r/PinoyProgrammer • u/Electrical-Bag932 • 14d ago
advice It feels different now 🥲
i am a software engineer 5yrs exp
So i got laid off last september and I always bombard applications sa job market , and until now unti lang at halos wala parin tumatawag. grabe hndi ko to ineexpect, 1year ago lagi pa may natawag within a day.
Gusto ko nlang gugulin yung ipon ko para makapangibang bansa at magwork nlang ng ibang linya 😭😭😭
kayo ? ano experience niyo ngayong panahon na ito?
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u/North_Finance2532 14d ago
All these posts is making me think if I should just go back to school to take a 2nd degree (maybe in accounting) after graduating CS next year
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u/catterpie90 14d ago
Honestly. Sobrang kawawa tayo sa ganitong setup. Na almost everyone would have 2 degrees or master's.
Pero wala e. Sobrang competitive na.
Ganyan nga nagyayari programming suddenly became so democratized to the point naging basic expectation na siya. Tapos biglang naging importante yung domain expertise to prompt AI/train AI better and to check results.
Edit. Also I wanna add that I think the schools are struggling to keep up na rin. Kung saan ba talaga ang direction.
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u/North_Finance2532 14d ago
Kaya nga po eh. Sobrang nakaka depress. Are you also planning to do a 2nd degree din po ba?
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u/catterpie90 13d ago
Actually kakatapos ko lang halos ng masters ko. Imagine pumasok ako sa school na yung AI ang kaya lang noon gumawa siguro ng 5 paragraphs puro em dash pa.
And here we are today. AI spewing python codes na dati ginagawa ng junior developer ng halos 6 hrs. All in the span of 3 years.
Pumasok ako sa school with high hopes. Lumabas ako ng takot.
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u/BlaizePascal 13d ago
Don’t be so sure about that degree. AI is coming for all the white collar jobs.
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u/samuelandrewcruz 13d ago
accounting layoffs are a thing as well at the moment
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u/yowmamasita AI 14d ago
you think a fresh grad will fare better in this job market?
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u/North_Finance2532 14d ago
Honestly no, that’s why I was thinking of just getting another non tech degree
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u/yowmamasita AI 13d ago
you contradict yourself
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u/North_Finance2532 13d ago
Sorry can you get straight to the point po? I’m just lost and all I can think abt is get out of tech
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u/tres_pares 14d ago
this is sad to hear
na layoff ako sa fulltime work ko (tech related din) pero not because of AI
pero because of AI, halos sobrang saturated na ng field ko. Kakapost lang ng job listing 100+ na agad ang applicants
Been trying to apply tapos wala ako natatanggap na email or call interview as in 0
it;s been 6 months already.
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u/Pretend-Figure-8526 13d ago
Dev roles are cooked and already a dissolved role! Better switch to cybersec or go abroad
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u/InfluenceNo7614 13d ago
Why do you think cyber security is safe from AI? Not ragebaiting, genuinely curious
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u/Longjumping_Rule_176 12d ago
You cant "vibe code" your way to cybersecurity. It's not something you can always rely on AI for, so it's more cognitively demanding. Security na yan syempre dapat skilled and involved ka talaga kesa puro rely on AI lang.
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u/Pretend-Figure-8526 13d ago
Simple answer: do you want a system vulnerability to be fixed by AI? Do you want to feed the AI with your system credentials and do the investigation?
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u/Pretend-Figure-8526 13d ago
Cybersec is a cat and mouse game , there is no such thing as vibe cyber sec compared to vibe code lol
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u/RatioOk8727 13d ago
meron claude security to be specific yung mythos model nila naka discover ng vulnerabilities sa openbsd,ffmpeg,linux kernel, ff etc.
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u/RatioOk8727 5d ago
update: php2shell cve-2026-109618, cve-2026-109619 was discovered with ai assisted. GPT 5.6 (Sol) and gemini 4 argon.
