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Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#111

Post by jogjayr »

Zach_the_Lizard wrote: post #106
lreeves wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is blind allocation and why is it bad?

I'm guessing here, but I think this is referring to when a new hire cannot choose the team he or she is joining. Google et al often do general hiring. This means that they hire you and then later decide where to assign you afterwards. I had thought at Google hiring managers could bid on you and some kind of choice could be made. But maybe that's only in big enough offices with good enough resumes. It's bad because yo…

I don't think this happens at Google anymore. I knew what team I was joining, and spoke with the manager, before signing my offer. I've been asked to do phone calls/lunches with prospective new hires to sell them on our team. Everyone who started on the team after me told me they spoke with multiple teams before signing on.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#112

Post by oscargrouch »

jorawebdev wrote: post #108
oscargrouch wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe the micro-management is not micro-managing what you think they should be micro-managing? I mean, thats the problem with vertical schemes and bureocracy.. the guy who is micro-managing is also micro-managed by some sort of results that actually ends not being very pragmatic, end give him good points in this blind objective system who ranks him and the people he manage according to some parameters that in the end…

They manager just blindly follows the policies, like a dumb decoupled code. He's as guilty as his superior and the entire system.

Thats the problem with people beeing forced to game ranking systems in order to advance starting from their childhood.

Of course we want to fight the impermanence, but we should not create a bubble to feel safe inside of it as a virtual environment with rules that doesnt change, just because we miss the peace in the maternal woomb.

The impermanence and uncertainty is a reality, we should not fight in order to avoid it by being alienated of its nature, but to use our science, math and tools after all to understand it, and to navigate better through it.

The XXI century requires a deep change in our philosophical disposition and culture.

Its not just about Google, the corporate culture of Google is a side effect of our culture as anything else that grows inside of it.

But the rigid schemes are a clear sign that it will stop innovating more and more with time as the old startup status-quo defying spirit is completely gone.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#113

Post by crimsonalucard »

I think I'm a good engineer, but I don't think I have the intelligence to get into google. Most people can't. There's definitely some sort of difference between an engineer who can get in google and one who can't as displayed by the interview.

Most companies that interview people outside of FAANG tend to have easier interview questions in my experience. Some even forego algorithms all together.

For googlers who worked at companies outside of FAANG or startups. Is there a noticeable difference when working these people? Will you learn more from a google level engineer then you will from someone who can't pass the google interview? What are your thoughts about it?

If you think that FAANG engineers are genuinely better, say it. There's no need to be politically correct here, honesty is appreciated.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#114

Post by dvirsky »

bt848 wrote: post #67
dvirsky wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just about pay, it's also about scope and expectations.

Sort of. I didn’t mention it because level doesn’t really limit your scope. If you have a way to make a big impact nobody is going to tell you to not do it because you’re too junior. It’s just that the higher levels are expected to operate at company-wide scope all the time. You can hide your level such that other people don’t see it, which is another difference between Google and my current company where people intr…

I've heard the phrase "well, a T7 said otherwise, who am I to argue" and similar from people.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#115

Post by cbanek »

jogjayr wrote: post #111
Zach_the_Lizard wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm guessing here, but I think this is referring to when a new hire cannot choose the team he or she is joining. Google et al often do general hiring. This means that they hire you and then later decide where to assign you afterwards. I had thought at Google hiring managers could bid on you and some kind of choice could be made. But maybe that's only in big enough offices with good enough resumes. It's bad because yo…

I don't think this happens at Google anymore. I knew what team I was joining, and spoke with the manager, before signing my offer. I've been asked to do phone calls/lunches with prospective new hires to sell them on our team. Everyone who started on the team after me told me they spoke with multiple teams before signing on.

My experience was that while you might get to talk to your manager before accepting, you don't get to interview with the team you will be working on.

That hugely slants the purpose of the interview toward Google, as the candidate really has no idea who they will be working with, or how they think. The interview should go both ways and provide information to both sides on if it's a good fit, but at Google, they go only one way.

This might be a small point for most, but for minority candidates, knowing who you will be working with and having confidence they won't actively cause you grief is a big sticking point. At least it was for me (I turned them down).

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#116

Post by aalhour »

justicezyx wrote: post #109
aalhour wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share more details? What advice would you give to people to engineer things at scale?

I wrote a partially finished article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10wylnn8qHD4clDyrEIhYyP1F... It's not even touching the techniques and approaches yet. I was too lazy. Here a summary of my understanding: * Relentlessly hire the best, train them and give space for them to grow and shine. This is the basis. It's not that a less quality engineer cannot grow, it's just too costly to do that at large scale. * Buil…

Interesting, thanks for sharing. Any plans for extending the document?

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#117

Post by mav3rick »

jorawebdev wrote: post #87
mav3rick wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can easily switch teams.

Being a TVC (contractor) this option is close to impossible, as I would need to go through a typical 5+ rounds of interview process - the same as for outsiders. This is a different discussion, however, and this process is completely broken, unfair, discouraging and illogical even for Google. My main point in answering the question was around restrictions to, mainly, house-brewed tech stack and overall attitude of oth…

Sorry the TVC experience is nowhere close to the full Googler experience.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#119

Post by opportune »

crimsonalucard wrote: post #113

I think I'm a good engineer, but I don't think I have the intelligence to get into google. Most people can't. There's definitely some sort of difference between an engineer who can get in google and one who can't as displayed by the interview. Most companies that interview people outside of FAANG tend to have easier interview questions in my experience. Some even forego algorithms all together. For googlers who worke…

I’m not sure why many people seem to think this, there are like tens of thousands of engineers at google, and there are other good companies out there that also have tons of engineers, you don’t need to be that special to get a job at google. As long as you can get your first interview all you need to do is be able to solve data structures and algorithms problems and talk about software design. Let’s not put google on a pedestal

I will say, those problems do filter out a lot of bad people. But it only ensures a minimum level of competence. It doesn’t mean everybody is insanely smart.

Re: Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer?

#120

Post by opportune »

All big tech companies are approximately the same, since people job hop a lot and these places have tens of thousands of engineers, it’s basically the same people at all of them anyway. I am not sure why people have these starry eyes views of them
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