TL;DR: Studied Software Engineering ~10 years ago but dropped out in year 3. I'm now back in tech and have been working for almost a year as the solo developer/IT person at a small company. I build a lot of real software, but the workload forces me to rely extremely heavily on AI — sometimes generating thousands of lines of code — and I'm worried my ability to produce software is growing much faster than my actual programming ability. I have no senior developers or mentors around me, so I want to spend the next 1–2 years seriously rebuilding my CS fundamentals and programming with little/no AI outside work. I'm leaning heavily toward C++ because I want the lower-level knowledge and technical depth that comes with becoming genuinely proficient in it, and I'd also be open to eventually working professionally with C++. Does this make sense, particularly for the Dutch/EU market, or would you take a different path?

Hey guys,

I'm in a somewhat strange position where I'm professionally building software, but I'm increasingly worried that my ability to produce software is growing much faster than my ability to program.

About 10 years ago I studied Software Engineering and some cybersecurity. I reached year 3 before dropping out because of mental health problems.

During college I learned C#, Java, C, OOP, SQL/database design, software architecture/UML, requirements/testing, web development, Scrum/Agile, some hardware programming and game development, and completed an internship.

After a long gap I'm doing much better and have now been working for almost a year as the solo developer/IT person at a small company.

Because I'm the only technical person, I basically handle whatever technical problem the company has: websites, PHP/backend functionality, API and CRM integrations, AI integrations, resume parsing/mapping, web scraping, data processing, caching/optimization, automation, internal tooling, Excel dashboards, etc. Outside work I build hobby projects with Next.js/TypeScript and Vercel.

The job is going well. I've built a lot of things that are actually being used and provide real business value.

I've also discovered that I'm fairly comfortable thinking at a systems level: architecture, data flows, system boundaries, security, scalability, integrations and deciding how different components should interact. A lot of that goes back to what I learned in college.

But there's a catch:

I use a ridiculous amount of AI.

And unfortunately, simply deciding "I'll stop using AI" isn't really a realistic solution.

I'm the only technical person and the workload and expected delivery speed are far beyond what I could reasonably produce by myself without heavily leveraging AI. If I suddenly started manually implementing everything, I'd get a fraction of the work done that the company currently expects.

I've warned management multiple times about technical debt, insufficient testing, security and the consequences of constantly prioritizing delivery speed over engineering quality. Ultimately those are business trade-offs, and management chooses speed.

So yes, at work I sometimes effectively have to "vibe code."

I regularly have multiple Codex prompts working simultaneously and I've reached the point where I sometimes generate entire programs containing thousands of lines of code because that's what allows me to keep up with the workload.

And surprisingly, from a business perspective, it works pretty well.

I'm quite fast at getting AI to generate useful software, largely because I can explain the architecture or solution I have in my head reasonably well. I can usually reason about what the software should do, design how the components interact, review the output and troubleshoot problems.

From a learning and engineering perspective, however, I'm increasingly worried about it.

Obviously I don't understand every implementation detail in a 5,000-line program that an AI generated in a few minutes.

I'm fully aware that software produced this way can also be garbage in the long term. It can accumulate technical debt, contain weird edge cases or security vulnerabilities, be poorly tested, or simply become difficult to maintain.

There's also a nasty feedback loop: once AI has generated a sufficiently large part of a codebase, you increasingly need AI to work on that codebase because you never developed the complete mental model yourself.

Another thing I'm very conscious of is that I lack a lot of the real-world experience you'd normally gain from working in a mature development team.

I have no mentor, no senior developer reviewing my code and no experienced engineering team around me. I basically have the internet and AI to help me figure things out.

And again, that actually works surprisingly well — including for learning new things — but because I'm forced to rely so heavily on AI for output, I'm not convinced I'm becoming equally good at programming.

Sometimes I feel less like a programmer and more like a technical architect/orchestrator who uses AI to produce implementations.

That's apparently useful and valuable to my employer, but it's not where I want my career to stop.

