Four to FAANG: A journey from a wholly underqualified EECS major to a FAANG intern

UPDATE #1: I GOT A PRESTIGIOUS OFFER. 50 AN HOUR THIS SUMMER. SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR MY TIPS. FULL ARTICLE COMING SOON.

Here’s my story.

I’ll be honest. My life has been mediocre at best. I’m a sophomore studying Computer Science at one of the top engineering schools in the United States. You might think I don’t have it that bad and you’re completely right. However, there is the fact that I have genuinely no idea what I’m good at. Notice I didn’t say I’m not good at anything. That would be a lie. I’m good at making people laugh, playing video games, and wasting my time.

Now here’s the dream: I want to be a good coder. Here’s the truth: I’m a shit coder. A few months ago, I dropped out my Data Structures & Algorithms class after:

• failing my first (and thankfully only) EECS class, Discrete Math
• passing my Introduction to Data Structures class due to my partner carrying the programming projects for us
• receiving a 3 on the AP Computer Science A exam in High School

I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome — am I fit to be in this rigorous EECS program? Or even at this university at all? I’ve been through downs, but always (and this is key) staying positive for the future. I am grateful for the privileged life I’m living, but I just don’t see how I can become the person I went to college to become. Someone to be proud of. Money can’t buy happiness, but it is a means of living comfortably. I don’t want fancy cars per se, but I want to provide for my family and SWE seems like it could provide a sweet life.

And without ambitions, what are you living for?

In four months, and you will see, I am going to be an intern slated for summer 2021 at a prestigious Software Engineering company. Here are my 10 choices (in no order): Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Robinhood, Tesla, Capital One. I will be interning at one of these companies, guaranteed. So now you hopefully get the title: Four to FAANG: A journey from a wholly underqualified EECS major to a FAANG (more like Big-N but whatever. Four to FAANG sounds cool winky face) intern. Today is Friday, May 15th. In four months, September 15th, I will be well on my way to a Software Engineering Internship for the Summer of 2021. Wish me luck, I’m gonna need some of that.

Well, what does my resume look like?

Currently, I have a decent GPA, one internship under my belt as a Data Analytics Intern, and a solid entrepreneurship experience selling sneakers in high school. A bunch of programming languages I don’t even know. And yet I was shafted by every company this past year because I applied late (truly the biggest mistake I’ve made) and of course, Coronavirus.

What’s the plan though chief?

Great question. I don’t know. I have a concrete end goal and that end goal is happening. To figure out the means to get there is a challenge. I’ll be grinding Leetcode and creating a CS-heavy side-project this summer to lure recruiters.

Now you might be asking, why I’m writing this article. I need to be kept accountable. I wish I had the intrinsic motivation that my peers naturally have. I wish I had their work ethic, but I don’t. As unfortunate as it is, life is like that. I’m a great planner, but just never follow through with my vision. That’s where you guys come in. I’ll be using Medium as a log for my progress and to keep my goal in check. Expect to see weekly progress checks at least, I can’t guarantee much more.

You’ll see as you get to know me that I’m a gem, but that I just don’t know where I’m supposed to fall in the grand scheme. I hope you learn a lot about the means necessary to get an internship at a top-tier company and I hope I get an internship at a top-tier company. Nevertheless, something has to change and it’s not my ambition. It’s me.

Talk to you soon. See you in the Bay next summer homie.

— AlphaDex99.

UPDATE #1: I did it. I’m working in a prestigious software engineering role being paid 50 an hour. Believe in yourself. I didn’t, and that made 10x harder to allow myself to shine.

