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I manage a team of four. One of my staff members, Jeff, asked to go to a conference that was about a five-hour drive away. I approved the request as the conference would be good for his professional development. Three other staff members from our closely connected teams were also going. Jeff registered for the conference. A couple of weeks later, he asked me about booking a flight to it. I was surprised by this, as the conference was a reasonable driving distance. I explained that the department would rent a van and the attendees would drive there together. (Our department wants to minimize expenses when reasonable, so this is normal unless it doesn't make sense logistically or financially.) He pushed back with a couple of reasons that he wanted to fly, such as it would save time and he didn't feel comfortable driving.

Most blogs about switching jobs in tech talk about grinding harder. More LeetCode.More applications.More hustle. But when I switched from SDE-1 to SDE-2 in just 1.5 years and doubled my CTC, I realized something uncomfortable: 👉 Effort was never the bottleneck. Direction was. This post is for backend engineers who already work hard - but want clarity on what actually moves the needle in SDE-2 interviews.

We have this combination of what we want to achieve, but also how we achieve it," Daniela Seabrook, Adecco Group's CHRO, told Business Insider. "The behavioral aspect is really important for us." She said that driving the change is the company's intent to have "a continuous exchange between an employee and a leader" - not just a formal review once or twice a year. More frequent feedback is necessary, Seabrook, to keep up with the pace of change in business. "It's very important that the people know, 'Where am I? How am I doing? How am I developing?'" she said.

The work, however, didn't vanish with them. Tasks once handled by junior engineers-like writing and testing code, fixing bugs, and contributing to development projects-were absorbed by senior staff, often with the assumption that AI would make up the difference.And while AI has sped up the velocity of shipping code and features, there are fewer people to do tasks like designing, testing, and working with stakeholders, which AI has zero grasp on.

The union is great, don't get me wrong, but one side effect of having it is that there are massive, sometimes arbitrary and annoyingly vague, lines around what I can and cannot do in my role. This wouldn't necessarily be a problem, if most of the time the things I'm not allowed to do are required to be done by managers. Managers who are overworked, undertrained, and underpaid, and so don't have the time or brain space to address things I bring to them.

Sam Wright offers free 15-minute job search sessions for job seekers. He uses application-to-interview conversion rates to measure the success of each job search. Wright says targeting one job title at a time for up to 15 days can improve interview chances. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sam Wright, a 31-year-old head of growth at Huntr, based in Seattle. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

And beneath the official jobs data is a growing accessibility crisis. More and more job seekers are finding themselves shut out of the labor market - not because there are no jobs to be had, but because torrents of AI slop are crowding them out of consideration. Case in point: a few months back, tech publication The Markup posted an opening for an engineer role.

SODANKYLÄ, Finland - Deep snow. Fleeting daylight. Wet clothes. Frozen weapons. Sub-zero temperatures. NATO soldiers training in Arctic warfare are learning that in a future conflict, fighting the enemy may be only half the battle. The other would be surviving the region's harsh winters. "The environment can be hard for someone who is not used to it," said Finnish Lt. Laura Lähdekorpi, bundled up and dressed in camouflage to blend in with the snow.

What are the highest-paying state jobs in California? Chief medical officer | Limited, full time The chief medical officer is responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the medical program at the Veterans Home of California in west Los Angeles. Duties include making sure resident veterans receive the highest standard of medical care, following state laws and meeting specific needs of residents.

Choosing a financial advisor is one of the most important money-related decisions you can make, yet many people approach it casually or skip the vetting process altogether. With countless professionals offering financial advice, titles that sound impressive, and complex fee structures, it's easy to lose transparency in the process. In reality, the quality of guidance you receive can vary dramatically depending on who you hire and how they're compensated.

I still interview everyone, so I ask quite brutal questions about, 'Why take a hard job? You could go work somewhere else,' Max Junestrand said.

A report by J.P. Morgan estimates that corporations can save billions of dollars a year by employing fewer people through automation. And, in fact, a 2025 study out of Stanford University has found that AI is already "beginning to have a significant and disproportionate impact on entry-level workers in the American labor market," with workers between the ages of 22 and 25 in the most AI-exposed occupations experiencing a 13 percent decline in employment.

Many professionals focus on big projects and headline achievements, but research shows that soft skills and visibility strongly influence promotions. LinkedIn data reveals that employees who combine hard and soft skills get promoted about 8% faster than those who focus only on technical abilities, and skills like communication, teamwork and problem solving are linked to promotions up to 11% faster. Regularly updating and showcasing your skills is also tied to faster advancement.

Business Insider looked at wages and growth projections for jobs that usually need a high school diploma, its equivalent, or a postsecondary nondegree award. We then took the geometric mean of the ones that pay at least $75,000, based on 2024 median annual wage data, and are expected to need more workers, based on projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034. We then ranked the jobs, with the larger the geometric mean, the better the rank.

Beskrestnov, widely cited among Ukrainians as an expert on drones, runs a Telegram channel with some 156,000 followers, where he publicly analyzes Russian and Ukrainian battle drones and how they've performed. Fedorov named him an advisor in defense technology on Sunday, saying Beskrestnov would focus on helping Ukraine build counter-systems for Russian strike and reconnaissance drones. In his statement, Fedorov said that Beskrestnov would also support Ukraine's military in analyzing Russian tech, studying "logistics, study of enemy solutions, and leveraging this experience to our advantage."

Search beyond major job engines by using niche job boards, Google X‑ray searches, industry trade directories, company filings, supplier and client lists, local business registers, conference speaker lists, and professional association directories; cross-reference these sources, build a prioritized spreadsheet, and set email or RSS alerts to track when small employers post trainee or entry-level opportunities, and monitor sector-specific hashtags and community Slack/Discord channels for unadvertised roles.

Personal Track Safety refers to the rules, procedures, and behaviours that allow workers to operate safely on or near live railway lines. It's designed to minimise risks from moving trains, electrical systems, and environmental hazards. PTS is not just about memorising rules. It's about understanding why they exist and how they apply in real working conditions. When workers grasp this early, they're far more likely to act decisively and safely when situations change.

The leader of Ukraine's special drone branch said his operators are striking advancing Russian infantry at extreme close range, providing rare insight into how some of the country's best pilots are fighting. Maj. Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, wrote in a statement on Sunday that his pilots have, over the last month, been engaging enemy troops at an average strike depth of 1.44 km, or 0.89 miles, from the line of contact.