Segun Akinyemi

Christian, Software Engineer, Tech Enthusiast.

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Image Credit: Microsoft Cloud

Greetings! This post is a collection of tech-related career advice that I hope to keep updated regularly. I’ve been asked many times by students and job seekers I work with about this sort of stuff, so I figured it’d be easier to write it down rather than regurgitate this information every time the topic arises. To be abundantly clear, in my writing here, I represent no one but myself. All opinions are my own.

Software Engineering

This section contains advice for those seeking jobs in the software engineering space, by which I mean any job where you expect to be writing code as a primary part of your duties. This kind of work spans several job titles, more on that below.

Alternative Job Titles

Here are job titles that are either synonymous with or similar to “Software Engineer” and should be considered when job hunting. Different companies often use different titles for the same role. Additionally, some of these positions, while distinct from a Software Engineer, still require a similar core skill set (coding and technical proficiency). So, I’ve included them in the list.

  • Software Engineer
  • Software Developer
  • Software Development Engineer
  • Computer Programmer
  • Computer Systems Analyst
  • Platform Engineer
  • Data Scientist
  • Data Engineer
  • Backend Developer
  • Frontend Developer
  • Full Stack Developer
  • Application Developer
  • Application Engineer
  • Systems Developer
  • Systems Engineer
  • Systems Analyst
  • DevOps Engineer
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • AI Engineer
  • Cloud Engineer
  • IT Engineer
  • Embedded Systems Engineer
  • Mobile Developer
  • Web Developer

Interview Preparation

Here are resources I’ve used or that come highly recommended across the web that help with preparing for technical interviews. I see them consistently mentioned on Reddit, Blind, HackerNews, StackOverflow, and other tech forums as being worthwhile.

Learning Resources

You can learn most everything needed to start a career as a Software Engineer for free online. Now, learning on your own requires more discipline than the structured environment of a classroom, which is why college is still valuable if you can do it without going into debt. If not, well then, I’m happy to report there’s no secret knowledge at any college anywhere when it comes to tech. Everything is online for free. If you have the motivation and discipline to learn without oversight, you’ll love these resources.

Worthwhile Books

These are books I think are worth reading if you’re interested in Software Engineering as a career. They’re the ones I’ve heard mentioned most often by other technologists as being important to their careers. The links below take you to a Google search of the book, rather than to a specific spot where you can read it. That’s because links to online purchase copies of books are always changing. I’ll say, if you can, you should buy these books, but if you can’t, searching filetype:pdf Book Name Here on Google might help you out. You can find other book recommendations in this Reddit thread.

Helpful Online Communities

These are online communities I think are worth engaging in for anyone interested in software engineering. Tech moves fast, and these are great places to engage with the community to stay abreast of what’s what.

Product Management

This section is dedicated to Product Management, which is—at best—a nebulous job title. I’m not a PM, but I work closely with PMs and have several in my group of friends and mentors. The PM world—where the P can mean Product, Program, or Project—is infamous for ambiguity surrounding the difference between those roles. To me, they all seem to require the same set of core skills and competencies, differentiating themselves in the nuances of the company you’re at and what you’re working on. In this section, I’m grouping these terms together to offer advice that applies to all of them and their related roles.

Alternative Job Titles

I believe that someone interested in Product Management would be fit for any of the job titles listed below, all of which belong to the same genus if not the same species. I went through my LinkedIn connections to find a lot of these. These are real job titles that real people at real tech companies have right now.

To that end, I know many people in tech with job titles that make no sense to me, yet they’re smart, don’t primarily code, and possess the same or similar skill set you’d expect in a Product Manager. Tech companies hire for all the various roles listed below. If you see a posting with one of these job titles and are like “I’m not sure if this is right for me” just stop thinking and apply. Don’t let the job description intimidate you, it was probably written by ChatGPT. In my experience, even people in these roles often struggle to clearly explain exactly what it is they do. Just apply, and see what happens.