Here are some takeaways,

1. Confidence is key. Acting like I was already well-versed with their products and their team, and honestly acting like I would be able to start right now was definitely a great plus for me as an interviewee.
2. Experience. How can they trust you if you’ve done nothing? You need to have actually built something — either in a previous internship or in a personal project. Build something that you actually find useful in your life. Try to incorporate as many technologies as you can, without it becoming unnecessarily included. Deploy it and keep it on Heroku or AWS for free (student credits).
3. Technical prowess. Leetcode is great for practice, but make sure you actually understand how to code properly. I literally forgot how to do simple things in Python, I was too busy studying legitimate algorithms for 8 hours a day and completed a massive cap. Still got the offer, but that was because my experience and confidence.
4. Get a friend. This is so underrated. People have no clue how important another person to hold you accountable and keep you going is. This can be another friend applying and interviewing for the SAME roles (it doesn’t matter, internships are not a zero-sum game). They will push you to work on the days you don’t want to and keep you interested, as prepping gets really, really boring. Really quickly. Practice solving leetcode problems with them (speaking out loud over a platform like Pramp or on a real whiteboard) and make sure you guys treat it like its real.
5. Mock interviews. Take your friend and mock with them every day. If not every day, every other. If not every other, every 3. I can’t emphasize this enough, as this mock interviewing makes the real interviewing feel much more casual and you won’t look an idiot. I promise there is so much you can improve on in only 2–3 weeks of mock interviewing daily, gradually, but it compounds.
6. Referrals. The hardest thing about getting an internship is actually getting past the online application portal. I’d argue it’s harder than the actual interview, where your skills and smooth-talking can shine, because of the sheer number of applicants every role gets. Now, how do you differentiate yourself? A referral. Find someone who works there. Ask them politely for a quick chat about their role and to learn more about the company. Talk to them, become friends with them, and then at the very end of the call, tell them this company is your number one choice for the summer. IF, and only IF, you did this properly — as in they actually like you because you don’t seem like you weren’t seeking a referral — they will 100% give one. It’s so easy for them, and they get referral bonuses for getting people to the company. So 🤷‍♂️. It’s a win-win. You get your foot in the door and they get money. I got a referral at only one company, and that’s where I got an interview, offer, and where I am interning this summer.
7. Resume. Your resume has to be freakin’ solid. Please work on it. Get it reviewed by upperclassmen at your university. Reach out to people on LinkedIn to review. Get your parents’ feedback. Everyone can help and make sure that shit looks golden. Mine looks great and I still had pretty shitty success on online portals. Whenever it was given directly to a hiring manager though, it was perceived well.
8. START EARLY. RECRUITING STARTS IN JUNE. You need to be ready technically by the start of August, this means starting in June with the Leetcode and mock interviews. July is for continuing that technical preparation (if you haven’t started by now, please do. I mean it.) and perfecting your resume. Reach out to upperclassmen, family friends, alumni, people on LinkedIn for coffee chats (to get referrals) in July and get the pipeline going. You can ask for the referral in theory now and then when their company’s application opens, send them the listing and ask again for the referral. In August or whenever apps open (it gets earlier and earlier every year), start applying like a madman. Every place you can find, it really is a numbers game. Even places you wouldn’t exactly work at because their interviews would be good practice for future interviews. APPS OPEN IN AUGUST. Apply. Please. Interviews could start late August to mid-October. Don’t miss this wave, this is the easiest time to get internships. I know people, who are not that smart, that received offers in the first week of September. And if they can do it, you can too.
9. For a full timeline, June — technical prep, July — technical prep+resume+coffee chats, August — technical prep+apply, September — technical prep+interviews, Octobers — interviews, Novembers — interviews, December — interviews (the main wave of recruiting is over, so not that many interviews now). If you haven’t signed an offer you like by Winter Break, you need to use Winter Break to study and not go on vacation and screw around like all of your friends. This is your career we’re talking about, sacrifices need to be made. There is a much smaller cycle of recruiting that occurs from January to April. You need to stay focused and believe. I know people who gave up and people who didn’t. Every single person I know who found an internship in this time, is someone who grinded their a** off.
10. Believe in yourself. Those who really want it, get it. If you don’t have an offer, it should be the first thing you think about when you wake up, what you think about in the shower, while eating, while in the bathroom, and the last thing you think about before you sleep.
11. Take care of yourself. Don’t burn out — sleep properly and don’t force yourself into unsustainable, strict schedules that won’t work out long term. They won’t. Trust me, because I’ve been there and done that. Multiple times.

UPDATE (2023): Only adjustment to this is that the recruiting timeline is shifted up a month, applications open in early July and you should be one of the first ones to apply to every position. Have EVERYTHING ready (even if you’re not interview ready yet) and apply early because those early applies get the bulk of the spots available. Fail early and you’ll be way better off than starting well late.

That’s my two cents. This was literally just what I wrote up in the case that anyone still looks at this article, because this information is really important. There’s most likely an article coming on this later, so stay tuned. Take care.

— AlphaDex99