think it's safe to assume that unless you're developing your own app or working for a small shop, that you won't be creating your own brand-new code right off the bat, and I'm okay with that. However, it felt like 90% of my day was sitting alone in my cube, staring at an IDE window. That's really the part I feel I need to be broken up.
Based on what you tell us, it seems that those jobs that expect you to code for several hours straight may be related to the Software Engineering area of CS (although 8 hours straight sounds a bit exaggerated IMHO).
Those kind of jobs are more code-intensive: a project is designed, tasks divided and assigned, and then it's "just" a matter of coding and coding until all tasks are completed. Depending on the size of company and the practices they have on board this might result in several (4-6) hours of "straight coding"... but in my experience effective coding time can be much less.
Being realistic, if one had no bugs or setbacks then if you coded for 4-6 hours straight most surely the project will be done in a very little time... but there are many other aspects to Software Engineering than just coding like a monkey. When you hit bugs you have to stop and think how to solve them, when starting a new task you have to stop and think how to proceed or consult peers... as we can see, there is much more to Software Engineering than "just plain coding", and if we were able to code without interruptions or setbacks this would run more smoothly.
That being said, there are other areas of CS that are less code intensive. One of them for example is Data Science area.
Generally speaking, in Data Science related jobs you spend more time on the thinking part and less on the coding one, as these projects tend to require fewer lines of code/boilerplate but each line tends to be more significant than other kinds of projects. However, that doesn't mean that Data Science is paradise for CS folks; coding is easy, knowing what to code is the hard part, and Data Science has lots of hard parts on thinking (note: I am currently leading both DS projects and Software Engineering ones)
So, to sum it up. Perhaps you would be more interested in other fields, like Data Science, or take on more lead roles which require a bit less coding and more managing. However, sometimes one has to "climb their way up" and learn your ways, before actually reaching a less code-intensive/leadership job. Expecting that freshly out of College might me a bit unrealistic, but don't lose your hope just yet as you have several other options :)
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