A post by a software engineer has sparked discussion online after he warned students against choosing software engineering as a career. The user claimed the tech industry has become unstable, stressful and heavily dependent on luck rather than skill. He also spoke about layoffs, job pressure and the fear many employees now live with despite working long hours.
The post quickly drew reactions from students, professionals and fresh graduates, many of whom shared similar worries about the current state of the tech job market. The Reddit user said he decided to make the post after seeing a close friend struggle at work despite putting in constant effort. According to him, the friend may soon lose his job even after “working day and night” for the company.
He Spoke About Layoffs
In the post, the user wrote, “Do not become a software engineer Please!” He then explained why he felt frustrated with the current work culture in tech companies.
“My very close friend is about to get laid off, he worked day and night and now this saying company need changed!” he wrote.
The user also claimed software engineers are no longer valued the same way they once were. According to him, companies now treat employees as replaceable workers under constant pressure to perform.
“Companies are treating software engineers like dihadi majdoors. And now there is almost no engineering in software engineering, we are mostly orchestraotors prompting clankers!”
He further argued that the number of job seekers in tech has become too high while opportunities are shrinking. He warned students not to blindly chase college rankings or coding trends thinking it guarantees success.
“There is really less demand for engineers in market, don’t go into this tier 1-2-3 thing, demand is very less, you will have to be very lucky to get into any company in this rat race,” the user added.
The Redditor also questioned whether skills still matter in the hiring process because of the huge competition in the industry.
“With these many candidates.. think logically, does your DSA or skill matter or luck?”
He revealed that he himself graduated in 2023 and currently works at a big tech company earning over Rs 35 lakh annually. Despite that, he admitted he constantly fears losing his job if he slows down even slightly.
“I am saying this as someone who graduated in 2023. working in tech earning 35+ L at big tech. And every week I think I could be laid off anytime I slow down.”
The post ended with a strong warning to younger students. “My dear juniors dont f**k with your career and become Software engg, we will have to look for some other stream for career like dr , law etc,” the Reddit post ended.
Users Shared Mixed Opinions
As the post spread online, users reacted with both concern and disagreement.
A user wrote, “Imagine being in first year CS and reading this.” Another said, “Do you really think a lot of people in India wanna be software engineers? Everyone is forced or groomed into taking swe.”
A person commented, “Then tf we are supposed to do man…” while another wrote, “Software engineering is much more than just coding. You can work in other fields too. Just the required thing is skill and network.”