Go Big Tech or No?
I got "rebadged" to HCL Technologies and am looking for a new gig. I've started applying, but I am worried about interviewing with some of the big tech places like Paypal and Meta. I haven't had the need to have all the algorithms and design patterns memorized in my previous jobs as a software engineer. Am I off base sitting here, sorting arrays and counting substrings? And should I even be aiming for a "big tech" employer, or am I asking for a world of pain?
I’d be highly surprised if you even get a call from the real Big tech companies. And yeah take it from me… in a past life I worked in Wipro and it’s not gonna be a straight path to big tech. I’d say it’s mostly going to be through smaller companies and eventually hopefully landing in one of the big ones. Working contract gigs is a good way from what I’ve seen people cracking into companies like Microsoft and Meta, but it’s also a lot of luck.
What does rebadged mean?
"Rebadged" means rather than being laid-off, you are given the choice to "re-contract" with another company, but continue doing the same job you were doing before. I am, of course, training my offshore replacement... kinda like digging my own grave.
The short answer to your question — yes you should absolutely go for Big Tech if possible.
Do non-big tech companies not require leetcode for interviews?
There's certainly areas of State Farm that would. I did a lot of Infrastructure Automation and can't say I've ever had to do heap sort in that 10+ years. :)
I personally feel like non-tech companies have a better interview process because they actually ask technical questions related to the work instead of just leetcode. But yes, it’s unfortunate reality that all big tech will definitely ask medium-hard leetcode and system design. Even non-tech companies are asking leetcode now
For me the answer is No. We spent 4 years learning to become engineers that build things. Now in the industry we have to spend countless hours cramming stuff to play? Who's fooling who? Why does the goal keep getting eroded? SWE is weird because the goal is big tech money. Not engineering