Ask HN: Is it still too hard to get a job at Google? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is it still too hard to get a job at Google?

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I grew up coding while I was in high school, between 2003 and 2008, dreaming with get a job at Google. At the time, it was the best company out there and there were videos about their offices, etc. I remember the first two people from my country that were hired appeared on the news.

But time washed out that feeling, until recently. I am close to be 30 years old and I'd love to try to be a Googler. I've been working since I was 18 years old, so I have experience. I worked mostly in PHP and Python, from doing Wordpress to API to some Data Engineer / Data Science (althouhg I enjoy Algorithms and I'd love to work with them)

I have a bachelor's degree on Maths and a Master's degree on Computer Science, although I often feel the famous impostor syndrome.

However, my question is if is still too hard to get a job at Google, or if it has become a bit easier, and if I have chances or I shouldn't even try? For example, this one seems interesting to apply (https://careers.google.com/jobs/results/75841506784486086/), although it requires to be legally allowed to work in the US.

Anyway, I'd love to know your opinion, mainly from people who started to work at Google recently. Thank you very much!

First things first; if you want a job at Google then you should apply and nothing anybody says is going to change that. It's not a huge opportunity cost and there is no shame in rejection; you're always allowed to try again later.

I cannot say if its "easier" or "harder" than it ever used to be; Google likes to say it doesn't "lower the bar" at all, so take from that what you will.

But here's a data point:

I started at Google in December in Europe. I graduated with a Bachelor's in 2012 (Maths & Phys) and have been working as a Developer since. Everything I learned regarding programming was learned post-Uni. Most of my "interview prep" was really a few weekends of leetcode/hackerrank questions (I was interviewing for several companies, so the time investment didn't feel too bad). I've done things like Project Euler and Advent of Code over the years too (but not to an insane degree; I've only solved ~120 PE problems over 8 years). You need to practice solving problems, and less an encyclopedic knowledge of everything (of course, the latter helps with the former). I didn't really do anything to prepare for the System Design interview; I don't really know what kind of prep one would do for that.

You may be asked to do at least one interview in one of {Java, C++, Go}, so make sure you're comfortable with one of them (expertise not required); I did two interviews in Python and one in Java.

(Things might be difficult right now because of the Coronavirus pandemic, so hiring may be temporarily frozen for where you want to go.)

Edit: With so much experience, you shouldn't be applying to a Graduate role.

It depends on how good you are at solving coding puzzles. Checkout LeetCode. Many people post their experiences interviewing for companies there. My guess is the problems are hard so it would require months of training solving coding problems and memorizing system design questions.

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