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Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
11–20 of 35 posts
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#12I think it is definitely possible if you are smart and motivated. This is my career path that worked for me -
- Started out at a small research organization after college. The pay was very low but I got to have a lot of autonomy and own interesting projects
- Moved to a old fashioned manufacturing company doing software (think the complexity of a microwave). Tried to learn some backend engineering on the side while there by proposing new projects.
- Got a remote job at a startup which was growing. I think this helped me the most get relevant experience in system design.
- Applied and got interviews with 3 FAANG companies (2021 was great...). Was able join in 2021 during the rush.
The nice thing about large companies is that they are more likely to take a flyer on non-traditional backgrounds. Your evaluation is based a lot on your interview performance, which you can study for! And you should have good behavioral round answers in whatever career you've had.
Good luck!
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#131) Not everyone can cook, but great cooks can come from anywhere. SWE @ FAANG is a high bar, not everyone can reach it. Being older will make it more difficult. But it is not impossible and the only way to find out is to try.
2) Given you have no prior CS background, I would recommend finding a undergraduate / graduate program. I would heavily recommend internships / part-time work as a student. The easiest way to get into FAANG is via return offer for internship. You should practice SWE interviewing and prepare a lot for those interviews, they are a big blocker for many roles, and interviewing techniques are not commonly taught in university.
3) Depends on if you want to do research or engineering and how good you are. I don't think you should worry about this problem now though, you aren't at the stage where specialization matters. Just learn about what interests you.
I think if you're serious about your goal of making it into FAANG, the best-case timeline would be ~5 years. I would break down your goal into smaller ones (Graduation, first internship, first job, etc) along the way to maintain momentum.
The game is definitely worth the grind financially though. Best of luck!
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#14I know this HN and populated by developers. But there are a lot more ways to get into a FAANG than software development and still make top of market comp. For instance Amazon is a FAANG. But at the end of the day, they are 50% a consumer goods company. I know people who have gotten in through Finance because they had experience at another CPG company, someone who got in through the marketing department and someone hi…
Great point about getting into FAANG/Tech companies through non-software development roles. However, I feel like I really enjoy the software process, despite my minimal programming experience. From what I've learned so far, it has been quite enjoyable.
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#15This reads a bit like someone saying they bought some basketball shoes and started practicing some dribbling, and they want to know how to get into the NBA. Do you even like playing basketball? Do you just see the money and the lifestyle and think "ok that sounds good, how do I get that"? I think these are the wrong questions to be asking.
I know I should have framed the question in a less naive way. I did some very basic programming running some statistics before, and enjoyed the process greatly. But I would not classify it as programming experience in the general sense, it was more about thinking of the statistical problem at hand and using minimal programming to help. I would still classify myself in the "no programming or minimal programming" categ…
ok, well assuming you're not naive, not jut chasing some prestige or money (because those are far from guaranteed), you have to learn how to both become a good software engineer, and how to interview. Too many people focus on the latter, not realizing that is only a problem if you're getting interviews.
To actually build up the resume and skills of the craft, I would invest and contribute to popular, widely used Open Source projects that have an active community, conferences, mailing lists and the like.
This will take a lot of investment, but having non trivial contributions to core software many companies use is often a better resume tick than an internship or experience at a no name company.
I had multiple well known, non FAANG big tech engineers invite me to come interview after they saw my contributions to some larger Open Source projects.
Then, passing the interview is another story, but there are many paid and unpaid resources to guide you through that process.
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#161) Not everyone can cook, but great cooks can come from anywhere. SWE @ FAANG is a high bar, not everyone can reach it. Being older will make it more difficult. But it is not impossible and the only way to find out is to try. 2) Given you have no prior CS background, I would recommend finding a undergraduate / graduate program. I would heavily recommend internships / part-time work as a student. The easiest way to ge…
I feel like I can learn the material without going into an undergraduate program, however as you mentioned that pathway is the best way into getting an internship. Do you think the best-case timeline would still be ~5 years without going through undergrad? Or would it likely be extended? I appreciate the comments/advice.
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#17I think it is definitely possible if you are smart and motivated. This is my career path that worked for me - - Started out at a small research organization after college. The pay was very low but I got to have a lot of autonomy and own interesting projects - Moved to a old fashioned manufacturing company doing software (think the complexity of a microwave). Tried to learn some backend engineering on the side while t…
Motivating journey. Was there any material/resource (e.g., books, courses, etc) that helped you develop the knowledge base? Or was it mostly from working on projects, job experience, and the startup experience?
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#18I know this HN and populated by developers. But there are a lot more ways to get into a FAANG than software development and still make top of market comp. For instance Amazon is a FAANG. But at the end of the day, they are 50% a consumer goods company. I know people who have gotten in through Finance because they had experience at another CPG company, someone who got in through the marketing department and someone hi…
Great point about getting into FAANG/Tech companies through non-software development roles. However, I feel like I really enjoy the software process, despite my minimal programming experience. From what I've learned so far, it has been quite enjoyable.
The chance of getting into BigTech as a software developer is less than 1%.
https://igotanoffer.com/en/advice/how-to-get-into-big-tech-c...
And that includes people with degrees in computer science and experience.
And even doing the preparation for the interview can take 6-12 months with a CS background
https://www.designgurus.io/answers/detail/how-many-days-to-m...
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know I should have framed the question in a less naive way. I did some very basic programming running some statistics before, and enjoyed the process greatly. But I would not classify it as programming experience in the general sense, it was more about thinking of the statistical problem at hand and using minimal programming to help. I would still classify myself in the "no programming or minimal programming" categ…
ok, well assuming you're not naive, not jut chasing some prestige or money (because those are far from guaranteed), you have to learn how to both become a good software engineer, and how to interview. Too many people focus on the latter, not realizing that is only a problem if you're getting interviews. To actually build up the resume and skills of the craft, I would invest and contribute to popular, widely used Open…
Thanks for the advice regarding Open Source contribution.
Re: Ask HN: Steps to becoming a software engineer at FAANG?
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great point about getting into FAANG/Tech companies through non-software development roles. However, I feel like I really enjoy the software process, despite my minimal programming experience. From what I've learned so far, it has been quite enjoyable.
The chance of getting into BigTech as a software developer is less than 1%. https://igotanoffer.com/en/advice/how-to-get-into-big-tech-c... And that includes people with degrees in computer science and experience. And even doing the preparation for the interview can take 6-12 months with a CS background https://www.designgurus.io/answers/detail/how-many-days-to-m...
I am also content for working with small interesting startups/companies. Yeah, I am expecting a timeline of 4-5 years to gain the relevant skillsets.