  • Product Manager
  • Program Manager
  • Project Manager
  • Technical Product Manager
  • Technical Program Manager
  • Technical Project Manager
  • Business Product Manager
  • Business Program Manager
  • Business Project Manager
  • Business Manager
  • Business Analyst
  • Business Systems Analyst
  • Business Strategy Manager
  • Business Operations Manager
  • Business Operations Analyst
  • Business Administrator
  • Business Support Administrator
  • Business Development Manager
  • Systems Business Analyst
  • Product Owner
  • Product Designer
  • Content Developer
  • Scrum Master
  • Data Analyst
  • Data Management Analyst
  • Management Analyst
  • Consultant
  • Associate Consultant
  • Service Management Consultant
  • Operations Manager
  • Strategy Manager
  • Implementation Manager
  • Digital Product Manager
  • Solution Area Specialist
  • Enterprise Architect
  • Executive Assistant
  • Executive Business Assistant
  • Executive Business Administrator
  • Solutions Architect
  • Cloud Architect
  • Cloud Solutions Architect
  • Production Engineer
  • Production Lead
  • Relationship Manager
  • Customer Success Account Manager
  • Customer Experience Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Analyst
  • Test Engineer
  • Test Analyst
  • Support Engineer
  • Support Escalation Engineer
  • Support Engineering Manager
  • Technical Support Manager
  • Technical Support Engineer
  • Finance Manager
  • Account Manager
  • Partner Success Manager
  • Service Engineer
  • Commercial Executive
  • Operations Deals Manager
  • Human Resources Generalist
  • Sales Engineer
  • Sales Specialist
  • Marketing Manager
  • Marketing Analyst
  • Marketing Engineer
  • Event Planner
  • Project Planner
  • Planning Manager
  • Commissioning Manager
  • Data and Analytics Controller
  • Operations Engineer
  • Cloud Operations Manager
  • Recruiter
  • Technical Recruiter
  • Business Specialist
  • Talent Acquisition Specialist
  • Prompt Engineer
  • Supply Chain Planner
  • Supply Chain Specialist
  • Envisioning Specialist
  • Portfolio Analyst
  • Audit Manager
  • Literally anything with “Manager”, “Analyst”, or “Specialist” in the title

Interview Preparation

I can’t say I’ve got the best advice related to preparing for PM interviews, as I’ve never done it myself, but here are some resources I either found online or were shared with me by PMs I know.

Learning Resources

Here are some learning resources worthwhile for those interested in Product Management or related fields.

Worthwhile Books

While I’m not a PM, I asked around and did some research to find these books that are highly recommended by those deeply familiar with the world of Product Management.

Helpful Online Communities

Here are some online communities that should prove helpful for someone interested in Product Management or adjacent fields.

Career Programs

Companies worldwide offer training programs targeted at specific groups of people, enabling them to enter the industry and become valuable contributors. These programs exist for different reasons such as to attract diverse talent, to fill challenging roles, or to provide opportunities for individuals from nontraditional backgrounds. Whatever the reason, these programs have helped many people secure great careers at top companies who might not have otherwise had the chance.

Here are some programs that I know of. I’d encourage you to also Google things like “career training programs” or “free technical training programs” to find more options.

High School

Career programs for high school students.

  • Road to Hire - In their own words, Road to Hire interrupts cycles of intergenerational poverty by ensuring the young people in its programs have access to higher education, high-earning careers and prosperous futures. R2H programs are designed to meet students where they are and provide pathways to high-growth careers in STEM. Road to Hire’s High School, College and Apprenticeship programs serve first-gen college students, students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. So they help young people from high school through recent graduates find their way into careers with training, mentorship, job placement, and more.
  • Microsoft Discovery Program - A 4-week internship at Microsoft for high school students focused on mentorship and tech skilling. This is not nationwide, read the latest info on the program page for what cities are offering this.
  • Various Google Programs - Google has a page listing various programs they sponsor that train and develop students in high school, college, or who are recent graduates.
  • Carolina Youth Coalition - A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Charlotte, North Carolina that nurtures and propels high-achieving, under-resourced students to and through college. I’ve been a volunteer with the organization since 2020. They are amazing. They provide minority high school students with every possible resource to help them reach college with little to no debt and excel while they’re there. You must be a high school student in the Charlotte, North Carolina area to qualify.

College

Career programs for students currently in college.

