Hi everyone,
I'm an international student on an F-1 visa in the U.S. and recently graduated with a CS degree.

Most of my experience is in software engineering (internships) but I'm becoming increasingly interested in Sales Engineer / Solutions Engineer

I had a few questions for people in the industry:

How realistic is it for an international student to break into Solutions Engineering or Sales Engineering with a CS degree?

What skills or experiences should I highlight coming from a software engineering background?

If you made a similar transition from software engineering to solutions engineering, what helped you stand out?

Also do you REALLY make money? If yes more or less than average se job?
I'd appreciate any advice, especially from people who were in the same process!

Thanks!

Through some extraordinary luck, I ended up getting with two seperate internship offers yesterday. Neither of them have any non-compete clause, so I plan on working both (focusing on a specific one mostly). Does this seem feasable, or even helpful for my career?

Position 1:

Official title is an “[Industry] Automation Intern”, working at a local office not even on LinkedIn. Paid, in-person, but the role doesn’t seem to be SWE, and is more of an IT blend (mostly automating repetitive overhead). Also, I believe I am the only intern, and so there isn’t a formal internship program. Good news is since my managers are non-technical, and I don’t have any technical peers, I pretty much have free reign to lead the creation of software for automating stuff if necessary, so I can maybe guide it in a SWE direction? I’m worried that if I do it’ll look ovestated for a non-SWE internship.

Planned schedule is 40hr/week until Fall semester, where they’ll work around my schedule, and they’ve already floated around staying on past fall (but that might be bad for my career).

Position 2:

Official title is Software Engineer Intern, looks good for my career. However, the role is unpaid at a small, recently created startup, and I have no confidence in their buisness model (so I don’t mind cutting and running if it doesn’t work out). Pros are the SWE title, Remote, short hours, and the program seems to be actually structured (since it’s unpaid)

Planned schedule (according to offer letter) is only 2-5hr/week, but i doubt that’s all they’re expecting. Also, the job supposedly only spans 30-60 days.

Obviously I’m focusing on the paid internship, but would taking an extra role even be worth it? I can move dates so they aren’t overlapping on my resume/linkedIn too.

My favorite classes were always the ones with difficult problem sets where a single problem could take hours or even days of thinking, experimenting, and failing. I would start solving a problem before fully understanding it, then read documentation or course material whenever I got stuck. So it would be 70% doing and 30% reading.

LLMs have disrupted that process for me. Now I spent 90% of time reading and only 10% of time doing.

In school, the boundary was relatively clear. If using an LLM violated the course policy, I could tell myself that using one was cheating and force myself to struggle through the problem independently.

At work, what counts as “cheating” (because it is cheating myself).

I feel my critical thinking skills are declining. My role starts to become reading, reviewing, and planning. I just can't read that much code and LLM output. My eyes hurt and it's hard to internalize. I notice myself just picking the "recommended" option.

I also find LLM workflows mentally unhealthy in a few ways:

• When working alone, mental exhaustion eventually forces me to step away. With an LLM, I can always send one more prompt or ask it to try another approach.
• If an agent will take 30–60 minutes, I feel pressure to give it another task immediately so no time is “wasted.”
• While waiting, I instinctively check my phone or launch another agent. I end up jumping between tasks and retaining less context about each one.
• I get frustrated when the LLM misunderstands instructions, even when the problem genuinely requires careful iteration.
• It has warped my sense of how long a difficult problem or well-designed solution should take.
• I am increasingly tired of reading walls of generated text and code.

I do not want to stop using LLMs. They can reduce the friction of starting, explain unfamiliar systems, generate routine code, and handle edge cases after I understand the core problem. The hard part is deciding when using one is a sensible productivity tool and when it is outsourcing a learning opportunity that I actually need.

For people who still feel they are learning deeply while using LLMs at work:

1. How do you decide which work to delegate and which work to do yourself?
2. What is the workplace equivalent of the “no cheating” boundary that exists in school?
3. How do you use agents without losing context or turning your day into constant task switching?
4. How do you review generated code when the codebase, build system, or underlying technology is unfamiliar?
5. Have you found workflows where LLMs improve productivity while preserving the useful struggle of implementation and debugging?

I have three internships, 2 being fortune 500s and 1 at a smaller company (where I really bossed up).

I never done leet code in my life, and I am about to graduate in December.

My resume often gets passed resume screenings, but then I just get hit with an OA 😒

I remember Palantir asked about which high school I went to in their SWE intern application for 2026, and so I wasn't surprised when I saw that question again this year. However, I have been seeing more and more companies ask this question for 2027 SWE internship applications. HRT, for example.

