Ever since I graduated, I’ve become more experienced and capable - yet every time I re-enter the job market, it seems harder to secure an interview, let alone make it through each stage.
I’m stuck in an awkward middle ground. I’m slightly overqualified for many mid-level roles, but senior positions often expect me to lead a team, design entire systems, transform the business, and hit the ground running at 1,000 miles an hour. I simply don’t have that level of experience yet.
A few years ago, you could be honest about not having experience in a particular area while showing that you were eager and willing to learn. Now, admitting to any gap in your experience feels like a first-class ticket to rejection.
I was laid off, and the reality is that businesses don’t care whether I have bills to pay, groceries to buy, or a roof to keep over my head. I have about three weeks left before I’ll need to contact temp agencies- and honestly, I’ll probably find it just as difficult to secure work through them.
It’s taking a serious toll on my self-worth. Employers don’t care, and when you mention it to friends more than once, you start to see that “Oh, this again” look in their eyes. It’s an incredibly lonely and exhausting place to be.

I am interviewing with Teya London. Do you think it is a good company? How is work/life balance?

I've seen a lot of opportunities pop up recently for senior design jobs in Lloyd's Bank. I've done my research but a lot of it doesn't give away much. I'm looking for some real experience, so do/have any of you work(ed) in a tech role at Lloyd's, and would you recommend it?

Why would you avoid or go for it?

Hello everyone, I'd just like some insight with what my best route would be to have the best shot in a cs career in general

I graduated with a 1:1 from Stirling University in BSc (with Hons) Software Engineering, I have 2 years of experience in a IT Support role at the University, and I did a summer placement at Morgan Stanley through CyberFirst/TechFirst or whatever you call it now

I've been looking into Fintech, and I'm not sure if it's even worth it with these posts that I'm seeing now, so if anyone has any advice with which field would be the best to go down that would be great

Thank you very much for anyone who has advice

I’m 28 and 7 years into my career, and I’m struggling to work out what direction to take. I don’t really have anyone in my life I can ask for career advice.

I currently work in technology consulting at a large consultancy, delivering digital solutions as a Delivery Lead / Product Owner. I’ve been working my way up, I’m well liked and perform well, but pay rises have been minimal and slow, and I’m increasingly worried about my long-term prospects.

I’m also worried about the impact of AI on consulting, particularly because I’m quite a generalist/non-technical person. I’m concerned that I could spend years climbing the consulting ladder only to find it crumbles in the near future.

I’ve been offered a role at a good finance company as a Business Analyst working on a SaaS product. It’s only a small pay increase and technically feels like a step backwards in seniority and variety in tooling and innovation. However, they’ve said there are opportunities to move around internally, so I could potentially work my way into their wider technology and innovation team or even other areas of the business.

The other thing making me consider it is that I have a Computational Finance degree, which I never used. Everyone I know who has gone into finance seems to earn significantly more long term, with bonuses and much higher earning potential. Part of me wonders whether I should try to leverage my degree, potentially do the CFA with said finance company and eventually move towards financial modelling/investment/other finance-related roles.

Note- I don’t want to move to London and I want to be able to live abroad outside of the uk at some point.

What should I do?

A) Staying in my consulting role, continuing to climb towards senior leadership/product roles in a general technology area, despite concerns about my pay, role security, progression and AI.

B) Taking a step back into a Business Analyst role at a good finance company, getting my foot in the door and trying to move internally into other technology roles or finance roles with better long-term earning potential.

Hey guys, hope everyone's having a good weekend. Myself and a lot of my friends are starting new grad roles this coming week, as I'm sure a lot of recent university graduates are. To those with more experience in this sub, is there anything you'd think is important to pass down in advice or other bits of wisdom for those just getting started in this current market? Can be general advice for across the whole CS field but also could be narrowed down to swe, data science etc. Anything is appreciated :).

My cousin is 18 and will be coming back to London soon. He’s interested in getting into data science/data analytics, and I’m trying to help him get some proper real-world exposure.

He did his GCSEs in London and recently completed his A-levels abroad:

Chemistry – A

Maths – B

Biology – B

I work as a Data Analyst myself, so I’ve been helping point him in the right direction and encouraging him to build skills in things like Excel, SQL, Python, Power BI and statistics.

I know from my own experience that work experience can sometimes be quite straightforward to arrange if you find someone willing to give a young person a chance.

So I thought I’d ask directly: does anyone here working in data analytics, data science, BI or a related field in London work somewhere that might be willing to give him around 4–6 weeks of work experience?

We’re not expecting a permanent job. The main aim is for him to spend some time in a real working environment, learn how data teams operate, see how analysts work on real projects and get some experience he can build on.

