Career advice from people who moved outside Software/IT — 1.5+ YOE SDE
Career advice from people outside Software/IT
I’m an SDE at an MNC with 1.5+ YOE, from a Tier-1 engineering college. While things are going fine on paper, I’m increasingly unsure if software is the right long-term career for me.
The constant layoffs, job insecurity, and competition have started getting to me. On LinkedIn, most decent SDE roles seem to have 100+ applicants very quickly. In comparison, when I look at fields like MBA/consulting/finance/product, many openings seem to have far fewer applicants.
I know LinkedIn numbers don’t tell the whole story, and every field has its own challenges. I’m just trying to understand whether there are career paths that might suit me better.
For people from other fields:
How is your job stability and work-life balance?
How difficult is switching companies?
What does salary growth look like over 5–10 years?
Given my background and current SDE salary, what fields would you suggest exploring?
If you were in my position, would you stay in software?
Would really appreciate honest perspectives from people who have actually made the transition or work outside tech.
If possible, mention your field + YOE + approximate compensation so I can understand the context.