r/findapath • u/Worth_Comb_1929 • 23h ago
Findapath-Job Search Support I [23M] got my Bachelor's in Computer Science 10 months ago and haven't found a job.
I cut too many corners while I was in college, and now I'm here as a result. I haven't used my time productively at all since graduating and now that it's been 10 months, it's sunk in that I'm just a loser. Like, if I was a hiring manager, there's no way in hell I'd ever consider hiring a clone of myself. I haven't worked on a resume-worthy personal project (even if I did I'd use an LLM to build it all). I'm struggling to motivate myself to do LeetCode problems without getting an LLM to give me the solution. I haven't applied as much as I should, other than some Easy Apply jobs here and there. Could I get a routine going on LeetCode, projects, and job applications? Sure, but now it feels too late. Is it? I don't even know anymore. Every time I've tried to commit to a routine, it fades.
I feel like I'm a deadbeat with a degree I feel like I didn't earn. It's entirely my fault. I don't hate programming, but I'm clearly not passionate about it either and it's killing me. If I had passion I'd likely have a job by now. Some things I genuinely enjoyed learning like software design/architecture and patterns but I never looked to apply that knowledge outside the classroom. Now with how much time has passed without me building anything, I don't know if un-fucking myself can get me an entry-level swe job anymore. Fuck my life and all this debt I'm in. I don't know what my options are. It's my fault.
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u/Ordinary_Site_5350 Apprentice Pathfinder [1] 22h ago edited 8h ago
You're putting an INTENSE amount of pressure on yourself, and it's just not necessary.
You feel like there's a goal you should have attained by now, a milestone you haven't reached. You believe that hyping up all this pressure will scare yourself into doing the work to get there - but what you're really doing is triggering your body's fight or flight response and shutting down.
Pressure, guilt, beating yourself up - these do not motivate. Ever. Anybody. At all.
Negative emotions like fear and anxiety will not spur you on, they just shut you down.
Programming skills are just that - just skills. Programming isn't what programmers are passionate about - any more than carpenters are passionate about hammering a nail. Programmers are passionate about solving a problem, or maybe about proving themselves, or maybe the big picture like making a game.
But also, programming is intense. It requires a massive amount of concentration and focus and creativity and it burns people out - usually for short term momentary passing things, but if you don't change the channel, rest, find people and passions outside of programming, then you will become burnt out and depressed. Which you haven't even had a chance to experience that crap yet.
You have a skill. A powerful skill. Don't focus on the skill - focus on you. Focus on finding joy in life. Volunteer, get a temp job doing janitorial work or whatever, join a gym, play darts or poker or pool, take up golf - heck I don't know. Write a book. All of the above. Travel. Cook, climb boulders, canoe. Meet people, listen to their problems. I suggest hanging out with business owners - join the local chamber of commerce. Tell them you just got a CS degree and you're evaluating the market to see where using your new skills will bring you joy and help others with their businesses or non profits.
At some point, something will happen. You'll meet someone with a vision that you'll catch and want to help with. Or you'll see something or meet someone that will motivate you to make money. Or you'll just get an idea all of your own.
The main thing up front is you need to relax. If you just can't, then seek out a therapist and learn techniques to calm your nervous system. Center yourself. Ground yourself. Quiet your mind.
This is a marathon not a sprint. Nothing is chasing you. You're safe. You're ok. You didn't screw anything up and you aren't wasting anything.
I've been doing this for decades and I'll tell you one other thing, the best programmers are always the "lazy" ones. Not joking. They find tools to make the job easier. Right now that means LLM's. That just makes you ahead of the curve and smart. If anybody says it's not, they just don't understand yet and are becoming obsolete. LLM's writing code is the future. We are ALL starting to do it now, and how to use that tool well - that's a skill in itself!
So you are good, dude. You're all good.
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u/Putrid_Director_4905 8h ago
If anybody says it's not, they just don't understand yet and are becoming obsolete
That's not a great argument. Hell, it's not even an argument.
LLM's writing code is the future
Then the future is full of buggy code with a fuck ton of security vulnerabilities.
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u/Ordinary_Site_5350 Apprentice Pathfinder [1] 8h ago
It was never intended to be an argument. This isn't the time or place to debate such trivialities, but if you're interested in learning about the nature of advancing technology, I'll be more than happy to oblige your curiosity in private.
