21–30 of 110 posts
Why bother with working for a large corp or going to college? Seems like he should focus on his organically fast growing startup.
Like at a FAANG? That's easily the fastest and lowest risk path to financial security.
Put another way: colleges aren't qualified or equipped to make the kinds of determinations that Google does when hiring engineers, and being hired as a Google engineer prior to going to college isn't any particularly strong signal that you're prepared to go to a specific school.
I sympathize with his situation, but I think treating college acceptances as a foregone conclusion based on demonstrated engineering prowess is an error.
Why bother with working for a large corp or going to college? Seems like he should focus on his organically fast growing startup.
i agree but some people are so brainwashed from such an early age that they need to go to college and the best one out there or they won't be successful in life. I should point them to my old neighbor who didn't go to school and worked as a HVAC tech. Then started his own company and he barely works now and is 42. That's true success in my book
I think it’s kinda obvious. Haven’t you seen the enormous amount of people out there without studies that have a very difficult life?
Kid’s making bank, congrats! But as an ex-L4 Googler I need to say, I’m sure he’s similarly frustrated as I was. I don’t live to maximize income - I want to maximize learning and fun. Compared to successfully launching a startup fixing bugs and launching minor features as an L4 is depressing as hell. Not everyone will have it that bad. Hopefully he’s having a better time than I did.
I think it's safe to assume that Mr. Zhong is of an Asian background. My guess is that he is, unfortunately, lacking in "interpersonal skills".
SAT 1590 is nothing for MIT or CMU or things like that though, esp for male students with Asian names, you need way more than just a great SAT score and a perfect GPA, a lot more indeed.
The high bar on Asian male for good universities just made them even stronger academically, with internet and free job market nowadays, nothing can stop a smart and determined mind, and they might actually have saved a lot of money because some colleges rejected them based on their ethnicity.
L4 is the entry level for Google's SWE position, and Google absolutely hires SWEs straight out of college (no professional experience). A Google SWE without a college degree is more rare but I know a few. I'd never heard of an 18-year-old landing a full-time Google SWE position, though. Congratulations to him!
edit: sorry, got mixed up, entry level is L3. Thanks for the correction.