Date: July 23rd, 2026 5:29 PM Author: Iridescent Station
Fully WFH with a pay cut: $185k + probably a shit bonus vs. my last two jobs which were over $200k base. This is a federal government contractor. Can't start until early-to-mid August due to all that stupid background investigation shit they do for federal jobs.
Took me just over three weeks to get an offer. I was averaging like 7-8 interviews a week, all for WFH jobs. I'm still interviewing for two other WFH jobs that would pay over $200k, but those seem like long shots. We'll see what unfolds.
WFH codecuck jobs are still easy for me to get, probably because of my (((prestigious))) STEM degree and management experience. AI has not made my career obsolete yet, but I think I need to find a guaranteed federal job so that I stay employed after AI does in fact lead to long-term unemployment.
Date: July 23rd, 2026 5:53 PM Author: Iridescent Station
~$200k is the realistic upper end for the type of WFH jobs I applied for (codecuck leadership jobs). Anything paying significantly more and still fully WFH is rare. I'd have to go hybrid for a realistic shot at higher pay, which LJL I'm definitely not doing.
Date: July 23rd, 2026 6:00 PM Author: Iridescent Station
Probably somewhere around 300 or maybe a little more. Spammed my resume until my calendar filled up with interviews, and I used my free time to prepare for those interviews.
180. I've applied to about 60-70, also a senior software engineer targeting $180,000k wfh (or hybrid). I just had final/near-final rounds with companies yesterday and today but fucked up yesterday's and today's could go either way. I can't motivate myself to do interview prep so I'm not good at this shit yet.
Date: July 23rd, 2026 6:24 PM Author: Iridescent Station
The bizarre thing is that the jobs I'm applying for (engineering manager, software architect, director of engineering, some tech lead roles, etc.) have much easier interviews than what you get grilled with as a senior SWE. At this level I'm really just demonstrating that I have leadership capabilities, communication skills, etc. with a solid-enough technical understanding to work with and guide non-technical people. I'm not writing any code for most of these interviews, lmao. The higher up you go the more ridiculous it becomes.
180. yeah I'm applying for senior SWE jobs without heavy management responsibilities. I've been nailing the communication rounds but I had my first live-coding one yesterday and choked.
Date: July 23rd, 2026 6:41 PM Author: Iridescent Station
Also, LJL at the totally expected rejection from one company. The third round interview was with a shrew who was wearing a tank top. The problem with this shrew was that she had an enormous tattoo on her shoulder/collar bone and another disgusting blob of shit on one of her upper arms. I physically recoiled when I saw this, and I fought hard to hide my disgust at her tatted-up existence, but I failed and likely came across as very cold. She was likewise very curt and detached in the interview. These freaks should not be allowed to interview people Jfc
Date: July 31st, 2026 7:50 AM Author: Iridescent Station
I'm waiting for an EOD for my bigfed contracting job. Contracting company told me EODs are slow at this agency. Already did the eApp and got fingerprinted, now I'm just waiting.
Date: July 31st, 2026 6:04 PM Author: Iridescent Station
Got the new offer of $201,100k. Wtf is that number. Another codecuck management job. Going to accept and renege on the bigfed offer idc. Good news to get late on a Friday afternoon.
Date: August 1st, 2026 8:40 AM Author: Iridescent Station
They said to expect 4-6. Final number hasn't been determined yet because this is a new project, and they're still hiring the codecucks and organizing the teams. One complicating factor is that this project is hiring across three continents (US, Western Europe, and India), and I don't know if I'll be managing anyone outside the US and/or if weird hours will be involved. We'll see what unfolds.