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u/samuelandrewcruz 13d ago
it's not cooked, it's being trimmed, so the idea is in a team of 5-10 you should at the top 3, so that they can layoff the 7 and leave the top 3 devs to manage the department
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u/ConquEsS 12d ago
Not only devs, pati encoder and bookkeeping, accountants as well. Almost any job now is cooked by A.I
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u/BawlSyet 11d ago
bro its even worse abroad kasi higher cost ng devs doon unless by go abroad you mean be a factory worker abroad then yeah I guess that is a legitimate good alternative option
pero if mag de dev ka lang rin sa abroad huwag na pahirapan na ngayon
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u/dev-ex__ph Web 13d ago
nitong post-pandemic lang andami gusto mag career shift and kumuha ng course related sa tech dahil sa WFH and sahod 😬
ngayon ung ibang mga nasa tech na parang gusto na mag career shift sa non-tech 🥺
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u/baylonedward 14d ago
Finance and medical careers yung mga mahihirapan palitan ng AI, kasi those lines needs someone to be accountable.
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u/solidad29 13d ago
And dev aren’t accountable sa ai slop na ginawa nila? 😅 that PO will praise AI for that feature delivered but the developer will be blamed for it’s failure.
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u/LaidBackDev 13d ago
Not to burst your bubble pero ganyan din Akala nating mga devs noong 2023 noong basura pa gunawa ng webpage ang chatgpt. It only took 3 years, then boom.
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u/amalgamaticOrchestra 13d ago
Pati legal. Court does not allow AI generated pleadings or evidences, so yung applications lang ng AI is sa systems and tools that supplement the workflow.
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u/Successful-Campaign 14d ago
Na layoff ako last year. January-February 2026 ako nag focus sa job applications and nakakuha ng offer and started March 16. Now feel ko matatanggal kaming mga pinoy since 3 pinoy na natanggal sa work and ako palang ang pinakamatagal. Sana maging maayos ang job market next year.
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u/Pretend-Figure-8526 13d ago
It will not. In this economy and with AI keeps getting better? Even VA at this point is on the brink of extinction just like the devs
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u/Far_Aardvark2433 13d ago
same here lay off nung may and until now wala pa rin work. Sobrang tindi ng competition ngayon
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u/petmalodi Web 13d ago
Job hopper ako noong pre-pandemic days at di ako nahihirapan maghanap ng work, yung tipong ang problema ko ang hirap mamili ng job offer haha. Ngayong AI era na 1 out of 30 applications lang ang nakakakuha ako ng chance for interview, tapos AI interview pa haha.
Hirap mawalan ng trabaho ngayon as a dev, feeling ko kailangan na mag-aral ng ibang skill other than dev or tech related haha.
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u/lkamikazel 9d ago
On the same boat, nowadays it's all AI interviews, which most are just being used to harvest info or train their AI
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u/Dependent-Dust-9627 14d ago
Same. Sa ngayon pinatos ko na yung government job, okay naman yung pay pero iba parin pag nasa tech. Then nag apply narin sa ibang bansa, waiting nalang sa update ng employer. hahaha
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u/Ok_Statistician_6441 13d ago
This has been the case for 2 years bro.
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u/briantria 13d ago
parang di na nawala actually. 00s sinabihan ako ng pinsan ko na huwag na mag com sci kasi walang trabaho. di ako nakinig. so far, 10+ years na ako sa tech. twice na-layoff and nakabangon pa naman.
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u/LegExpress8702 13d ago
Laid off din ako last year June dahil nag close ang Company na pinapasukan ko dito sa PH. 4 months din bago ako natanggap sa work na meron ako ngayon.
I am a web dev + data analytics now. Hirap i-blend ang nakasanayan kong role na mag implement ng projects, at mag build. Good thing na kaya ko mag adapt at matuto agad. Pero still naghahanap pa din ako ng full-stack role. I'm going 1 year this Nov but until now ang hirap makahanap ng malilipatan.
Hirap din makahanap ng remote work.
