Took me bout 2 days for the initial release of the config-file-validator. I had been thinking about it for a while and was able just to knock it pretty quickly. It’s changed a LOT since initial release and 95% of that work has been from open source contributors
Way below what you’d make at FAANG is absolutely correct. Salaries are not competitive with top-tier tech companies. Not everyone wants to work at FAANG though. Depending on what you value though the lower salary can be offset by some of the other benefits. Work life balance tends to be really good - rarely do I ever go over 40 hours a week but if I do I get paid overtime even though I’m salaried. You can also usually arrange to work a flexible schedule like 4/10’s (10 hrs a day M-Th and every Friday off) or 9/80’s (9 hours a day, 8 on the working Friday and every other Friday off). 401K and medical benefits are also very good. Job security for engineers tends to be high - especially compared to FAANG with their recent series of layoffs. Even if FAANG is your ultimate goal, working for a few years at a defense contractor will not hurt your chances of future employment there.
My team actually likes it - but it’s run by the dev team so we actually talk about things we care about. Management participates too (I know they aren’t supposed to) but they are very supportive and can help elevate issues appropriately if needed
> My main focus is in Embedded Systems Software and it’s something I’m really passionate about.
Not entirely what you’re asking but if you decide to go the job route try applying at all of the major defense contractors (Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop, Raytheon, etc). I work for one and the embedded software skillset is highly desired and hard to hire for. You will likely have to be okay with relocation and working onsite in a classified environment at least part of the time but the job prospects should be much better than tech companies and the work very applicable to your focus
I agree with “does it work for me, then it’s a success” to a certain extent. I am really happy with my project, it does what I needed it to do, and my company allowed me to open-source it. If that was all that happened I would still consider my project a success. What has been really enjoyable for me, however, is working with contributors and seeing developers use the tool. So I feel like - for me at least - there has to be more than just building and releasing it.
https://github.com/Boeing/config-file-validator