Imagine, your are a Java developer with multiple years of experience in the job. You really like working with the language.

Your employer kind of canceled most of the Java projects of the company over time and is now really focused on AI… And AI means here: LLMs, GPT, … Not like basic Machine learning… It’s all about language models. Most of this stuff and the tools are written in Python and your employers wants you to kind of throw away your pretty good Java skills completely and start over in Python.

The new tasks would be kind of “easy”… You have to prototype “LLM bots”. And that’s your perspective for like at least 1.5 years. No, not real software development… Prototyping… And that means, quick and dirty is what they want… It’s also very easy to impress your employer with GPT doing things. Easy money, isn’t it?

I’m in this exact situation right now and worried… What, if I quit in 2 years and the new potential employer for a Java job asks “What have you done recently?”

I kind of liked working there and like the colleges and the salary is fine and switching the job and maybe moving away is a huge thing for me… It could get better… But maybe also worse…?

What would you do in my situation? Accepting it? Starting a rebellion? Looking for a new job somewhere else?

  • Kissaki@programming.devEnglish
    2·
    6 months ago

    I don’t think I can adequately give a decisive answer to that. I’m not in your shoes and lack full context.

    I don’t think any potential future employer will see you working on language modes a downside. You worked with Java before, productively, with experience. So you know your Java. You then worked on LLM, which shows flexibility and is additional, possibly useful experience.

    • You could give it a try, and a timeframe, to see where it goes.
    • Consider that it may be a fad that may disappear again, and your company may go back to Java. If it’s CEO driven like that, where it can make huge changes in how it’s set up, it can happen again.
    • Consider whether you can talk to team leads or HR, considering your perspective within the company, your goals and interests, and what the company can provide in that regard, and what it won’t.
    • Salary. Coworkers. Work environment. Work satisfaction. Technological interest. It’s all things to consider. Unless it’s really significant, it won’t be one thing overpowering all the others.
    • You can look for alternatives while continuing to work. Either to sight what your alternatives are, or actively to switch away if and when you find something more fitting with acceptable consequences.

    In the end, a switch may require a decisive decision, even if you’re not sure. But staying and seeing where it goes is not bad either. Looking for alternatives is safe, and at the same time may spark interest elsewhere.