8 ms·

I am finishing my bachelors in CompSci at Harvard Extension and just got hired by Google. And I've got about 20 years on you. So yeah, absolutely, this can work

I am finishing my bachelors in CompSci at Harvard Extension and just got hired by Google. And I've got about 20 years on you. So yeah, absolutely, this can work! It was fun and challenging competing with top computer science students. In the long run, my organizational skills, focus, determination and world experience outweighed their raw brainpower and better memory. It's an ultramarathon, not a sprint.

dman 9y ago
That is inspiring!
eganist 9y ago
> just got hired by Google. And I've got about 20 years on you. As impressive as your achievement is, I'm equally impressed that Google finally started addressing their perceived ageism problem.
- 50something 9y ago
  Google must be doing something right in their candidate triage algorithms. I applied for one job and they suggested another that was a better fit, which I hadn't even considered. I applied to a bunch of places and only Google seemed to perceive the whole package instead of myopically focusing on my recent education or last job. The whole process was much smarter than any other company in the interview cycle.
  - starpilot 9y ago
    Just to clarify, this is a fulltime SW eng position at Google? If so, that's a phenomenal achievement and career change.
  - mancerayder 9y ago
    Do they still weed out candidates who don't have a background in math and algorithms for roles as SRE ones? When I read about your improved triage experience, it's the first question that pops to my mind.
    - 50something 9y ago
      I had studied a lot of ML but all the technical questions were focused on traditional algorithms, so this was still a little retro. The math requirement was minimal but I had more than enough from the ML coursework. Bamberg's Math 23a / 23c is phenomenal set of classes at Harvard. You will work like a dog but learn almost all the math you need for ML.
  - zerr 9y ago
    Also, this shows (again) that Google-like interviews are tailored for fresh grads. Basically, your studies were preps for these interviews.
    - 50something 9y ago
      I think that's true for the technical portion, or more precisely someone who has recently refreshed their knowledge in college junior level algorithms and data structures. (equivalent of Harvard CS121 at minimum, ideally CS124).
  - johnx123-up 9y ago
    Could you please share more about your application process? I applied for couple of jobs and in their career portal... never received even an acknowledgement.
    - 50something 9y ago
      There was Data Analytics Career Fair at Harvard, which is another advantage of being a student here. You get invited to the career fairs.
      - johnx123-up 9y ago
        Thank you. Long time ago, someone informed me that their career site is merely an eyewash.
- fancyfacebook 9y ago
  Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! You see why people criticize the orange site for worshiping corporate a bit too much?
  - uh_what 9y ago
    >> As impressive as your achievement is, I'm equally impressed that Google finally started addressing their perceived ageism problem. >>> Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! It's posters like you that turn people off HN.
    - eganist 9y ago
      Counterargument: the commenter was buried into oblivion, which I suspect might turn a few people onto HN :D
mkagenius 9y ago
> n the long run, my organizational skills, focus, determination and world experience outweighed their raw brainpower and better memory. Great. Would love to hear more of the story.
- 50something 9y ago
  A lot of it was stuff that is basic to someone with years of work experience: * Start assignments as soon as they are given out. Stupid, right? * Don't be shy about asking lots of questions. Don't be egotistical or afraid about asking for clarification. * Build personal relationships with the professors and TAs. They are there to help. This is not an adversarial relationship. Show genuine passion for the material. * Find real-world analogies or applications of the theory. An intuitive understanding is far more important memorization. It is also far more motivational. By seeing how a technique can be used to solve a real problem, the value becomes tangible. * Be curious. You are there to learn, which means digging beyond the provided material. So many students are sadly focused on the grade or assignment, not on the learning. I could probably write a book about this... Edit: formatting
  - rweba 9y ago
    This is great stuff! I am a CS professor and these are exactly the kind of things my undergraduate students struggle with! Especially these two points: * Start assignments as soon as they are given out. Stupid, right? * Be curious. You are there to learn, which means digging beyond the provided material. So many students are sadly focused on the grade or assignment, not on the learning. You should definitely write a book!
    - LolWolf 9y ago
      I was recently and undergrad (now a grad student)---I've done research, work, taught classes, led competition teams, etc... and I still struggle with this. You should definitely write a book!
  - ccajas 9y ago
    How did you deal with the financial issues about returning to college? Non-STEM graduate here, looking to work in places that have more deeply engineering related backgrounds. I'd prefer getting a CS or ECE degree. My situation is especially complicated. I have been unemployed (save a few short freelance gigs) since early 2015. I cannot interview effectively anymore. This, I think, is my biggest problem I live with my mom because I can no longer make ends meet, but she is retiring and moving countries soon so I too have to eventually move out. I have no friends or relatives with whom I can stay living with. Because I already have a previous degree, financial aid opportunities for me are more limited, I hear. If I were to register for the fall and aim to get into a university with a decent to great engineering background, how would you lay out a plan?
wikibob 9y ago
