Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
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Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Hey BH,
I wanted to get some of your thoughts on a possible career change to software dev and if it even makes sense to do so. I am currently a Mechanical Engineer making ~115k/yr in a HCOL area. I am 30 years old, save ~65k/year, and currently have ~670K NW. Regardless of path of choice, I think I can get to FIRE status ($1m for me) in about 4-5 years.
When I was in college, I enjoyed taking an intro programming class. I I almost declared my major in CS, but ultimately decided that mechanical engr was a safer path, incorrectly thinking that $10K difference in earnings per year is negligible. If I had understood the power of compounding interest then (and FIRE), I would've come to a different conclusion. There is certainly regret on what could've been, but I reconcile it by convincing myself that it is pointless to think about and that I am extremely happy and grateful how well things turned out taking the Mechanical path.
Over the years, I have assessed primarily 2 paths but a quick calculation shows that it's not really worth it. A 2 year masters program in CS would cost me $50k (tuition) + $150k (opportunity cost of 2 years in savings) = ~200K. It makes no sense to go this route. Then there's the bootcamp route, but it seems a little risky.
Recently, a 3rd path came across my radar, and I am wondering if this is worth exploring. I work for a megacorp and we have software departments. I could ask to transfer internally and start from scratch from there. Restarting is definitely going to be a bit challenging, especially I am very comfortable with my current job and am happy in general. If I go this route, I'll work in the software role (if that's even allowed here) for few years and then seek greener pastures elsewhere, since my industry can't support a much higher salary (Mech or otherwise). Maybe I'll even have to take a pay cut initially, but in the long term, I am confident that I will be better off. But should I risk it? On one hand, it's crazy to leave a comfortable, fairly low stress job that I'm OK with doing; on the other, I think it's important avoid being softened in the absence of challenges and continue to take risks.
I think ultimately there is some weird ego thing going on. Maybe it's a way to fulfill my ego knowing that I can do it. I'm not sure. I certainly don't need the money, but knowing that I can capitalize on my ability in a more remunerative industry surely feels good. I do enjoy doing the algorithm type of questions and the heavy thinking aspect of it. Fiancee who's in software is also gently nudging me in this direction, but is OK even if I don't. We will be starting a side project together to see how I will like it.
Bogleheads, what do you think? Should I cruise to the finish line or embark on a new journey? Can you comment on the 3rd path I mentioned? How do supervisors & company react to changes like this typically?
Feb 2022 update
Transferred to software dept internally few months ago. Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
Nov 2022 update
I have a year of software exp at my current company now. After a full year of grinding, I am happy to report that I passed the onsite at one of the big tech companies, and I'm currently waiting on team match. This could take quite some time due to the economic slowdown and hiring freeze. Things can still fall through, of course, but the hardest part is over
I wanted to get some of your thoughts on a possible career change to software dev and if it even makes sense to do so. I am currently a Mechanical Engineer making ~115k/yr in a HCOL area. I am 30 years old, save ~65k/year, and currently have ~670K NW. Regardless of path of choice, I think I can get to FIRE status ($1m for me) in about 4-5 years.
When I was in college, I enjoyed taking an intro programming class. I I almost declared my major in CS, but ultimately decided that mechanical engr was a safer path, incorrectly thinking that $10K difference in earnings per year is negligible. If I had understood the power of compounding interest then (and FIRE), I would've come to a different conclusion. There is certainly regret on what could've been, but I reconcile it by convincing myself that it is pointless to think about and that I am extremely happy and grateful how well things turned out taking the Mechanical path.
Over the years, I have assessed primarily 2 paths but a quick calculation shows that it's not really worth it. A 2 year masters program in CS would cost me $50k (tuition) + $150k (opportunity cost of 2 years in savings) = ~200K. It makes no sense to go this route. Then there's the bootcamp route, but it seems a little risky.
Recently, a 3rd path came across my radar, and I am wondering if this is worth exploring. I work for a megacorp and we have software departments. I could ask to transfer internally and start from scratch from there. Restarting is definitely going to be a bit challenging, especially I am very comfortable with my current job and am happy in general. If I go this route, I'll work in the software role (if that's even allowed here) for few years and then seek greener pastures elsewhere, since my industry can't support a much higher salary (Mech or otherwise). Maybe I'll even have to take a pay cut initially, but in the long term, I am confident that I will be better off. But should I risk it? On one hand, it's crazy to leave a comfortable, fairly low stress job that I'm OK with doing; on the other, I think it's important avoid being softened in the absence of challenges and continue to take risks.
I think ultimately there is some weird ego thing going on. Maybe it's a way to fulfill my ego knowing that I can do it. I'm not sure. I certainly don't need the money, but knowing that I can capitalize on my ability in a more remunerative industry surely feels good. I do enjoy doing the algorithm type of questions and the heavy thinking aspect of it. Fiancee who's in software is also gently nudging me in this direction, but is OK even if I don't. We will be starting a side project together to see how I will like it.
Bogleheads, what do you think? Should I cruise to the finish line or embark on a new journey? Can you comment on the 3rd path I mentioned? How do supervisors & company react to changes like this typically?
Feb 2022 update
Transferred to software dept internally few months ago. Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
Nov 2022 update
I have a year of software exp at my current company now. After a full year of grinding, I am happy to report that I passed the onsite at one of the big tech companies, and I'm currently waiting on team match. This could take quite some time due to the economic slowdown and hiring freeze. Things can still fall through, of course, but the hardest part is over
Last edited by marathonfi on Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:12 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I don't see the point in changing careers for just 4-5 years.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:29 pm I wanted to get some of your thoughts on a possible career change to software dev and if it even makes sense to do so. I am currently a Mechanical Engineer making ~115k/yr in a HCOL area. I am 30 years old, save ~65k/year, and currently have ~670K NW. Regardless of path of choice, I think I can get to FIRE status ($1m for me) in about 4-5 years.
Bogleheads, what do you think? Should I cruise to the finish line or embark on a new journey?
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
That's I reasoned with myself for a long time too, but I'm open to working longer if it's enjoyable. At one point, I thought about going back to school for CS after I'm FIRED at age ~35.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Maybe we define the "RE" portion of FIRE differently.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:35 pm That's I reasoned with myself for a long time too, but I'm open to working longer if it's enjoyable. At one point, I thought about going back to school for CS after I'm FIRED at age ~35.
With most decisions
- determine your goals
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most reliably
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most quickly
- decide your path
- evaluate and revise as necessary
Seems like you would want to get clear what your real goals are first.
