I was able to get >300,000 TC for the next year with 1 year of experience after BS in CS. I am really thankful to Blind and everyone here as this community motivated me to do all the right things, and apply and interview despite the looming recession. Background: I am an immigrant, but I am not from India/China and rather from a small country you may not have even heard of. I am not on a Visa and have been in the U.S. for a while now. I have a true passion for CS and have been very into math in High School. It did really help me, a lot. Schooling: Noname 3rd world country high school. My school in my home country was very difficult so far in my life. It was true 996 culture and horrific WLB. I had to study day and night to pass. Our school had an annual review and the bottom 5% of students were kicked out from each grade (from 6 to 12). You could also be kicked out any time for disciplinary action (One kid went missing and we later found out they were drinking behind barns) The school gave me a very strong foundation and knowledge and I was able to graduate from a non-prestigious U.S. CS University very quickly since I learned most of the stuff before. When I was a freshman at my University, I went to a Developer Conference and asked everyone who works at FAANG how to get in. One guy took my phone and wrote one word in the notes. This word was: "Leetcode." I started spending all my time day and night LCing. There is no secret for me. No Blind 75, no other list. Just LC problem for all topics from all categories. By my last year (which was year 3) I solved 230 problems many times over and got my first job at Amazon. I didn't have time for internships but the job search as a new grad wasn't easy. I applied to more than 500 jobs and got rejected from all other than Amazon. It was a truly brutal time for me, but I didn't give up despite feeling down many many times. At Amazon, I have placed a very cool team. I managed a high TPS low Latency customer-facing distributed service and volunteered to work 60+hr/week to learn how it works. Nobody forced me to do that and my efforts were recognized. I read about 1/2 of DDIA, but it was too deep for my understanding so I decided to read 3 times 1/2 of DDIA instead of reading the full book once. I never stopped LCing even after joining Amazon, and by last month I've solved about 400 problems total. I always saw LC as a gym. I do 2 problems per week for over 4 years now to keep myself in shape. There is no secret I have. Lol I am not special and you can do it too. I think my Software Engineering abilities are average or even below average, I have a LOT to learn. However, I learned people who earn very high TC are not necessarily good developers at all, but rather they know how to play the game right. Knowing how to play the game (LC, System Desing, Switch jobs every 2-3 years, etc.) is the key to growing fast and earning the big $. Rejections on Phone Screen/Onsite: None Offers: TikTok 2-1 Base: 220 TC: 320 Indeed L2 Base 170 TC: 270 Google L3: Base: 140 TC: 200 Atlassian P4 Base: 140 TC: 220 Microsoft L60 Base: 140 TC: 230 AMA
You got lucky to get your first job so perhaps your start isn't ideal on average. But we should all thanks AMZN for hiring and firing fast. Gives people an opportunity to try.
Luck is a big part for sure. The chances of getting lucky is high if you have 500 tries though!
Come join MSFT and let's continue to build great things together
Copying my email Xd Unfortunately, I am not going to be moving forward with Microsoft at this time. I absolutely loved the team and it was a difficult decision to make. Let’s stay in touch, and I will surely reach out once I feel the time is right!
Which company are you joining and why did you interview for L3 at G? Or downlevel?
If all you do for fun is leetcode then that’s a sad life. Remember, we all going to die and can die at any moment.
Google L3 is the lowest of all. Not surprising!
Congrats OP. Btw you wrote one gay instead of one guy. Maybe that’s what you meant but FYI
Oops
Are these negotiated numbers and did you interview for l4 at g?
Yes, this are already final. G has the same 3/4 loops, and I got downlevel
Congrats! I made a similar move within a year 30k -> 185k just by LCing. Wondering if you are gonna take bytedance offer?? They are known to have terrible 996 wlb and ipo isn’t guaranteed. Just curious
I am wondering that myself. I think base is good for me. I love cash
Yeah that base is pretty crazy for 1 YOE. Gl with whatever decision you ultimately make :)
That’s amazing, congrats!
Thank you so much :)
What do you do for fun?
Solve Leetcode. Jk I play video games too