I’d love to hear more about this. You feel it was worth the cost? Did you do all classes online or did you go in person for some / all? Did you work in technology previously?
- 50something 9y ago
  >You feel it was worth the cost? Harvard Extension is a bargain compared to most colleges. $1500-$2500 for most 4 credit classes. Don't tell those smart college students that you are getting the same class for less than half the price. I tried the online thing (Coursera, edX, Udemy, etc.) but was never as motivated as competing against real students in a real class with deadlines that have consequences. Fear of failure is a great motivator :) > Did you do all classes online or did you go in person for some / all? It was a mix. The online classes were more time efficient. The person classes built rewarding personal relationships with faculty and older students. > Did you work in technology previously? Yes, was primarily self taught. Only had access to a lousy community college in my teens. Turned me off school then.
  - ultrasounder 9y ago
    Thanks for sharing your experience. I myself on a new quest to self-teach CS and change my career. I have been in the Technology field for the past 13 years or so but am pivoting to a software engineering career. CS50x is my first stop. I am intrigued by your experience with HarvardX. THe CS50x path now offers 3 more courses beyond the CS50x which i hope to take over the year or so to build my portfolio. Very inspiring to see someone achieve the impossible.
    - 50something 9y ago
      I'm actually not a fan of CS50. I never took the course, but I went through the online material did the first few weeks of assignments. It is very broad and very shallow. It is also very hard and discouraging without some guided assistance. The students who take it for credit get a lot of help. For a first CompSci course, the edX Python course is better, IMO. https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-11 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mit...
towndrunk 9y ago
This is so great to hear! I don't know who you are but I'm proud of you.
pure_ambition 9y ago
Awesome! I’m considering doing the same - Harvard Extension. Is there a reason you chose to do the bachelors program over the masters?
- 50something 9y ago
  I didn't have any prior degree so I couldn't go straight to masters. Not even any transfer credits. But I was able to test out (via CLEP) for the equivalent of 4 classes including the language requirement, which saved me a semester.
  - pure_ambition 9y ago
    Awesome! I'm still unsure as to whether I'll pursue the program, or whether I'd aim for the Master's of the Bachelor's level. I definitely want a strong grounding in the basics before pursuing more advanced studies though. Thank you for your time!
codezero 9y ago
Were you working while you got your degree, or did you pursue it full-time?
- 50something 9y ago
  I was fortunate enough to be in a situation where I could pursue it full time. I started part time, really liked it, and decided to complete it full time.
  - codezero 9y ago
    Awesome, did you have health insurance/coverage? When I think of going back to school as a slightly older person, this is one of the only things that scares me.
    - 50something 9y ago
      If you are in MA, students enrolled in 12 credits or more (3 classes) per semester are required to have health insurance. https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/completing-your-degree/health-insurance https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/complet...
      - codezero 9y ago
        feel free to ignore me: does this mean a plan was available to you, or you couldn’t enroll without your own plan? Going to assume the former, in which case, awesome!
        50something 9y ago
        if you follow the above link, you'll see that you could join the Harvard health plan, even as a family. If you had your own, your could opt out. You can't be a 3/4 or above time student without health care coverage in MA. It's the law.
ApolloRising 9y ago
How long did this take you? I was considering something like this and would love it if you could tell us about your experience doing this remotely.
- 50something 9y ago
  It took three years. As I mentioned elsewhere, I tested out of a semester of work. Unlike undergrads, I was used to working year round, so I took January term and summer classes to reduce elapsed time. While some remote students have been able to build quality relationships with professors, it is far easier if you are local.
DGAP 9y ago
I didn't realize that this was even an option - are there any other well regarded online Masters programs in CS, infosec, or software development I should be aware of?
- 50something 9y ago
  I don't why Coursera gets so much attention for an online CS masters when it has been available for years at Harvard. Even Stanford relaxed the prior constraint of being in a member company for their online masters in CompSci. http://scpd.stanford.edu/admissions/apply-and-enroll/master%E2%80%99s-degrees-admissions http://scpd.stanford.edu/admissions/apply-and-enroll/master%...
- technofiend 9y ago
  Yes! The Georgia Tech online master's is priced at their cost to deliver the courses: ~$7k. https://newatlas.com/georgia-tech--graduate-computer-science-degree-mooc/28763/ https://newatlas.com/georgia-tech--graduate-computer-science...
rnet85 9y ago
What kind of a role were you hired for? Is it a pure SDE role or a product/solutions engineer kinda role? I've seen Google largely prefers people with 6 ~ 12 yrs exp for SDE roles.
masters3d 9y ago
Can you provide a link to this program? Is it on campus or online? Thanks
- 50something 9y ago
  It was the standard Harvard Extension ALB [0]. You can optionally choose a Field of Study, which was CompSci in my case. And then if you qualify as a special student you can take almost any course in the college or grad school. It's a very flexible program. You get out what you put in. [0] https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-degrees https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-de...
KB 9y ago
Really great achievement and welcome to Google. If you're based in Cambridge, we should try to grab lunch sometime. My ldap is kbolton.