Last edited by JoeRetire on Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
You do not need a CS master's degree to become a software developer or programmer. I have many many friends from my ME undergrad that are now programmers at Google or Apple. The trick is you need to pass the tech interview and have some visible project experience in the right frameworks or languages. You can do a boot camp or self-study and work with open source development.
Whether or not you should do it has to be about more than just the money. If you like the work and want to challenge yourself, what's the worse that happens? You take a few years to try, hate it, and go back to ME not much farther away from FIRE than you are now?
Edit: by visible project experience I mean "here is an app, here is a piece of software you can download, here is a website backend" or whatever you are interested in doing.
Whether or not you should do it has to be about more than just the money. If you like the work and want to challenge yourself, what's the worse that happens? You take a few years to try, hate it, and go back to ME not much farther away from FIRE than you are now?
Edit: by visible project experience I mean "here is an app, here is a piece of software you can download, here is a website backend" or whatever you are interested in doing.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
You'd want to assess where there are jobs where you want to be. I worked for a tech hardware supplier who makes lots of the devices that are taking those 1's and zeros and making things happen. They have been exporting jobs for 20 years. Entire programming groups are being shut down and "coincidentally" a new programming group pops up in either Bangalore or China. This a job that is VERY easy to export.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
A CS degree isn't needed to be a programmer. I've known a number of mathematicians, and engineers in other disciplines, end up becoming programmers. And this is especially true for tech companies. They will vet you based on questions and you actually showing them you can program. They don't rely on certifications, degrees, etc. They want to see actual results.
Even government jobs often simply required a STEM degree although the government (fed) often puts too much trust in certifications.
Honestly I never took a single CS class back in my day. I took strictly EE classes that were computer related. In those days all I saw CS people do was a ton of documentation and not enough programming. I learned stuff like C when I started working.
Good luck.
Even government jobs often simply required a STEM degree although the government (fed) often puts too much trust in certifications.
Honestly I never took a single CS class back in my day. I took strictly EE classes that were computer related. In those days all I saw CS people do was a ton of documentation and not enough programming. I learned stuff like C when I started working.
Good luck.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Self study and do an internal transfer at your company. I'm guessing your comp wouldn't even take a hit.
I would only do this if you plan keep working for a while. The first couple of years probably won't be fun, unless you like this kind of thing. (I personally hate the first year into a new job, as I try to get my bearings.)
I would only do this if you plan keep working for a while. The first couple of years probably won't be fun, unless you like this kind of thing. (I personally hate the first year into a new job, as I try to get my bearings.)
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
When it comes to choosing a career path, you need to make sure that it satisfies three conditions:
1. Can I make money at it?
2. Do I enjoy it?
3. Am I good at it?
Obviously, software development satisfies #1. What isn't clear from your post is whether it would satisfy 2 and 3. You mention early in your post that you almost majored in CS but didn't, so clearly it held some enjoyment for you. However, when I read the rest of your post, it sounds like your main motivation is around money (i.e. perception that you could make more in software development) and ego (i.e. I want to prove to myself that I can do it). You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself whether you would truly enjoy it. Only you can answer that for yourself.
The third aspect, am I good at it, is also something you need to be honest about with yourself. Not everybody has the chops to work in software development. My guess is that you could probably make a go at it, given that you are an engineer already as that gives you a logical, problem solving way of thinking.
So assuming you want to make this jump, your plan of internally rotating to a software dev position is a good one. At a minimum, you already understand the company's general domain, so it's not like you are going into a completely foreign domain to you. You might need to start at a lower level than your current position, given your inexperience. However, think of it as an investment as it will bolster your skills and resume in software development.
I would also suggest some amount of self-study. Sign up for Pluralsight or similar training website. Download the developer tools on your personal computer at home. Work on your own coding projects. Looks into certifications to help give you some credentials. That way, you can further sharpen the blade.
In your case, a full time masters program is probably overkill.
I did see somebody saying "why bother if you are going to retire in 5 years". I say, why not? It will give you some skills that maybe you could leverage in retirement part time or on a volunteer basis. If you enjoy programming, then there is no reason to scratch the itch. Don't let the doubters deter you if this is what you want to do. It's your life!
1. Can I make money at it?
2. Do I enjoy it?
3. Am I good at it?
Obviously, software development satisfies #1. What isn't clear from your post is whether it would satisfy 2 and 3. You mention early in your post that you almost majored in CS but didn't, so clearly it held some enjoyment for you. However, when I read the rest of your post, it sounds like your main motivation is around money (i.e. perception that you could make more in software development) and ego (i.e. I want to prove to myself that I can do it). You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself whether you would truly enjoy it. Only you can answer that for yourself.
The third aspect, am I good at it, is also something you need to be honest about with yourself. Not everybody has the chops to work in software development. My guess is that you could probably make a go at it, given that you are an engineer already as that gives you a logical, problem solving way of thinking.
So assuming you want to make this jump, your plan of internally rotating to a software dev position is a good one. At a minimum, you already understand the company's general domain, so it's not like you are going into a completely foreign domain to you. You might need to start at a lower level than your current position, given your inexperience. However, think of it as an investment as it will bolster your skills and resume in software development.
I would also suggest some amount of self-study. Sign up for Pluralsight or similar training website. Download the developer tools on your personal computer at home. Work on your own coding projects. Looks into certifications to help give you some credentials. That way, you can further sharpen the blade.
In your case, a full time masters program is probably overkill.
I did see somebody saying "why bother if you are going to retire in 5 years". I say, why not? It will give you some skills that maybe you could leverage in retirement part time or on a volunteer basis. If you enjoy programming, then there is no reason to scratch the itch. Don't let the doubters deter you if this is what you want to do. It's your life!
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
One does not need to start over completely to find new and profitable challenges. Based on your background and stated interests, I'd suggest that you look into systems engineering or control systems. Mechanical engineers with legit software skills are highly sought after by companies that design complex electromechanical systems.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I agree with this. If your primary goal is to get to an early retirement, whether that is 5 years or 10 years or age 50, then I would stay the course in your current occupation, possibly changing employers to get a nice salary bump. If your primary goal is to love your work and you don't really care that much about retiring, then you could go for the software route, but then be prepared to possibly work until 65 if things end up bumpy in the earnings department.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:37 pmMaybe we define the "RE" portion of FIRE differently.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:35 pm That's I reasoned with myself for a long time too, but I'm open to working longer if it's enjoyable. At one point, I thought about going back to school for CS after I'm FIRED at age ~35.
