What A Freelance Software Engineer Wishes They Knew Before Tech
Ryan's career path highlights the unexpected breadth of software engineering opportunities, admitting "it never crossed my mind" until late in their journey. The interviewee also emphasizes the significant impact of company size and culture on day-to-day work, including the potential for "on call" responsibilities and the surprising range of industries needing software engineers, ranging from "a furniture store in Oklahoma" to large tech companies.
Career Exploration, Job Search, Industry Realities, Workplace Challenges, Overcoming Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ryan Yost
Software Engineer
Freelance/Contractor
University of Michigan
None
Spanish & Other Languages, Economics
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Honors Student, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. The existence of software engineering as a career path is not always apparent, even after college.
2. Company size and culture significantly impact the work experience. Larger companies offer focused roles with more structure, while smaller companies provide more diverse responsibilities but may have less formal processes.
3. On-call responsibilities may be required, depending on the software's criticality, which involves being available to fix issues outside of regular working hours. This aspect of the job is not always highlighted upfront but can be quite demanding
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would've told you before you entered the industry?
First and foremost, I wish I had known that software engineering existed. It never crossed my mind to be a software engineer in college or even after. I only realized it was an opportunity after coding for six months, which is just insane. So knowing it exists is a good start.
Company size and culture can make a huge difference. As a generalization, I found that at big companies, you'll be more focused on a narrow scope of work with more process and meetings. At smaller companies, it's more relaxed, but you're expected to take on more responsibilities. It all depends on your preference, but that's something I wish I'd known before.
When looking at opportunities, something I'd never considered is that you may be expected to be on call. If people are using something all the time and it breaks, it's not ideal to leave it broken for hours. Some companies are so intense; if they provide software for medical devices, you have to fix it immediately. You might have a pager that goes off at 2 AM.
It can all vary depending on the severity and how vital the software is. That's something I never considered. Sometimes I find myself looking at my phone thinking, "Crap, I have to pull out my laptop and fix something right now."
Lastly, I wish I'd known about the expansive opportunities for software engineering positions and building software. Every company pretty much needs tech done, and many will pay a software engineer to do it. This could be a furniture store in Oklahoma or the screenwriting software I work on. You wouldn't think it, but they need tech people. So instead of just thinking about Google, Facebook, and other big companies, there are so many incredibly cool opportunities besides what is obvious.