YARRR: Yet Another Rejection, Resilient Required

In my previous post, I received a number of thoughts from my former students, acknowledging the new challenges and struggles in finding their first foothold in their careers. In this post, I want to share some of my thoughts in this matter.

Keep a good starting balance?

If you only aim for the perfect CS or software engineering job at a big firm or traditional IT/SE companies, you may end up cycling through frustration and rejection. If you swing too far the other way and take a survival job completely outside tech, you risk drifting from your skills. There is, however, a more balanced path: IT and tech-adjacent positions at small companies and nonprofits. The latest data in April 2025 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Computer Support Specialist is an area with a positive growth outlook that is faster than the average for all occupations. Indeed currently lists over 10,000 openings nationwide. ZipRecruiter shows approximately 400 jobs in the Malvern, PA area. These roles may pay less and look less glamorous, but they keep you working in technology, give you broad exposure, and build the kind of versatility that larger employers often admire. Think of them not as consolation prizes but as footholds on your long professional climb. Furthermore, given the current environment, I personally believe that many of these small companies and organizations are beginning to explore AI, and they often lack the expertise to integrate it. That creates an opportunity for you to not only keep your skills sharp but also become the person leading their modernization.

Keep staying sharp

Small-org IT roles can absolutely keep graduates adjacent to tech, but without a plan, they may become stagnant. If all you do is reset passwords and troubleshoot printers, you risk plateauing, even though the work keeps you busy. The key to making these roles true footholds is intentionality. It’s easy to get pulled into endless troubleshooting and menial fixes, but if you intentionally frame each project as a chance to learn and document skills, you will stay sharp. Write down what you deploy, take certifications where possible, take full advantage of all training opportunities, and keep coding on the side. In that way, a small-org IT role becomes not a cul-de-sac but a launchpad. These roles can give you breadth of exposure and depth in areas you choose to highlight later. Furthermore, small organizations often have simpler systems, which makes them forgiving environments to test and learn (assuming that you have backups and communicate any tests clearly with users). Part of staying sharp is practicing change management: experiment carefully, expect things to break sometimes, and learn by fixing them. This cycle will teach you resilience and troubleshooting in ways a corporate environment could not.

Keep looking up

My son recently got me into indoor climbing. As you fumble around on the bottom holds, it is important to keep your eyes up to where the final holds are. As you grow and rise through the ranks of your small organization, you should still stay aware of employment trends. Every year or two, put yourself out there: go on interviews at larger companies. This not only keeps your skills sharp but also helps you understand your market value and ensures that when the right opportunity comes along, you will be ready to seize it.