Member Avatar for Roebuc

I hope this is the correct forum. I would appreciate any advice from any developers/engineers willing to give.

I am having difficulties progressing my career into the engineer world. I graduated a year ago with my Masters in Software engineering and maintained almost a 4.0 (3.96). I lived in a rural state so technology jobs were hard to find. I ended up finding one in support while I was in school and took it for the experience. I work on customization support as well as building small customizations for large customers. I should also say the company has been very good to me and has me on a plan to development, just a very long plan. I am part of a very long project over the next few years and basically, I cannot move to engineering, officially, until it is complete. I am trying to speed things up if possible, maybe it is not.

I have relocated to a hot area of engineering jobs and there are several openings. I have been interviewing with several companies over the past few months and have been very pleased with my ability to land an interview. Out of 12 or so applications, I have interviewed with 7 companies. I go through several interviews, usually 5 to 8 with each company. What I keep being told is, I have great soft skills and my technical ability is almost there. ie They list 5 or so requirements and there are usually 2 I don't know. I try to research them but as I am sure you know, you cannot become an expert in those areas over a few days trying to prepare for an interview.

A few of the companies have actually offered me junior positions but they would require a pay cut. I have a young family and cannot afford a pay cut at this time. I know I am not senior but I am also confident I am not junior. (I have been in my current position for almost 3 years and was a developer for a small start up for a year and a half before that)

Anyone been in this situation before with good advice?

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Dani AI

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In 's situation the core challenge is not credibility but demonstrable engineering evidence: interviewers like the communication and attitude, yet they still see a couple of specific gaps. As noted, confidence helps — the next step is converting that confidence into artifacts and a clear plan hiring teams can verify.

Recommended, practical actions that have worked for others in the same spot:

  • Triaging feedback: collect the 2–3 technologies or topics that recur across interviews and focus on those first.
  • Deliverables over study: build small, focused projects that solve a concrete problem with each missing technology; include tests, a short README describing architecture tradeoffs, and a brief demo (screencast or live link). Put everything in a public repo and reference it in the résumé.
  • Reframe current experience: change resume bullets to highlight engineering outcomes (ownership of features, automation that reduced manual work, code merged, measurable customer impact) rather than job title.
  • Interview practice: do timed coding sessions and 1–2 mock system-design sketches per week; have a colleague or service give feedback on explanation and tradeoffs, not only on syntax.
  • Creative negotiation: if a lower title is the only opening, request a written 3–6 month performance review with explicit promotion criteria or a sign-on/retention payment instead of a permanent pay cut.

A simple 90‑day plan often reassures employers: 30 days — focused learning plus a minimal project; 60 days — a merged PR or deployed feature; 90 days — polished demos and mock interviews. A junior title can be acceptable if there is a documented, time‑bound path back to equivalent pay and level; otherwise it risks resetting long‑term trajectory. Demonstrable projects plus quantified resume points typically convert “almost there” feedback into an offer at the right level.

Member Avatar for Netcode

I know I am not senior but I am also confident I am not junior.

The confidence is what matters. As far as you can proof to the employer than you can deliver whatever is asked of you, then you're on the right track. Maybe the one's you interviewed with lack the funds to pay for your level of expertise and they may also be right in saying you still have some things to add to what you have. I've not been in such case before but i believe life is a gradual process. Just do what you know best and never lose that confidence.

Best of Luck!

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