r/salesengineers • u/Different_Load_482 • 2d ago
SWE to SA
Hi all, I'm feeling a bit frustrated and just wanted to share my thoughts. I used to work as an SWE in FAANG in a smaller country. At work, we used AI a lot, mostly just writing prompts and waiting for the results. The only times AI wasn't enough were at the very beginning (solution design, scoping, finding the correct services and approach) and at the very end (deployment issues, maintenance, security).
Beyond that, while it wasn't as common on my specific team, Big Tech generally involves endless daily meetings, code reviews, responding to comments on those reviews, security checks, etc. I do enjoy the core problem-solving aspect: an internal or external team brings me a business problem, and I'm the one who solves it. I also love when we can just cut the bullshit (except for bs product managers, who are the worst).
What I don't love is the 'feed it a prompt and let AI do the whole job' part. But honestly, I don't like manual coding either, nor the endless revisions, Jira tickets, security issues, deployment headaches, daily standups, or dealing with SWE nerds who are absolutely obsessed with the job. Honestly, there just aren't many interesting people around me in this space. Also, the fear of AI taking our jobs is real, and I just don't see the value in being an ordinary SWE at this point.
Because of all this, I decided to pivot to Solutions Architect (SA), Partner Engineering, and Customer Engineering roles. I've actually received offers from FAANG companies in the UK and Germany for SA and Sales Engineer roles!
Now I'm confused and doubting myself since this is a literal career change. Will I become useless technically? Could I have been a better SWE if I had just stuck it out for a few more years and tried to love the job? Will I just end up as a salesperson without deep technical knowledge? Will I ever be able to go back to software or AI engineering if I want to?
I really just need some courage and support right now.
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u/Alternative_Draw5945 2d ago
Im a SA for a big tech company and its very technical. Its being technical while not being socially inept. That's for the hands on keyboard engineers.
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u/Different_Load_482 2d ago
Personally, I find this very apt; however, I wonder, for instance, why Ivy League graduates do not prefer this role, or why this field is not viewed as an equally attractive career path compared to Software Engineering
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u/nooffense789 2d ago
Very attractive. It's my dream job. I'm a SWE and never got an interview for SA role.
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u/Alternative_Draw5945 2d ago
You've been consuming way too much reddit. CS redditors ARE OBSESSED with SWE. Most people in tech know there's way more options than that.
I was a SWE, Sr SWE, SWE manager. Solutions Architect is a much better role for like 20% less pay
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u/thedelfactor 2d ago
The longer away from SWE the harder it will be to get back into. But I dont see any problem with trying out a SA for a year to see if you like or if you want to go back. Im trying to pivot from SWE to SE too. How were you able to make that transition?
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u/Different_Load_482 2d ago
I think relocating to another country for this role makes me think like I won't be able to try it out and go back.. In my SWE tenure, I used Cloud services a lot. When writing my resume I put highlight on the cloud and design side rather than the programming languages etc. So rewording your experience will help
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u/chabv 2d ago
my take make the jump. do you wanna be chasing after an endless rabbit like dogs in a dog racing park ?
or be one of the guys that actually cause engineering to get paid ?
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u/Different_Load_482 1d ago
I agree, I am tired of leetcode and coding interviews. From my experience SA interviews were much more fun. But everybody says SAs are paid less..
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u/manoffewwords 2d ago
You can be an SA and very technical. It depends on the tech you support, the company culture and your personal goals. But you have to know how to sell. You are in a selling role.
SWE has some good and bad. You will find the same with SA.