Here’s my story… I’m a white, blonde female (not your typical CS student). I only mention what I look like to encourage other woman/ minorities working in software. I never thought about software as a career path until I went to a hackathon for fun my freshman year of college. I switched my major from Business to CS the next school year. I’ve sat through so many classes seeing only one or two other woman (usually off Asian decent, not that it matters, aside from me feeling very alone and isolated). In one of my first classes the professor asked everyone to list how long they had been coding. Most of the guys had started in high school. I felt so clueless. But I pushed through. I didn’t go to a single party or football game, instead I spent my time studying to catch up to everyone else. Most of my weekends were spent studying. I also have extreme ADHD. Math problems other people seemed to get instantly would take me hours. CS though was different. It was hard, but eventually it clicked, and when it did, it was so much fun! (math is still a struggle for me). I also paid my whole way through college. My parents couldn’t contribute anything. They never had the opportunity to get a degree, so I’m a first generation college student. My sophomore and Junior year (during recruiting season) I got up at 4am every day to practice coding problems for 3 hours before I had to leave for work. My hard work paid off though. I got interviews (and passed!!) at Microsoft and then at Google (I interned twice at both companies). By the way, I went to a state school with a very sub-par CS program. I needed in state tuition and it was the best program available. No tech companies sent recruiters to my campus. During the school semester I worked for a professor who was impressed with the questions I asked during class and all the time I spent in his office hours when I was totally lost. It turns out he was a senior engineer at a local office of MSCI. So I went from a crappy school year job to making $25/hr writing software for them in the evening after my classes. All that to say, three years after writing my first lines of code, I’m now in my last year of school. I survived! My GPA is 3.85, I’m graduating debt free. And this week I got my dream job. A full time offer from Google as an L3 SWE, on a high impact team I love, and helping to build a product that I often use myself. It doesn’t matter where you start or how much the odds are stacked up against you. If you work hard, you can achieve anything!!
congratulations!
Thanks! I can’t tell you how amazing it feels! I’ll be making more my first year than my parents annual salary combined x 3. So I can finally help my parents payoff my dad’s large medical debts from years of chemo treatment.
This is everything congrats 👏🏼
"Eventually it clicked, and when it did, it was so much". I wholeheartedly relate to this! Also congrats and welcome to a world of making a ton of money and having fun while doing it. Don't forget your roots and help out those who need it.
inspiring ... thanks for post.
Congrats!!!
Well congrats on the path you have taken and where you have gone
That's awesome. Many congratulations!
Congrats! Always stay humble. Remember that luck also played a non trivial role in you getting a job at Google. There are many people who work harder and are smarter but end up not achieving success. Please always stay humble and help others as long as you stay in this industry ☺
I agree! Luck does pay a role, but in my experience hard work, with some strategy added usually wins out, but I will always try to stay humble! I only posted on here to inspire others.
Congratulations! Very inspiring story. Happy to see you have overcome all the obstacles and finally achieved this milestone. I wish all the best for your new job!
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