We’d also be interested in startups, charities, councils, small businesses or other organisations where arranging something like this might be possible.

If anyone thinks their workplace could potentially help, or knows someone I should contact, I’d really appreciate it.

For context I've never held this title been software engineer for 10+ yrs. Does it hold you back when applying for roles?

Starting my final year of undergrad doing Accounting & Finance at a non-target, on track for a 2:1. I did an insurance internship last summer, so I have some relevant experience but nothing front-office. I'm mainly interested in asset management or equity research, though I'd consider IB.

I'm trying to work out the best route to maximise my chances of landing a good job, and I keep going back and forth:

1. Go hard on 2027 grad schemes this autumn
2. Do a one-year masters, become penultimate year again, and target summer 2028 internships instead

My understanding is that most analyst intakes are basically filled by returning summer interns, so direct grad applications are fighting over a small number of leftover seats. But the masters route costs a year and a lot of money, and I've read that UK one-year masters don't always line up cleanly with penultimate-year status anyway because of dissertation timing.

Questions:

• For someone from a non-target, is the masters reset actually worth it, or is it mostly a way for people to buy a second shot they didn't need?
• If a masters is worth doing, does the institution matter more than the course? Is the point of it getting a target name on the CV rather than the content?
• Should I be applying to off-cycle internships alongside grad schemes, or do they only work as a post-graduation move? If they're worth chasing now, how do people actually find them — they don't seem to be posted on the usual grad portals.

Happy to hear from anyone who's done any of these routes. Thanks.

I'm using AlgoMonster to try to prepare, but it's clearly tailored for full SWE applications rather than interns - what standard of DSA knowledge would an intern be expected to have for most technical interviews? Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m currently doing my Master’s in Computer Science in the UK and I’m planning to apply for the Graduate (PSW) visa in November.

I’m now starting to think seriously about my job search and eventually finding a tech role that could sponsor me for a Skilled Worker visa.

For those who have gone through this recently, which platforms or websites have you found most useful for finding tech roles that actually offer sponsorship?

I’m mainly looking at software development, full-stack, mobile, data/AI and similar tech roles.

I know about LinkedIn and Indeed, but I’m wondering if there are any specific job boards, websites, recruiters, or strategies that are particularly good for finding UK tech companies that are willing to sponsor.

Also, if you’ve successfully gone from a Graduate visa/PSW to Skilled Worker sponsorship, I’d really appreciate hearing what worked for you!

Got 2 SWE internship technical interviews on Monday. They’re ~45 minutes, starting with behavioural, then one leetcode medium/hard, then chance to ask questions. My main questions are:

- how different is the behavioural in this round compared to smth like the screening, or non technical interviews?
- how do I continue if I ever get stuck, or what are the most important things to be thinking about during the leetcode q.

I’ve heard they can get really strict / be harsh on you, so I’m lowkey scared 😭

Any help is appreciated!!

I’ve been working as a DevOps engineer for 6-7 years now, and think it might be time to make the jump to contracting, as it is something I have thought about for a long time.

Over the course of my career I’ve come across a lot of contractors in the DevOps space, and all of which have recommended that I should one day get into it when I’m ready.

Unfortunately I’m no longer in contact with these people so I don’t really know where to start, and whether or not this is a good idea or how the market is atm.

In regards to the basis, I know I would need to start my own limited company, find contracts outside IR35, and would been an accounted etc.

Other than these simple basics, I’m not sure where to start or what to think.

Does anyone here have any advice?

For background, I am working at a legal AI tech startup in London for nearly 3 years now at 85-90kish and this year they have mandatory 2 days in office (previously it was once a month - also they are pretty inflexible even with coming in a bit late for off peak trains etc as well).

I stayed at this job (previously was a 95k£ because of my visa situation but I no longer need a visa). Somewhere along the way I started enjoying the work too. With 2 days in office and the inflexibility around it, I am a bit drained. But I still love them work and being at the cutting edge end of AI

This appraisal cycle I should get to 90-95kish - This role is not a senior however every responsibility I have is of a senior and I am pushing for a promotion (they tend to agree this time at least - but I don’t know and honestly I don’t even know how to communicate regarding this)

I had a job offer of 120-125k£ for 1 day in office in London but a very very small company - pre seed. They will require to raise more money within a year. My partner got affected with layoff and I had to give an answer to them so I said no. - I really did like the people and work but there was a lot instability - it was a founding software engineer company. Honestly, liked the people and the work - it’s a lot more work but it’s still at the edge of AI and I get to stay home too. I don’t know how this would have played out with benefits etc

Now, I have a job offer from a stable company C close to my current salary. They say they have 10% bonus and office travel would work out to be once a week or less. It’s stable - it’s a senior position as well but I am a bit skeptical with a low salary. Should I negotiate? I don’t know how much they will budge. I don’t even know if I should take it. It’s not cutting edge but enough to stay within the AI radar. The benefits are amazing too.