With most decisions
- determine your goals
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most reliably
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most quickly
- decide your path
- evaluate and revise as necessary
Seems like you would want to get clear what your real goals are first.
I faced a similar decision around age 34. I had been in one career since college (supply chain), but was thinking of switching over to software engineering. With three small children, I decided it was too risky. I ended up changing jobs within my field and now 20 years in, I am ready to retire at age 55 next year. This has been a good economic decision for me and my family allowing me to raise the 3 kids and provide for their college educations, etc. The work got really boring around age 48, but luckily I was able to accumulate enough assets to be able to pull the cord fairly early.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
You all make it sound like he is changing his career to become a barista. He is going from Engineering to Software Development. Yes maybe there would be a small temporary salary decrease, but it's not like he is going to go from "retire at 35" to "work until he drops dead".Escapevelocity wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:54 pmI agree with this. If your primary goal is to get to an early retirement, whether that is 5 years or 10 years or age 50, then I would stay the course in your current occupation, possibly changing employers to get a nice salary bump. If your primary goal is to love your work and you don't really care that much about retiring, then you could go for the software route, but then be prepared to possibly work until 65 if things end up bumpy in the earnings department.JoeRetire wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:37 pmMaybe we define the "RE" portion of FIRE differently.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:35 pm That's I reasoned with myself for a long time too, but I'm open to working longer if it's enjoyable. At one point, I thought about going back to school for CS after I'm FIRED at age ~35.
With most decisions
- determine your goals
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most reliably
- evaluate which path gets you to your goals most quickly
- decide your path
- evaluate and revise as necessary
Seems like you would want to get clear what your real goals are first.
I faced a similar decision around age 34. I had been in one career since college (supply chain), but was thinking of switching over to software engineering. With three small children, I decided it was too risky. I ended up changing jobs within my field and now 20 years in, I am ready to retire at age 55 next year. This has been a good economic decision for me and my family allowing me to raise the 3 kids and provide for their college educations, etc. The work got really boring around age 48, but luckily I was able to accumulate enough assets to be able to pull the cord fairly early.
Besides he's got more NW saved that most people at his age.
So maybe he goes from retire at 35 to retire at 38. If he enjoys the next 8 years better because he is working in a career he likes more, then it's a fair tradeoff.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
You all make it sound like he is changing his career to become a barista. He is going from Engineering to Software Development. Yes maybe there would be a small temporary salary decrease, but it's not like he is going to go from "retire at 35" to "work until he drops dead".
Besides he's got more NW saved that most people at his age.
So maybe he goes from retire at 35 to retire at 38. If he enjoys the next 8 years better because he is working in a career he likes more, then it's a fair tradeoff.
[/quote]
I specifically said it could be 5 years or 10 or whatever until retirement, but as Joe also said, determine your priority first. Changing occupations beyond age 30 will likely slow down your path to retirement. That's perfectly fine, if you are prepared for that up front. There is risk involved. That's all.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
You're in a HCOL and FIRE is ~30k a year? that <$20k a year after medical insurance. Seriously?
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Your question brings a smile. I did exactly that. I have undergraduate in Mechanical engineering and went on to study MS in computer science at Clemson(you can guess it my handle ).
It has been one of the most rewarding experience. I love the field and it has been the best decisions of my life.
Lot of people recommend you can program without going to college. That might be true. But going through the program gave me the fundamentals that helped me navigate the evolution of computing trends and keep my job and more importantly totally enjoy it. My advice is to go to a good school that l gives you lot of exposure to various technologies. Schools like Georgia Tech and UT austin have awesome programs.
If you need more details just send me a message and I will be happy to answer you and share my own experiences.
Best regards.
It has been one of the most rewarding experience. I love the field and it has been the best decisions of my life.
Lot of people recommend you can program without going to college. That might be true. But going through the program gave me the fundamentals that helped me navigate the evolution of computing trends and keep my job and more importantly totally enjoy it. My advice is to go to a good school that l gives you lot of exposure to various technologies. Schools like Georgia Tech and UT austin have awesome programs.
If you need more details just send me a message and I will be happy to answer you and share my own experiences.
Best regards.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
(For perspective I am a retired software developer here, I have a very old B.S in Computer science.)
That would seem to be a natural fit for you and probably a lot more interesting than changing careers just to get into something like accounting software or web pages.
I do not have any direct experience with robotics but I would think that you could easily get into robotics either by finding a job where you can use your mechanical engineering skills and learn the software on the job or by taking a few classes in robotics first if you needed that to get your foot in the door.
At first you would likely work more on the mechanical side but in a couple of years you could learn more of the software side as you needed it.
You mentioned that you worked for a Megacorp. You might want to look to see if they have any positions where they require robotics, even if they do not call it robotics. There is a lot of automation in things like production lines and automated warehouses where a company might have need for someone like you. Before I retired the company I was working for was starting to try out Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) which was basically a warehouse that was several stories tall and several city blocks in size that was automated and almost all the work was done by robots. For safety for the most part people were locked out of the building when it was operating. I was never able to work on that project but it sounded like some neat stuff.
A lot of things like cars have a lot of embedded software now too so there are lots of opportunities to use both mechanical engineering and computer skills together.
Instead of thinking about it as a career change you might think of it more as taking your current career in a new direction.
Have you thought about robotics?
That would seem to be a natural fit for you and probably a lot more interesting than changing careers just to get into something like accounting software or web pages.
I do not have any direct experience with robotics but I would think that you could easily get into robotics either by finding a job where you can use your mechanical engineering skills and learn the software on the job or by taking a few classes in robotics first if you needed that to get your foot in the door.
At first you would likely work more on the mechanical side but in a couple of years you could learn more of the software side as you needed it.
You mentioned that you worked for a Megacorp. You might want to look to see if they have any positions where they require robotics, even if they do not call it robotics. There is a lot of automation in things like production lines and automated warehouses where a company might have need for someone like you. Before I retired the company I was working for was starting to try out Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) which was basically a warehouse that was several stories tall and several city blocks in size that was automated and almost all the work was done by robots. For safety for the most part people were locked out of the building when it was operating. I was never able to work on that project but it sounded like some neat stuff.
A lot of things like cars have a lot of embedded software now too so there are lots of opportunities to use both mechanical engineering and computer skills together.
