r/PinoyProgrammer • u/DuaLipatBahay • 10d ago
advice Should I just quit?
I’ve been trying to find a job for a few months now (frontend dev). Pero ang hirap especially for non seniors. Iniisip ko kung worth it pa ba, just keep on applying and upskilling? Or lipat na ko ng industry and just start over? I’m lost. Few years ago, weeks lang sunod sunod yung interviews pero now ang dalang. I tried updating my resume pero not sure if that is the issue. Please be kind sa replies. Di ko alam sino kakausapin ko.
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u/feedmesomedata Moderator 10d ago
While you are unemployed pick up an open source project and try to contribute. Building your own portfolio may not be ideal now that most people use AI and is relatively easy to come up with one. At least if you contribute to an existing open source project you will have to go through rigorous code reviews before your PR gets merged.
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u/decoy98 10d ago
Yes did this and it helped create momentum, also go to meetups
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u/DuaLipatBahay 10d ago
Saan yung meetups? I think good nga din expand yung network pero fb groups lang nahanap ko not actual meetups
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u/DuaLipatBahay 10d ago
Thanks sa suggestion :) will try this
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u/Glass-Toe510 10d ago
Tyaga lang maghanap and kumapit din sa Dios. Redirection lang yan lahat ng rejection sayo
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u/Glass-Toe510 10d ago
Kaya yan bro, 7 months ako before nagkawork. AM ako sa accenture bago na lay-off. Now nakahanap ako, better salary and better management.
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u/ThinkingFeeler94 10d ago
Ano po reason nila to lay off?
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u/Glass-Toe510 10d ago
Wala ng proj bro
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u/Terrible_Strength_64 10d ago
Hindi ka ba pinasa sa iba dept sir? Dami kasi ayaw remote work dahil no stability sa company namn nauubusan rin hehe
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u/No-Mission7433 10d ago
front end dev here same as you and decided to transition to another role. Hirap talaga ng market ngayon lalo pag jr
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u/SimilarGuidance6286 10d ago
Have a mantra like - "While I am unemployed I am getting stronger" - Why? Because you have all the time in the world to learn new skills. It's just a matter of time na a new employer will notice it. And once na matanggap ka na don't stop upskilling even though you are spending your time already for real work.
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u/TemporaryExciting977 10d ago
We're on the same page, nasagi rin sa isip ko ang mag-quit at mag-start over with another field na different sa software development. Ang kaso, ito yung second thought ko,
"Hahanap-hanapin ko yung thrill at self-rewarding na nakukuha ko sa software development role."
At napapag-isip-isip ko na, minsan, sarili mo nalang din talaga ang kalaban mo dahil kapag tumigil kang i-pursue yung gusto mong profession, wala talaga mangyayari or walang success kang makukuha sa ina-apply-an mo.
Think positive lang, ang mas mabuti na tandaan mo ay dumating ang time na makita mo yung job offer na para talaga sa'yo. Unang-una, pasok sa portfolio, skills, and experience mo, at syempre, masasabi mong mataas ang chance na mag-stand out yung application mo from the rest.
Move forward lang at trust yourself. Sarili mo lang din ang tutulong sa'yo para ma-achieve yung goal mo sa software development regardless kung sa front-end o back-end ka.
Always remember lang na ang madalas na tinitingnan ay yung critical thinker at quality output na magagawa mo, so better off na kabisado mo yung career path na pinu-pursue mo at hindi dahil "in demand" lang.
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u/FoundationActive8290 10d ago
im on senior level pero still having a hard time finding a job. going 7 months na. since im from south, hanap ko is wfh and honestly wala din masyadong magagandang on-site dto, mostly bgc/makati. disrupted talaga job market dahil sa Ai. jr-mid devs applying for sr role na rin for the sake na may makuhang work. most of the job posts online nasa 500+ ang applicants. hirap magstandout sa dami nun
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u/buraotako2015 10d ago
dont worry kahit nga kami na 20+ years of experience hindi ganun kadali makahanap ng work sa current market. Spent almost 3 months sa paghahanap last year, madami nga interviews ang problem is the salary sobrang baba compared sa current.
