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Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#31

Post by babygoat »

fortnum wrote: post #28
babygoat wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not a FAANG company, but ok. You can write off your contempt for diversity, inclusion, etc. as a political view but it says more about you as a person. You’re likely difficult to work with and won’t treat your coworkers with respect. Why would anyone put up with that?

I think you made a lot of assumptions here which will be most likely wrong about most people. The whole diversity thing is extremely one-sided and biased and very much undiverse in nature. mrfusion made a very valid point in this context.

> The whole diversity thing is extremely one-sided and biased and very much undiverse in nature.

Can you elaborate?

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#32

Post by burntoutfire »

alain94040 wrote: post #29

Figure out what you're good at and get a job doing that . It doesn't sound like SWE is the right career for you. There are tons of opportunities for people who are tech-savvy but not hardcore developers. It's a lot more likely that one of those jobs will make you a lot happier and fulfilled. Maybe you're good at communicating or have domain expertise. You can work in tech sales, product management, tech marketing, et…

Or just do coding in a place like a bank, where domain knowledge (that you build up over years) is very highly valued, as the problems (requirements) are often hopelessly complicated and anyone who shows signs of understanding them is valuable. The act of coding itself is often almost an afterthought.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#33

Post by anonseeker »

I'm pretty sure I did the bootcamp you're thinking of because it was around the same cost.

I'd say it's 100% worth it. I'm also in my late 30's. 4 years ago I failed to pass the phone screen with F and G (and failed 7 out of 8 onsites with other companies) but this time around I passed the hiring committee at G. I ended up declining for a pre-IPO startup though.

I had the same issues as you last time around. I struggled with System Design because I had no clue what the end goal was. It's silly that you're being asked to "design" systems in 45 minutes that have taken teams months or years to build.

The bootcamp really helped me with my anxiety. I ended up doing about 10 mock interviews which really helped calm my nerves during real interviews because I knew what to expect. I think that's where social anxiety comes from - when you don't really know what to expect.

I also used a Space Repetition Software program to help me with memorization.

If you post your email, I can email you if you want to learn more about my experiences with it and answer any specific questions you have.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#34

Post by aearm »

Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Getting into FAANG is hard age, and IQ aren't related. I know many engineers tried several times (more than 5 times) to get there.

understanding why that is happening is the most efficient way to help yourself to get your dream job. here are some points that you have to consider:

Are you developing in your current job? if not you should quit and work on something that gonna add to you.

Is your current job/experience wild in too many things? Try to deep dive into one area.

Are you in good mental health? be prepared mentally it is tough to handle FAANG interviews and failures.

Are you well prepared for the FAANG interview process? practicing every single stage and showing confidence is important.

Lastly, I found the (5 easy, 3 medium, 2 hard ) approach for each leetcode topic is really helpful.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#35

Post by fortnum »

babygoat wrote: post #31
fortnum wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you made a lot of assumptions here which will be most likely wrong about most people. The whole diversity thing is extremely one-sided and biased and very much undiverse in nature. mrfusion made a very valid point in this context.

> The whole diversity thing is extremely one-sided and biased and very much undiverse in nature. Can you elaborate?

Its sole focus is on skin colour or how a person "identifies". Other factors are completely left out, e.g. the rampant ageism in the industry and that's just one factor not the only.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#36

Post by pizza »

You're not low iq, friend. You sound pretty intelligent and driven. They're not easy tests and everyone that makes them look easy has done a ton of preparation. People spend 4 years in university to get through + countless nights practicing leetcode to ace those tests.

You're your worst critic by far. Maybe you are expecting too much too soon and panicking that it has not arrived yet. Maybe there is a path to FAANG that looks different then you think. And, I would ask you also, why FAANG, not any other great job?

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#37

Post by babygoat »

fortnum wrote: post #35
babygoat wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The whole diversity thing is extremely one-sided and biased and very much undiverse in nature. Can you elaborate?

Its sole focus is on skin colour or how a person "identifies". Other factors are completely left out, e.g. the rampant ageism in the industry and that's just one factor not the only.

Yeah I can see why you have a hard time hiding your “political views”, as you call them.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#38

Post by fortnum »

babygoat wrote: post #37
fortnum wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its sole focus is on skin colour or how a person "identifies". Other factors are completely left out, e.g. the rampant ageism in the industry and that's just one factor not the only.

Yeah I can see why you have a hard time hiding your “political views”, as you call them.

Oh, so you were referring to my person?

In that case any further discussion is probably pointless as you seem to resort to personal attacks and at that point you are close to Godwin.

I'd return the compliment though, as you do not seem to have comprehended what point I - or for that matter mrfusion or the mentioned article - was trying to make but you seem to be too entrapped in your ideology.

Fair enough

If you completely change your response after my reply you of course distort the context once more.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#39

Post by digianarchist »

anonseeker wrote: post #33

I'm pretty sure I did the bootcamp you're thinking of because it was around the same cost. I'd say it's 100% worth it. I'm also in my late 30's. 4 years ago I failed to pass the phone screen with F and G (and failed 7 out of 8 onsites with other companies) but this time around I passed the hiring committee at G. I ended up declining for a pre-IPO startup though. I had the same issues as you last time around. I strugg…

You're not being asked to design a system in 45 mins. You're being asked to regurgitate Martin Kleppmann's book.

Re: Ask HN: Should I give up on FAANG as a low IQ late 30s engineer?

#40

Post by JMTQp8lwXL »

throwaway124av1 wrote: post #17
JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #13

Give up on FANG's and pick a B-list company that will pay 85-90% of what a FANG will. Not trying to diminish your goal, but it'll basically meet your goal with less input (higher ROI). Your income will be nearly as good, you'll be able to work on challenging problems, and it's not as hard to get in. You mentioned not much friends/family time, but it's good to have balance, don't put all your energy exclusively into y…

What website did you used to find these good B list companies?

They're publicly traded companies. Sort the S&P 500 or NASDAQ and work your way down by market cap. You could go for pre-IPO companies, but that stock should be valued at $0, so it's less competitive with the FANGs (the liquidity event could pan out, or it could never occur, etc).

My current $LARGE_CO is publicly traded with a single-digit billion market cap.

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