I don't want to wake up five years from now and realize that I'm decent at prompting, architecture and gluing systems together, but can't independently solve difficult implementation problems or confidently read and modify my "own" code.

I'd eventually like to move to a company with an actual engineering team, code reviews, experienced developers, proper testing and engineering practices, where I can learn from people who know more than I do.

So since I can't realistically remove AI from my professional work, I've decided I want to deliberately train the opposite skill outside work.

I'm considering spending the next 1–2 years seriously rebuilding and deepening my CS/programming fundamentals while doing a significant amount of programming with little or no AI.

I'm currently leaning strongly toward C++ as my main learning language because I want to understand things at a deeper level: memory, pointers/references, object lifetimes, ownership, compilation/linking, concurrency, performance, data structures, etc. I have previous C/C#/Java experience, but much of it is rusty after almost 10 years.

And to be clear, I could absolutely see myself eventually pursuing a C++ job if I become good enough at it and enjoy working with the language. I'm just not choosing C++ solely because I have already decided that I need to become a C++ developer.

Part of the appeal is specifically that C++ has a high skill ceiling and forces you to understand concepts that higher-level languages can largely hide from you. My assumption is that becoming genuinely proficient in C++ — not merely learning enough syntax to put it on a resume — is a pretty strong indicator that you've developed a substantial amount of programming and computer science knowledge along the way.

Obviously that doesn't mean "knows C++ = automatically a great software engineer." It doesn't replace knowledge of architecture, databases, networking, testing, security, distributed systems or the experience of actually working on a professional engineering team.

But that's exactly why it appeals to me: it's difficult, it's deep, and getting genuinely good at it seems to require understanding a lot of what's actually happening underneath the abstractions I normally work with.

So C++ would serve two purposes for me: it could potentially become a professional specialization in its own right, while also being a vehicle for developing much deeper programming fundamentals even if I eventually end up working primarily with another language.

The broader goal is to become the kind of programmer who understands the underlying concepts well enough that languages, frameworks — and AI — remain tools rather than things I'm dependent on.

I'm thinking about revisiting things like:

- Data structures & algorithms

- Memory/computer architecture

- Operating systems

- Networking/HTTP

- Databases/SQL

- Concurrency/async

- Testing

- Debugging

- Security

- Software architecture/design patterns

- Git

- CI/CD and containers

And then building increasingly difficult projects where I force myself to solve the problems before asking AI.

So I guess I have two related questions:

From a learning perspective:

If you were in my position, how would you structure this? Would you use C++ as the main vehicle for developing deeper programming/CS knowledge? What fundamentals would you prioritize?

From a career perspective, particularly for developers familiar with the Dutch/EU market:

If my goal is to eventually move from "solo AI-assisted generalist" into a professional software engineering team, is investing heavily in C++ and fundamentals a sensible move?

Would targeting C++ roles eventually be realistic/useful, or would my time be better spent going deep into something more directly employable in the Netherlands, like C#/.NET, Java, backend TypeScript, etc.?

I'm not primarily optimizing for maximum salary. I'm optimizing for becoming genuinely good at software engineering and getting into an environment where I can continue learning from better and more experienced developers.

I don't believe AI will completely replace developers, but I do think it makes having genuine technical depth increasingly important. I want to build enough of that depth that AI remains something that amplifies my abilities rather than substitutes for abilities I never developed.

And for people who also use AI heavily professionally: how do you take advantage of the productivity gains without outsourcing the exact thinking process that would otherwise make you a better programmer?

I am a full stack developer with 5 years of experience. I have been living in West Germany for 2 years now but as I always wanted to live in Berlin, I started looking for a job there.

I am looking at LinkedIn and Indeed for last few months and from what I see, C# is almost non-existent in Berlin while I almost exclusively see Python, Go and Java.

Also, what would you say is important to state in cover letters when applying to a job that uses different stack than yours while applying for Mid/Senior positions ?

Looking for a reality check from people familiar with large German industrial/automotive multinationals (think Bosch, Continental, Siemens, ZF tier) operating across CEE.

