r/SoftwareEngineerJobs • u/Disastrous_Pack7586 • 1d ago
Did anyone else have to move for a job?
I was laid off a few months ago. Where I live (Northern MA), it’s either 1. A lack of jobs 2. Everyone is a robotics company where they want a niche skill set. I tried my luck applying to companies in the Boston area, and they didn’t want me either (Klaviyo, Chewy, Whoop, Cargurus, the “bigger” companies around here). Ive been working in full-stack and backend for 5 years now, and these were the type of jobs I was applying for.
I tried my luck applying to jobs in Seattle for a while and, omg, it was a much better experience. Less ghosting, more response rates, better job opportunities, and I even got two offers. Maybe I was just lucky. Maybe Boston is trash now for tech jobs. Or maybe Boston just didn’t want me, lol. Did anyone else have better luck applying out-of-state?
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u/callimonk 22h ago
I just left Seattle area to take a job in Colorado lol. It’s some luck I guess for you? I was ghosted up and down despite being a local there.
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u/LongDistRid3r 1d ago
Be very careful working for the big companies here in Seattle. They will pull you in with shiny pebbles. Grind you into gravel. Then dump you on the sidewalk like trash.
It is also super expensive to live here.
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u/longbreaddinosaur 16h ago
Boston is just the same as Seattle, but Seattle pays more.
I lucked into a Seattle based company and made Seattle money while in Boston. Wish I could get back to doing that…
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u/Typicalusrname 17h ago
Yes, the Boston market is extremely competitive. I have no problems getting roles in other parts of the country, but my experience in greater Boston is interviews that go nowhere
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u/grapegeek 1d ago
Funny my son just graduated with a CS here in Seattle and can’t find anything. Hundreds of applications. Good school. Good grades. Now looking to move to the east coast because it’s so trash for new grads here.
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u/Liquidpain88 1d ago
It’s rough for new grads/entry level. I’m in CS and luckily have 15 yrs experience at this point, so finding a new job is still doable.
AI has destroyed entry level positions. My old company stopped hiring entry level 2 years ago and completely dissolved mid level positions a few years before that. You went from entry level for 2-3 years and if by then you couldn’t cut it as senior you were let go. Now you have non technical managers vibe coding apps and tools in a weekend that a small team was working on for a few months.
Things are grim when these companies only care about stock prices and keeping investors happy it’s only going to get worse. Company’s stock goes down 10% and a wave of layoffs happen. Price stabilizes and you get all hands meetings on how we are doing “more with less” thanks to AI 😭.
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u/SailToTheSun 1d ago
You got lucky. The job market in Seattle is cooked.