Instead of thinking about it as a career change you might think of it more as taking your current career in a new direction.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I will definitely need to take examine my answer to #2 before making the jump. I think I will be decent at it, at least based on my enthusiasm and approach to ProjectEuler questions. Not sure how well that translates to LeetCode type of questions though.humblecoder wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:51 pm When it comes to choosing a career path, you need to make sure that it satisfies three conditions:
1. Can I make money at it?
2. Do I enjoy it?
3. Am I good at it?
Obviously, software development satisfies #1. What isn't clear from your post is whether it would satisfy 2 and 3. You mention early in your post that you almost majored in CS but didn't, so clearly it held some enjoyment for you. However, when I read the rest of your post, it sounds like your main motivation is around money (i.e. perception that you could make more in software development) and ego (i.e. I want to prove to myself that I can do it). You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself whether you would truly enjoy it. Only you can answer that for yourself.
The third aspect, am I good at it, is also something you need to be honest about with yourself. Not everybody has the chops to work in software development. My guess is that you could probably make a go at it, given that you are an engineer already as that gives you a logical, problem solving way of thinking.
So assuming you want to make this jump, your plan of internally rotating to a software dev position is a good one. At a minimum, you already understand the company's general domain, so it's not like you are going into a completely foreign domain to you. You might need to start at a lower level than your current position, given your inexperience. However, think of it as an investment as it will bolster your skills and resume in software development.
I would also suggest some amount of self-study. Sign up for Pluralsight or similar training website. Download the developer tools on your personal computer at home. Work on your own coding projects. Looks into certifications to help give you some credentials. That way, you can further sharpen the blade.
In your case, a full time masters program is probably overkill.
I did see somebody saying "why bother if you are going to retire in 5 years". I say, why not? It will give you some skills that maybe you could leverage in retirement part time or on a volunteer basis. If you enjoy programming, then there is no reason to scratch the itch. Don't let the doubters deter you if this is what you want to do. It's your life!
I'll do some self-studying, and see if I can rotate internally later this year. This is probably the least risky route, and gives me the opportunity to fall back onto ME if things don't go as expected.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Thanks. I'll keep this in mind. Sounds like the path is straightforward if I can get these 3 ducks in a row: enjoyment, some experience, and ability to pass the tech interviews. I imagine getting interviews be harder initially.muddgirl wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:37 pm You do not need a CS master's degree to become a software developer or programmer. I have many many friends from my ME undergrad that are now programmers at Google or Apple. The trick is you need to pass the tech interview and have some visible project experience in the right frameworks or languages. You can do a boot camp or self-study and work with open source development.
Whether or not you should do it has to be about more than just the money. If you like the work and want to challenge yourself, what's the worse that happens? You take a few years to try, hate it, and go back to ME not much farther away from FIRE than you are now?
Edit: by visible project experience I mean "here is an app, here is a piece of software you can download, here is a website backend" or whatever you are interested in doing.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I have. I actually was going to join the robotics group few years ago in a different division, but I decided to leave that state for personal reasons. It would've been good but it's worth the sacrifice. Unfortunately, there isn't any robotics stuff in my current division/facility and moving back isn't something I'm interested in.Watty wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:45 pm (For perspective I am a retired software developer here, I have a very old B.S in Computer science.)
Have you thought about robotics?
That would seem to be a natural fit for you and probably a lot more interesting than changing careers just to get into something like accounting software or web pages.
I do not have any direct experience with robotics but I would think that you could easily get into robotics either by finding a job where you can use your mechanical engineering skills and learn the software on the job or by taking a few classes in robotics first if you needed that to get your foot in the door.
At first you would likely work more on the mechanical side but in a couple of years you could learn more of the software side as you needed it.
You mentioned that you worked for a Megacorp. You might want to look to see if they have any positions where they require robotics, even if they do not call it robotics. There is a lot of automation in things like production lines and automated warehouses where a company might have need for someone like you. Before I retired the company I was working for was starting to try out Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) which was basically a warehouse that was several stories tall and several city blocks in size that was automated and almost all the work was done by robots. For safety for the most part people were locked out of the building when it was operating. I was never able to work on that project but it sounded like some neat stuff.
A lot of things like cars have a lot of embedded software now too so there are lots of opportunities to use both mechanical engineering and computer skills together.
Instead of thinking about it as a career change you might think of it more as taking your current career in a new direction.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I wouldn't stay in HCOL, and probably still have some sort of income in FIRE. I used the term loosely to mean leaving corporate America. But yes, I can probably survive on that amount.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Resume buzzwords get you the interview, if you have any kind of engineering degree. Also there are recruiters who specialize in being a pipeline to tech companies. Passing the interview is going to be harder than getting one.
Personally if I were in your shoes I would start with free online courses as a hobby and go from there. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Why fix something that is not broken?marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 12:29 pm ... Regardless of path of choice, I think I can get to FIRE status ($1m for me) in about 4-5 years.
... and that I am extremely happy and grateful how well things turned out taking the Mechanical path.
... it's crazy to leave a comfortable, fairly low stress job that I'm OK with doing;
Taking care of tomorrow while enjoying today.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Recently retired engineer here, who spent the last 20 years of my working career with a small software company. My experience may point out a new direction for you.
I worked for a number of years in the oil and gas industry, using the ASME B&PV Code. Around age 45 I went to work for a small company that published software for design of oil and gas equipment, using the B&PV Code. My career there was quite remunerative for me. I myself did not do programming, although I did provide some design algorithms, providing a backstop for program checking and QA, technical support, etc (the company was so small when I signed on I assisted in literally making diskettes and CDs and mailing them out to clients). The majority of the program developers were (and are) mechanical engineers who learned sufficient programming skills to perform this work. The company is truly a success with major clients world-wide, even though it remains a small company with under 50 employees.
Around Houston, Texas...the center of the oil and gas industry...there are multiple dozens of similar companies, each producing niche software in their (owners and employees) field of expertise. I have to assume that this scenario is played out in many industries that utilize mechanical and other engineers: that there are small software companies, owned and run by engineers, publishing niche software with engineer programmers who are knowledgeable about their field and its requirements.
This type of work might provide the best fit for you. No need to gain another degree before being hired on (though some coursework in programming will certainly help and may be mandatory), and it immediately leverages off your education and experience as an engineer. You could be geared up for this pretty quickly, unlike spending a lot of time and money on another degree in computer science, etc.
Really, there are multiple software publishing companies putting out products strictly intended for engineering usage, from large to small. Consider Autodesk, etc, they're all over. Heck, Autodesk was a dinky company that saw the potential of personal computers when they came out, and they took down Intergraph with their dedicated (and hugely expensive) workstations. This may be much more accessible ...and gratifying... to you than dreaming of working for Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc. where the work may be foreign to you and may even be uninteresting.
