u/Fig_Towel_379

Since I got access to Claude at work, I haven’t really written much code from scratch, especially for ad hoc analyses or quick charts. I still review the code and make sure I understand everything, but it’s honestly a little scary how much better Claude’s code often is than mine. At that point, it’s hard not to wonder what the value is in writing it yourself.

On top of that, management is encouraging us to use AI to be more productive and deliver results faster, so there’s that pressure as well.

To keep my interviewing skills sharp, I still practice on LeetCode or StrataScratch from time to time. But at work, I’ve been relying on Claude pretty heavily.
Is anyone else dealing with the same dilemma?

I work at a large, well-established company that has been very stable. I don’t assume my job is immune to layoffs, but the company hasn’t had any mass layoffs in over a decade.

The work environment is genuinely healthy, and everyone is treated with respect. I honestly couldn’t ask for a much better culture. I get to work on interesting projects, learn by doing, and my team is very supportive of my growth.

That said, based on my experience interviewing and what I’ve seen in the job market, I could probably get about a $50K raise by switching jobs. That extra $50K wouldn’t dramatically change my lifestyle, but I know future raises would build on that higher salary, so there are long-term financial benefits.
I’m at a point where I’m valuing mental peace and work-life balance more than I used to. Given that, what would you do in my situation? Would you stay at a company with a great culture and stability, or make the jump for the higher pay?

I recently switched from Apple Watch to Fitbit Air. I’ve noticed that Fitbit reports a lower HRV and a higher resting heart rate than my Apple Watch did. Because of that, my recovery score has dropped, and both my HRV and RHR have been in the red every day.

The recovery metrics no longer seem to match how I feel.

Will Bevel adjust its baseline as it collects more data from Fitbit, or do I need to start a new life in Bevel?

I just discovered this feature and it’s awesome to use with Apple watch. Will this feature function the same with Fitbit Air or it’s an Apple watch only thing?

The Quantified Scientist on YouTube has reviewed the Fitbit Air multiple times and consistently rates its sleep tracking as one of the best on the market. But every day there are multiple posts here with screenshots showing sleep not being tracked at all.

How can both of these be true at the same time?

The Quantified Scientist on YouTube has reviewed the Fitbit Air multiple times and consistently rates its sleep tracking as one of the best on the market. But every day there are multiple posts here with screenshots showing sleep not being tracked at all.

How can both of these be true at the same time?

I've been job hunting for a few months now, applying to big tech and startups. But seeing the recent Microsoft layoffs made me stop and ask myself what I'm actually looking for in a new job. Instability and more money?

Right now I'm at a company that hasn't done layoffs since maybe the financial crisis. I know how fortunate that is. But if I switch jobs, I could make an extra $50K. So I keep asking myself: is that extra 50K worth the instability that comes with tech jobs right now? What if I join a company and get laid off within a year?

What does everyone think of these layoffs? Despite record profits, there doesn't seem to be an end to them.

I know Bevel cannot give an exact timeline, but does anyone have any guesses? I’m trying to figure out when to buy Fitbit air so I can make full use of Bevel and return it if I don’t like it.

I’m 32 and have never worked in big tech. Right now I’m at a Fortune 50 company, but it’s not a tech company.

Recently I was at a party and met two software engineers, both in their mid-30s. One worked at Meta, the other at OpenAI. Finding that out hit me with a wave of insecurity. It made me realize I’m 32 and have never worked somewhere like Meta or OpenAI, and maybe never will. I felt like I didn’t measure up to them.

I’m struggling to process this. Has anyone else felt this way? Does it ever fade?

Over the last 6 months, I applied to or got LinkedIn outreach from 140 positions . Out of those, I landed interviews at 12. Two roles got filled while I was still in the process, and I made it to onsites at 2 companies. The rest ended in ghosting after interviews, or rejections at the hiring manager round or the technical round that followed.

My last two interviews were both onsites, and after those I'm taking a break because the whole process has been mentally exhausting.

For context, I'm a Data Scientist (ML) with 6 years of experience, targeting senior roles at mostly fintechs, and a couple hedge funds or investment management firms. These numbers have me wondering if my current job is actually my ceiling, like maybe this is as good as it gets for me.

I’m a senior data scientist at a large financial institution. The only callbacks I get are from fintechs or other financial institutions, which is fine, but I’m starting to wonder if the longer I stay here, the more I’ll get pigeonholed into this industry and struggle to get calls from companies outside finance altogether.

I actually enjoy the domain and I’m building solid subject matter expertise, but my goal is to eventually move to a fintech. Is staying at my current company going to hurt my chances of breaking into a different industry down the road? I have also noticed back in 2021-2022 I would get calls from all industries, maybe it was a better market or I was a junior or both.

My manager was in a gossip mood last week and shared some stuff they “heard” about their skip level. I said “actually I’ve heard the same thing” and joined in, didn’t say anything more than that. Probably shouldn’t have. I got carried away in the moment. The context was instability in our team due to constant reorgs at skip level. I also added “I have heard our team wasn’t a big priority in the previous org in terms on budget distribution”.

My manager kept going after that, sharing more about other people and our org. By that point I had caught myself and mostly stayed quiet for the rest of it. They kept asking me what other things I have heard, but I said nothing.

Now I’m worried it gets back to someone and my manager thinks less of me for participating. What do I do? My weekend is officially ruined over a 10 minute conversation.

Been at my company for 5 years and trying to figure out if I should leave. Would love some outside perspective.

The cons:

Growth has completely stagnated. The tech stack is outdated and there are no signs the company plans to modernize. Worst of all, my salary has been basically flat for 5 years and they consistently pay below market. That last one is the main reason I’m even considering leaving.

