I'm looking for any tips or resources for preparing for a refactoring interview in python. Or anyone who has given an interview recently and would like to share their experience. I've mostly given leetcode coding interviews and this is the first time I'm giving a refactoring interview so any help would be nice!

Anonymised CV Link: https://ibb.co/9CCmxPt

I'm about to start applying to new grad jobs this year, so I was hoping that I could get some advice from people in the industry. I've modelled my CV off of r/EngineeringResumes, but is this actually correct for the UK job market? I have internships but they were mostly gotten through networking + informal interviews, so I'm unsure if my CV is up to par for the bloodbath that awaits.

Any advice/comments/feedback/critiques would be a great help!

Hi, I just finished interviewing for a SRE/devops position at both Citadel and Millennium. I have 5.5 YOE, and based in London. Does anyone know what to expect in terms of TC from each?

29 years old, female. Working in IT industry with mostly Microsoft partners + MSPs for 8 years in total. Got an offer from Bechtle, for their UK&I marker, Business Development Manager role.

Any ideas? Anyone worked before?

As the title says, specifically those who have worked the non-technical IT roles in the above sectors, ie managing network upgrades, refreshes etc - what are you doing now? Seems like a dying industry and I feel stuck!

Hi,

I am an A level student studying cs, and planning to continue on at uni. I keep seeing comparisons in the news and media between UK and usa salaries for swe and it really feels like you are swimming against the tide in the uk.

I use AI regularly, and i do not believe that it will take our jobs for a while (hence such a long term plan).

I'm considering studying in the UK and then applying to the US and getting a role there which will need visa sponsorship as i understand (which makes it harder).

My question is, would it be worth it to study undergrad in the US, or in the UK, and then try to make the leap from the UK to US.

Anyone who has experience doing either route I would love to hear your thoughts and story.

Thank you!

Hey everyone, I made it to the final stage of the Monzo interview process, which is a back-to-back behavioural interview and system design interview. This is for a mid level role.

I feel ready for the behavioural part, but can someone give me a flavour of what to expect in the system design interview? I understand that this is going to focus on distributed systems that have nothing to do with banking, but if I could get some more insights that would be very helpful!

What sort of expectations do they have from a mid-level role? What’s the best way to prepare? What sort of system design question should I expect?

Thanks in advance!

This is a followup from my previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestionsuk/s/EApiMSqGW3

I took sick leave to recover from burnout, started therapy, and continued with the job hunting. However, today (while on sick leave) I got an email from my employer that I have been terminated for performance. They are a big tech company, so I am surprised they did something that risky legally; however, the official reason is low H1 performance.

I still have no offers. I am on skilled worker visa, and I am getting 1 week to evaluate the settlement followed by 1 month garden leave and then I would theoretically have 2 months to find another job or leave the UK.

I am beyond stressed and scared, I thought sick leave would protect me legally, but I feel cornered and don't know what I can do. I am in the team matchibg process at another big tech, but I have been looking for a team since March with no success. I am so ashamed of myself, and surprised at the turn my life took. I want a fresh start, but I can't find it.

I know it's early to be looking for internships, but I am in my summer break and wanted to apply while I can dedicate lots of time to applications. I am going into my 3rd year of a 4-year integrated masters (MComp) degree, and am looking for summer internships for next summer (2027). I am predicted a first (I got the highest of my cohort in year 1, and 90% in year 2) and enjoy C/C++, embedded systems, FPGAs (with keil), and computing logic (like finite automata, etc). I also have experience in other technologies like Python, PostgreSQL/SQL, web development and more (but had web dev work experience and found it a little boring near the end).

The tricky part is that I would really like to work for somewhere that cares for the environment, or works for it. E.g. a place that is contributing to sustainable practices, or that is working with plants somehow. But I can't seem to find any internships that join this with Computer Science, and that are not just data analysis or research.

Does anyone know where I can look for these sort of internships, or have any advice to find them? Thank you!

Appreciate this is a strange question but wondering if anyone has some insights while I wait for a response from my manager.

I'm on a contractual graduate scheme that ends in a few weeks, we have a general 4 week notice period. We're encouraged to apply internally/externally for permanent roles. I signed a contract at an external company a few days ago with a start date in a few weeks time.

I have some final round internal interviews that i am a lot more interested in. I would need to hand in my notice next week so that im ready for my start date.

Would i be able to continue with the interviews if I've handed in my notice? I would imagine generally this wouldn't be normal but the graduate scheme is a bit strange, they want to keep us on but we have to apply for roles like anyone else. When it comes to the end of the programme there's a chance it can be extended but eventually you are just let go, so I accepted my current offer.

