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I wouldn't characterize Facebook as being all that different from Amazon. I'm sorry you view it that way. And Amazon is hardly "coach class". You make more mone

I wouldn't characterize Facebook as being all that different from Amazon. I'm sorry you view it that way. And Amazon is hardly "coach class". You make more money than my parents did combined as a SWE and with far less education. I suppose if you think being an elite means making millions it isn't happening at Amazon, but you aren't making millions at any salaried job short of being a C level exec. Just graduating from Harvard isn't making you millions. It takes 10+ years to reach that level regardless of what school you went to. If your GPA was only acceptable then why are you blaming elitism for what you characterize as failures? Is that not a direct result of your own failure to study and succeed? (I'll also add that everyone I know who got into a good grad school aggressively pursued research and had multiple publications in top conferences by the time they applied; the standards are high and I wouldn't consider a 3.9 without research sufficient).

rejectedandsad 5y ago
> but you aren't making millions at any salaried job short of being a C level exec. Just graduating from Harvard isn't making you millions I mean it is happening at Google - look up how much Liz Fong Jones made as an ex-Caltech, ex-MIT engineer. Definitely happens to the MIT to Jane Street crowd and also happens to the people that can get offers at the IPOing startups I can’t even get interviews at. Not like I have the intellect to pass those interviews even if I got them though (I blame my parents for that). > If your GPA was only acceptable then why are you blaming elitism for what you characterize as failures? I definitely blame myself too, it’s why I have the dark thoughts whenever I cross a bridge. I should have done research in high school and I should have gotten at least two first author papers to a top conference in undergrad - instead I got 2 2nd author papers to medium tier conferences because I could never come up with any compelling research ideas. All of my work is ultimately meaningless because it just wasn’t enough - it’s extremely depressing.
- b9a2cab5 5y ago
  The company I work for now pays substantially more than Google/Facebook/et. al and most people on my team are from random state schools, many with no experience at FAANG. You can certainly make millions from a pre-IPO startup (and I have 2nd degree knowledge of many people that did get rich off IPOs), but you're not making that at the Google of today. I'm sorry you feel that way about your past. You should consider seeing a counselor. I've found that a growth mindset is important to ensuring you keep succeeding because there's nobody you can just copy once you've made it this far. Failures shouldn't be depressing but motivating instead. All this "I should have" thought should be "Now I know I should" instead. In your case, "I should have aimed higher" -> "I will aim higher now that I know". I can definitely empathize with you - I played video games all day in high school and only got into CS because of playing video games 5 hours a day and wanting to work with them. I screwed around freshman and sophomore year and destroyed my GPA. I came back and grinded and brought it back up the rest of my years. Good luck. I'm sure you're more brilliant than you think if you made it to Amazon. If you ever need motivation go read the Reddit threads on people saying how hard it is to make it to Amazon.
  - rejectedandsad 5y ago
    > The company I work for now pays substantially more than Google/Facebook/et. al and most people on my team are from random state schools That's...interesting, because it's certainly not the way the LinkedIn pages of most folks at Hudson River Trading, 2Sigma, Stripe or Citadel would imply (I did get into Citadel, but for a 2nd tier role). Of course, it would make sense for Netflix, which has a more Amazon-like hiring strategy. > I've found that a growth mindset is important to ensuring you keep succeeding because there's nobody you can just copy once you've made it this far. Failures shouldn't be depressing but motivating instead. I've had a lot of people say that, but after being beaten down and called stupid for 25 years it has worn on me.
    - b9a2cab5 5y ago
      I don't work at any of those companies :)
    - joebadmo 5y ago
      Hi, I'm Asian, graduated from a state school with a humanities degree, worked my way from tech support at a tiny startup into engineering, and now (several jobs later) work as a software eng at Stripe. I've met plenty of other engineers here with non-traditional backgrounds. I think you're: 1. way too hard on yourself. If you broaden your scope just a bit, you'll see that Amazon is an elite engineering organization. 2. buying way too much into phony credentialism. I don't make a big deal out of it, but personally I consider being able to hold my own engineering-wise while having gone to a state school as a badge of honor. 3. giving way too much headspace to comparing yourself with others in envy. There's always someone better, smarter, etc. I find them around me all the time. I choose to see them as mentors and role models, rather than rivals or competitors. > I should have done research in high school and I should have gotten at least two first author papers to a top conference in undergrad - instead I got 2 2nd author papers to medium tier conferences because I could never come up with any compelling research ideas. All of my work is ultimately meaningless because it just wasn’t enough - it’s extremely depressing. I don't think you're ever going to be satisfied if this is your definition of success. You should try to find meaning in the work itself, not in the recognition or status that comes from it. Good luck!
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  I knew Liz Fong Jones at Caltech and she puts one foot in front of the other and goes to the bathroom like everyone else. Have a chill pill.
  - rejectedandsad 5y ago
    The fact that she was at Caltech (and then MIT) alone is an indication that she is objectively superior to people like me though, and I have little hope of achieving even a fraction of that sort of success. I can't even get an interview at companies like Stripe because of my school, for instance.
    - catillac 5y ago
      This seems like some sort of schtick you’re running on here, I think.
      - rejectedandsad 5y ago
        In what sense?
    - randomswede 5y ago
      I have worked with lizf (well, we worked in similar roles, but in different teams, for the same company). My sum total of university accolades are "2 terms of evening courses in electronics", "two terms of philosophy", and "just short of a third of a Master in computer science & engineering". I dropped getting a full degree, instead deciding to go back to the industry and working (I'd spent 3 years in the industry working before I went to Uni, and having money again sounded like an excellent idea). Now, that was me working myself up, as it were, through a variety of jobs (more on the "run things" than "write things" side, but theres a lot of "write things" involved in running things in a scalable fashion), with a few actual dev jobs along the line. Would I be able to get my CV in front of someone at Stripe? Honestly, don't know. If all they look at is schools, I suspect my chances are vastly lower than yours. If they look at previous job history? Probably, yes. At this point, it seems to me that the main blocker for you is depression, it MAY be worth consulting a professional about that.