  • Various Leadership & Rotational Programs - Northeastern University in Boston has created an amazing list of rotational programs that provide mentoring and training to college students across different industries. Check it out!
  • Road to Hire - In their own words, Road to Hire interrupts cycles of intergenerational poverty by ensuring the young people in its programs have access to higher education, high-earning careers and prosperous futures. R2H programs are designed to meet students where they are and provide pathways to high-growth careers in STEM. Road to Hire’s High School, College and Apprenticeship programs serve first-gen college students, students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. So they help young people from high school through recent graduates find their way into careers with training, mentorship, job placement, and more.
  • Explore Microsoft Program - Internships at Microsoft for first and second-year college students.
  • Microsoft Student Opportunities - A page with Microsoft’s various internship and employment offerings for college students of all levels.
  • Microsoft Imagine Cup - A global hackathon competition with significant prizes put on by Microsoft every year. You must be 18+ to participate. Students form groups of no more than 4 and build ideas that use Azure to solve problems or make cool things. Projects are then judged by Microsoft representatives, with winning teams receiving awards, including cash investments (up to $50,000 last I checked).
  • Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors - A program by which Microsoft lets college students become unpaid representatives of the Microsoft Learn platform on their college campuses. The benefits to students are networking opportunities, access to entrepreneurial resources, mentorship, and up to $150k in credits (Azure & OpenAI) that can be used to build product ideas.
  • Google STEP Program - In their own words, Student Training in Engineering Program (STEP) is a developmental internship program for first and second-year undergraduate students, aimed specifically at cultivating high-potential students and focuses on providing development opportunities through technical training, software engineering project work, and professional development.
  • Google Student Opportunities - A page with Google’s various internship and employment offerings for college students.
  • Various Google Programs - Google has a page listing various programs they sponsor that train and develop students in high school, college, or who are recent graduates.
  • Apple Student Opportunities - A page with Apple’s various internship and employment offerings for college students.
  • Meta Student Opportunities - A page with Meta’s various internship and employment offerings for college students.
  • Meta University - Summer long internship for first or second-year college students from underrepresented communities.
  • Amazon Student Opportunities - A page with Amazon’s various internship and employment offerings for college students.
  • Gardhouse - A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Charlotte, North Carolina that focuses on creating a seamless pipeline to employment for underserved college students. They give college students a paid semester-long internship alongside career coaching and professional development opportunities. Must be in the state of North Carolina to qualify.
  • Edward Jones Student Programs - Edward Jones has various training and development programs for college students (internships) and new grads (co-ops).
  • Northern Trust Programs - They have various programs for training and developing college students and recent graduates.
  • Capital One Programs - Various paid training and employment programs for college students, recent graduates, and MBA/Master’s/PhD students.
  • Pacific Life Programs - They have a handful of paid employment and training programs for college students and recent graduates.
  • U.S. Government Pathways Program - In their own words, The Pathways Program offers federal internship and employment opportunities for current students, recent graduates and those with an advanced degree. So the government will hire you, train you in some in-demand field (including tech), and then give you a job if you get into the program.
  • Wells Fargo Programs - They have a bunch of programs, including in technology, for undergraduates and post-graduates to prepare them for various careers. Explore the site to learn more.
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise Global IT Early Career Program - Programs for current college students and recent graduates to be employed and trained by HPE in various career fields.

Recent College Graduates

Career programs for recent college graduates.

