How to answer “what are your career aspirations?” when you haven’t figured it out yet? /u/tehpeng1 CSCQ protests reddit

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with the classic interview question, “what are your career aspirations?”

I have 3 YoE in tech. 2 as an SWE and 1 in a hybrid role at a small startup (5-person team), where I was doing a mix of engineering, product, and even marketing. I really enjoyed the variety, but I’m now restarting my job search and applying for both SWE and product roles. I’m sticking with SWE roles because of my familiarity with them, but I’m also interested in moving into Product eventually.

Landing interviews for Product has been tough since I don’t have formal PM experience, but I just got my first SWE interview of the year. The issue now is, how do I answer the “career aspirations” question when I truthfully don’t have a clear path yet? Saying I want to move into Product might hurt my chances for the SWE role, and I’m still open to SWEing.

I’ve started working with a career coach to help me organise my thoughts, but I haven’t figured it all out yet. What I do know is I am energised by projects that drive growth and customer satisfaction, but beyond that, I’m not sure where I want to go. I don’t want to come across as aimless, but I also don’t want to pretend I have a perfectly mapped-out career plan.

Any advice on how to frame this honestly without coming across as unfocused or lacking direction?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Hi everyone,

I’ve been struggling with the classic interview question, “what are your career aspirations?”

I have 3 YoE in tech. 2 as an SWE and 1 in a hybrid role at a small startup (5-person team), where I was doing a mix of engineering, product, and even marketing. I really enjoyed the variety, but I’m now restarting my job search and applying for both SWE and product roles. I’m sticking with SWE roles because of my familiarity with them, but I’m also interested in moving into Product eventually.

Landing interviews for Product has been tough since I don’t have formal PM experience, but I just got my first SWE interview of the year. The issue now is, how do I answer the “career aspirations” question when I truthfully don’t have a clear path yet? Saying I want to move into Product might hurt my chances for the SWE role, and I’m still open to SWEing.

I’ve started working with a career coach to help me organise my thoughts, but I haven’t figured it all out yet. What I do know is I am energised by projects that drive growth and customer satisfaction, but beyond that, I’m not sure where I want to go. I don’t want to come across as aimless, but I also don’t want to pretend I have a perfectly mapped-out career plan.

Any advice on how to frame this honestly without coming across as unfocused or lacking direction?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!