rejectedandsad 5y ago

> but you aren't making millions at any salaried job short of being a C level exec. Just graduating from Harvard isn't making you millions I mean it is happening at Google - look up how much Liz Fong Jones made as an ex-Caltech, ex-MIT engineer. Definitely happens to the MIT to Jane Street crowd and also happens to the people that can get offers at the IPOing startups I can’t even get interviews at. Not like I have the intellect to pass those interviews even if I got them though (I blame my parents for that). > If your GPA was only acceptable then why are you blaming elitism for what you characterize as failures? I definitely blame myself too, it’s why I have the dark thoughts whenever I cross a bridge. I should have done research in high school and I should have gotten at least two first author papers to a top conference in undergrad - instead I got 2 2nd author papers to medium tier conferences because I could never come up with any compelling research ideas. All of my work is ultimately meaningless because it just wasn’t enough - it’s extremely depressing.

b9a2cab5 5y ago
The company I work for now pays substantially more than Google/Facebook/et. al and most people on my team are from random state schools, many with no experience at FAANG. You can certainly make millions from a pre-IPO startup (and I have 2nd degree knowledge of many people that did get rich off IPOs), but you're not making that at the Google of today. I'm sorry you feel that way about your past. You should consider seeing a counselor. I've found that a growth mindset is important to ensuring you keep succeeding because there's nobody you can just copy once you've made it this far. Failures shouldn't be depressing but motivating instead. All this "I should have" thought should be "Now I know I should" instead. In your case, "I should have aimed higher" -> "I will aim higher now that I know". I can definitely empathize with you - I played video games all day in high school and only got into CS because of playing video games 5 hours a day and wanting to work with them. I screwed around freshman and sophomore year and destroyed my GPA. I came back and grinded and brought it back up the rest of my years. Good luck. I'm sure you're more brilliant than you think if you made it to Amazon. If you ever need motivation go read the Reddit threads on people saying how hard it is to make it to Amazon.
- rejectedandsad 5y ago
  > The company I work for now pays substantially more than Google/Facebook/et. al and most people on my team are from random state schools That's...interesting, because it's certainly not the way the LinkedIn pages of most folks at Hudson River Trading, 2Sigma, Stripe or Citadel would imply (I did get into Citadel, but for a 2nd tier role). Of course, it would make sense for Netflix, which has a more Amazon-like hiring strategy. > I've found that a growth mindset is important to ensuring you keep succeeding because there's nobody you can just copy once you've made it this far. Failures shouldn't be depressing but motivating instead. I've had a lot of people say that, but after being beaten down and called stupid for 25 years it has worn on me.
  - b9a2cab5 5y ago
    I don't work at any of those companies :)
  - joebadmo 5y ago
    Hi, I'm Asian, graduated from a state school with a humanities degree, worked my way from tech support at a tiny startup into engineering, and now (several jobs later) work as a software eng at Stripe. I've met plenty of other engineers here with non-traditional backgrounds. I think you're: 1. way too hard on yourself. If you broaden your scope just a bit, you'll see that Amazon is an elite engineering organization. 2. buying way too much into phony credentialism. I don't make a big deal out of it, but personally I consider being able to hold my own engineering-wise while having gone to a state school as a badge of honor. 3. giving way too much headspace to comparing yourself with others in envy. There's always someone better, smarter, etc. I find them around me all the time. I choose to see them as mentors and role models, rather than rivals or competitors. > I should have done research in high school and I should have gotten at least two first author papers to a top conference in undergrad - instead I got 2 2nd author papers to medium tier conferences because I could never come up with any compelling research ideas. All of my work is ultimately meaningless because it just wasn’t enough - it’s extremely depressing. I don't think you're ever going to be satisfied if this is your definition of success. You should try to find meaning in the work itself, not in the recognition or status that comes from it. Good luck!
selimthegrim 5y ago
I knew Liz Fong Jones at Caltech and she puts one foot in front of the other and goes to the bathroom like everyone else. Have a chill pill.
- rejectedandsad 5y ago
  The fact that she was at Caltech (and then MIT) alone is an indication that she is objectively superior to people like me though, and I have little hope of achieving even a fraction of that sort of success. I can't even get an interview at companies like Stripe because of my school, for instance.
  - catillac 5y ago
    This seems like some sort of schtick you’re running on here, I think.
    - rejectedandsad 5y ago
      In what sense?
  - randomswede 5y ago
    I have worked with lizf (well, we worked in similar roles, but in different teams, for the same company). My sum total of university accolades are "2 terms of evening courses in electronics", "two terms of philosophy", and "just short of a third of a Master in computer science & engineering". I dropped getting a full degree, instead deciding to go back to the industry and working (I'd spent 3 years in the industry working before I went to Uni, and having money again sounded like an excellent idea). Now, that was me working myself up, as it were, through a variety of jobs (more on the "run things" than "write things" side, but theres a lot of "write things" involved in running things in a scalable fashion), with a few actual dev jobs along the line. Would I be able to get my CV in front of someone at Stripe? Honestly, don't know. If all they look at is schools, I suspect my chances are vastly lower than yours. If they look at previous job history? Probably, yes. At this point, it seems to me that the main blocker for you is depression, it MAY be worth consulting a professional about that.