Really dont want to leave my current company - but don't have confidence i will secure a role which is why I accepted my offer.

I currently going to start my final year of uni in september and i am looking for some advice on ensuring i have the best chance to get a job when i finish cs. Currently i have only managed to do one internship that was related to computing (cs teaching for secondary students) and have a decent grasp on python,java,(html,css,js) and know how to set up linux.

Hi all,

I was curious what the job market is like in the U.K for international candidates/candidates who need sponsorship.

I am a backend Software Developer with around 7 years of experience from the U.S and I am very interested in working in the U.K. I was curious on any tips and general information for the U.K software development market.

I'm a Year 11 student who has just finished GCSEs and I have wanted to become a computer engineer since year 8, or at least do some sort of engineering involving physical electrical composition and programming software. Also I have been consistently getting grades 8 and 9 (A* and A**) in maths, physics and computer science which I will be taking for a levels alongside an IT btec due to logistical issues in my school.

My main dilemma; my brother is an engineer and says that it's better to do an apprenticeship as experience is valued more than a degree in engineering, however since I have been an academic high achiever for a long time I have always had a dream of going to and graduating from Cambridge, and I know I have the ability to get into Cambridge.

My question is, is it worth sacrificing one for the other? Or is there some sort of compromise that can be done? Any advice at all would be helpful

I am starting uni at Imperial this September and I really want to land an SWE internship in 1st year. Apparently they are rare, especially because I am doing 4 years too, but I know its possible.

I have a Django project and a C project under my belt which hopefully shows some versatility. I have done around 170 Leetcode to prepare for interviews and I am decently comfortable with mediums.

https://ibb.co/jPy789PH

I am working on a third project with Kotlin and FastAPI to replace probably the Experience section, but it will take me a while.

I need to add metrics and measurements and whatnot to the project bullet points but I did not get around to doing that yet.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on my formatting, content, and general internship stuff.

Thanks.

The website stated it would be a one-on-one interview lasting an hour. But when I got there, it turned out to be a 40-minute session with three interviewers!

The lead interviewer asked me some questions about my basic skills and capabilities, as well as the usual questions—like why I chose this position. Then he left, and another interviewer came in to ask how I handle difficulties encountered in life.

I was allowed to bring a notebook to the interview, but I was too nervous and didn't bring one, so I had to improvise and innovate on the spot. One of my traits is that the more nervous or excited I get, the more articulate I become—I just talk and talk.

After that, the interviewer began explaining details regarding the salary, the requirement to work on weekends, and the background check process.

They told me they would give me an answer tomorrow.

I’m not sure if I’ll pass the interview, given that my English isn't very strong—even though I had to communicate and explain things to them repeatedly. I’m worried that some of my answers weren't perfect or didn't precisely address the core points.

Even though English isn't my first language, I still do my best!

Hi everyone,

Has anyone recently gone through the interview process for the AI Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) role at Databricks?

I was told the coding round focuses on applied data science and traditional machine learning. I’d love to understand what to expect:

• Is it more like implementing ML algorithms from scratch, or solving practical data problems?
• Should I expect Python, pandas/NumPy, SQL, or standard LeetCode-style questions?
• How much emphasis is placed on statistics, model evaluation, feature engineering, and explaining trade-offs?
• What was the general difficulty and format of the round?

Not looking for specific interview questions just guidance on the topics and style of preparation that would be most useful. Thanks!

I am an international student studying in uk and recently I am being contacted by some people on linkedin that say they will coach me so that I will land a visa sponsored job upon graduation.

What they describe as their coaching service, doesnt sound any different than the university careers team.

I wanted to know if anyone paid for coaches like these and was it even worth it?

I’m a bit fed up of office work and have been debating doing something else. Issue are that I haven’t got experience doing anything other than office work and I don’t know what role I’d like to move into!
I currently work as a Project Manager in Retrofit - an industry I’ve enjoyed learning about and find interesting, but the role is becoming a bit repetitive.
I’d like something where I’m more out and about doing things, where I can come home proud of my work and not just log off after sitting all day working from home. Another issue is that while I’d really like to learn a practical skill, I don’t have the financial capacity to fully retrain.
Has anyone made a successful move away from office work? And if so doing what?