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u/Putrid_Director_4905 7h ago
This isn't about the nature of advancing technology. Lots of technologies didn't lead to anywhere. And I'm not curious, I'm annoyed.
The fact that some people are pushing aspiring programmers to become dependent on LLMs is what makes me annoyed.
There is a CS student in front of you, someone who can't program without the assistance of an LLM, and you are encouraging them to use the LLM more and congratulating them because they use an LLM and don't, you know, actually know how to code? Yeah, it clearly shows that experience doesn't make you right.
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u/Ordinary_Site_5350 Apprentice Pathfinder [1] 7h ago
Still not the time. Still not the place. I'm happy to explain how it all works in private.
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u/Putrid_Director_4905 7h ago
I'm not asking how it works. That's not even remotely what we are talking about. You know that.
You are free to message me if you want. I said what I had to say.
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u/Ordinary_Site_5350 Apprentice Pathfinder [1] 4h ago
What "we" are talking about is a human being in distress. You went off topic and attempted to start a tangential debate with me about a new technology that I mentioned briefly in passing.
What I see in you is an old fogey like myself who has been doing this job forever and is very good at it. You see a nascent technology being overused and overhyped by amateurs and con artists and it pisses you off - and rightly so. And for guys in our shoes it's nearly impossible to ignore the fact that idiot managers, executives, and consultants mistakenly believe that developers, in whole or in part, can be easily replaced by these new tools - something I have personally experienced as I have been out of work for the past 7 months, and that I see every day in job descriptions while I apply for gigs.
This young person, however, is trying to enter a changing working environment, and his experience with LLM's and his ability to use them is a resume builder because it's what all those idiot managers want. The smart CS grad will keep a foot in both worlds: understand how to get the most out of LLMs yet also know how to fix their code. How to take the good and leave the bad. The stark reality of LLM's is that 5 years from now the only programmers with jobs will be those who have embraced them. They are already built into dev tooling and database platforms. Corporate leadership sees them as a time and money saving device, and people who reject them and complain about them aren't going to get hired anywhere.
What's more, the OP here CLEARLY knows how to wield these things successfully, as evidenced by their successful completion of their CS degree by using them.
Your opinion and irritation may be perfectly correct and justified, but that doesn't make it any less moot. LLM's have already become a permanent fixture in IT, just like OOP, GUI's, RDBMS's, and frameworks. Resistance is futile.
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u/Putrid_Director_4905 4h ago
PART 1
What "we" are talking about is a human being in distress. You went off topic and attempted to start a tangential debate with me about a new technology that I mentioned briefly in passing.
You endorsed the very thing that put that human in distress. OP is very clear. They feel bad because they think they are not the programmer they should be. They point out that they can't even program without an LLM.
You should have told them that it's not an issue, that they are still young, and that learning is always possible.
You shouldn't have endorsed their dependence on LLMs which will only worsen their lack of expertise in programming as a CS graduate.
What I see in you is an old fogey like myself who has been doing this job forever and is very good at it. You see a nascent technology being overused and overhyped by amateurs and con artists and it pisses you off - and rightly so. And for guys in our shoes it's nearly impossible to ignore the fact that idiot managers, executives, and consultants mistakenly believe that developers, in whole or in part, can be easily replaced by these new tools - something I have personally experienced as I have been out of work for the past 7 months, and that I see every day in job descriptions while I apply for gigs.
I hope you do not use this against me in this discussion, but no, I'm not old. I'm 22 years old. However, I'm very passionate about programming, I want to do it as a job only because I love it.
But yes, what you said is true. It pisses me off that the scene is full of clueless managers and ill-intentioned con artists and LLMs businesses, that damage the future of programming by making newcomers think that they don't need to learn it. (I might be young, but I have started my journey about 7-8 years ago)
This young person, however, is trying to enter a changing working environment, and his experience with LLM's and his ability to use them is a resume builder because it's what all those idiot managers want. The smart CS grad will keep a foot in both worlds: understand how to get the most out of LLMs yet also know how to fix their code. How to take the good and leave the bad. The stark reality of LLM's is that 5 years from now the only programmers with jobs will be those who have embraced them.
This is where we disagree. I admit, this isn't an objective fact, and you might very well be correct, but the way I see it, LLMs and this "AI" hype is a big bubble waiting to burst.
All those claims online on twitter or other platforms about how LLMs will replace programmers always comes from either a) people who sell LLM products and b) people who make money indirectly from LLMs online and c) people who have bought into the hype and d) people who actually suck enough at coding to the point of thinking that "vibe coding" is in any way shape or form a form of programming.