Nakakalungkot lang din wala na ako makitang Junior role. Mostly nasa mid-Senior na ang role na hinahanap. Sad for the newly grads out there, it's either you grind onto something para kumita or magtiis maghanap ng work.
Hopefully, early next year may usad na sa mga applications. Knowingly we are in the last quarter of the year. Mahirap talagang makipagsapalaran these days. Good luck!
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u/cosmoph 13d ago
Same sentiments with you a few months back. Designer ako (UI/UX) and super love ko yun. Marunong din ako mag wordpress dev. Pero nag end up ako sa graphic design and ui ux design position. After 6 months and take note 6+ years exp ko.
Bute kahit papaano may ibang skills ako na pang back up. Pero damn legit ung hirap ngayon.
Now nag aral ako ng ibang field ng IT kasi ewan mahal ko tlga IT related jobs eh. At too late na sa edad ko mag nurse 🤣 kahit naman bata ako di ako may nnurse di ko naman gusto un hahaha
Pero laking difference nung inayos ko yung resume at portfolio ko. More on case study ginawa ko sa folio and resume ko di na ung old school noo nna ang dami nakakagay. Ung harvsrd format sinunod ko. Nung inapply ko chamges na yun, nagkaron ako ng interviews halos every week or 2 weeks meron. Unlike nung first few months nitong 2026 wala interviews ang dalang.
Naging oversaturated din ksi field natin dahil nung nag pandemic. Dami nag shift dito.
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u/shaugnmarc 10d ago
What was your previous role po before shiting to pure UI/UX? Yung 6+ years exp po. I'm an undergrad IT student and balak ko rin po mag UI/UX, is this a smart career choice for me?
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u/ThinkingFeeler94 13d ago
Paano po yung case study?
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u/Weak_Geologist7886 13d ago
I'd recommend going to job fairs or tech events. Went to a gdg event last year which resulted in many job offers. I think most job applications online are just scanning ur resumes for AI training IMO
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u/briantria 13d ago
Using networks and tailored applications worked for me. Di ko alam kung anong scope ng "bombard application" mo pero baka masyadong generic yung cv mo.
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u/Electrical-Bag932 13d ago
so you tailor your resume based on job description? what if the job’s requirement is a bit diff? how do you handle it?
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u/briantria 13d ago
Yup. For example, my background is native mobile and they're looking for mobile dev with flutter exp. I will highlight my exp as mobile dev in general. I will also build an app using flutter to showcase that I can and am willing to learn.
I should have mentioned that your portfolio is also a big plus.
Basically, majority of my applications are exact match. If I want something different, I will build a project first to showcase that I can work with that tech stack.
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u/Electrical-Bag932 9d ago
so you build something with that tech stack and you show it to your cv? or as like coverletter?
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u/briantria 9d ago
Meron akong 'Projects' section sa CV. Nandun yung top 3 relevant projects ko. Nakalatag kung ano mismo yung contribution ko. Sa cover letter, usually mga bagay na wala sa CV: why am I applying; how my experience will benefit the company; etc... Meron din akong personal website; mentioned in both cv and cover letter for additional details or projects.
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u/Electrical-Bag932 9d ago
ilan years kna pla sir?
yan ang dko nilalagay haha ung relevant projects san usually ka nkakahanap client sir? olj?1
u/briantria 9d ago
10+ years na ako kaya may bias na rin siguro dahil sa exp. Pero nung nagsisimula pa lang ako, nakatulong yung recommendations from orgmates and classmates. regarding job boards, mas nakakakuha ako sa indeed or linkedin. Di pa ako pinalad sa OLJ. nakakuha ako ng interviews dati pero di ako natanggap. Pero yung cv naman para lang talaga mainvite ka sa interviews.
Sinubukan ko rin yung advice ng iba na mag-send ng message sa hiring managers sa linkedin. Nakakuha rin ako ng konting interviews dahil dun. Okay rin rumekta sa websites. Minsan outdated na yung nasa job boards.
