How do I find jobs with reasonable expectations? I know most of these postings are probably just BS fluff, but then how do I determine which ones are or aren't?
I just want a job I can do without being constantly bored and frustrated.
Most of the jobs are boring, even if they have hard challenges, they will get boring if you don't care about the problem or if you don't have some independence to choose what to work on.
Now if you want an easy job, that is not boring, I would look for companies/projects that I believe in. This might be companies in climate change or some other cause. It may still be frustrating because you may want to do certain things that your boss may not agree with. IMO, frustration is better than being bored.
This is what I am doing:
1. I made a list of all companies and non-profits that are working on things I care about.
2. I found their leaders/employees on Twitter and LinkedIn.
3. I am writing down their tech stacks from their job postings, employee posts, etc. Also wrote down their salary ranges, revenues, etc.
4. I have found a few companies whose tech lines up with my expertise or they are thinking of using something that I am good at. I use this to review and update my skills and resume.
5. I review employees' posts and try to determine which companies/non-profits have happier employees. Also look for any signs of long work hours or burnt out employees.
6. When I am ready I will approach these companies. Since many non-profits pay so little and move so slow, I might need to freelance with multiple non-profits to make enough money and not get bored.
It is a tedious process but I have a pretty good idea where to make my move.
I got offers from FANG, but with family obligation, potential medical and care-giving needs, I took a job that I'm over-qualified at a very good WLB company. My job is easy (at least to me) because I'm over-qualified. It's not super-boring because of my position. I work 40-45 hours, minimum on-calls. I don't make FANG money, but good benefits, good PTO and nice people are worth more than money and stressful work.
Whoever is being approached has the advantage in a negotiation, and that negotiation includes job scope.
The best source I've seen is HN's monthly thread. I spent a few hours crafting a nice post and all these amazing people came to interview me, many of whom I'd work with today if I didn't get my current job. You have to stick your neck out and try it at least twice to see results.
The second best is LinkedIn. Top companies in the country all approaching you, so you still hold an advantage. I used to politely reject 2 good interview offers/week. It was nice for my ego, all these startup founders adding you because they wanted to hire you.
Then I'd say recruiters. They're an excellent filter. The success rate is much lower (nobody wants to pay the recruiter fee) but still better than job posts. Some have specializations - lifelong jobs, juniors, veterans, mobile, remote, etc. Yes, there are dodgy ones; don't deal with them. You have to explore a bit to find good recruiters, but the payoff is still much better than parsing job sites.
> I just want a job I can do without being constantly bored and frustrated.
You can't have both. Interesting jobs tend to not be easy and vice versa.
Welcome to modern capitalism.