Ask HN: Which jobs suit a new grad good at systems thinking and problem solving? Give me the verdict for 2020 and ahead please. Of course, I'm asking about jobs that pay quite well. I don't want to get into very-low-level languages or work that has excessive formalizing. I'd love to hear about non-technical or less-technical roles that demand these skills as well. I would be very, very grateful for your inputs. |
I may be wrong, but from my experience a new grad won't be able to do much systems thinking on their own right out of the gate. The one exception of course being if you join a startup as one of the first couple of engineers - but then again, a startup hiring a new grad as one of their very first engineers is probably a red flag in itself.
My thoughts on the matter is that pretty much every software engineer wants to move into more systems-level thinking, whether that be as product manager or a systems architect. But, just like most other high-paying industries, you do have to put in the time a bit as a software engineer and make the mistakes necessary in order to fully understand not just what makes a good system, but why those decisions make a good system
Just like every investment banking new grad wants to be the one making deals, it's not going to happen (or, not going to happen effectively) until you've gotten some years "in the trenches" built up. As a new grad, this was frustrating for me to hear - and it's still frustrating as I'm only a few years out of college, and still not doing much systems level decision making. But, now I frankly understand why I'm not making those decisions yet. This is one of those times where no matter how much you study or practice, only real-life experience will prepare you to do that type of job properly.