I'm a junior backend developer in my third month: should I start preparing to switch jobs?
I joined a small-to-mid-sized SI company as an entry-level developer three months ago. The company atmosphere isn't bad, but most of my work is maintenance and there's almost no new development, so I'm growing more anxious about my career.
I'm studying Spring by building a personal project on weekends, and I'm wondering whether I should stick it out for a year and then switch jobs. Am I being too hasty?
10 answers
Many people advise you to stick it out for a year before leaving, but honestly, in today’s market, staying a full year isn’t always the right answer. If you aren’t getting to do any real new development, the bigger issue is stagnating during that year. That said, three months is really too short, so judge it somewhere between six months and a year.
Expecting new development work three months in as a new hire is a bit... If it's a small SI company, didn't you join knowing maintenance is usually a big part of the job? Prepare to switch jobs, but don't just blame the company.
I think the opposite. What you do as a junior sets your direction, so if you spend three years only doing maintenance and then leave, it gets really tough. Instead, don't mean switching jobs right now—aim to switch in a year, and build a portfolio by doing weekend projects + algorithm practice + CS review. That's the safest path. I did that too, moved after a year and six months, and I'm satisfied now.
Same here. When I was a junior, I only did maintenance work and then switched jobs after 1 year and 2 months, but in interviews they kept asking why I’d stayed for such a short time ㅠ
3 months is a bit early lol. Even so, you need to make it at least a year so it doesn't look like a short-term resignation on your resume. For now, just prepare, and leave next year.
Well, I don’t know about that. Isn’t it premature to judge the company after only three months? You said the mood wasn’t bad.
That said, you can't ignore maintenance either. Reading legacy code and thinking about why it was written that way can sometimes teach you more than new development. The idea that new development is always good for your career is a bit of a biased view.
Got a source? Where did you see that maintenance teaches you more?
Facts
Oh, I didn't know that. It's really impressive that you work on projects over the weekend. I can't get anything done after work, so I'm jealous.