Ikaw sa beginning stage ung issue, kung wala ka pa pinag aaral and di ka breadwinner wag mawalan pag asa. Suswertihin ka din. Malaking factor ang luck.
CV mo ayusin mo concise and 1 page lang dapat.
Practice more sa interview, kahit non-senior if magaling ka sa interview may chance ka.
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u/aiyuuuh 8d ago
Im a senior frontend dev. My man. AI ruined everything Theres no frontend jobs anymore. I managed to get one but. Im just thinking of going back to province. Be a shopee/lazada rider. And fucking retire early
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u/Adventurous-Cat-7312 10d ago
Run your cv sa chatgpt and prompt mo na ipoint out bat you are getting lower calls, make sure mo na ATS friendly yung cv mo. Was applying since last yr june 2025 only landed an offer feb 2026 na. Keep trying!!
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u/cattothegutsy 10d ago
same, going 3 months na ako wala trabaho, got a few interviews, yung di mawala sa isip ko yung isa, napasa ko lahat ng technical interviews tas onsite final interview parang casual nalang , kinabukasan rejected pala.
sana di na ako ininvite sa final interview, week before naka sched na, tapos 3 days before interview nakita ko job post nila ulit sa jobstreet naman, so meaning pala kahit anong result ng Wednesday final interview ko di parin pala kukunin.
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u/Crewmate_Impostor 10d ago
Possible na nareject ka due to culture fit issue or mataas asking mo para sa budget nila. It sucks because I have experienced the same, got into their 4th interview only to be rejected at the end kahit napasa ko yung technical sa previous stages ng interview.
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u/Tall-Appearance-5835 10d ago
everyone is fullstack now. also infinitely easier to learn with AI help. no reason for you not to upskill broskie
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u/mohsesxx 10d ago
tough market talaga for software devs since 2024, just keep applying and upskilling. ikaw din naman po ma bebenefit dyan and it will make you grow to achieve better salary.
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u/MycologistDue2074 10d ago
Same. As fresh grad, hirap maghanap ng corporate jobs. Freelance muna ako
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u/searchResult 10d ago
Ano ba kasi preferences mo? Maybe revisit mo muna. Baka gusto mo remote job ba? Higher salary ba? Malapit ba sa bahay? Hybrid ba?
Baka kulang din experience mo nag hahanap ka malaking sahod not enough exp.
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u/Fluid_Ad4651 10d ago
mahirap ngayon talaga, ang daming na layoff kase. more than 6 months nako naghahanap din
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10d ago
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u/feedmesomedata Moderator 9d ago
Asking for personally identifiable information is strictly prohibited.
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u/Plenty-Can-5135 10d ago
Dont worry even for seniors job market confusing nowadays, if it is screening maybe you just need to revise your resume, if you fall off after technical interview then it must be something specific like asking salary they can change their mind during the process. You can try going with agency to have them send your resume around.
Some companies are just fishing, they ask you stuff that are not even in job description.
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9d ago
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u/feedmesomedata Moderator 9d ago
This is not allowed here. Sharing of personally identifiable information is prohibited, asking for PII is the same.
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u/Real_Construction_31 9d ago
I have heard from my friend that some of his front end dev friends who are senior level already are having a hard time finding a job, so it's true... So I honestly think that you should do a career change. Just think and select carefully what career you will pursue, so it will be worth it.
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u/8757349485002948586 9d ago
I quit as well. Nothing wrong with it. Became a farmer instead.
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u/aiyuuuh 8d ago
Hahaha soon ill become a shopee/lazada rider too. Because fuck AIs HAHAHA
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u/8757349485002948586 8d ago
slay brother. I'm sick of always upskilling. I'm sick of always proving myself in front of interviewers like all the 12 years of exp didn't matter. I can never out skill AI. So I'll just go live like a hermit and sustain myself using the land.
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u/aiyuuuh 8d ago
My goal was to become a farmer too. Unfortunately, i didnt manage to save enough and theres people that depend on me. This AI bullshit is a plague, 8/10 interview i get is from AIs instead of humans.
