Broadening your software engineering experience

Question

As part of my career plan it has been my intention to infiltrate a number of different employers over an approximate 6/7 year time period, so that I can broaden my depth of knowledge and experience as much as possible.

Many often prefer to stay with their employer for the long term which is fine. However, to my way of thinking I do not wish to become a time-server - in it only because it pays the bills etc. I feel that this can sometimes become pseudo-security and all too easily become a trap whereby one no longer continues to grow and develop further, which is essential in this field.

I have completed a number of large projects at my latest place of work, which were very satisfying to me, but lately the work seems much less challenging.

To get to the point. Do others also feel that the only way to expand experience is via job-hopping. Don't get me wrong - I am not deeply suffering where I am, but not firing on all cylinders either.

If and when I get offered interviews with prospective employers, what do you feel are the best answers to the inevitable question 'Why do you wish to leave your present employment?'

Answer 1

I think the answer to that interview question lies earlier in your question: that you are seeking new challenges and wish to grow as a developer. It would be hard to find an interviewer who could not respect that answer.

Answer 2

Generally job-hopping is considered red flag by HR, so I'm not sure thats a good idea.

As for typical "why you wanna leave current job", well the best answer is to tell the truth.

Answer 3

It depends on your relationship with your employer, if a direct manager has to ask the question of an employee, I would suggest communication has broken down. On the other hand if it is between Human Resources and employer then the answer probably isn't significant just be positive, you might wish to return to the company in another position.

Answer 4

Did you consider going freelance? Avoids the interviews and the question altogether.

Answer 5

I'd say there is none. As your potential future employer, we probably would not get as far as an interview after I saw your CV.

• If you're contractor, then it's different of course
• If you changed role within a company, then that's also different

Interesting related article in the Economist. Are you "Generation Y"?

Answer 6

it has been my intention to infiltrate a number of different employers

My first thought is that I strongly suggest you find an alternative phrasing. That isn't going to go over very well as an answer to "Why do you wish to leave your present employment?" It sounds like you're coming in with a mission to steal something!

Anyway, I don't think that job-hopping is the only path for professional growth. You say you've been successful in a couple of large projects at your current job. Can you grow as a leader or a mentor for the team? That should be a good challenge for you, as well as a growth opportunity, and a way to contribute in a greater way to the success of your employer.

If you can't come up with potential ways to grow professionally while you're at the same company, then you're not trying very hard.

Answer 7

On many interviews on Channel 9, senior Microsofties say that one of the good things in working for Microsoft is that there are many categories of products and they can move to many different teams and software groups throughout their career.

Want some systems programming? no problem, you can work on the Windows team. Want some audio work? No problem, join the audio stack team. Same thing about the XBox, Zune, networking stack, etc. Obviously it requires a company policy which allows such HR transfers, not to mention the need of said teams for new recruits.

There is no reason why this shouldn't be applicable to other big and diverse software organizations.

Answer 8

You've got it kind of backwards. Job-hopping can be a great way to look around and find a job that you want, and it can be a great way to build up experience in a variety of different environments. But job-hopping to "broaden your software engineering experience" seems backwards -- if you want to learn more about software engineering, find a company where you are given a variety of projects with flexibility regarding your personal development goals.

Jop-hopping just to job hop seems a little redundant. First try something out, and if it doesn't seem right, feel free to move on. But don't just plan ahead and say "I intend to job hop a bunch of times in the coming decade", because there's no way you can know that in advance.

Finally, if you feel that your current work is not as challenging as it used to be, perhaps you should communicate that to your employer and indicate that you'd like a change of pace. That seems like the most adequate first step.

Answer 9

I'm surprised no-one has suggested "join an open-source project" as an alternative to job-hopping yet. In all of that copious spare time software engineers tend to have, you know. :wink:

Seriously, though: the Pragmatic Programmers suggest learning at least one new language a year -- I think the same might apply to technologies or fields. Contributing to a public project can be a great way to expand experience.

And it looks great on a resume.

Answer 10

My suggestion would be to consider working for a consulting firm that would likely have a wide variety of projects to keep you from getting bored which may be part of what you seek.

Some places I've worked did seem to have a bit of a transition set up in them so that if a developer wanted to become a team lead, they could merely try that position or become a business analyst or manager possibly as a way to rise in the ranks.

I think if you change what type of software you develop over and over, you end up being the jack of all trades and master of none which may not be a great way to get a high salary in some places. By having spent a number of years immersed in some technology stacks, one could become a bit of an expert or specialist that can lead to big bucks, if you think about areas like SAP or Oracle trainings and certifications.