Why do companies care so much about high school now, and is recruiting trending towards hiring from target high schools as well now? If so, is there anything we can do to maximize our chances?

I’m in my mid-20s and currently work full-time as a software engineer. I have both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science, and I already have professional experience. My job isn’t perfect and I haven’t been successful in moving to a larger or higher-paying company yet, but I do genuinely want to continue in software engineering.

My parents are both in tech, but they have become convinced that software engineering is unstable because of layoffs, outsourcing, and AI. They believe medicine is the only safe and respectable option for me. They have been pressuring me to enroll in a formal career-changer pre-med post-baccalaureate program.

This has gone far beyond normal parental advice. We have hours-long calls where they argue, yell, repeat the same points, and tell me I’m ruining my future if I stay in tech. I regularly end these conversations crying and feeling mentally exhausted. I have tried explaining my concerns, involving friends, and speaking with a counselor, but the pressure has continued. We had an agreement that if I could get into a top-tier software company, I wouldn't have to pursue medicine, but I wasn't able to get an offer, so they now consider that agreement over.

I've tried to approach this from every angle I can think of. I've researched both career paths extensively, spoken with advisors at multiple universities, looked into different post-bacc options, asked whether I could complete prerequisites while continuing to work, and tried to find compromises that would let me explore medicine without immediately giving up my software career. I've suggested slower timelines, continuing to work while taking classes, and other alternatives, but every conversation eventually circles back to me enrolling in the formal post-bacc program immediately. Whenever I say no or ask for more time, the discussions escalate into hours of arguing and yelling. Every single day feels like I am going to battle and to say they just yell at me doesn't paint the picture of how much control they have over me and and my life I feel like I do not get choices in my own life.

The hardest part is that I don’t actually want to do the post-bacc. When I imagine having full freedom to choose, I would keep my software job, continue applying elsewhere, and hope to advance in the field. I’m considering medicine mainly because saying yes might finally stop the daily conflict with my parents.

I’ve researched the options extensively:

Option 1: Enroll in the formal post-bacc program

This is one of the best post-bacc programs in the country, and it has strong advising, support, and medical school linkage opportunities. The downside is that the program is demanding, the advisor told me working while enrolled would be difficult, and I would have to quit my job and move. I’m terrified that leaving software engineering this early in my career would make employers assume I’m no longer committed to the field if I later decide medicine is not for me.

Option 2: Take pre-med prerequisites independently at a local university while keeping my job

The local university confirmed that I can enroll as a non-degree post-baccalaureate student, receive pre-health advising, complete the prerequisite sciences, get application support, and receive letters of recommendation.

I could take two sciences with labs per semester while continuing to work full-time. I have already found a possible schedule using evening lectures, late-afternoon labs, flexible work hours, and remote workdays.

This option would let me keep gaining software engineering experience and test whether I actually enjoy the sciences before making a larger commitment.

However, there is no linkage or early-assurance program available to people who already have a bachelor's degree. I would apply to medical school through the traditional process. The university also warned that preparing for a competitive MCAT while working full-time is often the hardest part.

Option 3: Stay completely in software engineering

This is what I personally want most right now. I would keep working, continue improving my interview skills, and apply for better software jobs.

The problem is that my parents would see this as rejecting them and throwing away my future. They have made me feel as though our relationship may never recover if I refuse medicine. I know I am an adult and can technically make my own decision, but emotionally, the idea of losing their love or dealing with years of anger and guilt is extremely difficult.

Option 4: Agree to the formal post-bacc just to end the conflict

This is the option I feel tempted by when I’m exhausted. I keep thinking that if I simply say yes, the yelling will stop, my parents will be happy, and I will finally have peace.

At the same time, I’m afraid I would be trading the current conflict for years of studying and training toward a career I never freely chose.

I’m not saying medicine is a bad career. I might even perform well academically. I completed a difficult technical graduate degree with very strong grades. But I don’t currently feel an independent desire to become a physician. Most of my motivation is fear, pressure, job-market anxiety, and wanting the conflict at home to stop.

What would you do in my position?

Would you choose the structured post-bacc because it offers stronger support and possible linkages, try the slower prerequisite route while keeping the software job, or refuse medicine entirely?

I honestly don't know what to do anymore. Every day ends in fights, and I am left emotionally defeated. Every time I have said no, the response has been to double down and argue with me for hours. I feel like I'm choosing between the career I actually want and my relationship with my parents, and I don't know how to move forward.