Good luck.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
A 30 year old ME in HCOL should be north of $115k. If you're interested in looking...
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
It would not hurt to look around at other companies to see what you might be able to find.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:06 pm I have. I actually was going to join the robotics group few years ago in a different division, but I decided to leave that state for personal reasons. It would've been good but it's worth the sacrifice. Unfortunately, there isn't any robotics stuff in my current division/facility and moving back isn't something I'm interested in.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Just a quick update. Seems like it's been so long but it's only been 2.5 months.muddgirl wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:17 pmResume buzzwords get you the interview, if you have any kind of engineering degree. Also there are recruiters who specialize in being a pipeline to tech companies. Passing the interview is going to be harder than getting one.
Personally if I were in your shoes I would start with free online courses as a hobby and go from there. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
I have to say I gained some mental clarity after my initial post. I have made decent progress so far following a webdev course my finacee's prof posted on YouTube and I am more confident and focused about the future direction. I have been devoting 15-20 hours a week to learning, basically cutting out ~90% of non-productive time. She's been instrumental and bailed me out so many times when I ran into issues (there were many). My own behavioral change is also somewhat of a surprise. It was hard to be productive initially and I was in a constant state of dread , but I think I found the ultimate behavioral hack after seeing my own initial progress. To be fair, it's not easy setting up and installing all these software packages initially, especially for a newbie. I really enjoy the problem solving aspect, for now. Who knows if I'll feel same after a few years of it full time, but for now, I'm forging ahead full speed while remaining focused.
I plan to explore my software options internally internally in <2 months I feel comfortable after looking at some of the job requirements.. It's gonna be an interesting conversation with my boss.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I started my career as a programmer in an engineering group (EE, OR, chem e, …) more than many moons ago. I think everyone was doing a lot of coding to solve engineering problems in that group. It seems to me that if you could find something like that it might be a great opportunity.
I am out of the loop today but I would think there is still a demand for a ME who can code to work on software that requires ME expertise. What programming languages do you know? I would assume C or C++ would be a great asset; not sure what other languages would be good to have. What math skills do you have? I assume that math beyond ME would be another asset that might allow you to program for work that requires advanced math skills.
I think your post only talks about an intro programming class. Do you understand the fundamentals of coding (loops, arrays, …) that you can get from lots of different languages? Have you considered taking a programming class (maybe C or C++)?
If you have good coding skills you may be able to find a part time job coding while still keeping your day job. It might tell you whether coding is right for you. You might be able to work remote which increases your odds of finding something. Last thing, I knew many people who started their own software companies because they were smart and found a niche that they could fill. Most made a very good living.
If you PM me I will share more of my opinions. Good luck.
I am out of the loop today but I would think there is still a demand for a ME who can code to work on software that requires ME expertise. What programming languages do you know? I would assume C or C++ would be a great asset; not sure what other languages would be good to have. What math skills do you have? I assume that math beyond ME would be another asset that might allow you to program for work that requires advanced math skills.
I think your post only talks about an intro programming class. Do you understand the fundamentals of coding (loops, arrays, …) that you can get from lots of different languages? Have you considered taking a programming class (maybe C or C++)?
If you have good coding skills you may be able to find a part time job coding while still keeping your day job. It might tell you whether coding is right for you. You might be able to work remote which increases your odds of finding something. Last thing, I knew many people who started their own software companies because they were smart and found a niche that they could fill. Most made a very good living.
If you PM me I will share more of my opinions. Good luck.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Created an account just to post this. Have you looked into Georgia Tech’s OMSCS program - an online MS in Computer Science that can be done part-time, and all for under $8,000. I’m in a similar position and I started the program earlier this year. Best part is, my current employer will cover about 1/2 of my classes!
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
The more your NW grows, the less your salary seems to matter within a certain range. I am a few years older, reached FIRE already, but I'm now wanting to take a step back and work less hours and enjoy things a bit more. I not really interested much in the drama and churn of corporate middle management, so I stay in a technical role. It's a job and a means to an end. I think the only thing that could possibly motivate me more is if I had direct ownership in a business or startup. But working another salaried position for slightly more pay isn't really all that meaningful.
Obviously right now, Software Engineerings in HCOL areas can do extremely well if you are at a software-oriented company. For most other industries that use software as support or adjacent (but not core) to the business, you won't demand much (if any) of a premium in terms of salary. However, times change. Just because things are hot now does not mean they always will be. It's very similar to performance chasing with investing, it can end badly. I saw many people chase $$$ in Petroleum engineering only to eventually get laid off and not be able to find gainful employment in the industry. Tech is very cyclical.
That being said, I see little risk in trying to switch departments and try it out. If it's not a good fit, you can always go back to your old role in ME (more than likely). But if you truly want to retire in the near future I'm not sure what the point is, honestly. I'm currently at the point where market volatility has a much more meaningful impact and working just needs to cover the expenses.
Obviously right now, Software Engineerings in HCOL areas can do extremely well if you are at a software-oriented company. For most other industries that use software as support or adjacent (but not core) to the business, you won't demand much (if any) of a premium in terms of salary. However, times change. Just because things are hot now does not mean they always will be. It's very similar to performance chasing with investing, it can end badly. I saw many people chase $$$ in Petroleum engineering only to eventually get laid off and not be able to find gainful employment in the industry. Tech is very cyclical.
That being said, I see little risk in trying to switch departments and try it out. If it's not a good fit, you can always go back to your old role in ME (more than likely). But if you truly want to retire in the near future I'm not sure what the point is, honestly. I'm currently at the point where market volatility has a much more meaningful impact and working just needs to cover the expenses.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Quick update:
In July, I spoke to my manager about software interests and he was fairly supportive for a move to software, so I am actually just starting the new job within the company. The current setup is to let me try it out for few months and if things go well, I'll fully transition. If not, well, it'd be very embarrassing to go back to ME...
I have been shifting gears to C++ since that's the primary language that's used here. I found a random C++ pdf online, and it's actually surprisingly good. Videos don't do it for me. I find that my best learning method is good ole read, pause, and absorb.
Anyway, now the plan is to hunker down for next few months to build a good foundation, and my new goal for 2022 is to do 200~300 Leetcode problems. We'll see how it actually plays out. Stay tuned.
In July, I spoke to my manager about software interests and he was fairly supportive for a move to software, so I am actually just starting the new job within the company. The current setup is to let me try it out for few months and if things go well, I'll fully transition. If not, well, it'd be very embarrassing to go back to ME...
