We’re in the Middle of a Data Engineering Talent Shortage
Every time something comes up on HN about a talent shortage in a field related to software engineering, it hurts. I have been unsuccessfully looking for a full time position since my last start up (I was not a founder) folded six months ago. I have been on over 25 in person interviews and gone through untold degrading whiteboard interviews, code tests, trick questions, and take home projects; all have ended in rejection. This industry has a need to torture candidates because we are all considered to be liars by default. Much is said about combating impostor syndrome in ourselves but we are too eager to engender it in others.<p>It seems people in this industry refuse to understand that some people are not perfect. I never graduated college because I hated it with the very fiber of my being, so I am not particularly great at white boarding answers to algorithm questions off the top of my head in a high pressure environment. If I need them during my job, I look up answers and learn from people who are much smarter than I am.<p>My personal identity has been shattered, as I thought my ~5-10 year history of success in the industry indicated I was in demand and talented. I saw posts like this and thought that if the worst happened I&#x27;d still be able to find a job. The idea that there is a talent shortage is a lie, or candidates like me wouldn&#x27;t be treated as I have been. I&#x27;m not asking for a free job, or a handout. I have had a successful career so far and am capable of doing good work. But I&#x27;m not a specialist in Big Data Machine Learning Neural Networks.<p>I have struggled with bipolar disorder and suicidal ideation most of my life. I&#x27;ve dealt with the death of my beloved grandmother and my father who was instrumental in my choosing to be an engineer with only minor lapses in control. Nothing has caused me to consider taking my own life as much as the past 6 months. It seems there is no future for me in the only career I have any skill in and which is a huge part of my identity. And to constantly be told that there is such a shortage of engineers only salts the wound.