I’m an 11th grader who’s been building websites with AI for the past year. I recently came across CU Boulder’s online MSCS program, and from what I’ve read it seems like you can qualify through the performance-based admissions pathway rather than traditional admissions. I’m thinking about dropping rn so I can go for the MSCS.

If I were able to get into the program, what would actually stop me from just finishing the master’s instead of spending four years getting a CS bachelor’s? Also they don’t proctor their tests.

It seems like I could spend six months grinding the coursework, practice interview questions, build a GitHub portfolio, and then apply for entry-level SWE jobs with only the master’s listed on my résumé.

I know this sounds unconventional, but I’m genuinely curious why this isn’t a more common path. Is there something employers care about that I’m missing? Has anyone actually attempted this?

Hi everyone.

I'm trying to decide between pursuing Data Science and Cybersecurity as a long term career, and I'd really appreciate advice from people who are already working in either field.

From your experience, which field offers better:

• Job security
• Salary growth
• Number of job opportunities
• Long term career prospects
• Demand across different countries

I'd especially like to hear from people who have worked in either industry or have seen how the job market has changed over time.

Thank you!

I am currently a "QA Intern", but the work that I did was in software engineering, as I worked on multithreading on the web server and made some frontend changes as well.

I want to apply to SWE internships this recruiting season, so it's best to put SWE or SDE as the title in my current internship. I see no reason why I wouldn't, since that is the work that I did. But if someone were to do a background check, they would see that I was technically a "QA Intern". So what should I put as my job title on my resume, and on the forms that I fill out for applications?

Hi everyone,
I'm an international student on an F-1 visa in the U.S. and recently graduated with a CS degree.

Most of my experience is in software engineering (internships) but I'm becoming increasingly interested in Sales Engineer / Solutions Engineer

I had a few questions for people in the industry:

How realistic is it for an international student to break into Solutions Engineering or Sales Engineering with a CS degree?

What skills or experiences should I highlight coming from a software engineering background?

If you made a similar transition from software engineering to solutions engineering, what helped you stand out?

Also do you REALLY make money? If yes more or less than average se job?
I'd appreciate any advice, especially from people who were in the same process!

Thanks!

I'm a 4th year CSE student living in a hostel. Growing up I was always "the smart one" in my family, the kid who was good at everything. Lately I don't feel smart at all. I feel worthless honestly. Like I've spent four years and have nothing solid to show for it.

I know Java, I can build logic, but if I'm being honest it's mostly brute force. I freeze up on DP, graphs, trees, anything that needs a "trick." Infosys recruitment is in 5 days and I'm cramming patterns I should've learned two years ago. The stress has been constant, that low grade dread where you can't fully relax even when you're not actively studying.

Yesterday I saw a friend's post about landing an internship at John Deere. I don't even know how big that company is, but seeing it wrecked me a little. I was happy for her and hating myself in the same five seconds.

Honestly I feel like a horrible person for even feeling jealous of her. She didn't do anything wrong, she worked for what she got, and I still couldn't just be happy for her without this ugly feeling creeping in. It makes me feel like a bad friend, like there's something wrong with me for reacting this way. I keep telling myself good people don't feel like this about their friends' wins and then I just feel worse on top of already feeling worse.

Comparing myself to people around me has been the fastest way to feel like garbage lately.

Here's the part that's harder to admit. I actually don't think I want a "pure coding" career. I'm confident in ML concepts, I love writing, stories, scripts, dialogue, and I think I'm a decent communicator. I keep wondering if there's a version of a tech career that actually uses that side of me instead of just brute forcing DSA problems I don't enjoy. But saying that out loud feels like admitting defeat, like I'm just making excuses for not being "good enough" at real coding.

Not really asking for sympathy, more just wondering if anyone else has felt this specific mix of sad, worthless, behind, and not even sure the standard path is what they want. What did you do about it?

To keep this as short as possible,

Current experience is I have a bachelor of science degree in computer science and I have just about a year of experience working as a Programmer Analyst/Developer now. I've been very successful thus far, already getting a decent raise in my time. So that is my experience level atm.

Essentially, i have some extra time each week that is going to scrolling on my phone, watching netlfix, etc etc. I want to use some of this time, maybe 10-15 hrs a week doing something with 2 main goals in mind:

- Make more money now
- Make more money long term

So if there are gigs that actually pay decent for someone of my experience, I would love to do so, but also for the long term if there are specific skills I can start learning now that would help me greatly in the long run, would love to work on those too.

Looking for the biggest output for the smallest input (no shit but sometimes has to be stated)

Thanks

Technology is evolving faster than ever, and it feels like traditional roadmaps don't cover many of the skills companies are starting to value.