I have been shifting gears to C++ since that's the primary language that's used here. I found a random C++ pdf online, and it's actually surprisingly good. Videos don't do it for me. I find that my best learning method is good ole read, pause, and absorb.
Anyway, now the plan is to hunker down for next few months to build a good foundation, and my new goal for 2022 is to do 200~300 Leetcode problems. We'll see how it actually plays out. Stay tuned.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Once you get farther along, I highly recommend looking into learning how to write programs for NVIDIA GPU's with C++ using CUDA, it's an extremely in-demand skill for those writing engineering modeling and analysis programs (CFD, thermal analysis, radar analysis, etc etc). I'm a software developer with a mech engr background too, and CUDA gets used all over the place.marathonfi wrote: ↑Tue Sep 28, 2021 3:23 pm Quick update:
In July, I spoke to my manager about software interests and he was fairly supportive for a move to software, so I am actually just starting the new job within the company. The current setup is to let me try it out for few months and if things go well, I'll fully transition. If not, well, it'd be very embarrassing to go back to ME...
I have been shifting gears to C++ since that's the primary language that's used here. I found a random C++ pdf online, and it's actually surprisingly good. Videos don't do it for me. I find that my best learning method is good ole read, pause, and absorb.
Anyway, now the plan is to hunker down for next few months to build a good foundation, and my new goal for 2022 is to do 200~300 Leetcode problems. We'll see how it actually plays out. Stay tuned.
Portfolio: 75% VT, 25% BNDW/I-bonds/HYSA
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Interesting. I've done mostly structural analysis and not thermal/CFD, but the iterative step is probably similar, so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Another update:
Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Share the link to the webdev course?marathonfi wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 4:26 pm I have made decent progress so far following a webdev course my finacee's prof posted on YouTube and I am more confident and focused about the future
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlpPAaw ... bD&index=1Carousel wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 9:06 pmShare the link to the webdev course?marathonfi wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 4:26 pm I have made decent progress so far following a webdev course my finacee's prof posted on YouTube and I am more confident and focused about the future
I wouldn't recommend it for a complete beginner though, since at the time JS, HTML, and React, were all new to me. In hindsight, I probably would have been better off learning from a book (my preferred approach) before jumping in. It's a solid course.
Traversey Media (on YT) is also good for projects to follow along, and that helps a lot with debugging etc.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I suggest that you take 2-3 Software Engineer course at a local community college (Java , CSS, DB) You can do this in 1-2 semesters without a lot of financial commitment. This will give an understanding of programming and let you decide if you want a career in Software.
Then if you decide ask for a transfer in your current company (as you mentioned). Most companies pay for college education, so if like you can do a 2nd BS or MS. Many companies also have internal boot camp or courses so you may get this for free.
I work for a large manufacturing companies and just internal transfer someone form Mechanical Engineering to my team.
Then if you decide ask for a transfer in your current company (as you mentioned). Most companies pay for college education, so if like you can do a 2nd BS or MS. Many companies also have internal boot camp or courses so you may get this for free.
I work for a large manufacturing companies and just internal transfer someone form Mechanical Engineering to my team.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I have had a similar path. My undergraduate degree is in physics, and I went back for a CS masters, then a PhD, in my mid 20s. I also believe it was one of the best decisions of my life. I agree that it is important to learn the fundamentals of computer science, and today I feel blessed to be able to work in this field on really interesting problems and get paid incredibly well to boot.realclemsongrad wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:03 pm Your question brings a smile. I did exactly that. I have undergraduate in Mechanical engineering and went on to study MS in computer science at Clemson(you can guess it my handle ).
It has been one of the most rewarding experience. I love the field and it has been the best decisions of my life.
Lot of people recommend you can program without going to college. That might be true. But going through the program gave me the fundamentals that helped me navigate the evolution of computing trends and keep my job and more importantly totally enjoy it. My advice is to go to a good school that l gives you lot of exposure to various technologies. Schools like Georgia Tech and UT austin have awesome programs.
If you need more details just send me a message and I will be happy to answer you and share my own experiences.
Best regards.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Either you are misinformed or you observed a terrible CS department. Most top CS programs require some serious amounts of coding in a variety of languages. Documentation is a tiny part of most CS coursework, if anything I can barely remember any required course having documentation requirements, and maybe one elective I took had a small amount.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I am a retired software person. Right out of college I worked in an engineering group (I am CS) and did scientific programming for about 4 years. This whole group was engineering (mining, chemical, electrical, OR, …) for a large fortune 500 company. Of course, a lot has changed in 40+ years but I was wondering if you could find something where you could code and use your engineering talent. A group like i used to work in would probably be a great fit.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
It must vary. Its been decades since I was in school but a lot of the yougner guys that have CS/CE type degrees still indicate they don't do much programming in college. Of course it could be bad hiring by the companybeyou wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 2:42 pm
Either you are misinformed or you observed a terrible CS department. Most top CS programs require some serious amounts of coding in a variety of languages. Documentation is a tiny part of most CS coursework, if anything I can barely remember any required course having documentation requirements, and maybe one elective I took had a small amount.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Thanks for the update! Sounds interesting.
documentation comes before code
documentation comes before code
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
A lesson I can learn again at age 61 - never underestimate the power of doing something you are interested in doing ! Way to go!!!marathonfi wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 8:54 pm Another update:
Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
40 years ago CS programmes were all about coding.rich126 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 6:58 amIt must vary. Its been decades since I was in school but a lot of the yougner guys that have CS/CE type degrees still indicate they don't do much programming in college. Of course it could be bad hiring by the companybeyou wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 2:42 pm
Either you are misinformed or you observed a terrible CS department. Most top CS programs require some serious amounts of coding in a variety of languages. Documentation is a tiny part of most CS coursework, if anything I can barely remember any required course having documentation requirements, and maybe one elective I took had a small amount.
I think they still are. Compilers. Operating Systems. Software Engineering. 3 x 3rd or 4th year courses each of which packed a full year of work into 13 weeks (we didn't have trimesters - I think at Stanford they do it in 10 weeks ).
Computer Engineering those courses would be required, I think. CS it would be a strange programme that did not require 2/3 say. Plus a Final Year project of significant length & complexity (which would involve coding) - that's certainly true in the UK (would be required for almost any undergraduate degree).