dman 9y ago

That is inspiring!

eganist 9y ago

> just got hired by Google. And I've got about 20 years on you. As impressive as your achievement is, I'm equally impressed that Google finally started addressing their perceived ageism problem.

50something 9y ago
Google must be doing something right in their candidate triage algorithms. I applied for one job and they suggested another that was a better fit, which I hadn't even considered. I applied to a bunch of places and only Google seemed to perceive the whole package instead of myopically focusing on my recent education or last job. The whole process was much smarter than any other company in the interview cycle.
- starpilot 9y ago
  Just to clarify, this is a fulltime SW eng position at Google? If so, that's a phenomenal achievement and career change.
- mancerayder 9y ago
  Do they still weed out candidates who don't have a background in math and algorithms for roles as SRE ones? When I read about your improved triage experience, it's the first question that pops to my mind.
  - 50something 9y ago
    I had studied a lot of ML but all the technical questions were focused on traditional algorithms, so this was still a little retro. The math requirement was minimal but I had more than enough from the ML coursework. Bamberg's Math 23a / 23c is phenomenal set of classes at Harvard. You will work like a dog but learn almost all the math you need for ML.
- zerr 9y ago
  Also, this shows (again) that Google-like interviews are tailored for fresh grads. Basically, your studies were preps for these interviews.
  - 50something 9y ago
    I think that's true for the technical portion, or more precisely someone who has recently refreshed their knowledge in college junior level algorithms and data structures. (equivalent of Harvard CS121 at minimum, ideally CS124).
- johnx123-up 9y ago
  Could you please share more about your application process? I applied for couple of jobs and in their career portal... never received even an acknowledgement.
  - 50something 9y ago
    There was Data Analytics Career Fair at Harvard, which is another advantage of being a student here. You get invited to the career fairs.
    - johnx123-up 9y ago
      Thank you. Long time ago, someone informed me that their career site is merely an eyewash.
fancyfacebook 9y ago
Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! You see why people criticize the orange site for worshiping corporate a bit too much?
- uh_what 9y ago
  >> As impressive as your achievement is, I'm equally impressed that Google finally started addressing their perceived ageism problem. >>> Yeah one anecdote, ageism must be solved! Good job Google, we did it! It's posters like you that turn people off HN.
  - eganist 9y ago
    Counterargument: the commenter was buried into oblivion, which I suspect might turn a few people onto HN :D

