This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dianna Dimambro, a 29-year-old incoming software engineer at a startup. She is based in Jupiter, Florida. Her identity and offers have been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2022, I returned to school at 25 to become a UX engineer, a role that bridges software engineering and UX design, building scalable applications for users. I was previously doing social media management and website design, and already had experience with UX design.
That first year, I had a lot of interviews and recruiters reaching out, which is why, even with all the tech layoffs happening in 2024 close to my graduation date, I thought I still had a chance of landing something full-time.
I’ve been looking for a job since 2024, until recently. I had some freelance jobs in between. In school, I got clients and started doing website development. I also worked for a fintech company for about five and a half months after school, but in the sales division. They ended up eliminating the sales department.
I’ve also had five side hustles, including dog sitting, building websites, and helping local businesses with social media strategy.
Over the last two years, I applied to over 2,000 jobs. A lot of them ghosted. Finally, this month, I landed two software engineering job offers.
One was for a full-time role at a startup, and the other was for an internship at Target. I thought about which one holds more weight in my career.
How I decided which offer to take
I really want to work for a large company that builds an application for a lot of users. So I was really leaning toward Target for that reason, even though it was an internship.
I’ve been postgrad for two years and I’ve already done internships. I felt like with Target, even though it’s highly likely get a full-time offer after, it’s not guaranteed with the tech job market and all the layoffs happening.
I ultimately chose the startup because I’m able to dive right into the field and break into tech. As I reflected on the fact that I’m two years postgrad and already feeling very confident in my software engineering skills, I saw the opportunity to work for the startup as something I’m ready for.
I’m also going to be one of the solo engineers at the startup, which means I’m going to be making a lot of decisions that control the project and its direction.
Finding entry-level engineering work
It was really unexpected to have to aggressively apply for years.
I did everything. I went to school. I joined several organizations. I helped other students through mentorship and tutoring. I had many projects and a portfolio that showed my skills. I also passed a lot of the tech screening assessments and interned at a Fortune 500 company.
Around the time I graduated, I felt pretty confident. I networked, too, but there’s a lot of competition out there, and there are a lot of really talented people who are more technical than me, because I was making a career transition.
I think companies are increasingly wanting engineers to have senior or mid-level experience. It can be risky in this economy for companies to hire a junior engineer and risk them not doing well versus someone who’s already had a couple of years under their belt and has incorporated AI into their workflow.
It feels like entry-level jobs are just becoming less available. A lot of the people I graduated with faced the same issue and ended up going to grad school.
I chose this career path because a lot of us spend our time online. Being an engineer means I am able to shape a new digital experience that can touch millions of users.
I still think software engineering is a really good path to take. If I could go back in time, I would definitely still get my degree in computer science and pursue it.
But the market changed as I graduated, and employers were looking for candidates with more experience in incorporating AI into projects, rather than focusing on engineering and design. Maybe I would have also focused on engineering for a specific industry, rather than broadly tech.
