Do I need a grad degree to move up to FANG?
I went to a state school and only minored in CS. 2 YOE in software development. TC: 100k I’m generally a good interviewee but have trouble getting through resume cut at big name tech companies. Should I consider grad school if I can get into a good program, or just stay in industry and get more YOE / hobby project portfolio? Asking if it’s worth the money, time, and effort.
I went to state school in a non-technical degree. Most of the devs I worked with at amazon had no degrees or a BS in a STEM degree. At MS I see a lot of masters in CS but I know it’s not a requirement. My friends who went to FB either did boot camp or BS in CS. Maybe google or Apple require a graduate degree but not amazon or Facebook.
Amazon does require a degree
They do not. As someone who worked there the better part of a decade and was a hiring manager for most of it...it’s not a requirement.
You just need leetcode and maybe referral if you can't get an interview.
You don’t even need referral. Keyword stuff your resume saying you programmed something and add major languages like java, c++, python to your resume. Link github. Make the resume stand out visually with a different font or color. You definitely don’t need an advanced degree unless you want a PhD in machine learning, crypto, or AI. I have a M.S. and it’s literally worthless for getting the offer. If you ask nicely maybe they’ll give you $5k more. People on visas do BS at their home country and then use Masters programs as a way to get in the US and then find a job so they can stay. It’s literally an immigration platform and to get a US university on your resume like a bachelor’s topper so you appear more American instead of FOB. You will get 2 more yoe and make 100k more tc in the same time it takes you to get that masters that will get you nothing. Waste of time and money.
Masters degree in cs is a waste of time, PhD too unless you are in AI, data science, or similar field that all but requires it. 2 years of experience is a bit of a no mans land, too senior for junior roles and too junior for senior roles. 4 years of experience better than 2 years plus masters.
I never realized the 2 yoe thing. Good points.
It's funny when you're a fresher, company needs 1-2 yoe. When you have experience, still drama.
Nahhhhh fuck that noise. Why pay money for an education you can get on YouTube
“Q. Other insights from the data you’ve gathered about Google employees? A. One of the things we’ve seen from all our data crunching is that G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless — no correlation at all except for brand-new college grads, where there’s a slight correlation. Google famously used to ask everyone for a transcript and G.P.A.’s and test scores, but we don’t anymore, unless you’re just a few years out of school. We found that they don’t predict anything. What’s interesting is the proportion of people without any college education at Google has increased over time as well. So we have teams where you have 14 percent of the team made up of people who’ve never gone to college.” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/business/in-head-hunting-big-data-may-not-be-such-a-big-deal.html
Education is always worth the time money and effort whether you get into FANG or not. I have an immensely strong belief in this principle.
I barely remember anything I learned for my masters. It’s unrelated to my job family today. It might give my some creds to make me look smart to people who don’t have a masters (not missing out on much) and make a good first impression but it does not benefit me any other way.
I disagree on several counts but am too lazy to type it all. To each his own my friend. Good luck.
Pm me for referral
MS could maybe help pass the resume hurdle. So would a good referral though
Sounds like a good referral is all you need