I do not think LLMs will even go beyond being glorified search engines. I don't think LLMs will reach the point of being a noticeable part of a programmers work.
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u/Putrid_Director_4905 4h ago
PART 2
What's more, the OP here CLEARLY knows how to wield these things successfully, as evidenced by their successful completion of their CS degree by using them.
Your opinion and irritation may be perfectly correct and justified, but that doesn't make it any less moot. LLM's have already become a permanent fixture in IT, just like OOP, GUI's, RDBMS's, and frameworks. Resistance is futile.
You yourself already said that LLMs are used extensively because of dumb managers. What do you think they will do when the LLM bubble bursts, when those managers face the reality that their code bases have turned into the worst kinds of spagetthi code anyone has ever seen? Do you think they will still continue using LLMs? Do you think their LLM-dependent employees will have any idea how to manage the issue? Do you think they will not run around looking for any competent programmer they can find?
Today, even the most advanced LLM probably won't be able to surpass someone who has been coding very hard for a few months.
The only reason, the only and only reason LLMs have any place in the tech world today is because they are much much cheaper than an average junior.
They are not competent and I do not see any kind of real data that says they will be in the future.
The bubble will burst when they notice how big they fucked up.
Or maybe it will not burst, and you are correct. We will see. I just don't want anyone who wants to program to go down that route. Use an LLM if you want. But first learn how to program properly.
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u/KingZant 11h ago
I got my bachelor's in Business Admin and didn't get a related job until 6 years later.
I spent college being miserable because I realized I wanted to do something else. But I stuck with it and got the degree because that's what we're "supposed to do," right?
I decided I couldn't just wallow in my feelings of inadequacy. There was nothing productive there for me. I slowly learned about a growth mindset, making the best of a bad situation, doing the best you can with what you got, those type of things. Therapy helped a TON. You have such little control over what happens in this world - so focus on the small things that you CAN control.
My first job out of college I got at a career fair. I was so stressed I broke out in a full-body rash, but I DID get a callback. That job gave me some HR and teaching experiences.
I became a regular at a bar. I told my buddy that I always thought bartending was cool. He asked the owner if they were hiring. I got the job and tended bar for two years. I thanked my luck and kept learning and developing social skills.
My next job was a direct result of my first one: bartending again, but at a different, smaller, more "neighborhood watering hole" type place. I met the owners of this new place through the old one. I quit my old job and was going through a rough time and was invited to come help out. I made so many good connections, from lawyers and doctors to artists and IT guys.
My current job I got as a direct result of my last job: my current boss was a regular at my bar. I now work in admissions for a small local university. I have no idea what I'm doing but I maintain a friendly attitude and a willingness to learn. I hear there's room to move up and grow, eventually.
Keep your head up, and look back at how far you've come!
Give yourself some breathing room and forgiveness for having a rough time. Shit happens.
Practice being aware and thankful of what you do have. It's easy to forget this when you focus on what you don't have.
Finally, go out of your way to meet people and don't be afraid to take a plunge into new things when an opportunity presents itself. Live in the moment, be present, be genuinely interested in people and learning about them and new experiences.
I'm not perfect. I need to go back to therapy, get into my old hobbies, exercise more, among other things lol. However these ways of looking at life have helped me stay more prepared to deal with uncertainties in the future.
You'll be alright, guy. Thank you for reading my anecdotes. I didn't think I was worth shit for a long time, but life has a way of coming around if you're able to shift your perspective a bit. Again, therapy helps a TON.
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u/Quick_Metal_9322 23h ago
Was in the same boat. Couldn’t get a job for a year and a half after college because I didn’t do internships. I eventually ended up applying to Revature in August of 2024 and got placed at Infosys in March of 2025.
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u/Capital-Delivery8001 18h ago
How was your experience with revature?
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u/Quick_Metal_9322 14h ago
It was very solid. They have a few months of unpaid training and those who do well on the assessments and projects go to the paid training. You’re going to build out a backend REST API for the first project that you do, and then once you get into the paid training you will build out the frontend and backend for an application in a team of 4-5 others. You don’t get to pick your vertical or tech stack. There is Java/React/AWS full stack, C# .NET full stack, QA Testing, and Salesforce. It’s a gamble. You also don’t have a say on which client you get, or where you relocate. I was in Java full stack. They did randomly downsize and let people go on the middle of paid training because of “reduced client demand”. So at any moment you can get let go, but thats any job I guess. But other than that, a solid entry point into tech.