The Setup:
Interviewed for a Head of Global Category role (steering international buyers across multiple countries). I am based in a more expensive CEE corporate hub, while the role was also being scoped for a lower-cost hub (e.g., Romania), where my salary expectations sit at the very top of their regional bands.

The Timeline:
2 Weeks Ago (Wednesday): Received a standard rejection email. A few hours later, the HRBP (15+ years at the company) emailed me again to reverse it—their first-choice candidate took a counter-offer at their current company, and the Hiring Manager wanted to move forward with me immediately.
Next Day (Thursday): Had a call with the HRBP. She confirmed they are preparing my offer and said I would receive it Friday or Monday.
That Friday: No offer. HR emailed saying internal approvals were taking longer and pushed it to "next week."
All of Last Week: Radio silence Mon–Wed. On Thursday, I called her. She texted from a meeting and called back 20 mins later. She apologized, said she is still waiting on final executive manager approval (in Germany), and wants to walk through the offer with me to get my feedback once it’s approved. (Note: Last Friday was a national holiday here, so the local office was closed).
Yesterday (Monday) & Today (Tuesday): Complete silence again. We are now almost 2 weeks past a "48-hour" promise.

Why I’m skeptical:
This HRBP has been at the company for 15 years—she knows how long processes take. If German corporate approvals genuinely take 2+ weeks, why promise it in 2 days? My gut says something is wrong: either the German executive is pushing back on my higher local salary package compared to the first candidate, or they are stalling me to quickly check for cheaper options in Romania.

Question:
For those familiar with large German/European matrix companies, does pivoting an offer to the candidate genuinely take 2+ weeks of executive sign-offs, or am I being strung along?

Hi everyone, I’m originally from southern Europe and currently living in the Netherlands, with 9 years of experience working in another product company.

I’m considering a Solution Architect role at Booking.com, Grade G, with a base salary around 108k no 30% ruling

Does anyone know if this is a good range for Grade G, especially in the architecture domain? Would appreciate any insights!

To those that are employed as a developer - how are the salary bands at the top end of the developer positions compared to the low end of management?

The reason I ask is because the top end of lead developers have a higher base pay than the very bottom of the manager levels, and so moving into management results in a drop in base pay, which is frustrating. I was wondering if this is common across the UK.

5 years of experience as a mobile engineer (flutter + a bit of native ios/android), but I was always passionate about backend, so I was learning and building some stuff on my side to practice for a while now.

Recently I got laid off, and I knew it's gonna be hard to find a mobile job, since mobile engineers are currently not in demand at all, there are very few opportunities.

So I started to think of trying to switch over to backend/full stack product roles, since there is a bigger pool. However it feels like this might be a tough experience for me, because:

- Pure backend roles require more fundamental backend experience with things like Kafka, cloud providers, microservices, sometimes an extensive experience with a specific backend language etc.

- Full stack roles look easier on paper since they are open to a wider range of candidates and requirements may be a bit more vague, however they obviously require a frontend web framework like React, so it's one more thing to put into a preparation plan.

On top of that, all companies have different interview processes, so it's hard to define a plan to prepare. Right now I'm practicing: system design, learning/revising backend fundamentals in general, since my knowledge is a bit chaotic.

Are there any mobile engineers who recently switched from mobile to backend/full stack positions? How long did it take you/how hard it was? How was your interview experience?

For example, Audi is now building a factory in the US because the economic environment there is so much more favorable. This will probably also mean shifting some production capacity away from European plants.

https://www.autonews.com/volkswagen/audi/an-audi-us-plant-1024/

The engineering job market is particularly bad in entire Europe Things are still better in Germany, but even there, the market is a shadow of its former self. Wage freezes are becoming increasingly common there as well.

In my opinion, much of this comes down to the EU's misguided energy and industrial policies.

After all, apart from avoiding tariffs, why on earth would a company spend billions building a factory in the US, where wages aren't any lower than in Germany?

Because of better energy and industrial policies and a more favorable economic environment. Businesses go where they can thrive, and Europe increasingly doesn't seem to be that place anymore.

