I'd be wary about that advice. Sure, the companies you mention have elite teams of super smart people, but they have lots of programmers as well, so many must b

I'd be wary about that advice. Sure, the companies you mention have elite teams of super smart people, but they have lots of programmers as well, so many must be average. End up in the wrong team and nothing changes (except, you get a good pay and a good name to put on your cv).