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Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

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Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#151

Post by grahamburger »

matt-attack wrote: post #76
decebalus1 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You advice is sound but incomplete. > if you still understand your undergraduate level algorithms course and the corresponding vocabulary, then you know what you need to know speaking from experience, this would not get you nowhere near the level you have to be for passing the Google interview (or any other FAANG interview for that matter). You need to study long and hard in addition to solving OJ problems and famili…

> You must make sure your result is the smallest in lexicographical order among all possible results. Can someone explain this? I can't even parse that sentence.

If you remove the duplicates from the string:

CACB

You can get either CAB or ACB. If you were to order all of the possible results of removing duplicates (in this case only two, but obviously many more for more complex strings) and order them alphabetically, then take the lowest one, that would be the right answer.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#152

Post by sfgweilr4f »

jeffshek wrote: post #149
sfgweilr4f wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[was] IC =worker. [updated] IC = worker with management tendencies but more technical knowledge. [kept] Ok then. Helpful. Corporatespeak is often just jargon creation to exclude others for whatever reason. [edit expansion] Worker who is not manager but has manager skills sufficient to orchestrate as needed to deliver a result in required manner. Knowledge level exceeds expectation normally associated with a classic "…

Not quite, the term IC also comes with connotation you don’t want to be a manager track. Many software engineers (including myself) much prefer the IC route.

so... a not-just-a-worker who is manager level in terms of ability to orchestrate but is knowledgeable in excess of typical expectations for that of a classical "pure" manager.

Ok I probably mangled this but IC just paid for itself in my mind via increased understanding, nuance and useful brevity.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#153

Post by Thorrez »

sfgweilr4f wrote: post #141
jamesrcole wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If anyone else isn’t familiar with ‘IC’, it seems it stands for “individual contributor” (as opposed to a role where you're managing others). Correct me if I’m wrong.

[was] IC =worker. [updated] IC = worker with management tendencies but more technical knowledge. [kept] Ok then. Helpful. Corporatespeak is often just jargon creation to exclude others for whatever reason. [edit expansion] Worker who is not manager but has manager skills sufficient to orchestrate as needed to deliver a result in required manner. Knowledge level exceeds expectation normally associated with a classic "…

It's an abbreviation. It's used to save time. I don't want to waste away typing Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#154

Post by derangedHorse »

cmsonger wrote: post #66

I joined Google at the age of 50. Just send a resume. They are not trying to surprise you and want you to do your best. Consequently, not only do they tell you what to expect from the interview process, the recruiter will send you a PDF that talks through what to expect along with a reading list you can use to prepare. (For example: cracking the coding interview and CLRS are on it.) That said, I just went in cold. If…

Can you elaborate on how technical writing can help you excel at a google? I write docs at my company all the time (that garner a lot of views) but I feel like most of the time it goes unappreciated except for those few individuals that actually need them to finish a random one-off task they were assigned.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#155

Post by sfgweilr4f »

Thorrez wrote: post #153
sfgweilr4f wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[was] IC =worker. [updated] IC = worker with management tendencies but more technical knowledge. [kept] Ok then. Helpful. Corporatespeak is often just jargon creation to exclude others for whatever reason. [edit expansion] Worker who is not manager but has manager skills sufficient to orchestrate as needed to deliver a result in required manner. Knowledge level exceeds expectation normally associated with a classic "…

It's an abbreviation. It's used to save time. I don't want to waste away typing Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.

You just did.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#156

Post by Thorrez »

sfgweilr4f wrote: post #155
Thorrez wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an abbreviation. It's used to save time. I don't want to waste away typing Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.

You just did.

I didn't waste away this time, I'm still here. But next time I might not be so lucky.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#158

Post by donavanm »

james_s_tayler wrote: post #148
donavanm wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My 2c on being in engineering leadership is that it’s best to think of yourself as a manger without authority, rather than thinking of yourself as an engineer with authority. Im a principal at AWS. A coworker made a joke that resonated with me; a principal engineer is a manager without direct reports. My job is twofold. Helping managers understand where to go. Helping ICs and teams to get there. I have no inherent…

Sounds ideal. Do you code much still as part of that?

Not as much as Id like. But that generally comes down to prioritization and the broad autonomy & area of responsibility in these roles. The self reported survey data of time spent is that principals are doing direct delivery 12% of the time median and 20% average.

That said there does seem to be a push to reemphasize the ‘exemplary practitioner’ aspect and scale back on the high level “architecture” and pseudo PM aspects that creep in with expanded scope.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#159

Post by alexgartrell »

derangedHorse wrote: post #154
cmsonger wrote: post #66

I joined Google at the age of 50. Just send a resume. They are not trying to surprise you and want you to do your best. Consequently, not only do they tell you what to expect from the interview process, the recruiter will send you a PDF that talks through what to expect along with a reading list you can use to prepare. (For example: cracking the coding interview and CLRS are on it.) That said, I just went in cold. If…

Can you elaborate on how technical writing can help you excel at a google? I write docs at my company all the time (that garner a lot of views) but I feel like most of the time it goes unappreciated except for those few individuals that actually need them to finish a random one-off task they were assigned.

(At Facebook, not Google) when the technical writing is used to influence a technical outcome. Particularly a strategic one. a well written memo can change the way business is done and there’s not much ambiguity around where the idea came from.

That said, being an eager doc writer in an effort to claim credit or inflate the perception of your own work is a great way to lose friends and alienate people.

Re: Ask HN: Joining Big Tech in One’s 40s

#160

Post by [deleted] »

Thorrez wrote: post #153
sfgweilr4f wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[was] IC =worker. [updated] IC = worker with management tendencies but more technical knowledge. [kept] Ok then. Helpful. Corporatespeak is often just jargon creation to exclude others for whatever reason. [edit expansion] Worker who is not manager but has manager skills sufficient to orchestrate as needed to deliver a result in required manner. Knowledge level exceeds expectation normally associated with a classic "…

It's an abbreviation. It's used to save time. I don't want to waste away typing Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.

[deleted]
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