Trying to get a Remote Front-End Software Engineering Role in 2024 — Part 1: Introduction

Hello, I am a front-end software engineer. I’ve been working in senior engineering roles for a few years now, and it’s time for me to work on the next step in my career.

I do not know the outcome of this effort yet, but I intend to use what I’ve learned as an engineer and from my experiences in other industries to increase my chances of landing a good position. Join me as I navigate the challenges of changing jobs as a software engineer in 2024!

Some Personal Context

Before diving into the details of my job search, let me share a bit about my background:

I studied English in college. After struggling to find work as a writer or editor, I spent many years in retail and customer service, eventually getting into regional management at a major grocery store.

In 2017, I left my management role with six months of savings and no concrete plans. After looking at trades and taking apprenticeship tests, I discovered some free coding courses online, and the idea formed in my head that I might be able to get a job as a programmer. Soon after, I cashed out the little retirement savings I had and joined an immersive software engineering boot camp, The Flatiron School.

I went all in on the boot camp knowing I had little time and money. After graduating, I became a junior instructor at Flatiron and eventually moved into curriculum design for the school.

In 2021, I secured a contract senior front-end engineering position through connections from Flatiron, and I’ve been in the role since then. I’ve gradually taken on more responsibilities, and now work as a service architect, designing web applications and supporting the engineers that build them.

I like my job. I find the work interesting and I think I’m good at it. I like my team and the engineering org I am a part of. I’ve got a manager and a tech lead who are both fantastic and advocate for me, and until recently, my plan had been to officially convert from a contractor to an employee and build a career where I am.

I am starting my job search now because I do not live in proximity to NYC and this is a blocker for my conversion. I don’t have a specific timeline for when I need to secure a new job — as far as I can tell, I can stay in my current role and there is plenty of work to do. As a contractor, I get paid well but I have minimal benefits, don’t get raises, and am subject to furloughs and other cost-cutting strategies.

My goal now is to find a remote role with better benefits, more security, and continued career growth.

Some General Context

Software engineering is a tricky field right now. Many of my peers are somewhere in between unsettled and alarmed, primarily due to the rise of generative AI and the recent shifts in the job market.

Writing code has changed in the last year. Copilot and similar tools are akin to the first power tools given to carpenters, only the tool upgrades on its own. Meanwhile, many responsibilities and skills that had remained labor-intensive pieces of coding are being automated away. For example, basic debugging, writing documentation, and writing tests can all be automated to a significant degree already and will continue to improve.

Software engineering is full of hard, vague problems that are difficult to solve. The solutions can often be difficult to understand and every individual engineer needs to go through years of practice to load their brain with enough context to apply those solutions. Experts eventually retire; professionals forget. Critical knowledge can be lost and must be constantly relearned and shared to be sustained.

The neural networks on our machines don’t suffer the same challenges. They, like us, do need to be trained and this process is costly, but with each model, efficiencies are discovered and refinements are made. Older AI models are used to train, tune, and benchmark new AI models. Imagine going to college, being taught and then tested against the current top experts in your field of study, and then only graduating if you’re better than them in some aspect.

While generative AI may create new roles, it also means our rare skills are becoming more commonplace. Sure, we may always need someone to debug the more complicated defects and maybe write some bespoke code, but the need for human intervention is diminishing. Even if generative AI hits a plateau and never becomes as good as me at my particular skill set, it comes with the promise of costing less now and even less in the future. The landscape is rapidly changing, and software engineers not only must adapt to stay competitive but also demonstrate that they are still worth more than their silicon usurpers.

Beyond generative AI, the economy has changed. Money is not so easily spent and budgets have tightened. A lot of companies have laid off workers this year, while many others are finding a variety of ways to reduce labor costs.

Many experienced software engineers are re-entering the job market right now. At the same time, companies are using the current climate to push return-to-office mandates, reducing the overall number of remote work opportunities and making the remaining opportunities more competitive.

What Do I Do?

Until I can see a better choice, the best option for me appears to be to stay where I am while actively trying to create opportunities for something better.

If AI is about to obliterate work as we know it, there isn’t much I’m going to be able to do to stop it. I guess I could prepare more for that, but I don’t think we are quite there yet. For a while longer, generative AI looks like it will be a force multiplier rather than a full replacement of engineers. I have to remind myself that a lot of the buzz around AI and the job market is just marketing and media frenzy. There are still plenty of companies looking to hire software engineers, and a lot of those companies have embraced a remote-first culture.

I have solid experience, but landing a better job in the current market will no doubt require planning and effort. Beyond applying to jobs, I will need to prepare for interviews and build a better online persona to showcase my skills. This blog serves as my organizing space, a platform to share my journey, and a display case for some of those skills.

For the last month or so, I’ve been daydreaming about how to approach this. Now it is time to get started. Next step: a self-assessment to kick-start this journey!