41–50 of 399 posts
It wasn't a job, it was an internship. OP is also planning to go to college.
A more accurate (and less shocking) headline would be: "Getting an internship at Apple before going to college".
It would indeed be surprising if Apple routinely hired FTEs with no undergraduate degree.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it makes sense to use LC or something like it. Is there a better way to judge the 100 random developers who've applied to your position? - They may not have formal education, you can't judge on that. - They may not have active GitHub projects, you can't judge on that. - They may not be active on social media or have any kind of fame, you can't judge on that. - They may not have built anything they can show of…
It’s simple: don’t hire devs by the army.
I think the sort of more general point, rather than "build something great that someone at Apple notices", is that Graduate and Internship programmes are scale businesses. They get thousands of people applying and will hire atleast dozens, probably some FANG are hiring hundreds. So yes, we're all special snowflakes, but that's not what this process is for. It's about harsh rounds of easy to design problems to winnow…
I'm glad people aren’t just continuing the practice simply because they experienced the practice.
The problem is that "leetcode" is a definitely a thing that exists in "FAANG" interviews. The biggest stumbling block with leetcode is that you shouldn't be programming like that in real life. "make a linked list" no, just use a library like everyone else. "Implement addition in python but with string inputs", "no you can't use the built in x" All of that "clever" shit should be filtered out at PR/MR/diff review time…
That you have the capacity to sit down and rote memorise a bunch of different techniques and practice completing a these kinds of tests indicates the likeliness of success in absence of other hard evidence of likely future performance. In a way it is the same function as university entrance exams.
That these companies continue to do this for experienced candidates and not just recent graduates without a track record in employment is more perplexing.
This is a great post, and it's good to hear from someone who is doing great things so early. I know HN is often down in self taught or bootcamp programmers, but I'm happy to see people who willed themselves through. On this point regarding the lack of leet code at Apple versus other big tech: > Is it a coincidence that Apple was the only Big Tech company that didn’t do layoffs? Yeah, I do think it's probably a coinci…
>I do think it's probably a coincidence I dunno, I don't think the size of their cash-on-hand account is luck.
1. They're inherently adept at problem-solving and can navigate these challenges with negligible practice.
2. They've got the grit to persistently grind through even the most monotonous tasks.
Companies are on the lookout for candidates exhibiting either of these traits. Personally, I'm not a fan of these interview styles.
Do Apple attract the best software engineers? If I were a talented hardware engineer, chip designer, hardware designer - I'd want to work at Apple because Apple attracts the best people in these fields. I imagine that Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon get the lion share of the best software engineers. No one has ever said Apple services, like the iCloud and Apple Music backend, or Siri, are quality piece of software en…
Apple has pockets of excellence. It used to be most of the company, something about how Jobs ran it, inspired people much overqualified to apply, and not even for very high salaries. At NeXT infamously a PhD (EDIT: in comp-sci, or physics?) worked as a janitor as he simply wanted to be around Jobs and cool smart people. Currently entropy is getting to Apple in many ways. iTunes and Apple Music didn't use to be medioc…
What did he get out of that in the end? Just more janitor work?
The problem is that "leetcode" is a definitely a thing that exists in "FAANG" interviews. The biggest stumbling block with leetcode is that you shouldn't be programming like that in real life. "make a linked list" no, just use a library like everyone else. "Implement addition in python but with string inputs", "no you can't use the built in x" All of that "clever" shit should be filtered out at PR/MR/diff review time…
It also doesn't resemble "real" work with regards to gathering requirements, clarifying ambiguity, weighing up trade-offs, making sure code is clear, etc. It tends to be a rote regurgitation exercise.
The problem is that "leetcode" is a definitely a thing that exists in "FAANG" interviews. The biggest stumbling block with leetcode is that you shouldn't be programming like that in real life. "make a linked list" no, just use a library like everyone else. "Implement addition in python but with string inputs", "no you can't use the built in x" All of that "clever" shit should be filtered out at PR/MR/diff review time…
Imo this process is flawed though because just one or two rounds of technical interviewing gives you enough information about whether the candidate can code. After that you need to understand how the candidate thinks since most of the job is spent doing things that aren’t coding. These are better probed by design questions, asking the candidate to critique some code, asking the candidate to explain a project from their resume and then propose alternatives and trade offs.
Too often you get people who pass this interview process that can code at a basic level but hinder your team by giving poor feedback, having a fixed mindset, being a bad communicator, not being able to unblock themselves etc.
It’s fine if you are just looking to grow a new grad though, although former interns are better.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple has pockets of excellence. It used to be most of the company, something about how Jobs ran it, inspired people much overqualified to apply, and not even for very high salaries. At NeXT infamously a PhD (EDIT: in comp-sci, or physics?) worked as a janitor as he simply wanted to be around Jobs and cool smart people. Currently entropy is getting to Apple in many ways. iTunes and Apple Music didn't use to be medioc…
> At NeXT infamously a PhD in comp-sci worked as a janitor as he simply wanted to be around Jobs and cool smart people. What did he get out of that in the end? Just more janitor work?