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June Dang
June Dang

Posted on • Updated on

I just graduated from college as a software developer but now i feel exhausted

Hello world! I am just graduated this April and have been working as a web developer since 2020, mostly working remote due to Covid-19. I just moved to office recently but feeling really exhausted. Day by day i just working common tasks like write some APIs or create some UIs and i feel like my boss and co-worker underestimate me by the way they mocking me every day at work. Also i worked in a small country that have really low salary (mine about 5000$/year). Recently i really tresses out because i don't feel that my effort on work got paid me enough and I want to find a better path like doing freelancing or working for global companies to having better experiences and better income. Where should i started?

Top comments (6)

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern • Edited

Seems like you have two jobs:

  • Your day job — where you can keep earning some income, and building up some experience. If the environment is too much, you have to leave. But if it's more that you just can't see yourself putting up with it long term, then you should probably stick it out.
  • Your second job — where you seek remote employment at a global company which will pay you an order of magnitude more.

You can't wait around, but you have to be patient. My advice would be to consistently interview at remote companies, and something will land.

Read this post, and let me know what you think:

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vaso profile image
Vaclav Elias

You have to start somewhere in your dev career. Mocking is not right in any work environment. I would suggest to learn as much as you can wherever you are and after a year (or more) do start looking for a new job, any higher salary counts.

As a dev, you need to keep learning at work and also outside of the work. If you believe that you are underestimated and you can't communicate it with your boss, that is another reason to leave.

Each job (bad or good) will give you new opportunities to learn and eventually you will find some job where you will stick longer, because of your new colleagues supporting you, or learning more, or other reason. More you learn, even in a job with low salary, the more you will be wanted in your future job.

Learn and experiment, push your experiments to GitHub so your potential future employers can see you work.

I also recommend that you search for jobs while you are employed and be patient.

More less, advising you the same as @ben.

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jeremyf profile image
Jeremy Friesen

What kind of problems do you like to solve? What is the kind of work that you "look up from your computer and say wow, where did the time go, I loved doing this?" Some folks frame this as "follow your happiness", which isn't quite right. It's listen to the places and times where you feel content.

I wrote a blog post about building your resume, from the perspective of connecting yourself to the type of work you enjoy and then looking for jobs where that exists.

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theaccordance profile image
Joe Mainwaring • Edited

Hi Jimmy, I visited your country in 2018 on a whim and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I can't wait to come back to visit!

That exhausted feeling? It's the sum of a bunch of negatives in your environment. You described several in your paragraph and it reminded me of my own growing pains with my career.

Some things, like common tasks are unavoidable as you lay the foundation of your career. Those of us who have succeeded have all paid our dues in one form or another. It's best to focus on demonstrating that you can deliver on that one responsibility, in order to become eligible for a new responsibility.

How your coworkers treat you may be a Personality issue with an individual, but it could also describe the state of culture at that company. I've been there and know what that feels like, trust me when I say are other companies out there that will treat you with more dignity and respect. The sooner you get out of one toxic culture, the sooner you'll start to feel refreshed with life.

As far as assessing your value, ultimately you have to be the one to pick a number. That number may not be something that you can achieve at the company you're with today, but other companies might. Then it's just a matter of interviewing and getting feedback when you negotiate on a salary.

If you get a bunch of No's and people saying the ask is too large, then you know to revise your expectations or that you have more skills to grow.

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collimarco profile image
Marco Colli

Just find a remote work... 5k / year is not worth it.

The average for a developer is 50k and many get 6 figure salaries.

Otherwise, if you are really good and trust yourself, you can start a SaaS business. It should be easy to get more than 5k ARR.

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junedang profile image
June Dang

Hello Marco , do you have any suggestion sites that post remote jobs for me and what should i do to prepare? Thank you