With the proviso that there's an amount of Discrete Mathematics, Computing Theory etc. Turing Machines still blow my mind . NP Completeness
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Coding would be along with learning a Musical Instrument or studying a Foreign Language.Parkinglotracer wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 8:08 amA lesson I can learn again at age 61 - never underestimate the power of doing something you are interested in doing ! Way to go!!!marathonfi wrote: ↑Fri Feb 04, 2022 8:54 pm Another update:
Things are going really well. Work is surprisingly chill for the most part, even for a newbie like me. With plenty of energy and drive left after work hours, I started grinding Leetcode in late Nov, and have been putting in ~30 hours/wk. Did mostly easy and recently more mediums. It's addictive so I'm actually a little ahead of my original goal (solved ~100 problems so far 80%E, 20%M). Still got a lot to learn, but I think I'm on schedule to be a good candidate for big tech this fall.
Overall I'm loving it. I don't think about FIRE/investing anymore, which is good. I think it was holding me back in some ways before, knowing that if I'm going to FIRE anyway, what's the point of the grind? Suffice to say, my perspective has changed, and I'm very grateful to have taken the leap.
It's literally the only way we know that seems to stave off the impacts of aging on the brain & onset of dementia*. In old age homes, you sometimes see someone playing on the piano who has basically lost their short term memory, but can remember how to play. That combination of physical and mental activity.
I am convinced my mother's playing bridge (into her 90th year) was a major factor in keeping her brain going (her mother died of Alzheimers in her early 80s - neither had a particularly unhealthy diet, smoked or drank much).
Unfortunately with the Covid lockdown that ceased to be possible and she's definitely lost it in the last couple of years (isolation hasn't helped). The light is dimming quite fast, now.
* other than not smoking, moderate or no drinking (and never binge drinking), avoiding obesity/ diabetes etc. It appears that particulates (PM 2.5 and smaller) have a much greater effect that we realised, so that's an environmental factor.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I actually think that is sorely neglected (documentation I mean). It's a principle of good software engineering. I can see why, given the constraints re marking etc, that it is -- but it really shouldn't be.beyou wrote: ↑Sat Feb 05, 2022 2:42 pm
Either you are misinformed or you observed a terrible CS department. Most top CS programs require some serious amounts of coding in a variety of languages. Documentation is a tiny part of most CS coursework, if anything I can barely remember any required course having documentation requirements, and maybe one elective I took had a small amount.
It's an enormous problem (in academia) that a lot of code is not properly documented, I believe. Thinking more in application areas like science and social science (but doubtless true even in computing research).
Agree with serious amounts of coding in undergrad. The professor who taught us Operating Systems died a couple of years ago, and he had such a strong personality that I remember him & it very clearly**, long after the subject matter is gone from my brain.
** one of those courses I wish I had had the maturity of 30 years later to deal with it. He was arrogant, to be sure. But he had a philosophy of what he was trying to teach us, and that was important. It was good preparation for corporate life. His latter career, even post retirement, he devoted to teaching Software Reliability. And that is such an important area.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Interesting thread. I'm nearly 15 years into my EE career and sadly have lost a lot of the love I once had for it.
My mind is more pre-occupied with FIRE than anything else at this point. I've reached lean-ish FI already, but the income from my job seems so inconsequential relative to my investments. I'm very efficient at what I do, and keep the wheels spinning for my team to perform at quality budget/schedule/quality metrics, but....there's literally zero financial growth.
I hear stories on here about earning multiple hundreds of thousands or more while I'm lucky to get a bit less than inflation this year on a much more modest income in comparison. Growth potential? In management or a direct contributor role, not much. I may only have 1 or 2 promotions left, and they won't be for a substantial increase (less than 10%). Work occupies so much headspace throughout the week that I stop and wonder if it's even worth it anymore.
Quite demotivating honestly, and not really sure how to successfully pivot to something more exciting and lucrative. The current grind just has me padding my retirement accounts and that's all I really look forward to. There's a significant re-org every 6-12 months and it seems like the senior company management really has no long-term vision about what to do about the business, which is very stable with reliable margins. I imagine this is the case for MANY careers, but I picked this job as something stable during the great recession of 2008 and seemed to have missed out on significant upside reward as a result.
My mind is more pre-occupied with FIRE than anything else at this point. I've reached lean-ish FI already, but the income from my job seems so inconsequential relative to my investments. I'm very efficient at what I do, and keep the wheels spinning for my team to perform at quality budget/schedule/quality metrics, but....there's literally zero financial growth.
I hear stories on here about earning multiple hundreds of thousands or more while I'm lucky to get a bit less than inflation this year on a much more modest income in comparison. Growth potential? In management or a direct contributor role, not much. I may only have 1 or 2 promotions left, and they won't be for a substantial increase (less than 10%). Work occupies so much headspace throughout the week that I stop and wonder if it's even worth it anymore.
Quite demotivating honestly, and not really sure how to successfully pivot to something more exciting and lucrative. The current grind just has me padding my retirement accounts and that's all I really look forward to. There's a significant re-org every 6-12 months and it seems like the senior company management really has no long-term vision about what to do about the business, which is very stable with reliable margins. I imagine this is the case for MANY careers, but I picked this job as something stable during the great recession of 2008 and seemed to have missed out on significant upside reward as a result.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
The multiple hundred thousand dollar/yr jobs are mostly in those growth companies that you say are surely over-valued and due for a crash soon (at least one does seem on its way). Avoiding making all that money from those jobs is consistent with you avoiding making all that money by investing in them as well.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:18 pm Interesting thread. I'm nearly 15 years into my EE career and sadly have lost a lot of the love I once had for it.
My mind is more pre-occupied with FIRE than anything else at this point. I've reached lean-ish FI already, but the income from my job seems so inconsequential relative to my investments. I'm very efficient at what I do, and keep the wheels spinning for my team to perform at quality budget/schedule/quality metrics, but....there's literally zero financial growth.
I hear stories on here about earning multiple hundreds of thousands or more while I'm lucky to get a bit less than inflation this year on a much more modest income in comparison. Growth potential? In management or a direct contributor role, not much. I may only have 1 or 2 promotions left, and they won't be for a substantial increase (less than 10%). Work occupies so much headspace throughout the week that I stop and wonder if it's even worth it anymore.
Quite demotivating honestly, and not really sure how to successfully pivot to something more exciting and lucrative. The current grind just has me padding my retirement accounts and that's all I really look forward to. There's a significant re-org every 6-12 months and it seems like the senior company management really has no long-term vision about what to do about the business, which is very stable with reliable margins. I imagine this is the case for MANY careers, but I picked this job as something stable during the great recession of 2008 and seemed to have missed out on significant upside reward as a result.
