EU: what makes a good FAANG resume 3YOE no degree

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nGxI11

New

nGxI11
Nov 14, 2021 15 Comments

I've recently discovered that it is in fact not impossible to make above peanut salary around the EU/the Netherlands and that there are even such remote positions, that seem accessible to me with a bit of LC, at least in theory.

Now I'm in a weird position. Over the last 3 years, I've done some SWE work for small startups (permanent contract) & freelance (2/3 years) and am now working SWE for a quite low paying local tech company (1/3 years). So in theory, 3 YOE total as a SWE.

I've touched a lot of tech and languages in that time and am familiar with virtually any prerequisite term that you can find on job apps that seem interesting to me. But I have a feeling that my history (no degree + 3 years of unremarkable things) would immediately put people off. I don't have any interesting public projects on my resume, either.

- Is this a deal breaker when applying to FAANG-like companies in EU? What can I do to improve my chances?
- If not a deal breaker, would any recruiters/engineers be willing to check out my resume over DM and give their thoughts on it?

I was really hoping to work on the degree problem in my free time (after work) while working SWE (and have some opportunities to do this), but currently I am having to put far too much work into freelance + current job to aggregate enough πŸ₯œs to be in a stable position.

TC: πŸ₯œπŸ₯œ
#software #swe #engineering #europe

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TOP 15 Comments
  • I have no degree and 3yoe, fang recruiters contact me almost daily to interview. I don’t have public stuff on GitHub either. Definitely doable
    Nov 14, 2021 4
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      That makes sense.

      Within my previous job at the start-up, I've been promoted once before and worked on a (relative to that company) large-ish self-designed project. But this was a very small company, so it feels like that's probably not worth much.

      Current job of over a year is technically less of a no-name. Building software that is used by a lot of non-tech enterprise companies. I've pushed some non-trivial improvements through to the product (and participate in technical interviews for the company) but nothing very significant.

      Asked for a raise but was told even though my manager is very happy with what I'm doing and thinks I do deserve one, there's no budget "at the moment" with ETA on that being... Months? I also heard raises here go like €100 per month or something anyway, which just wouldn't change much at all. Frankly my freelance thing makes me more money on a by-hour basis, but isn't stable nor do I think it looks as good on my resume as the job.

      I've been reading through "Cracking the Coding Interview", doing the DSA challenges there and reviewing DSA topics in general. I have done some CS school before as well, and find myself able to solve most fairly easily. If getting more pay really came down to this, I think I'd manage that just fine.

      I'd hope, compared to what I've seen of BSc holders from BSc candidate interviews I've participated in and as compared to the MSc people that work at my current company, my technical knowledge should at least be worth a BSc level... Never have trouble following along/understanding things.

      And if a BSc + LC can get you into entry level FAANG or at least companies that don't pay horribly, it makes me feel stupid to keep doing what I'm doing right now

      WDYT I could do in this case? Sorry for the long rant
      Nov 14, 2021
    • Depends how much time and energy you have..
      get confidence in your skills: get more knowledgeable in a speciality of your interest and aside from that reasonably good at solving leetcode questions. Work on your resume and embellish your experience (don’t make up anything, but have some storytelling, create some excitement about the work you did), prepare the usual behavioral questions (look at the amazon ones for example).

      Get started interviewing with companies you’re not even that interested in, that’ll make you practice. Get the Elements Of Programing Interview book (EPI) in the language you are more comfortable in, the CTCI book was enough before but now interviews are harder.

      Make sure to act like someone that they would want to work with: be nice, curious, humble and confident.
      Nov 14, 2021
  • Some old school, low paying, traditional companies might require degree, but most SF type companies will take experience over degree. You need to pass the leetcode bar though. I don't care if you dont have a paper with BSc on it, but if you don't know why F(n) = F(n-1)+F(n-2) is slow, we have a problem.
    I can have a look at your resume. I think the uber dude has a book on resumes too.
    Nov 14, 2021 1
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      Thanks for the reassurance & thanks a lot! I've been working through "Cracking the Coding Interview" recommended by the uber dude,(going to do some LC afterwards) & also went through his resume book, just don't have anybody to ask feedback from who works anywhere near such companies.
      Nov 14, 2021
  • Google
    TC-3P0

    Go to company page Google

    TC-3P0
    Sounds tough but having one FAANG will make it easier to get other without a degree (adds legitimacy).

    If you have other really cool side projects or have done something really impactful, that might also help get their attention.

    The reality is, your school or degree only helps you get in the door. Once you can get in the door, it’s all about your talent. Get in the door and show them you’re awesome! Good luck!
    Nov 14, 2021 1
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      Thanks a lot for the reassurance!

      I would have loved to have been able to have some public projects, or find the time to work on some open source tech that I've used many times, or even make some of the things I've worked on public (mostly the freelance things), but unfortunately I've not had the time to not work on something that earned me some money :(

      I've done some things that I believe are relatively interesting/impactful that I've out on my resume so far, but I'm not really sure what other people's take on those things would be since I don't really know anybody inside this world personally to ask
      Nov 14, 2021
  • Google
    noUdidnt

    Go to company page Google

    noUdidnt
    Just go back to school
    Nov 14, 2021 2
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      So you would say this isn't just "hard" but rather entirely impossible?
      Nov 14, 2021
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      Supposing LC / DSA bar is cleared, anyway
      Nov 14, 2021
  • Amazon / Eng
    Phone Tool

    Go to company page Amazon Eng

    Phone Tool
    No degree is fine but the non-interesting projects worry me a bit.

    Given your YoE, you'd want to apply for SDE 2 but you'd be down-leveled to L4 in a heartbeat given you are probably not used to such scope of work.

    Is there a way for you to increase scope?

    DM for referral btw, hiring is crazy in Luxembourg and Dublin atm. Not much in Amsterdam unfortunately
    Nov 14, 2021 2
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      Will DM.

      The no interesting projects is in regards to anything I have on my GitHub

      I did some less-trivial things within the scope of work (at least I am pretty sure not every BSc grad would be able to very easily pull it off as I've been involved in the hiring process for my current company and interviewed BSc people), but I'm not sure how highly valued those things would be (?)

      I'm very much fine with joining at a low level. I *mean* it when I say I get a πŸ₯œ salary even combined with my freelance stuff I currently do (which easily runs up consuming > 60/70 hours a week...), as compared to even entry level US FAANG positions
      Nov 14, 2021
    • New
      nGxI11

      New

      nGxI11
      OP
      ... Or compared to entry level positions at level-3 companies according to something like https://techpays.eu/countries/netherlands/tier-3
      Nov 14, 2021