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I didn’t know this was the case, took a vacation/sabbatical for a year and suddenly couldn’t apply to FAANG anymore because I missed the “graduation cycle”. I

I didn’t know this was the case, took a vacation/sabbatical for a year and suddenly couldn’t apply to FAANG anymore because I missed the “graduation cycle”. I feel so stupid, if I had known then I would have never taken a sabbatical. In the years that followed I went almost into a depression because of it. Because I worked so hard (obtaining multiple masters) to try to get a shot and never got one. In retrospect, I feel my approach to FAANG was a much riskier endeavor than I realized. And then it got complicated. People on HN offered to refer me. It never fully worked out. Here is why: * Sometimes I screwed it up by not strongly chasing after it * I wasn’t a recent enough grad anymore, I needed to interview for E4 * One time an acquaintance of mine offered to give a referral and then ultimately didn’t but before he didn’t, I declined a referral from a HN’er to the same company because of it I am working at an okay company, but I feel stuck. I want to work with people that want to treat the company they work for as if it is their own. I want fellow colleagues to be entrepreneurial. I am missing that.

legostormtroopr 5y ago
You should really talk to someone about this, because you attitude of “I missed out on an internship, so my life is ruined” isn’t healthy. People at FAANGs don’t “own the company by any means any more. And the fact that you have a job (and probably a good job in software) shows how privileged US developers can be. Having an office job, in a growth industry, in an in-demand field, in a country with lots of opportunities is a huge privilege that most don’t have have. Sure you don’t work at an ad-tech FAANG company earning obscene rates, but it’s not the end of the world.
- mettamage 5y ago
  I am Dutch, average wage is 40K to 50K in euro’s. Definitely not the end of the world but the US has a lot more growth opportunities.
mavelikara 5y ago
> I want fellow colleagues to be entrepreneurial How entrepreneurial is someone who will work only in companies created 20+ years ago, enjoying the comforts of a monopolistic market position created off of the work of other engineers? Some people go work at a big company, some others go work a company big.
- mettamage 5y ago
  Fair point.
  - google234123 5y ago
    You should interview at a few startups to see what they are like. Good chance to meet with people and ask questions, in my experience, they will have a much bigger emphasis on culture/Q&A interviews

legostormtroopr 5y ago

You should really talk to someone about this, because you attitude of “I missed out on an internship, so my life is ruined” isn’t healthy. People at FAANGs don’t “own the company by any means any more. And the fact that you have a job (and probably a good job in software) shows how privileged US developers can be. Having an office job, in a growth industry, in an in-demand field, in a country with lots of opportunities is a huge privilege that most don’t have have. Sure you don’t work at an ad-tech FAANG company earning obscene rates, but it’s not the end of the world.

mettamage 5y ago
I am Dutch, average wage is 40K to 50K in euro’s. Definitely not the end of the world but the US has a lot more growth opportunities.

mavelikara 5y ago

> I want fellow colleagues to be entrepreneurial How entrepreneurial is someone who will work only in companies created 20+ years ago, enjoying the comforts of a monopolistic market position created off of the work of other engineers? Some people go work at a big company, some others go work a company big.

mettamage 5y ago
Fair point.
- google234123 5y ago
  You should interview at a few startups to see what they are like. Good chance to meet with people and ask questions, in my experience, they will have a much bigger emphasis on culture/Q&A interviews