Need career advice for a switch

[silk ridge]

Hey guys, I'll get straight to the point

I've been working at a start up as a Fullstack developer since 1.5 years now.. and it's been a great experience, i got to learn alot of about things other than just the modern tech stack I work with. I've worked on variety of projects and had the chance to get my hands dirty on many techs, libraries, tools etc.

Now me and my 2 friends(I made in the org) we're planning for a switch.
Reasons -

1. This job has made me work on many things, which might be a great thing, but I haven't really "mastered" any tech in specific to say "yeah I can crack any interview asking react/next" just as an example.

2. Since it's a startup, most of the times the work almost always extends to the point that I just get home and sleep - no chance to work on my own thing (like do dsa and other stuff)

3. Ofc Salary, I don't get paid the best, I know I can do better in the market if I really tried.

So, I'm confused like what path to follow here. I wanna crack a bigger, atleast, a mid tier company (not saying FAANG level) who'd also be willing to pay good for the value I bring.
I also had a thought for resigning and prep'ing hard on my notice period and crack something but that'd be a gamble..

So an advice from you guys, who've been in a similar position, how did you break out of this loop? How did you build yourself from the ground up?
Did you really lock in on DSA only (or are there also other things I should focus on?) parallel to your job?
And how did you find these jobs? Was it Linkedin? Referrals? Cold emails? Anything

[floral dune]

#1 reason for me to hire someone is because they have cool projects they actually enjoy working on in their free time

as for making the most money there are more or less 3 ways:

• FAANG
• being early in a good startup (i.e. not consulting / outsourcing) and getting equity
• finance stuff

for #1: Can't prep for all kinds of roles -> pick one thing you like the most and then invest some time into that

Wouldn't suggest resigning yet until you already have an offer

Generally speaking referrals are by far the strongest thing for getting jobs (also how I found almost all of my jobs when I was still working)

cold emails can work as well (usually with smaller companies) if you can clearly show why you're a good fit for them

[silk ridge]

hey man yeah that makes a lot of sense...I have decent projects and all but the thing I am struggling the most with is actually locking down for DSA and interview prep so even if i get referred somewhere good, I can crack it flawlessly. And what's preventing me is my current job... It's alot of work here.. work life balance is crap.. there's no proper heirarchy and i have way more responsibilities than I can handle....ofcourse i dont wish to resign without an offer as that would be risky and a gamble...but I also wanna break out..

not sure how tho....day by day i'm only motivated to do so 😂

I still love the exposure though...i got from this job

[hazy root]

In general, I think not rob pretty much said it all about applying.

The main thing I would reiterate on is: do not quite before landing another job. The market is rough right now and it can be difficult, or long, to find a new job. Specially for more junior roles.

I recommend welcome to the jungle too for applying.

[hazy root]

is actually locking down for DSA and interview prep

There are fewer and fewer DSA/LeetCode-style interviews because they’re not great indicators of real knowledge or practical ability. Instead, interviewers mainly use questions to assess your problem-solving and analytical thinking.

In most interviews (with some exceptions), you’re also unlikely to be tested on very specific syntax or trivia like “How do you do X in Y language?” The focus tends to be on how you think, structure solutions, and communicate your approach.

Of course, this doesn't mean there's no technical tasks, but even those technical talks are broader if it make sense.

All of this is to say that what you should really practice is solving problems and clearly explaining your thought process. It’s okay to make mistakes, as long as your reasoning is sound and you’re not just guessing.

[silk ridge]

thanks for the direction, needed that.. And about leaving the current job, i've been stressed for weeks here, toxic environment.. really considering quitting to save some mental peace 😂
But let's see how that plays out