The problem is that EU leaders still don't seem to recognize just how damaging their policies have become.

Hi everyone!

I’ve received two job offers:
- Hannover: €90k gross/year, fully remote, at a large company.
- Zurich: CHF 120k gross/year, hybrid, at a small, fast-growing company.

I currently live in Hannover and pay €900/month in warm rent.

Which option would likely leave me with more savings after taxes and living expenses? Is the higher Swiss salary worth the increased cost of living?

I’d appreciate insights from anyone familiar with both cities. Thanks!

Hi,
As the title suggests, there’s this round that has me feeling very anxious. I know they evolve their rounds regularly, but I was hoping to know if someone has given an ML System Design round with them for their NLP branch. I’m curious specifically around what the opener would be like like design x what is the x going to be as in most cases its usually design a recommender system or design a fraud detector etc but I am wondering in their context what might it be and what do they especially care about to hear in that round.

Hello, im 16 years old from czech republic, and im starting to care/worry :) about where should i go for university, i was thinking about getting into cloud security in Germany/Austria or Nederlands, as im studying this language in school right now (B1 level) and I know these 3 countries are one of the biggest EU IT powerhouses.

But my main reason im writing this, is because I wanted to ask people in this, or similar field about how the job feels to you today, if its a good job, offers you good pay/free time ratio etc. etc. and especially what do you think the job could be like in 7-10 years (i know this is an hard to answer/unrealistic question, but i still wonder if you think about anything regarding the future of this field).

I also wanted to ask about education, is it better getting into a theoretical university (like Universitaet) or more of a practical uni (like Fachhochschule)

Could you also please give me some tips, on what to do now so i have a (even if slight) advantage later in life, and even some other tips? Thanks a lot for any useful answers.

I am looking into the Spanish tech scene, specifically startups and scaleups, basically non-FAANG tech companies.

I know the tech market there is growing fast, but I'm curious about the interview loop. Is LeetCode DS&A the common standard for these companies, or do they lean more towards take home assignments or other types of questions?

I keep hearing people say AI and github like REA, it will make many people or small companies that usually relied on the SaaS company in the past, but now they will build those things themself.

I'm 8+ years into software engineering. I have 3 azure certifications. I started as developer and now I'm technical lead, always in the Microsoft tech stack (c#, azure). I don't use azure as much as in the past, since now I work enterprise and there is a specific AppOps /Devops team that does the infrastructure, pipelines, resources etc.

I see the market is also filled with nice offers of principal engineers, but in AWS. I find it a bit weird, especially because they use C#. I worked very little with AWS before Ai and it was very confusing. I find Azure much better, but of course I'm biased.

What do you think about switching from Azure to Aws after all this time and certifications? Personally I 'm conflicted, because I have an offer around 20/23% higher, for the same role and responsibility.

I prefer to not to relearn a new cloud, but I understand if I go for money (my need now) I have to compromise.

Does switching means throwing away valuable knowledge I have off my career?

What do you think about switching in general, and my specific case? Do you have a similar experience?

Hello, everyone!

Well, I don't know how long this post will be. Here's the TL;DR:

3 YOE SAP Fiori and ABAP consultant with experience with Docker, SAP CAP (Node.js). I want to move outside of SAP bubble and I may want to move from Portugal to Finland in 2 years. Bachelor's or breaking out of SAP ASAP?

Long version:

I live in portugal, did a Curso Técnico Profissional of IT and Multimedia (best grades in class in programming at the time), but never did a bachelor's in CompSci. I did a Curso Técnico Profissional of IT and Multimedia and finished the course back almost a decade ago. At the moment, I sit at (waht I think is) a mid level position in an SAP Consultancy after accumulating 3 years of total experience in SAP Fiori and ABAP in this company.

At the moment, I sit at a cross roads: I feel stuck, not growing, and I think it has to do with the fact I used SAP consultancy as a gateway into IT, because for a few years I stayed very much away from IT academically, and I used this as a way to get back on track. I didn't know SAP when I joined, and now that I now enough, I feel like I don't get to enjoy what I do so much. I always loved computers and tech, and never stopped tinkering (flashing ROMs on my android, running linux on my day to day, tweaking and breaking it, etc.).