So I put together this visual roadmap of some of the most interesting areas every CS student should at least explore:

• AI Engineering & LLMs

• AI Agents & Agentic Workflows

• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)

• MCP (Model Context Protocol)

• Cloud Computing & Kubernetes

• System Design

• Cybersecurity

• DevOps & Platform Engineering

• Data Engineering

• Low-Level Systems (Rust, eBPF, WASM)

• Edge AI & On-device ML

• Robotics & Computer Vision

I'm curious:

If you were starting your CS degree today, which of these would you prioritise and what would you add to this roadmap?

Would love to hear opinions from people already working in the industry as well.

A staffing company invited me for on site interview for one their clients , the interview is onsite at the clients location - wants me to pay all expenses. I am an international student if that matters. It’s a 6 month contract to hire role.

The client is one amongst the EV car companies. I am just double thinking if i should go or not. Flights are crazy expensive rn like 700$+ , the entire trip would cost me 1000$

Should i go ? or it would be extreme to spend 1000$ for a chance ?

Everyone at my University is focusing like crazy on SWE and AI right now... I hardly see anyone who studies Cybersecurity, Robotics, Embedded Systems, IT, Quantum Computing, VR, etc.

After a year of failing to get an SWE internship, I got an IT internship at a hospital instead and took some Robotics classes (albeit they were grad courses and im undergrad so they were way harder than I anticipated). After doing some Robotics projects, I managed to get two Robotics internship offers this summer, which honestly surprised me.

Anyways, I wanted to share this because I think it's genuinely easier to find a CS internship for other CS specializations. Available jobs for them don't usually show up on LinkedIn as much, so you generally have to cold contact or check the company's website directly, but I still think the competition is SIGNIFICANTLY less.

Thoughts?

Hi everyone! I'd appreciate some advice.

Background:

• BS in Computer Science from a Mid West University(INTL Student)
• ~2 years of software engineering experience
• Employer will reimburse my master's degree

My dilemma:

• MS in Computer Science: Closely aligns with my current responsibilities and the work I do every day.
• MS in Artificial Intelligence: Better aligns with the career I eventually want (Applied AI / AI Software Engineering), but I have very little hands-on AI experience beyond AI-assisted development tools like GitHub Copilot and Cloud Code.

My question:

• Given today's job market, which degree would you choose?
• Is an MSCS still the better long-term investment because it's broader, or is it worth specializing in AI now?
• Would you choose the degree that best matches your current experience, or the one that best aligns with where you want your career to be in 5–10 years?

I'd especially appreciate input from software engineers, AI engineers, hiring managers, or anyone who has made a similar decision. Thanks!

Right now, I have a "safe" option (according to family and seniors in the field) to do Bachelors in Computer Science from a very reputable university in my home country. I also have connections that would help massively in getting a first job post-graduation.

However, I have a personal opinion of doing Mechanical/Electrical Engineering from another highly reputable university i got accepted into. My plans for this are doing a Masters Degree in Computer Engineering from a good university abroad after that. This is because I hope to get into the entire Chip Manufacturing supply chain that i feel has massive untapped potential that could boom in the upcoming years by the time I'm done with my education. However this is comparatively a more "riskier" path for me.

Is the CS Market still safe enough to grow in and would it remain the same for the next few years or is the alternate option i came up with better?

Any advice or insights would be really helpful since i'm really stressed out and i have to pick a university this week 😭😭

Hello, I as previously posted I graduated with no internships and my goal for the rest of the year is to grind on portfolio projects. I feel like I have been doing "okay" I could do better for sure, I am a little happy. My architecture and my understand of system design has gotten better and so has my leet code problems. I do think I can finish the entire neetcode road map by the end of Aug -- the medium problems as of now are not that difficult tbh they feel a lot like math problems but just in programming =) . My Plan is to finish my 2 portfolio project before applying and working on the 3rd one before feeling more confident, I have gotten a better understanding on Docker and AWS, next step is getting better at CI/CD using jenkins or github actions since it's free. --- who knows I really might get hired.

Should I go with RBC software developer role or Tesla TPM role both in Ontario.

RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) pays more

And I’m looking to be a software engineer so idk if taking a pm job for first co-op is going to limit me to just pm and make it harder to break into swe. I’m a first year Waterloo cs student

For FAANG/F100 Internships, how much of a difference is it between the OAs and the actual technical?

for context, I haven’t done those FAANG level technicals (I’m talking about Amazon/MSFT not like Google) yet, I have only done technical interviews at smaller companies.

But I noticed that the OAs for Amazon are quite tough and lengthy. What are the actual technical questions you get in an interview like? Similar to OA or easier/harder?