🚀 Pivoting your way to FAANG: what to do when your tech dream role isn't working

👨‍💻 SWE Alternatives: From Code to Strategy

If landing a Software Engineering (SWE) role is proving difficult, don’t panic—there are plenty of adjacent roles that leverage your technical skills while offering fresh challenges.

Consider These Alternatives:

🛠 Technical Support Engineer – If you enjoy problem-solving but want more customer interaction, tech support at a high-growth startup can be a gateway into backend or infrastructure roles later.

📊 Solutions Engineer / Sales Engineer – Like explaining tech to others? SEs work closely with customers to implement software solutions, making this a great mix of coding and communication.

🔎 QA Engineer / Test Automation – Not the flashiest title, but QA pros have deep technical expertise, ensuring software stability. Plus, automation testing is a solid entry point to SWE.

📈 Data Engineer – If you love working with large-scale systems and databases, pivoting to data engineering is a solid bet. It’s a high-demand field with lucrative salaries.

🔒 Security Engineer – Cybersecurity is hotter than ever, and many security roles require strong coding skills. If you have experience with networking, cryptography, or ethical hacking, this is worth exploring.

💡 Pro Tip: Already have projects or LeetCode experience? Adjust your resume to emphasize problem-solving, debugging, and performance optimization—key skills for these roles.

🎯 PM Alternatives: Growth & Marketing

Product Management (PM) is one of the most competitive fields, especially for early-career applicants. If you’re struggling to break in, consider roles that develop similar skills in analytics, strategy, and execution.

Consider These Alternatives:

📈 Growth Marketing – Growth teams run A/B tests, analyze user behavior, and optimize conversion funnels—all core PM skills. A role in growth marketing at a startup can be a stepping stone to PM.

📊 Data Analytics / Business Intelligence – PMs make data-driven decisions, and analytics roles help build those skills. If you enjoy SQL, dashboards, and uncovering insights, this could be a smart pivot.

🛠 Operations (BizOps, Strategy, Chief of Staff) – Many PMs come from an operations background. If you’re good at streamlining processes and solving business problems, this path offers strong leadership opportunities.

🔍 User Research / Customer Success – Understanding users is critical for PMs. Working in customer success or UX research can provide valuable experience before transitioning into product.

💡 Pro Tip: Focus on roles that emphasize cross-functional collaboration, decision-making, and customer insights. Hiring managers love to see candidates who understand the product lifecycle from multiple angles.

🎨 Designer Alternatives: Where Creativity Meets Strategy

UX/UI and Product Design roles can be competitive, but design thinking is valuable across multiple industries. If breaking into design is tough, consider alternative paths where your skills still shine.

Consider These Alternatives:

📈 Growth & Marketing Design – If you love data-driven creativity, growth-focused design roles (e.g., ad creatives, landing pages, email campaigns) offer a great mix of experimentation and impact.

🛠 Operations & Program Management – Many designers transition into operations or project management roles, especially in creative industries. You’ll still work with design teams but focus more on execution and strategy.

📊 No-Code Development (Webflow, Framer, Bubble) – No-code tools are in high demand, and businesses need people who can design and build without traditional coding.

🔎 Brand Strategy / Content Design – If you enjoy storytelling and user engagement, content-focused design roles (social media, copywriting, branding) can be a great pivot.

💡 Pro Tip: Your portfolio doesn’t have to scream “traditional UX” to be compelling. Highlight your problem-solving skills, user research experience, and ability to iterate on design decisions based on real-world constraints.

🚀 Final Takeaway: The Goal is Growth

If one door isn’t opening, don’t be afraid to pivot. Many of the most successful professionals didn’t take a straight path to their dream roles. Think of these alternatives as stepping stones—not dead ends.

🔑 Action Steps:
✔ Adjust your resume to align with your new target role (focus on transferable skills).
✔ Learn industry tools—if you’re shifting to growth, learn Google Analytics; if you’re exploring data, brush up on SQL.
✔ Network with people in these fields—informational interviews can open up unexpected opportunities.

Opportunities are out there—you just have to know where to look. Keep building, keep learning, and keep applying. 🚀

— The Jobless Team