mkagenius 9y ago

> n the long run, my organizational skills, focus, determination and world experience outweighed their raw brainpower and better memory. Great. Would love to hear more of the story.

50something 9y ago
A lot of it was stuff that is basic to someone with years of work experience: * Start assignments as soon as they are given out. Stupid, right? * Don't be shy about asking lots of questions. Don't be egotistical or afraid about asking for clarification. * Build personal relationships with the professors and TAs. They are there to help. This is not an adversarial relationship. Show genuine passion for the material. * Find real-world analogies or applications of the theory. An intuitive understanding is far more important memorization. It is also far more motivational. By seeing how a technique can be used to solve a real problem, the value becomes tangible. * Be curious. You are there to learn, which means digging beyond the provided material. So many students are sadly focused on the grade or assignment, not on the learning. I could probably write a book about this... Edit: formatting
- rweba 9y ago
  This is great stuff! I am a CS professor and these are exactly the kind of things my undergraduate students struggle with! Especially these two points: * Start assignments as soon as they are given out. Stupid, right? * Be curious. You are there to learn, which means digging beyond the provided material. So many students are sadly focused on the grade or assignment, not on the learning. You should definitely write a book!
  - LolWolf 9y ago
    I was recently and undergrad (now a grad student)---I've done research, work, taught classes, led competition teams, etc... and I still struggle with this. You should definitely write a book!
- ccajas 9y ago
  How did you deal with the financial issues about returning to college? Non-STEM graduate here, looking to work in places that have more deeply engineering related backgrounds. I'd prefer getting a CS or ECE degree. My situation is especially complicated. I have been unemployed (save a few short freelance gigs) since early 2015. I cannot interview effectively anymore. This, I think, is my biggest problem I live with my mom because I can no longer make ends meet, but she is retiring and moving countries soon so I too have to eventually move out. I have no friends or relatives with whom I can stay living with. Because I already have a previous degree, financial aid opportunities for me are more limited, I hear. If I were to register for the fall and aim to get into a university with a decent to great engineering background, how would you lay out a plan?

wikibob 9y ago

I’d love to hear more about this. You feel it was worth the cost? Did you do all classes online or did you go in person for some / all? Did you work in technology previously?

50something 9y ago
>You feel it was worth the cost? Harvard Extension is a bargain compared to most colleges. $1500-$2500 for most 4 credit classes. Don't tell those smart college students that you are getting the same class for less than half the price. I tried the online thing (Coursera, edX, Udemy, etc.) but was never as motivated as competing against real students in a real class with deadlines that have consequences. Fear of failure is a great motivator :) > Did you do all classes online or did you go in person for some / all? It was a mix. The online classes were more time efficient. The person classes built rewarding personal relationships with faculty and older students. > Did you work in technology previously? Yes, was primarily self taught. Only had access to a lousy community college in my teens. Turned me off school then.
- ultrasounder 9y ago
  Thanks for sharing your experience. I myself on a new quest to self-teach CS and change my career. I have been in the Technology field for the past 13 years or so but am pivoting to a software engineering career. CS50x is my first stop. I am intrigued by your experience with HarvardX. THe CS50x path now offers 3 more courses beyond the CS50x which i hope to take over the year or so to build my portfolio. Very inspiring to see someone achieve the impossible.
  - 50something 9y ago
    I'm actually not a fan of CS50. I never took the course, but I went through the online material did the first few weeks of assignments. It is very broad and very shallow. It is also very hard and discouraging without some guided assistance. The students who take it for credit get a lot of help. For a first CompSci course, the edX Python course is better, IMO. https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-11 https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mit...

