Blind Appreciation Post! Going to Google :)

New
noogleeer

New

noogleeer
Apr 16 10 Comments

I have been living in LCOL since graduation (2 years ago) and have been content with my life since most people here have lower TC than mine and the work I do is interesting.

In the past few months, my company has been going downhill and our competitors have been progressing much faster than us. Due to this, more than half of my team left and I was feeling depressed knowing I am one of the last few people in the sinking ship.

Most of my friends are in non-tech, and since I am living in a remote LCOL area, it's difficult to find ambitious young people with similar interests who can motivate me to pursue a higher TC or a better job/lifestyle.

Reading Blind posts motivated me to get out of my comfort zone, prepare for interviews and aim higher than I ever imagined was possible. I started responding to all the LinkedIn messages from recruiters and got interviews scheduled at Google, Microsoft and some other companies. I went through all previous Google interview related posts on Blind and prepared accordingly. Last week, I got an offer to join Google NYC as L4 SWE (ML) with a 150% increase in my TC.

Thank you Blind community for the motivation!! I am here to give back to the community and answer any questions.

Old TC: $125K
New TC: $320K
YOE: < 2

#google

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TOP 10 Comments
  • Paycom
    -/-

    Go to company page Paycom

    -/-
    Great job OP. You deserve this. Mind sharing your prep strategy?
    Apr 16 1
    • New
      noogleeer

      New

      noogleeer
      OP
      I went through the top 50 easy/medium questions on leetcode with the google tag, and solved Blind 75 questions. I spent 30-60 minutes (per question) understanding the solution for the questions which I couldn't solve. After you solve 20-30 problems your brain will start categorizing every problem which will make it easier for you to solve unseen problems. If this doesn't come naturally, try to do the categorization manually. For behavioral, I googled top 50 generic behavioral questions and came up with answers based on my previous experience. I didn't prep for ML as I work on ML daily in my current job
      Apr 16
  • Damn 320k for Google at 2YOEs or under? You got a nice L4 offer and worked hard not to get down leveled.

    Congrats!!!
    Apr 16 1
    • New
      noogleeer

      New

      noogleeer
      OP
      Thanks! I think the offer is on the higher end since my work involves ML.
      Apr 16
  • PwC
    lsJf83

    Go to company page PwC

    lsJf83
    Op how many leetcode? Have you interviewed with Google before? Please tell me your prep timeline. I'm in the process of scheduling my interview and want to know if I am ready.
    Apr 16 1
    • New
      noogleeer

      New

      noogleeer
      OP
      I interviewed with Google twice before (once for intern, once for new grad). For the new grad role, I was rejected after the first phone screen.

      This time, I did between 50-100 leetcode questions. I prepared for about a month (15 hours on average every week). I struggled in one of my interviews but I kept a positive attitude throughout and kept smiling even though I was struggling. Google will assess your technical and behavioral abilities equally.
      Apr 16
  • Apple
    lc 700

    Go to company page Apple

    lc 700
    Congrats! Did you have any counter offers?
    Apr 18 3
    • Apple
      lc 700

      Go to company page Apple

      lc 700
      What is your breakdown of 320?
      I've currently matched with a team and negotiating at L4 level. Did you have to negotiate or was this their initial offer?
      Apr 18
    • New
      fleming

      New

      fleming
      this was their initial offer. I didn't negotiate.

      $180K base
      $250 stocks (33, 33, 22, 12)
      15% bonus (27K)
      $30K sign on

      maybe the offer is on higher end because my work involves ML ( the title is still SWE, but I will be doing MLE work)
      Apr 19