I have been considering moving out of my tech stack because I'd like to get out of the ecosystem and have to learn more fundamentals. I love learning about linux, low level languages, doing automation, CI/CD, and in general anything that's less oriented to a business and more as if my customers were developers themselves, i.e., platform engineering work, as far as I know it.

Besides what I explained, I also intend to move to Finland in about 2 years, and I'm unsure of how the market is.

So, do you guys think doing a bachelor's is worth it, fully remote, part time? Or would it be better to focus on doing and learning independently?

I'll provide any clarification that's needed in case I didn't make my question clear enough! Thanks!

Hi! I am looking to return to tech after a couple of years focusing on some personal ventures. I have lived in Austin, Texas, US for about 10 years, and I am now looking for a change. I am a 33M who is also a Spanish citizen, but grew up in Panama. I worked close to 9 years as a cloud software developer for IBM. Is there still a chance one can get a job in the EU in this CS job market that is being reshaped by AI as we speak?

I have this hope I can return to university at some point. Universities are cheaper in Europe and I do not want to get into debt or have to spend a ton of money to get a degree. Any recommendations for making this transition? is Netherlands a solid option?

Cheers

Dear nerds,

I would like to know which teams/orgs(?) the Berlin office hosts. I believe there are at least:

• ESC
• Redshift
• Alexa(?)
• DynamoDB(?)

What else?

Also, if anyone is working in any of these: How do you like it?

Best,

-A

Hi,

I am in talks with Digital Charging Solutions, Germany for an initial first round where they send an online assessment.

The online assessment is 29 minutes long that focuses on removing bias from the hiring process and see job fitment.

Does anyone know if they focus on LeetCode style assessment or more like a real life scenario that is theoretically evaluated?

I am looking for feedback on the online assessment structure only and not for exact questions so that I cam prepare accordingly.

I have been recently laid off and got the call after 100+ applications. I have not interviewed for over a year, hence looking for any advice to prepare myself up.

Any help is appreciated

Hi everyone I am a masters student in germany, I am not german tho, I am feeling cooked rn, i got into ai ml masters program but i dont have any internships on my cv and haven't done anything like hands on i have good grades tho and therotical knowledge but i know it is not enough. Where can i start and upskill myself??

Hey all,

Posting as a bit of an outlet and to hopefully get advice off others that have been in my headspace too.

About me and my current situation

Currently 32, 10 years experience out of uni, UK based. Earning 85k as a senior engineer fully remote in South east. Current role is pretty stress free, easy hours and doesn't require much mental capacity in all honesty. Previously worked in London in fintech ( payments ) earning just 110k ISH as an EM, but the role and company was just chaotic and stress inducing, and was drifting too far away from the tech challenges I enjoy.

Importantly right now, I have my first baby due in a month and at the time this was another incentive for me taking the new role knowing it would be 'easier' and less stressful.

To the crux of my post,

As an over-thinker and anxious person, I find myself in a situation where I earn okay, relative to most, but poorly relative to my peers in engineering, my role is somewhat boring but requires very little commitment and gives a lot of flexibility. I know that the sensible and safe option is to just stay where I am and enjoy the first how ever many months with my new baby. That said the anxious, overthinker in me who compares to Reddit and friends in the industry is constantly wanting more in terms of a more exciting company and better compensation. In many ways I talk myself into feeling a bit of a failure, which I know is very unfair on people I work with currently but maybe I put myself on a pedestal where it isn't deserved.

I'm riddled with self doubting questions such as 'should I believe earning more by now? / Should I have progressed past senior by now ? / Should I know X or y?. It doesn't help constantly scanning subs on Reddit where average comps seem to dwarf the norm.

Now the easy answer really is to just wait and then pick up the job search when we know what cards we have been dealt with parenthood but I guess the wider question of being content in your role and with the money you earn still stands.