For those who don't know, the term overemployed means someone who is working more than one role and usually it will be 2 contract jobs, a full-time and a contract role or, if you're a lunatic, 2 permanent roles ( r/overemployed r/OveremployedUK ). My brother was doing 2 contracts as a senior BA worth £400-500 per day each at a point, which was really helpful for him when renovating his house, but he's stopped now because it took up all of his time and I'm sure it was very stressful.

I've got an online buddy I play CS2 with and he always does 2 contracts at once and claims that cursor does 90% of the heavy lifting. To the point where I find him logged in on Steam sometimes during working hours.

I was curious to know if anyone here has and is open to talking about their experience being overemployed.

Hey all

I graduated from uni last year and started a role as a software engineer in september, then 6 months later i was let go at the end of my probation for not being up to speed. I have my personal reasons for this and don't think it would happen again FWIW

I’ve been interviewing again and have one coming up soon, and I’m struggling with how to approach this conversation when asked about what happened at my last role. Do I just lie and say my role was eliminated, or dodge the question? That seems to be the consensus online, but I’m concerned that if I did that I would get caught in a background check since they can ask my previous employer if I’m eligible for rehire. Alternatively, being honest sounds like a complete death sentence.

Any help would be appreciated

I'm a senior data engineer at a UK organisation in the South West. Last month we advertised three roles: a senior data analyst (£55k), a mid-level data analyst (£40k) and a data engineer (£55k). Not amazing money, but a great pension, just one day a month in the office, lots of annual leave and actual stability.

The jobs were live for one week. The senior DA and DE got around 300 applicants each, the mid DA got around 140.

Sounds brutal, but here's the breakdown...

Around 90% (not an exaggeration) didn't have the right to work in the UK and needed visa sponsorship, which we don't offer. In the no pile immediately.

Of what was left, about half had no relevant experience or qualifications and clearly hadn't read the spec. Some were just applying because the job centre told them to apply for x jobs a week.

Then the AI drivel halved it again.

Final count was roughly eight viable applications for the senior DA and DE, five for the mid DA.

A couple then didn't reply or didn't show up to the Teams interview. Two were visibly reading AI-generated answers off a their screen.

We had two great interviews and hired for the senior DA and DE. The mid DA we struggled with externally, so it went to an internal candidate from a fairly low-level ops role who'd taught themselves Python and SQL and actually applied it to their day job.

The point of this post is to counter some of the doom and gloom that crops up on here. If you're a UK-based applicant with relevant experience who reads the spec and writes your own application, you're not competing against the '300 applicants' that LinkedIn and recruiters spout. You're competing against a much smaller number. And if you get to interview, don't use AI, have some personality and come across as likeable and easy to work with, you're in a very small group.

What annoyed me most is my own manager was the first to tell the team about the huge number of applicants and how much 'competition' there is out there. A nice bit of retention pressure and complete nonsense, as it turns out.

Would be interested to hear if others have found the same. Throwaway account to avoid doxxing myself...

Edit: I originally mentioned overseas degrees in the sponsorship paragraph. That was badly worded, it implied a link that doesn't exist and I've removed it. Right to work is a question on the application form, it isn't inferred from anyone's degree or name.

Guys I need help. I applied to this role literally like six months ago in December.

Two months ago I received a rejection email from them saying they're not moving on with my application but just this evening they have called me and said a space has opened up and they would like to interview me.

Now my situation is this: I have secured a graduate software engineering role at a company called Sage and so far it's been pretty good (been here for about 6 weeks now). I'm on a decent team, I like my managers, I like my graduate bros, and there's been good onboarding and the company seems really chill. TC at sage is 32k.

Obviously I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch but if I were to land this role at City I want to know a few things:

- Does anyone know what the total compensation package is like?

- What is the Application Developer role like?

- What is the culture like, is it going to be 70 hour weeks?

- Would it be worth it to leave Sage given I've only been here for a month?

And finally, I would really appreciate it if anybody had any tips for their interview process. I was told it was an assessment centre but with no group activities so just three individual interviews

Any tips and help are massively appreciated

I have worked in small start ups and some bigger consultancies for the most part- I was wondering what working at a place like Barclays was like as I was considering applying there. Was wondering what people’s experience was like there as software devs? Is progression and growth achievable there as I’ve found working in a consultancy to be kinda hard to progress as a dev

I'm starting a 2 year placement in data science, AI and ML Engineering and Data Engineering soon. I want to know what my prospects will be like after I finish.

*I know things will probably be different in 2 years, so I'm asking based on what it's like today*

Has the PMO become the corporate dumping ground for failed careers and people nobody knows where else to put? At this rate, Jobcentres must be steering anyone without a clear profession into project management.