Ask Me Anything, I am a New Grad

Lyft
threadsafe

Go to company page Lyft

threadsafe
Nov 25, 2020 46 Comments

The FB manager thread is taking off, so I wanted to get in on the fun. Why not ask New Grads things?

Posted this once before but didn’t offer much context. Hoping more information about my background will help with engagement. 😄

A bit about me:

Been Lyft for 2+ years, joined fresh out of undergrad and went through IPO.

Previously completed three internships at two of FAANG, and at one high-profile Bay Area unicorn.

Work on a machine learning oriented team.

High 200’s to low 300’s current compensation depending on the day (and stock price).

Grew up in the Bay Area, immigrant, parents work in tech (dad is L7+ engineer, mom is semi-retired but formerly did PM).

I can give any sort of advice, offer my impressions of anything, or answer questions about my experiences.

AMA!

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TOP 46 Comments
  • Yelp
    JBetzsos

    Go to company page Yelp

    JBetzsos
    you’re not a new grad if you’ve been at Lyft for 2+ years...
    Nov 25, 2020 2
  • Apple
    loonaEebu

    Go to company page Apple

    loonaEebu
    Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or 100 duck sized horses?
    Nov 25, 2020 1
  • Cisco
    BadaW

    Go to company page Cisco

    BadaW
    Arranged marriage or love marriage?
    Nov 25, 2020 2
  • Google
    klay111

    Go to company page Google

    klay111
    1. A lot of my friends from the Bay are looking to move to moving to NYC/Miami/SD, do you think the Bay is still the place to be for a young person?
    2. Looking back, do you wish you did another 2-3 internships (at trading companies or something or try out PM role) vs starting full-time job that early? I only interned once and think I missed out on a lot of things. It's not just a great experience to have, it's also a great way to learn what you like to to.
    3. How do you pick the interesting/impactful projects to work on if you are a new grad and often don't have enough context?
    4. It looks like you're very well-rounded person, what do you think about going to live in Europe (pre-covid)? E.g., would you like to spend 2-3 years in the UK/Germany (with 1/3 pay cut) to travel and stuff vs living in the US?
    5. What's your investment plan / portfolio?
    Nov 25, 2020 5
    • Lyft
      threadsafe

      Go to company page Lyft

      threadsafe
      OP
      4. Yes, definitely!
      Nov 25, 2020
    • Lyft
      threadsafe

      Go to company page Lyft

      threadsafe
      OP
      5. Not much.

      My financial goals are:

      1. Be financially independent so I can make the best decisions for myself and family irrespective of money ASAP. To me $3M would be enough.

      2. Acquire a “forever home,” with a partner, eventually ... on a ten year time horizon.

      I have some crypto ($20k), max my 401k every year... and that’s about it.

      Other than that, I have a few hundred k in individual, but stable, stocks (no YOLO bets) and >100k in cash that I haven’t deployed yet.
      Nov 25, 2020
  • Oracle
    nextstopG

    Go to company page Oracle

    nextstopG
    How do you feel working amidst pandemic in a company like Lyft(Affected by covid) wrt job security?
    Nov 25, 2020 1
    • Lyft
      threadsafe

      Go to company page Lyft

      threadsafe
      OP
      Never worried about job security, but spent a lot of time digesting the feeling of having gone from “in the really well-off among peers” to average/below average when Lyft was at its trough. Was a good learning experience.

      Reasons I didn’t worry about job security:
      - I am a US citizen
      - could probably find a comparable job (particularly when Lyft was on the down swing)
      - have very low expenses and enough of savings to last me multiple years (like 10)
      Nov 25, 2020