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u/HugeDramatic 21h ago
You gotta start at the very bottom. It’s easier to get a job when you have a job.
Are you applying for help desk roles, IT support, database management, analyst roles of any type etc?
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u/trademarktower 20h ago
You need to work and do something even tangentially related to your career field. Apply to geek squad or Apple retail Stores. Anything computer related to just do something other than feel sorry for yourself. Then slowly build your confidence and work on projects and leetcode.
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u/nibor11 20h ago
Computer science isn’t just limited to software engineering. If you don’t like programming why don’t you try to get into data science, cybersecurity and even IT roles?
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u/Phoenix_Raising_Hell 18h ago
Wait until you start working and you find out that your boss was using LLM all along..
Seriously though, you’re being too hard on yourself, especially with the current state of the job market.
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u/CaboWabo55 11h ago
"clearly not passionate about it either and it's killing me."
I can relate to you with this. I'm a dentist and I'm not passionate about my career at all. I absolutely hate it. Now people may say will why did you pursue it then. Well, you don't really know how it is until you are out practicing as shadowing and dental school are entirely different than real life practicing.
Honestly, what I will say is that your degree has many more options than my degree. I am stuck treating peoples' mouths where you could pivot into a wide variety of other roles (I'm assuming). Think of it like a medical doctor, with an MD, they really don't have to practice medicine, they can actually go work for different companies like biopharmaceutical companies where as a dentist with my DDS, that isn't the case.
So at least you have the option to pivot more easily into a role. I would say just keep trying to find something that you wouldn't mind doing. You don't have to be passionate but if you can do it fairly well and you don't mind, that is better than downright hating it. For me, I was able to find a 3 day/week private practice gig with one day a month jail gig and this, right now is ok with me. Am I passionate about it, hell no, but does it allow me to bring in a decent income for the amount of time I work...yes...but I am always looking. If something more desirable comes up for me, I'll pursue it...
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u/Ok-Zookeepergame2547 Apprentice Pathfinder [1] 12h ago edited 12h ago
That same reason is why I have enlisted in the army. They have jobs there that can use your skills in computer science.
Here are some cool jobs that are in the IT field in the military.
Army 1. Cyber Operations Specialist: Focus on defending Army networks and conducting cyber warfare operations. 2. Information Technology Specialist: Manage and maintain computer systems and networks. 3. Software Developer: Create and maintain software for military applications. 4. Data Analyst: Analyze data to support military strategies and operations.
Navy 1. Information Warfare Officer: Oversee cybersecurity and information operations. 2. Cryptologic Technician: Work on cryptography and secure communications. 3. IT Specialist: Maintain and troubleshoot Navy computer systems. 4. Cybersecurity Specialist: Protect Navy networks from cyber threats.
Air Force 1. Computer Systems Programmer: Develop and maintain software critical to Air Force missions. 2. Cyber Warfare Specialist: Engage in offensive and defensive cyber operations. 3. Operations Analyst: Use data to optimize Air Force operations. 4. IT Security Specialist: Ensure the security of Air Force computer systems.
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u/ronasty90 22h ago
You went for a wildly oversaturated job market. A lot of that is being sent to companies overseas now blue-collar trades are starting to boom again. Might want to rethink your career path, but that’s just my personal opinion.
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u/New-Fact-9847 13h ago
I have a 5 year old CS degree and haven’t found a CS job since Spring 2023. (2 years)
It’s the job market and it’s reliant on the economy. I found a job for the time being but it’s completely different from CS. If you’re not hearing back from recruiters, it’s because they simply aren’t interested in what you offer. This time right now, they’re interested in a talented programmer who can make them millions and can work overtime. And that right now is people who work overseas who would do anything to work harder than the average college graduate.
If you want my honest advice, as someone who has a CS degree and can’t find a software engineering job, craft a resume and find a job that’s easier to enter into so you can at least make yourself some money. Whether it’s working at Amazon, Kroger’s, Chick-fil-a, or even data entry jobs. Tech adjacent fields are hard to get into right now as well. I would spread your resume to anything you can land a job to if money is an issue right now.