But, more seriously, it is never too late to shift what you are doing. Does not have to be a career change, even just a job change can be revitalizing. Life is too short to spend toiling away in a situation that obviously has you feeling so uninspired. Especially since you are in a field that provides an abundance of career paths/opportunities (I started out as an EE as well). Best of luck to you.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
Not suggesting a crash per se...just lower expected returns due to the price, not the potential I am also from the dot com era and remember the sting that had throughout the 00-09 decade, so I am simply cautious which is why I dievrsify.marcopolo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:35 pmThe multiple hundred thousand dollar/yr jobs are mostly in those growth companies that you say are surely over-valued and due for a crash soon (at least one does seem on its way). Avoiding making all that money from those jobs is consistent with you avoiding making all that money by investing in them as well.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:18 pm Interesting thread. I'm nearly 15 years into my EE career and sadly have lost a lot of the love I once had for it.
My mind is more pre-occupied with FIRE than anything else at this point. I've reached lean-ish FI already, but the income from my job seems so inconsequential relative to my investments. I'm very efficient at what I do, and keep the wheels spinning for my team to perform at quality budget/schedule/quality metrics, but....there's literally zero financial growth.
I hear stories on here about earning multiple hundreds of thousands or more while I'm lucky to get a bit less than inflation this year on a much more modest income in comparison. Growth potential? In management or a direct contributor role, not much. I may only have 1 or 2 promotions left, and they won't be for a substantial increase (less than 10%). Work occupies so much headspace throughout the week that I stop and wonder if it's even worth it anymore.
Quite demotivating honestly, and not really sure how to successfully pivot to something more exciting and lucrative. The current grind just has me padding my retirement accounts and that's all I really look forward to. There's a significant re-org every 6-12 months and it seems like the senior company management really has no long-term vision about what to do about the business, which is very stable with reliable margins. I imagine this is the case for MANY careers, but I picked this job as something stable during the great recession of 2008 and seemed to have missed out on significant upside reward as a result.
But, more seriously, it is never too late to shift what you are doing. Does not have to be a career change, even just a job change can be revitalizing. Life is too short to spend toiling away in a situation that obviously has you feeling so uninspired. Especially since you are in a field that provides an abundance of career paths/opportunities (I started out as an EE as well). Best of luck to you.
What did you pivot towards after starting in EE? I've heard sales mentioned here, which would actually fit my goals (remote work only, flexibility in schedule, eat what you kill incentives, not necessarily having to keep a team of people on track at all hours of the day, etc)., but dont really have the IT background that many of these require.
20% VOO | 20% VXUS | 20% AVUV | 20% AVDV | 20% AVES
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I ended up getting an EE degree. I had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew medicine was out (not into the blood stuff) so supposedly EE was tough and good for those that were more math oriented/solving problems. Honestly while I was in no danger of failing any course I had very little interest in most of the EE courses. Power engineering was dreadful, circuit theory was ok but I couldn't imagine doing that for a living.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:18 pm Interesting thread. I'm nearly 15 years into my EE career and sadly have lost a lot of the love I once had for it.
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Once I took a digital design course with boolean logic and later a course where you did some assembly programming and breadboard designs, I knew I could do that and enjoy it. I was lucky to find something where I enjoyed much of my working career. My only regret was that I was about 10 years late getting into network security. That stuff I really enjoy but all of the hacking, SANS courses, etc. I absolutely love.
It is tough for people to find their niche. I've always valued work enjoyment and my time over money so I've spent about 60% of my time working for the government in mostly good groups (harder and harder to find them now) but with the ever widening pay between gov and private, it is hard to keep people and I don't blame them going for the money.
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If you think something is important and it doesn't involve the health of someone, think again. Life goes too fast, enjoy it and be nice.
Re: Career Change? (Mech Engr to Software)
I stayed in engineering, but transitioned to doing system architecture and algorithm development. Led a small team of researchers doing advanced conceptual work for our products. So, there were always new and interesting challenges. The sales engineering guys made a lot of money, buy I never had the temperament for it.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:42 pmNot suggesting a crash per se...just lower expected returns due to the price, not the potential I am also from the dot com era and remember the sting that had throughout the 00-09 decade, so I am simply cautious which is why I dievrsify.marcopolo wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:35 pmThe multiple hundred thousand dollar/yr jobs are mostly in those growth companies that you say are surely over-valued and due for a crash soon (at least one does seem on its way). Avoiding making all that money from those jobs is consistent with you avoiding making all that money by investing in them as well.Nathan Drake wrote: ↑Sun Feb 06, 2022 12:18 pm Interesting thread. I'm nearly 15 years into my EE career and sadly have lost a lot of the love I once had for it.
My mind is more pre-occupied with FIRE than anything else at this point. I've reached lean-ish FI already, but the income from my job seems so inconsequential relative to my investments. I'm very efficient at what I do, and keep the wheels spinning for my team to perform at quality budget/schedule/quality metrics, but....there's literally zero financial growth.
I hear stories on here about earning multiple hundreds of thousands or more while I'm lucky to get a bit less than inflation this year on a much more modest income in comparison. Growth potential? In management or a direct contributor role, not much. I may only have 1 or 2 promotions left, and they won't be for a substantial increase (less than 10%). Work occupies so much headspace throughout the week that I stop and wonder if it's even worth it anymore.
Quite demotivating honestly, and not really sure how to successfully pivot to something more exciting and lucrative. The current grind just has me padding my retirement accounts and that's all I really look forward to. There's a significant re-org every 6-12 months and it seems like the senior company management really has no long-term vision about what to do about the business, which is very stable with reliable margins. I imagine this is the case for MANY careers, but I picked this job as something stable during the great recession of 2008 and seemed to have missed out on significant upside reward as a result.
But, more seriously, it is never too late to shift what you are doing. Does not have to be a career change, even just a job change can be revitalizing. Life is too short to spend toiling away in a situation that obviously has you feeling so uninspired. Especially since you are in a field that provides an abundance of career paths/opportunities (I started out as an EE as well). Best of luck to you.
What did you pivot towards after starting in EE? I've heard sales mentioned here, which would actually fit my goals (remote work only, flexibility in schedule, eat what you kill incentives, not necessarily having to keep a team of people on track at all hours of the day, etc)., but dont really have the IT background that many of these require.
The obvious path to high paying (often remote now) jobs in tech seems to be in software, as discussed often on this forum. My 23 yr old son has a 100% remote job making multiple hundreds of thousands with a small company no one has heard of. Having worked in tech for about 30 years, not in the Bay Area, some of the stories I had heard here about salaries seemed made up, until I saw my son getting in on it. Who knows how long that is sustainable.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.