  • Road to Hire - In their own words, Road to Hire interrupts cycles of intergenerational poverty by ensuring the young people in its programs have access to higher education, high-earning careers and prosperous futures. R2H programs are designed to meet students where they are and provide pathways to high-growth careers in STEM. Road to Hire’s High School, College and Apprenticeship programs serve first-gen college students, students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. So they help young people from high school through recent graduates find their way into careers with training, mentorship, job placement, and more.
  • 30 Companies That Offer Professional Development Programs for Recent Graduates - A great list of a bunch of professional development programs for recent graduates in various fields.
  • Microsoft Aspire Program - Jobs at Microsoft that are reserved for recent college graduates. If hired, you’re brought into a program called Aspire that’s specifically meant to ease you into the tech world. You get a mentor, specialized training, an understanding manager who knows you’re still learning, and a chance to explore different roles within the company.
  • Microsoft Finance Rotation Program - A two-year program comprised of four, 6-month rotations aimed at developing recent graduates into Financial Analysts and Managers. If you studied Business, Accounting, Finance, Economics, or anything in that general space, this could be of interest to you.
  • Microsoft HR Rotation Program - In their own words, A 12-week internship and an opportunity to return for our 3-year rotation program after your internship. This 3-year experience will foster learning and growth in the HR profession, and help you jumpstart your career _in HR. It puts recent college graduates, specifically those working on their Master’s of Human Resources or MBA, on the path to becoming an HR Professional.
  • Microsoft Cloud Supply Chain Rotational Program - In Microsoft’s own words, a three-year career experience designed to provide emerging talent with an unparalleled journey through end-to-end cloud supply chain operations. Over three one-year rotations, participants will partner with and learn from our teams while building skills and supply chain acumen to accelerate their career growth. So taking recent college graduates and making them good at supply chain stuff, whatever that means.
  • Various Google Programs - Google has a page listing various programs they sponsor that train and develop students in high school, college, or who are recent graduates.
  • Meta Rotational Engineering Program - A 12-month program aimed at helping software engineers improve their skills. It’s Meta’s way of providing opportunities to grow to people who maybe can’t pass their hiring bar right now, but who have potential. You’re expected to have some sort of software engineering/coding background but aren’t expected to be “good enough” for Meta quite yet. This program is meant to get you there.
  • Meta Rotational Product Manager Program - An 18-month developmental program, designed to give people the skills and competencies needed to become a successful product manager (PM) at Meta.
  • Meta Discover Production Engineering Program - A 12-month development program to help people with non-traditional backgrounds develop both software and systems engineering skills. Participants get considered for full-time employment at Meta at the end of the program.
  • Meta Apprenticeship Program - A paid 18-month program that lets people without tech experience work a full-time job while completing a skills development course. Apprentices who successfully finish the program get considered for a full-time job. Last I checked they only offered this in London and have a very short application window.
  • Mastercard Launch - In their own words, Mastercard Launch is an 18-month global development program providing recent Bachelor’s and Master’s graduates with development opportunities and exposure. You will not only enhance your professional growth and skills in a global setting, you’ll launch your Mastercard career.
  • M&T Bank Management Development Program - In their own words, A year-long non-rotational training program, consisting of a project, designed to strengthen your leadership skills such as the ability to create vision, build alliances, drive results and much more​. This program gives you a job at M&T Bank when you’re done.
  • Atomic Object’s Accelerator Program - Atomic Object is a custom software development company. They offer a professional development and training program called Atomic Accelerator to new grads interested in software careers. In their own words, This is not a glorified internship. You’ll join our team as a full-fledged Atom, with the same benefits, pay scale, and responsibilities as other Atoms—including working on real software projects for Atomic clients. An “Atom” is what they call their employees.
  • Dynatrace Sales Development Representative Program - Dynatrace is a tech company that provides AI-powered monitoring software. They have a training and development program for new grads interested in tech sales. You get paid while learning, growing, and getting ready for a career.
  • Siemens Engineering Development Programs - A training program for recent graduates by Siemens providing pathways into operations, automation, product development, and engineering careers.
  • Siemens Technical Marketing & Sales Programs - A training program for recent graduates by Siemens that provides pathways into product sales, product marketing, business development, and strategic marketing careers.
  • Boeing Rotational Programs - Boeing has a bunch of programs for recent college graduates to skill them and help them launch their careers in domains like Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, and more. Check out the website for more details.
  • Fidelity LEAP - In their own words, Fidelity LEAP is an 18-week program designed for recent or upcoming college grads pursuing an engineering degree. Through immersive, high-impact learning experiences, you’ll practice your skills with a full-time role waiting for you upon completion.
  • Edward Jones Student Programs - Edward Jones has various training and development programs for college students (internships) and new grads (co-ops).
  • Amtrak Management Trainee & Rotational Programs - If you really like trains, Amtrak has programs to train recent college graduates for careers as leaders and/or operational employees within their company.
  • Abbott Rotational Development Programs - In their own words, Assignments in our rotational development programs are formally structured, two-to-three-year paid assignments designed to let recent college graduates explore new career opportunities and experiences based on specific functions or disciplines. So basically they hire you and rotate you through different job areas, training you along the way, and giving you a job at the end.
  • CVS Health Actuarial Development Program - In their own words, The Actuarial Development Program (ADP) is designed to support and grow early in career actuarial talent. Exam progression and career development are fostered in tandem to create the next generation of business leaders at Aetna, a CVS Health® Company. They’re looking for people with some technical interest, not necessarily computer science majors, but people who’ve sniffed around Python, SQL, Excel, etc.
  • Northern Trust Programs - They have various programs for training and developing college students and recent graduates.
  • Capital One Programs - Various paid training and employment programs for college students, recent graduates, and MBA/Master’s/PhD students.
  • Pacific Life Programs - They have a handful of paid employment and training programs for college students and recent graduates.
  • U.S. Government Pathways Program - In their own words, The Pathways Program offers federal internship and employment opportunities for current students, recent graduates and those with an advanced degree. So the government will hire you, train you in some in-demand field (including tech), and then give you a job if you get into the program.
  • Wells Fargo Programs - They have a bunch of programs, including in technology, for undergraduates and post-graduates to prepare them for various careers. Explore the site to learn more.
  • Rockwell Automation EDGE Program - In their own words, EDGE encompasses our early career programs that are designed to help the next generation of makers, builders and innovators jump-start a successful career at Rockwell Automation. These programs will help students and new grads expand, discover, grow and excel – providing that critical EDGE needed as you grow into your career.
  • Just a Start Biotechnology & Information Technology Careers Program - A tuition-free 9-month training program for science and technology careers in Cambridge, MA. You’re not paid while you’re training, but they do help you get a job once things are over. Their only criterion is you have a high school diploma, so recent graduates and career switchers/returners are all eligible.
  • Trane Technologies Early Careers Programs - Various paid training programs for recent graduates to kickstart careers in various tech or tech-adjacent fields.
  • AIG Early Career Programs - Various paid training programs to help recent graduates start their careers in finance-related fields.
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise Global IT Early Career Program - Programs for current college students and recent graduates to be employed and trained by HPE in various career fields.

