Stuck in maintenance work at FAANG, worried about stagnation – advice?

Question

I&rsquo;ve been at a FAANG London for 4 years, having joined straight out of university. The first 2 years were great for learning, but since then most of my work has been heavy maintenance on a very company-specific tech stack, and the environment has become increasingly political.I&rsquo;m on a visa, which adds an extra layer of complication. I need one more year to get ILR (indefinite leave to remain in the UK)The work feels boring at best, and I&rsquo;m worried I&rsquo;m stagnating technically.I&rsquo;ve started prepping leetcode and system design, but balancing that with my job feels overwhelming.Has anyone else been in this position? How did you handle it?

nis0s · Accepted Answer

I would focus on doing the best work you can because you&rsquo;ll get better references that way. A year will end in the blink of an eye. I suggest taking up side projects outside of work hours for mental stimulation.

JojoFatsani · Answer

Try and do something on the side, or do a homelab. When you interview at startups you&rsquo;ll need to demonstrate that you can leave your comfort zone and operate without predefined systems around you.

Stuck in maintenance work at FAANG, worried about stagnation – advice?

I would focus on doing the best work you can because you’ll get better references that way. A year will end in the blink of an eye. I suggest taking up side projects outside of work hours for mental stimulation.

Try and do something on the side, or do a homelab. When you interview at startups you’ll need to demonstrate that you can leave your comfort zone and operate without predefined systems around you.