The pros:

Honestly, the work environment is pretty rare. My manager is empathetic, sets realistic deadlines, and I never have to explain myself if I need to step out for an appointment or log off early. Vacation policy is completely flexible (4 weeks), no approval needed, and the manager actually plans projects around people’s time off. My teammates are kind, collaborative, and there’s zero toxicity or office politics. Everyone just lifts each other up.

The dilemma:

The cons are career problems. The pros are life quality problems. When I think about chasing a new job for say a 20% raise, I have to ask myself whether that money actually changes my day to day life in a meaningful way, or if I’m just trading a genuinely healthy work environment for a gamble on something unknown.

How do you think about making this kind of call? Has anyone left a place like this and regretted it, or found something equally good elsewhere?

Edit: I know no job is safe but mine is relatively safer and business is doing well. It’s a giant company.

I’ve been doing a Python Leetcode question a day since more and more companies (especially for ML roles) are including DSA rounds in their DS interviews. My issue is I’m not sure how deep I actually need to go.

Right now I’m getting comfortable with easy questions on arrays, strings, and hashmaps, plus two pointers and sliding window on the algorithms side. Should I push further into new topics or just stay in these areas and ramp up the difficulty?

On average, I have received a 0.75% salary hike over the last 5 years, which I know is pretty unreasonable. I have been looking for a new job, but given the current market, I cannot say for certain when I will find a new role. In the meantime, I was thinking of asking my manager for an inflation based adjustment to my base salary. I am not sure how much they will offer, if anything at all, but it still seems better than nothing. My performance has also been strong, though asking for a performance-based hike feels riskier and like it could backfire.

What would you suggest?

Been interviewing for a few months now and I think the whole “we just want to see how you approach the problem” thing during coding rounds or case studies is pretty overstated. In this job market, even a minor mistake can get you rejected. Hell, I’ve had a experience where I solved every single coding question and still getting a no. It really feels like they expect a perfect solution and then some.

To give you an example, back in 2022 I had an interview where they asked me to solve textbook probability questions by hand. I didn’t get the full solution but walked them through my thought process and showed I had solid fundamentals. Got the offer. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, same type of question, permutations, combinations, probability, all by hand, and I was ghosted despite the fact that they threw the question at me with only 5 minutes left in the interview.

The market is rough right now and honestly my experience has been that you either nail it perfectly or you just move on to the next one. What has it been like for you all?

Here’s the summary of my last post:

My MIL has shown a pattern of disrespecting my side of the family, including screaming at my parents during their visit and not wanting my wife to visit my home country as she may get sick there (it’s third world country but still my home). She also made a comment implying my parents were trying to “steal” my wife away, and my BIL has expressed similar possessiveness. Neither of them has ever made me feel welcome in the family, yet my wife and I gave up our life and moved cross-country to be closer to them.

Update: My wife recently sat down with my MIL to address her behavior. I wasn’t there for this conversation but this is what my wife told me happened: My MIL initially denied being rude to my parents and couldn’t see how her actions were hurtful, but by the end of the conversation my wife had gradually gotten through to her. My MIL also expressed that she misses me and loves me, but honestly words and gifts mean little to me if my family isn’t being respected. MIL has hurt me before and I have continued to engage with her out of respect and it feels like I am about to walk on the same path again.

My wife then asked me whether my relationship with her mother could be repaired if she genuinely changes. This has been keeping me up at night — I feel guilty for considering staying no-contact, yet I also feel it’s unfair that I’m the one carrying this guilt. Reddit, why am I the one feeling guilty here, and what should I do?

Pretty nervous heading into my first FAANG interview. On one hand, I’m genuinely grateful to even get an invite in this market. On the other hand, I’ve always felt like only the super smart, elite types make it into these companies, and I don’t really see myself that way.

I’ve been interviewing around for a bit now, and this one is easily the best opportunity I’ve come across, which is honestly making the nerves worse. Any advice for someone going through their first FAANG interview? What should I expect and how do I get out of my own head?

Some background: I (30M) and my wife (30F) live 45 mins from my MIL, while my parents are a 16-hour flight away and I see them once or twice a year.

My MIL has had a few incidents I want to tell you about in order:

- On my wife’s 30th birthday, my MIL got upset at me, saying I don’t do enough for her daughter because I didn’t plan a surprise or fancy gift, despite my wife hating surprises. I let it go.
- During my parents’ visit, we were all having a nice conversation about my wife visiting my home country for the first time. My MIL interrupted and said “It will be too much for my daughter to go there next year.” As the discussion continued, she cut off my dad and screamed “Don’t you understand it will be too much for my daughter to go there!” The conversation ended there and my mom later cried. My MIL later justified it by calling my home country dirty and poor and claiming she feared my wife would get sick. I distanced myself from her after this.
- Recently on a call with my wife, my MIL complained that my wife doesn’t spend enough time with her, implying she sees me as competition. When my wife said something nice about my parents, my MIL responded with “Look at those people, they want to steal you away from me.”

This feels like the last straw. Neither my MIL nor my brother-in-law have ever made me feel like part of the family. My BIL recently told my wife “I don’t want to lose you to some other family.” Both of them regularly message me on my wife’s birthday and at Christmas to check what I’m gifting her, as if I’m constantly being tested. To make it worse, my wife and I gave up our peaceful life and moved cross-country to be closer to her family, a decision I deeply regret. Reddit, what should I do?

Edit: Forgot to mention, my wife is very supportive of me distancing from her mother and she always shuts her mother up whenever she’s talking sh*t. I am afraid that I am making my wife’s life difficult by distancing myself from the MIL.