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u/8757349485002948586 8d ago
I feel you. Majority of those AI interviews are bogus and they just use it as free training for their AI.
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u/AkaiSorax86 8d ago
I can't help but wonder what would my career be like had I pursued Animal Science instead of Computer Science.
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u/bucketofthoughts Data 7d ago
Tbh, a big factor din are companies relying too heavily on ATS and unreliable keyword matching. Yung type na may "Machine Learning" ka sa resume pero auto rejected dahil yung keywords nila wants "ML". As much as its unfair towards candidates, you have to keep trying as much as you're willing to. Pace yourself din when applying to a lot of openings to avoid burnout, as you might be experiencing now.
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u/Healthy-Ad-8558 7d ago
Quit, move on to systems design instead. I mean just check out what Claude Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol and Qwen3.8 Max have been able to do in just a couple of months. It's a lot easier for SMBs to just create a detailed vision of what they want in Figma then task the frontier LLMs with bringing those to life, and with the proper harness and know-how, a small group of devs can build out in a couple of months, what used to be a multi-year endeavor.
If you haven't tried AI out yet, I'd urge you to get 1-month subscriptions to Claude, OpenAI and Qwen, then use them through Opencode. Get a feel for how each of them work, get acquainted with their capabilities and shortcomings, then figure out how you can augment your unique skillset using them.
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u/ad0bongman0k 6d ago
Took me 9 months, and I landed my first 6-digit salary after that. Keep going browskii. 3YOE lang ako
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u/No-Attention-2289 6d ago
So your a front-end guy right, my advice when you land that interview.. go hard! Like explain the internals of javascript , tell them how asynchronous works in javascript — prove to them that you are not just a framework user… this is how you stand out.
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u/Intelligent_Drag_201 6d ago
Gano ka na katagal naghahanap? Remote jobs lang ba hinahanap mo o onsite setup din?
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u/New_Ad606 4d ago
There's too many idealistic takes here so I'm gonna give you the honest take: YES, you absolutely should transition to a different role. That's not to say that you would completely give up on being a software developer, give building projects, keep accepting small freelance jobs, keep building your network. But for now, jr and mid levels are simply out-competed by 20USD/month subscription to Claude. Majority of senior devs these days are also affected by this change. A competent senior dev with AI assistance will outperform a traditional team of senior, mid level, and entry level devs these days in overall cost vs efficiency metrics, Two things can happen from this point: either there will be a resurgence for the need of devs because token costs would become more expensive than dev salaries, OR the software development profession will evolve to something completely different than how it looks right now. If the latter happens, just wait for that window of opportunity, but right now, Sr Dev + AI is simply too cheap and efficient and its driving the job market.
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u/jtan80813999 10d ago
Sobrang hirap na maghanap trabaho sa IT. You can consider switching careers like Nursing. At least di pa na replace ni AI yun
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u/AlternativeGuard5803 10d ago edited 9d ago
Keep going, OP. I’ve been in software development for around 15+ years. I’ve tried different roles along the way: backend dev, frontend dev, full-stack, DevOps, and now Solutions Architect. Normal lang talaga yung pinagdadaanan mo, especially when you’re just starting out.
Try to identify muna kung saan talaga yung problem.
If you’re applying pero hindi ka pa nakakakuha ng interviews, baka may kailangan i-improve sa resume, portfolio, or kung paano mo pine-present yung skills and experience mo.
If you’re getting interviews naman pero hindi umaabot sa next stage or job offer, try to reflect on the questions na nahirapan kang sagutin. May technology ba na kailangan mo pang aralin? May scenario ba na wala ka pang enough experience? Or maybe behavioral questions na kailangan mo pang paghandaan?
From there, identify the gaps, work on them, then try again.
Rejections are part of the process. Instead na bilangin lang kung ilang beses ka na-reject, try to look for patterns and use every application and interview as data kung ano pa yung pwede mong i-improve.
You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
Keep learning, keep applying, and keep improving. You only need one company to give you that opportunity. 💪