towndrunk 9y ago

This is so great to hear! I don't know who you are but I'm proud of you.

pure_ambition 9y ago

Awesome! I’m considering doing the same - Harvard Extension. Is there a reason you chose to do the bachelors program over the masters?

50something 9y ago
I didn't have any prior degree so I couldn't go straight to masters. Not even any transfer credits. But I was able to test out (via CLEP) for the equivalent of 4 classes including the language requirement, which saved me a semester.
- pure_ambition 9y ago
  Awesome! I'm still unsure as to whether I'll pursue the program, or whether I'd aim for the Master's of the Bachelor's level. I definitely want a strong grounding in the basics before pursuing more advanced studies though. Thank you for your time!

codezero 9y ago

Were you working while you got your degree, or did you pursue it full-time?

50something 9y ago
I was fortunate enough to be in a situation where I could pursue it full time. I started part time, really liked it, and decided to complete it full time.
- codezero 9y ago
  Awesome, did you have health insurance/coverage? When I think of going back to school as a slightly older person, this is one of the only things that scares me.
  - 50something 9y ago
    If you are in MA, students enrolled in 12 credits or more (3 classes) per semester are required to have health insurance. https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/completing-your-degree/health-insurance https://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/complet...
    - codezero 9y ago
      feel free to ignore me: does this mean a plan was available to you, or you couldn’t enroll without your own plan? Going to assume the former, in which case, awesome!
      - 50something 9y ago
        if you follow the above link, you'll see that you could join the Harvard health plan, even as a family. If you had your own, your could opt out. You can't be a 3/4 or above time student without health care coverage in MA. It's the law.

ApolloRising 9y ago

How long did this take you? I was considering something like this and would love it if you could tell us about your experience doing this remotely.

50something 9y ago
It took three years. As I mentioned elsewhere, I tested out of a semester of work. Unlike undergrads, I was used to working year round, so I took January term and summer classes to reduce elapsed time. While some remote students have been able to build quality relationships with professors, it is far easier if you are local.

DGAP 9y ago

I didn't realize that this was even an option - are there any other well regarded online Masters programs in CS, infosec, or software development I should be aware of?

50something 9y ago
I don't why Coursera gets so much attention for an online CS masters when it has been available for years at Harvard. Even Stanford relaxed the prior constraint of being in a member company for their online masters in CompSci. http://scpd.stanford.edu/admissions/apply-and-enroll/master%E2%80%99s-degrees-admissions http://scpd.stanford.edu/admissions/apply-and-enroll/master%...
technofiend 9y ago
Yes! The Georgia Tech online master's is priced at their cost to deliver the courses: ~$7k. https://newatlas.com/georgia-tech--graduate-computer-science-degree-mooc/28763/ https://newatlas.com/georgia-tech--graduate-computer-science...

rnet85 9y ago

What kind of a role were you hired for? Is it a pure SDE role or a product/solutions engineer kinda role? I've seen Google largely prefers people with 6 ~ 12 yrs exp for SDE roles.

masters3d 9y ago

Can you provide a link to this program? Is it on campus or online? Thanks

50something 9y ago
It was the standard Harvard Extension ALB [0]. You can optionally choose a Field of Study, which was CompSci in my case. And then if you qualify as a special student you can take almost any course in the college or grad school. It's a very flexible program. You get out what you put in. [0] https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-degrees https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/undergraduate-de...

KB 9y ago

Really great achievement and welcome to Google. If you're based in Cambridge, we should try to grab lunch sometime. My ldap is kbolton.