Should I switch from a small hospitality company to a software house in Islamabad?
Hi everyone,
I’m a junior full‑stack developer from Pakistan and I’d really like some honest opinions about a possible job switch.
My background:
Experience: ~1.5 years as a Full Stack Developer
Stack: Laravel + React
Location: Islamabad
Current job (hospitality company):
Domain: Hospitality (hotel/beds type product) – I’m not really interested in this domain long term
Team: Only 2 developers, no proper team lead, no senior guidance
Process: No clear planning, no proper explanation of business logic, just “here is a big functional spec, build it”
Issues:
Very low structured learning
No real code reviews / mentorship
I’m expected to do everything (BA + dev + sometimes product decisions) without clarity
Salary: ~85k PKR
Overall feeling: I’m “stuck” and worried that if I stay here too long, my profile will look weak and I won’t grow as a proper engineer
New opportunity (software house in Islamabad):
Company: Mid‑sized software house (outsourcing/agency style)
Domain: Pure software company, multiple clients and projects
Stack: Also Laravel + React (so I stay in my main stack but hopefully with better practices)
Process: Seems more structured, proper dev team, foreign clients, better brand name on CV
Conditions they mentioned:
3‑month probation
Time tracker for working hours (likely remote/hybrid)
Salary: I told them my expectation is 100k PKR and I don’t want to go below that
If you’ve worked at similar companies in Islamabad, how was your experience (culture, workload, learning, job security)?
If you were in my place, would you stay where you are for “stability”, or move to the software house for better learning + brand, even if it comes with tracker/probation and some extra pressure?
Any honest feedback or experiences (especially from people in Pakistan or those who moved from a weird‑domain product company to a software house) would really help.
Thanks in advance.