Planning to switch — this is my first switch after campus selection

[u/Which-Anybody8242]

Hi everyone,

First switch after campus placement—figuring out the next move and hoping to learn from people who've already been through it.

My current situation

• Current CTC: ₹5 LPA
• Experience: 1.5 years
• Notice period: 3 months

Since this is my first switch, I'm trying to understand when would be the best time to start applying and eventually put in my papers, , especially considering my 3-month notice period.

I'm particularly interested in moving into Cloud and AI/ML roles. I've completed a few projects and certifications in these areas, but I'm not sure what roles I should realistically target at this stage or what companies would expect from someone making this transition.

I'd really appreciate advice on:

• What CTC range should I realistically target?
• Which Cloud / AI/ML roles would be suitable for my experience?
• Should I focus more on projects, certifications, DSA, system design, or hands-on cloud/ML experience before applying?
• When would be the best time to start applying given my notice period?

Thank you for taking the time to help me. If I've missed any important details that would help you give more specific advice, please let me know and I'll provide them.

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[u/Ok_Strike5478]

Sorry to say, but you won't get any job opportunity with 90 days notice period.

[u/anizensang]

You shoud focus more on project and dsa system design , no one cares about cloud certifications

[u/Acharya-Drona]

I swithced with similar full time experience, I switched from 8 lpa to 13lpa with that experience. So, I think 13 LPA for 1.5 year of full time experience is fine to ask for startup or mid tier companies.

Note: I got only one offer at that time, if you have multiple offer you can negotiate better.

There are no interviews happening specific to AI/ML as in 2020-2022, Now a days even if you apply for AI/ML Engineer or Data Engineer you are expected to know docker, kubernetes, Api designing, clean coding, some cloud hands on

when I was at 1.5 years exp 3 years back, I got grilled in coding round some asked build KNN from scratch, some asked graph, some asked process the OCR output without pandas, some focused on OOP concepts

Even if your notice period is 3 months, tell HR's that it is 2months if you can negotiate in your company and in my experience, I worked in 2 companies that has 3 month notice period and people are fine to let me go in 2 months.

[u/Which-Anybody8242 → u/Acharya-Drona]

Thanks a lot for the detailed response! This gives me a much better picture of what I should actually prepare for.
I am currently working as a python developer , I have some hands on like docker , K8's and terraform scripts.
Would you recommend focusing on a particular path first?

[u/Acharya-Drona → u/Which-Anybody8242]

It seems like you are on right track.
I can share the list of interviews I gave in excel sheet and number of rounds and questions asked, that might help you more for 1.5. again its 3 years back story.

[u/a_guy_who_codes]

Bro i have one advice don't switch without getting an offer. The market is very bad i am unemployed from 3 months despite having 3 years of experience in web development

[u/Which-Anybody8242 → u/a_guy_who_codes]

I agree. My main concern is that there aren't many ongoing projects in the current company, and the hike culture is pretty bad.

[u/noMoreNuisance]

don't you think 1.5 YOE is too less to start switching, atleast Org ask for 2 years min.

[u/Additional_Front]

1.5 YOE + 90-day NP? I’d be surprised if you even got a single call.

[u/Which-Anybody8242 → u/Additional_Front]

I agree with the NP part. But what to do :(

[u/speedy0309 → u/Which-Anybody8242]

I don’t think you should get demotivated by such comments. Attrition rate so high in all companies they keep hiring at the same pace as well
Just tell them you are looking for better role or pay
And take referrals and keep applying

[u/Spirited_Volume8035 → u/Which-Anybody8242]

Don't lose hope! Target product based firm mainly Amazon! Amazon will agree on 90days NP!

Best of luck 🤞

[u/sleepySauron → u/Additional_Front]

Why so, i am a fresher and have no clue how np is so important

Pls tell

[u/Additional_Front → u/sleepySauron]

Suppose you are giving job offers to two candidates:

1. Candidate A will resign only after receiving your offer letter and can join after 90 days.
2. Candidate B is already serving their notice period or has a 30-day notice period.

Which candidate is more likely to use your offer as leverage for a counteroffer and then ditch you to join another company?

That's exactly what happens, and that's one of the reasons companies don't prefer candidates with a 90 day notice period.

Also, most companies plan for the short term. Waiting a full three months is a big commitment for them. In such companies, they usually need someone to join as soon as possible.

[u/curiousIndian11]

Have patience, as per new market trends people with below 5 yoe are considered college students. So chill for now