by OulaX on 2/28/25, 7:15 PM with 5 comments
I'm 28, and I'm working as a fully-remote software engineer contractor for a US-based startup. This was my first ever software engineering job, and I started out as an intern, and now I'm a mid-level frontend engineer.
Work has been slow, and being a startup, I'm pretty sure funding will soon end, and I will have to find a different job. Getting a US-company to hire you is really difficult if you are from Iraq, I got my current employer through referals, and I am really grateful for that, but, I am not sure I can do it again.
However, given the prospective job availabilities in my country, and the high number of unemployed software developers, I'd say even finding a local job would be difficult.
So, I was wondering, would a pivot to Cybersecurity be worthwhile? Or should I instead focus on improving my frontend skills and marketing myself?
by gregw2 on 2/28/25, 11:43 PM
You didn't mention it as an option, but if you are tiring of frontend, I would consider pivoting to doing backend/fullstack/data engineering. Boost your database/analytics skills. Your front-end experience can help you have a nice niche in that backend space once you master backend work.
But this is just a guess on my part from an American developer/architect/hiring manager in both startups and large companies whose frontend skills plateaued 20 years ago at the expense of backend skills but who lightly follows frontend technologies.
by fdlaks on 3/3/25, 5:34 PM
As a developer you should of course study security concepts and understand how to avoid creating exploits in what you are working on, but being a dev who understands a good amount about security is always going to be more useful to a company IMO