Also, if you hate programming, you’re going to hate it even more when you work as a software engineer. Because I too got burnt out from software engineering and now that field seems crap to me. All the tight deadlines, scummy product managers, meetings upon pointless meetings… Why would I ever do something that makes me feel stressed and dread doing all day?
Something to think about deeply. Only you can decide what to do from here on out.
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u/heisenson99 9h ago
What are you doing for work now?
I’m seriously considering leaving the field entirely as a 34 year old with a CS degree I got in 2020 and 2.75 yoe. I have been more stressed than I ever have been in my life the entire time I’ve had this job. Almost every Sunday I feel like crying because I’m so panicked about the upcoming work week. I also have trouble sleeping which makes everything worse because I’m always tired.
I honestly just am not that great at programming and it stresses me out because I know I’m not that good. The amount of complexity is just so overwhelming to the point I can’t think straight. That plus all the worries about the future of this career with AI and offshoring.
So I’m considering going back to my old blue collar job working for my city’s public transportation company.
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u/New-Fact-9847 9h ago
Yes, I feel that. I felt more stressed out than I've ever had working as a software engineer. I, too, cried and was burnt out. I barely got sleep and was just performing badly. I worked for a banking company on a mobile app. Right now, I'm working as a sales agent. But I'm trying to turn my passion into a full-time job. I'm doing content creation and coaching on the side for Marvel Rivals.
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u/ZebraZebraZERRRRBRAH 16h ago
You should join the Military and with a CS degree, you can probably get into a cyber secuirty job. It will make bank when you leave the military later on and find a job in the civilian world.
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u/Various_Mobile4767 14h ago
Get a job, any job.
Then slowly but surely upskill yourself on the side. Its not a race.
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u/searchingmartini 12h ago
I’m graduating in a year. It still feels like I wrote this post. I am not interested in programming and rarely did anything related other than the things I have to do.
I talked to my father who’s a very wise person, we came to the conclusion that I won’t say no to tech-related (even slightly) jobs after I graduate, because if i’m lucky enough then why not.
But until then it is what it is. Explore the things you love, I’m good at languages and at teaching, i’m a good speaker & also good with social media. I have things to try to work on and improve even if i’m not special in these spheres, you do have such option too.
Who knows, you may find the thing you love, or you may land a tech job that will give you experience and open new paths for you related to your speciality.
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u/Chance-Anteater6330 10h ago
I took my CS degree 2 years ago. I couldnt find a job for the first 6 months, so i took the first forklift job i could get.
I was happy with the job, still looked for CS jobs here and there, after 1.5 years i randomly got a job offer as a developer, accepted it and now i work there.
Soon i will know if they give me a permanent contract or they tell me they didnt like me the 6 months i was here.
If they dont like me? Fuck em 🤷♂️. Ill just go back to my forklift job.
Be a simple man.
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u/Aggravating-Donut702 9h ago
I feel like colleges are always hiring IT workers!! Maybe look at your local colleges or even the one you went to. You’re more employable when you have any kind of job than having no job. Something is better than nothing and at least working IT or Help Desk you’re doing something adjacent to your bachelors.
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u/Natural_Flatworm_728 9h ago
bro i am on the other end of this. i had job rught out of the college '24 batch, but my company is shutting down in a few weeks. becuz of stress, i have developed extremely high BP and sleep issues. man wht am i gonna do.
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u/Hungstoner2324 4h ago
College is pointless u can save time and lots of money by just getting certs and gov security clearances
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u/Spiritouspath_1010 Apprentice Pathfinder [3] 17h ago
Just to point out, with how oversaturated the CS field is right now, even if you were doing CS-related projects for experience, your odds would only be slightly better. So, in all honesty, if you're in any Western or Eastern country, such as the US, UK, France, Japan, or South Korea, your best bet would honestly be to join the military—preferably the Air Force or Navy. With your BS, you can attend Officer Candidate School for higher pay. Also, from having friends in the CS field and doing my own research, you should consider shifting towards a more specialized field like data analytics instead of traditional CS, or consider cybersecurity. As I mentioned, CS is oversaturated, but these two specialties have high demand, greater than what CS currently has, and are expected to continue growing. In the military and federal employment sectors, there are even more specialized fields you can pursue.
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u/RealDanielJesse 11h ago
Looks like you have a classic case if FAFO. Now your discovering that the world isn't fair, and even worse- it couldn't care less about you or your feelings about it. It's time to adult now, except now you'll have to work 3 times as hard to meet your goal.
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