Been here for over five years after a career change, and I’ve topped out on growth opportunities and on salary. Never finished my Bachelor’s. Have solid skills in leadership and in front-end engineering. I’ve been offered good roles at other small/medium software companies and at amazing ones at non-tech companies, but I’ve never bothered to apply at FAANG/MS. Would I be wasting my time or could somebody with my past get in?
You totally have a shot. I came from no-name companies but had great experience with them. The tech companies I talked to all expressed interest in what I did and never cast any judgment. Lots of people have been exactly where you are.
Joined Amazon from that background, going to one of the other majors soon. Some people join a 'brand name' big tech company straight out of comp sci at an elite college, but theres a lot of us who came across well into our careers after building up experience in ordinary companies.
Where are you going next?
Leetcode and anyone has a shot. It is a democratic process. If you are great at leetcode you get the offer
My cousin worked at Mc.Donald as a cashier for 4 years and then applied to Microsoft. Now she's SDE there. So do the math! People in FANG are not aliens from the outer space. They're simply people who prepare for and do well at the interviews. You can be one of them if you want to.
Microstory worthy of /r/getmotivated
Yeah, easily.
You lose all shots you don't take. Give it a try!
If you apply to Amazon, you don’t even need Leetcode. Practice talking LP with a straight face though.
True! They don’t care much about where you come from but they do care about what you have done in your past professional life and how you can contribute for a given role
I would apply to mid level positions and be confident at leetcode easy. You’d have a decent chance at that point.