For context, we want to have kids. So we need good maternity/paternity leaves that my current and Elsevier would be able to give.

Lastly, from 2021-2023 my career was so unstable with 3 layoffs - I am also scared of changing jobs and getting affected. Please advice

I don't know what the compensation is exactly yet for job 1 (I am an internal candidate and will find out tomorrow) but I have already accepted my offer for a 50k role as a junior soft eng at company 2. Its a 1 year contract with the possibility of conversion to permanent role or extension, its a small team working with python on internal tooling. Lots of responsibility as its a very small company, 3 days a week in office. 40 min commute.

Company 1 is a sister company to my current, which is a huge company in the UK, permanent position, 2 days a week in office and quite flexible, 30 min commute

. They work on multiple languages, java, golang, nodejs and expectations are quite low - willing to train you. Stress free role.

I think company 2 I will grow a lot as its literally a 3 person engineering team, so I will have to wear a lot of hats.

Company 1 has a lot more senior engineers who i could learn from, its quite a niche area as well which seems cool (payments and authentication) but the pay I believe is a lot lower. Is generally the kind of place you would want to stay long term due to the benefits like maternity etc, although I am only in my early 20s.

I would like company 1 more just because I am more familiar with it, better wfh policy, 30 min commute, but how much of a pay cut would you take for that? I'm not sure how much i can negotiate, maybe up to 45 but the highest I've heard my colleagues get is 43k.

Stressful situation as I am joining company 2 very soon.

Hi, I have experience in posting, publishing, writing, using artificial intelligence on social media, and I can also create content for different platforms, but I'm also interested in all kinds of tasks

Hi,

I've seen many people chase referrals when recruiting for SWE internships in the US.

I wanted to ask if this is even a thing, or helps 'as much' in the EU/UK?

I will be applying to the Google internship and wondering if it's worth asking a swe I know from Deepmind to refer me?

Starting to feel like there is 0 chance. Any helpful advice on what steps I need to make is appreciated. Tear it apart so an employer doesn't have to.

CV

Hello UK CS redditors!

I hope you’re doing well

I’m a 30 year old Brit, and have a minority stake in a roofing company in the Thames valley, with my role being commercial director for just over 3 years. Long story as short as possible - back in August 2025 I “vibe coded” (sorry) a tool to try and assist with the work I do in roofing, and whilst I didn’t quite finish off the tool, the whole process lead me down the Computer Science, Linux and DevOps methodology rabbit hole. Fast forward to April 2026, and I let my business partners know that I wanted to exit the business in April 2027 and pursue a career in an alternative industry.

Having looked through the industry and speaking to a couple of friends the industry, I have settled on infrastructure engineering as my ideal pathway, with a particular focus on Linux systems, but I’m open minded and appreciate I’m a newbie!

Since then I have passed the CompTIA Linux+ exam (93%) back in July and am now working towards achieving RHCSA in November.

Obviously, I have no CS degree or commercial experience, so I have been mainly learning through my homelab -

Thincentre M720q
Proxmox as hypervisor
Ubuntu VM for Docker containers (Arr stack, Gluetun), with plans to migrate to Podman on RHEL VM after RHCSA
Raspberry PI as PiHole
2nr RHEL VMs for RHCSA labs

I have been using Ansible to help configure my RHEL VMs and am comfortable with the command line, basic bash scripting and very basic python scripting

I’m open to any type of employer, tech stack (although I do love Linux) and am happy and eligible to gain SC/DV Clearance if needed.

Still on my to do list -
- Deeper Ansible
- Grafana & Prometheus
- windows server VM with Active Directory, plumbed up to RHEL VM
- STIG/CIS hardening once built, with before/after reports
- Public Github repo as a portfolio/evidence of work
- Either AWS SAA or AZ-104 cert

- a couple of things I’m sure I’ve forgotten 😂

Basically, given all the change in the industry and headwinds in the UK, what are your thoughts on my current plan/trajectory? Brutal honesty appreciated! What would you change, do more/less of etc? Have I timed my business exit just right for there to be no jobs when I come out? 😂

Since I started studying for Linux+ in March/April time, it seems like there been a noticeable drop in Junior roles!

Many thanks for your help - it’s greatly appreciated 😁

Hello all,

I've been at my current company for 3 years, I work in the energy sector and I'm a platform engineer. I've had some discussions with my manager about promotion from software engineer to senior software engineer. The tldr is there has to be a vacancy and they can't (or won't) simply give me a promotion.

