5 ms·

> Am I really that screwed if I want to work at Google/Amazon/Whatever and I haven't graduated from MIT or Stanford? The vast majority of Google/Facebook/etc.

by GuiA 10y ago

> Am I really that screwed if I want to work at Google/Amazon/Whatever and I haven't graduated from MIT or Stanford? The vast majority of Google/Facebook/etc. employees aren't from MIT/Stanford/Harvard/Berkeley/etc. It's definitely much harder to get a job at these companies straight out of college if you didn't attend a big name university. 10 years later, it doesn't matter. I got my undergrad from an unknown French university, and went to grad school at a large US state university with no brand name recognition (as is the case for many, many immigrants). Recruiters from top tier companies ignored me out of grad school, but after a few startups/talks at major conferences/open source projects/etc., I now work at such a company (and now recruiters are very eager to get some of my time).

artursapek 10y ago
> 10 years later, it doesn't matter. Even a few years later, impressive work experience and open source projects should far outweigh what university you went to.
- problems 10y ago
  But getting you in the door for that work experience is key. Co-op programs and such can really help with that, especially if you don't have a lot of job-finding experience.
  - Mandatum 10y ago
    You can bite the bullet and work-for-almost-free (intern) and have a side job to pay your rent for 6 months, after which you should be able to score a full-time junior role.
diminoten 10y ago
Man, I am jealous. I just don't see how anyone can get into the top software companies anymore without those super impressive credentials. To be honest, I saw your first sentence and my gut reaction was, "Uh, no!" but I am certain you know more about this topic than I would. It's just so very surprising.
jd20 10y ago
Honestly, I think the recruiting process at some of these big tech companies is as broken as the standardized tests like SAT. I was rejected from Google, fresh out of Harvard, I think because they didn't like my choice of major (I'd been programming since elementary school, so I wanted to broaden my interests when I got to college), or GPA (I spent more time on building my own stuff, than school work), and the recruiter also mentioned to me they much prefer pHD's than bachelors, so the bar was much higher as a result. Now, having been a hiring manager at one of the major tech companies, I've seen how arbitrary the process can be. At least the SAT you can study for and master, if you really want to get a perfect score... but when it comes to hiring, there's so many factors that are unpredictable and out of your control.
deleted 10y ago
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by GuiA 10y ago

artursapek 10y ago

> 10 years later, it doesn't matter. Even a few years later, impressive work experience and open source projects should far outweigh what university you went to.

problems 10y ago
But getting you in the door for that work experience is key. Co-op programs and such can really help with that, especially if you don't have a lot of job-finding experience.
- Mandatum 10y ago
  You can bite the bullet and work-for-almost-free (intern) and have a side job to pay your rent for 6 months, after which you should be able to score a full-time junior role.

diminoten 10y ago

Man, I am jealous. I just don't see how anyone can get into the top software companies anymore without those super impressive credentials. To be honest, I saw your first sentence and my gut reaction was, "Uh, no!" but I am certain you know more about this topic than I would. It's just so very surprising.

jd20 10y ago

Honestly, I think the recruiting process at some of these big tech companies is as broken as the standardized tests like SAT. I was rejected from Google, fresh out of Harvard, I think because they didn't like my choice of major (I'd been programming since elementary school, so I wanted to broaden my interests when I got to college), or GPA (I spent more time on building my own stuff, than school work), and the recruiter also mentioned to me they much prefer pHD's than bachelors, so the bar was much higher as a result. Now, having been a hiring manager at one of the major tech companies, I've seen how arbitrary the process can be. At least the SAT you can study for and master, if you really want to get a perfect score... but when it comes to hiring, there's so many factors that are unpredictable and out of your control.

deleted 10y ago

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