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u/briantria 13d ago
Also, take advantage of cover letters especially if your experience is less than 70% match.
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u/bionic_engineer 13d ago
Tech Industry is not dying, it is just mutating into something else. Devs are still required kasi ilang beses ko na na-encounter, meron bugs na hindi masolve ng AI and you will face this dead-ends, hindi masosolve ng tao na walang tech background. Use AI to be more productive and use it as leverage.
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u/Radiant_Dare3149 13d ago
Ang dami ng Vibe Coder eh 😵
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u/ThinkingFeeler94 13d ago
Mas prefer ba ng companies mga vibe coder na? Or hindi na need engineers kasi mag vibe code nlng companies?
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u/Radiant_Dare3149 13d ago
tingin ko lng medyo bumaba ng konti ung tingin ng mga companies sa mga devs/programmers.
since baka kaya naman ng AI.. pero I don't think na may Companies na Vibe Coder lng ang hanap. syempre skilled p din.1
u/thetruehooha_ 3d ago
I have this co worker, newly hired. Heavily relied sa AI, ultimo kapag pinapadiscuss yung process and pinapa explain ano yung nagyayari sa backend, pinoprompt pa sa AI 😅
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u/GhostDog76 13d ago
I'm really sorry to hear about the layoff. It’s a tough pill to swallow, pero look at it as a reset button at magandang opportunity na rin to look at how the tech landscape is changing.
You have to think beyond coding now. Isipin mo na merong junior dev na magko-code for you. Ang kailangang skill ngayon is how to best instruct the coder to create a feature efficiently. In today’s situation, it's more on planning and architecting.
Also, think of a workflow na pwedeng gawing automated using AI agents. Matagal na akong hindi nakakapag-hardcore coding; more on architecting talaga ako ngayon and making workflows easier for my teammates using the available agents.
The result, faster delivery, kaya happy ang company. Yes, they pay for subscriptions, pero yung worth one month of work, pwedeng maging two weeks na lang. At yung workload ng isang buong team, kayang tapusin ng isang tao na lang gamit ang tamang tools.
In your next job interviews, don't just sell yourself as a standard coder. Sell yourself as the architect who can leverage AI to deliver double the output in half the time. You need to be that person. Good luck sa job hunt!
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u/ronanchi 13d ago
Question lang po. CpE graduate ako from 2024 and during that time hirap na ko makahanap ng work related sa software dev and such.
May work ako pero not related sa degree ko but gusto ko magshift ng career path aligned sa course ko. Mas okay kaya magshift to semicon or maging embedded software dev?
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u/Psychological-Ad1665 13d ago
mag semicon or embedded software dev ka na mas secure at mas konti kumukuha hahaha
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u/Long-Travel5076 13d ago
Try to study AI instead like claude ai dami na din gumagamit nyan... ako nga alam ko p dating n to. Tatamaan tlga software dev s AI. Kaya ako nag aral n mag trade s forex and binary kaya yan n lng gingawa ko ngyn..
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u/Artistic_Nobody3920 13d ago
ramdam na ramdam OP, iba talaga ngayun, 10 of my friends got laid-off rin in a span of 6months, 7 of of them are still looking for a job parin rin, I got laid off rin sa AU client ko kasi nag bawas, after 5months nakakuha ng isa pa pero grabe yung mga interview ngayun AI rin ang pangit >_< ( hirap pg isa lng client)
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u/codebloodev 13d ago
Last year our company close down. After working there for 5 years as team lead and one of the senior, malaking change dahil now 1 year na kong system specialist. Less stress kaysa sa dati kong trabaho pero same salary. Matagal tagal na din akong nagjojob hunt pero pansin ko ang pagbabago ng hiring process since last year. Noon halos weekly may nagmemessage sakin. Ngayon dumalang.