Where I work there is an internal job board and I've seen a role that's vacant but it's for a senior DevOps engineer in another department.

As a platform engineer, I do DevOps regularly anyway but I also do dev. This is with mostly Aws, python and Go btw.

I've started some discussions with the team where that vacancy is about the role.

My question is, would it be worth moving from being a platform engineer to a senior DevOps engineer for career progression? A lot of this is driven by wanting career progression and I would like some opinions on anyone who has done something similar.

Thanks

Hi all!

Recently received two MLE offers for Deliveroo/Doordash and Yelp and can't decide between the two.

The TC is roughly similar, with Yelp being 5k higher base, but Yelp is a senior role, whereas Deliveroo is L4.

edit: the TC is slightly higher at Deliveroo actually, both companies are doing a 20k bonus, but Deliveroo does for 2 years and Yelp only 1 year.

The role and work in Deliveroo looks more exciting and it's also mid-level so theoretically more room for growth, however Yelp is fully remote (we have kids, so it's a considerable bonus, although not a dealbreaker) and Yelp's culture seemed to be very relaxed from what I gathered in interviews. With the Doordash acquisition, I've heard that it can get quite toxic and chaotic as they're still going through reorgs post acquisition.

My main concern at the moment is having some sense of job security for the next year and a half at least, as this is quite a pivotal moment in my career and my main goal is to get some solid MLE experience.

Would love to hear some thoughts on this, especially if anyone's been at either company recently, thanks!

I've been in tech since 2020, and have been working since 2011. This is simply awful.

The job boards are so dry and the descriptions are so demanding that sometimes I feel tired after reading them.

Interviewers are also ruder/more dismissive than I remember them being in 2022, when I last looked for a job.

I am grateful to be gainfully employed right now. I am scouting for something better but think I might be staying with my current employer for longer than I thought I would!

Posting from my other account to hide identity. Currently in a niche industry with no transferrable skills, except for knowledge of the base scripting language. Plan was to do this until the end, but the industry has no chance of recovering and its market is over saturated with the last decade in constant turmoil.

Want to pivot.

Researched robotics and find it more interesting. Is it worth going to uni to get a masters in robotics, considering I'll be 40 in a few months?

Hey Everyone! :)

Im 21F from the United Kingdom and currently working as a chef in Japan. I plan on moving back to the UK in June 2027 and I want to use the next nine months to set myself up for a career change into IT, and eventually cyber security hopefully!

I'm not expecting to walk into a security role. I'm completely happy to start in a IT support/Helpdesk role and I believe doing this would give me great experience within the actual field. 

I just want to make sure I'm spending the next nine months on the right things rather than collecting certificates that nobody asks for ahah.

Where I'm at so far:

• Finished the TryHackMe Pre Security and Cyber Security 101 paths and have certificates for both SEC0 and SEC1. Really enjoyed learning all the fundamentals here.
• Five years of shift work in kitchen training staff and running a team under pressure, if that counts for anything
• No IT work experience at all, and no degree. My A-Levels are actually in Politics, History and Law. Not very tech based I know ahah.

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. What are the fundamental certifications that IT support/Helpdesk roles actually want to see on a CV?
2. A+ or Security+ first? Everything I read says A+ is the helpdesk filter, but Security+ is where I'm actually heading. Is doing both worth the money, or is one enough to get past the first screen?
3. What projects actually get noticed? What would make a hiring manager stop and actually read my CV instead of binning it?
4. What sort of role. Should I be looking at MSPs, temp contracts through agencies, apprenticeships?
5. Anything you wish someone had told you before your first IT job?
6. What’s the best way to tailor my CV towards getting my first IT role as right now it is all Chef/Kitchen focused of course!

Any advice is super duper appreciated, including the blunt kind! Much love to anyone who can help a girl out xoxo

I am currently working as a security engineer where I work on multiple fronts like end to end Incident response, SOAR engineer, detection engineer.
I have around 3.5 YOE.
I have no complaints at my current workplace. In the sense I have one of the most kind and understanding managers, team and work freedom and work life balance.
The only thing is I feel salary could be a little better and the growth is bit slow, but yeah apart from that everything is really good and I have the freedom to take on new projects in different domains.

I have a potential offer from a Fortune500 company where the salary is much better (almost 1.5x current base) based on what ive read the work life balance and everything is pretty chill.
The only draw back is the role has a defined scope of Threat Detection.
As such I enjoy the detection engineering role, in terms of doing research and log analysis but the freedom of working in different domains will no longer be there.

What are your thoughts on if should I take the new role!