Should I climb the software engineering Ladder or build a side hustle?

Question

I have little over 2 Years of Experience. I had joined the Industry in 2021 when developers are making a lot money here in India thanks to Startup VC Funding. I had job-hopped a bit and got to a decent salary at my current role but the market has changed dramatically. I have been applying to several companies passively and actively since couple of months resulting in vain. Now, I am very much passionate about software but I am also flexible. I do get some decent ideas in IT sometimes. Should I just keep upskilling myself in promotion to mid-level engineer/ grinding leetcode or do a side hustle completely unrelated(or related) to software? I am flexible with anything. My Long term goals are Financial Independence and stimulating work

lmarcos · Accepted Answer

Why not both? Keep getting money from employer X, and experiment with your ideas until one works out.

austin-cheney · Answer

If you only have 2 years experience, especially if that experience is limited to your job, you might not be as ready to move forward as you think you are. I recommend first proving to yourself that you can do what others cannot before taking risks that will limit your ability to become a stronger and more competent craftsman.

stodor89 · Answer

I'd advise gaining some more experience first. Also, financial independence is first and foremost a state of mind. As an extreme example, Diogenes the Cynic was arguably more financially independent than Elon Musk is.

jerjerjer · Answer

2 Years of Experience is the time to start singlehandedly delivering larger features/modules, maybe some limited scale/complexity software systems. Mentoring interns/junior developers. It's probably not enough experience to move into architecture, much less a fully managerial role. But you do you.

roland35 · Answer

I am a big advocate for job hopping, but in your case I think you need to stay on at one company for at least a few years and develop skills, and see a project through long term.You can always try starting something up, but it is honestly pretty difficult to beat the cost/benefit of just getting a promotion!

mortallywounded · Answer

I think it's always a good idea to be building things outside of work (if you enjoy it). If you want to build a side hustle, then even better.
I used to build a lot of projects after (and before) work. I had over 100 projects before I built my first successful side hustle (which is now my sole income, > $2MM).
I can't imagine going back to working for a company. I was an engineering manager and working my way up the company, but it's not for me.

codegeek · Answer

In 2 years, you job hopped quite a bit. That means you don't have deep experience in anything yet and for most companies, you will be seen as entry level unless you can show that you are the real deal.
The answer to whether you should climb the ladder or start a side hustle depends on what you want for yourself and where you want to be in few years. You are most likely to make good money in a job than a side hustle. So if the goal is just to make money, I would say go for a job for now. That doesn't stop you from doing some side projects of course but then it comes down to how bad you want to do it.
Unless you have the entrepreneurial itch so bad that you just can't do anything else, I suggest you get another job and at least stay at one place for 3-4 years and gain real deep experience. If you keep job hopping, you wont be very valuable after another 2-3 years.
Just my 2 cents as someone with 20+ years of experience in the industry who runs his own thing.