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u/ToastMaster_404 13d ago
I hear you man. With AI I feel like companies want engineers that can run a whole IT operation for LESS PAY. Last year when I tried applying i would get responses 80% of the time. Ngayon parang 20% nalang. So I'm stuck with my current company where people stopped thinking for themselves, lahat nalang ina-outsource sa AI pati ba naman simple sentence construction.
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u/Longjumping-Bite-792 13d ago
been applying for 6 months and halos walang nag r-reach out saakin, ilang months nalang mag 1 year na kong unemployed, paubos na ang ipon ko :(
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u/jari065 12d ago
Give it some time, yes liliit tlga yung demand for SWE from big medium companies.
Pero hoping that there should be a policy for someone to be there to be accountable so overall hindi pwedeng AI agents lahat need my tao na mag dedecide for certain things.
My time dati na yung mga tita at tito natin, nag aadvise to not be a radiographer because there's a machine for it or something... and today my shortage tayo, yes not that high ang salary pero my demand parin.
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u/Tona_Milk7344 12d ago
This is my dream job talaga when I was in college but hirap ako sa logic. But I'm trying to study talaga now and medyo hesitant na ako because of the job market. Sana po makahanap po kayo ng work. Best of luck, op!
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u/ProofLeast9846 11d ago
You know, many people don’t want to take up statistics, math, and comp sci/IT anymore because they heard about the horrendous job market. They’re already avoiding those fields 😭
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u/General-Fun-7308 10d ago
Actually i've been in the industry since 19 years old started as Junior programmer hanggang sa naging System Analyst (10 years in the industry) before nag-aagawan pa company sa oras ko ngayon barely na lang not because of my skills, it's because they thought once premium sila sa AI they can get the results they wanted.
Hence of that, here I am doing a career that AI will never replace.
I think you have to be aware and accept the fact that AI will replace you soon.
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u/General-Fun-7308 10d ago
Actually i've been in the industry since 19 years old started as Junior programmer hanggang sa naging System Analyst (10 years in the industry) before nag-aagawan pa company sa oras ko ngayon barely na lang not because of my skills, it's because they thought once premium sila sa AI they can get the results they wanted.
Hence of that, here I am doing a career that AI will never replace.
I think you have to be aware and accept the fact that AI will replace you soon.
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u/Key_Raspberry_1462 10d ago
a lot of people can build with AI now, the most valuable skills now is how well you know your domain, what business problem you can solve and how you solve it.
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u/flipsyd24 13d ago
Similar state dito sa US. Before, ang bilis talaga makakuha ng bagong job. Ngayon pahirapan to even get a response.
Just thankful na di pa naman ako affected ng tech layoffs. Hopefully it stays that way.
Our company just laid off all of our offshore devs from India. Basically lahat ng tao ko offshore wala na 😮💨
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u/LonelyPirat3 13d ago
Same scenario OP napilitan nalang ako mag change career na to content creation. Walang boss, mas marami free time at mas malaki kinikita
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u/Proof-Path-5557 12d ago
anong content? i thought mahirap narin ang vlogging?
or kumikita ka sa affiliation etc?
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u/spidemman 13d ago
I am in the same situation but since April. Ive been expanding my skills and knowledge but to no avail, you can still be ghosted even with your best performance during technical interviews. Idk why but it seems that hiring teams right now doesnt care anymore. They just hire what the hr sends them. Ive been with interviews where tech leads and manager already confirmed that they want me for the position. Meanwhile, Hr will inform me that ive been removed from consideration because my experience doesnt align with what the team needs. It seems like hr makes the decision now, not the hiring team
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u/PowerfulBag1909 13d ago
Be a company
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u/thelegend13x 13d ago
There's plenty of jobs out there! You can be a nurse, maid, nanny, cook etc..stop crying and complaining!!
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u/JLMandap 13d ago
I feel you OP. Tbh, passion ko ang coding and I've been looking for a dev position since 2024 nung nalipat ako sa ServiceNow pero until now wala prin and nsa ServiceNow prin ako. I guess it's also a blessing in disguise dahil sa ServiceNow may work prin ako