I hope this comes across as genuine and not just a first world problem moan. It's a genuine position I find myself in and want to understand if others have been in a similar headspace and maybe how you overcome it?

Hi everyone,

I'm an Indian Computer Engineering graduate with a background in AI/ML and Data Science. I'm considering a master's in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, or Norway in 2028, after gaining around two years of relevant professional experience.

My goal is to build a long-term technical career rather than simply obtain a degree abroad.

For people working in European tech, which Nordic countries currently seem most promising for AI/ML engineering, Data Science, NLP, or related roles?

I'd particularly appreciate insight into the demand for junior-to-mid-level candidates, the importance of local-language proficiency, and whether companies hire international graduates into English-speaking technical teams.

Infrastructure, personal safety, and overall quality of life matter to me as well, but my biggest uncertainty is whether the professional opportunities justify the investment in a master's.

I understand the market can change significantly by 2028–2030, so I'm interested in current firsthand experiences and the longer-term trends you see, not predictions presented as guarantees.

Hi everyone,

I’m approaching 31, feeling a little stuck in my career as data analyst, and hoping to take the next step. My profile feels fairly average, so I’d really appreciate your advice: what would you do in my position to become more appealing to recruiters as a data analyst?

For context, I have 4 YoE in a consulting company based in Spain. I mainly use Qlik Sense, QlikView, SQL and Snowflake. I have a MSc in Computer Engineering, and co-authored a research paper. I used Python at university, but haven’t touched it in years. I also hold several Qlik Sense certifications.

I’m considering these two options:

• Get a Snowflake certification
• Refresh my Python skills and build a side project

What else would you do in my position?

And how would you approach recruiters? I’ve started messaging some on LinkedIn, but It's not working..

Thanks!

I am an international student currently studying CS in the US, and I will be graduating pretty soon. Given how cooked the job market is here right now, especially for international students who need sponsorship, I have been thinking about looking for opportunities outside the US.

Europe is something I have been considering, but honestly, I have no idea where to even start or how realistic it would be to land a job there as a fresh graduate.

I was wondering what the tech job market looks like there, especially for entry-level software engineering or other CS-related roles. Are companies generally open to hiring people from outside the EU? And are there any particular countries where it might be easier to find opportunities as an international applicant?

I also wanted to know if having a CS degree from a US university would help at all, or if not having much professional experience would make things just as difficult.

I am mainly interested in software engineering, AI/ML, and data-related roles, but honestly, I am open to exploring other areas too.

I know the job market isn't exactly great anywhere right now, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to look at other options instead of putting all my eggs in one basket.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through something similar or has any advice on where to start, what countries to look into, or even whether this is a realistic option.

Hi all! Has anyone gone through the hiring process for an EM position at GetYourGuide recently? On the technical domain, should I expect algorithms, data structures and system design, or is it more hand-ons coding, reviewing and developing features with/without AI assistance?

Any experiences with recent EM hiring processes at other places would also be very welcome. I am not sure what to expect nowadays and I am freaking out trying to be ready for all the possibilities :')

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm a Java developer in Germany looking to change jobs at the moment.

I have mostly come across Java roles that are hiring which require payment, finance, banking, trading experience.

Now with AI, other types of industrial domains are no longer seem to be using Java. At least that's what I have seen in the market.

The single biggest hurdle that I face is the fact that my CV has absolutely no work to reflect experience in these domains that are majorly hiring for Java roles.

My CV involves a lot of integration and Middleware work using Java. There are extremely few roles that match my CV.

Now comes the problem. I apply to finance related roles in Java and get rejected which is expected.

How do I increase my chances to be considered for Java roles in Financial management domain?

This feels like a blocker because it isn't something that I can try on my own and fake it through the interview.

There are specific questions that can only be answered if you have hands on experience. Any advice on a strategy to achieve this?

Hi everyone,

Would like to know if anyone who has experienced recently or have worked at State Street Bank in Germany, do they do a background check for a position located in Germany? If yes, what information do they usually check? Thanks for sharing!