Career Switchers & Returners

These are programs for people with professional experience who are looking to switch careers into tech, or for whatever reason, had to step away from their prior career. Some examples of this could be mothers returning from extended maternity leave, military personnel entering the civilian workforce, people with medical conditions that forced them out of work, or people who worked in industry, got burnt out, and are now looking to get back into things. These programs are aimed at giving people with non-traditional backgrounds or situations a path into tech.

  • Microsoft Leap - A program that recruits, develops, and upskills unconventional talent for employability in the tech industry. So if you’re a working professional wanting to transition to tech but have no background or experience, this program is for you. Microsoft will train you for 16 weeks and then allow you to interview for a full-time job with a strong “let’s give them a shot” sort of bias. They don’t accept applications year round though, so check the website regularly to see when they’re open.
  • Microsoft Software and Systems Academy - A program that provides transitioning service members and veterans with technical and career skills training. Basically, it helps them move from the military into a tech career through a 17-week training program.
  • Microsoft Power Up Program - Offers free instructor-led training on Microsoft’s Power Platform to people without technical backgrounds. It’s meant to help get them into tech by becoming proficient in low-code tools.
  • LinkedIn REACH Program - In their own words, REACH is a technical apprenticeship program at LinkedIn that bridges the opportunity gap for individuals with non-traditional backgrounds. We’ve designed this program to give those with non-traditional backgrounds an opportunity to get their foot in the door in the tech industry and begin or continue their technical career!
  • Path Forward - An organization that helps people find returnships, which are like internships but for people returning to work after time away.
  • reachHire - Another organization that helps people find returnships.
  • Women Back to Work - An organization that specifically helps women find returnships and opportunities to re-enter the workforce after time away.
  • Amazon’s AWS re/Start - A cohort-based workforce development training program that prepares individuals for careers in the cloud and connects them to potential employers. A technology background is not required to apply. The program is free to the learner and focused on helping unemployed or underemployed individuals launch a new career.
  • NPower - In their own words, NPower creates pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. They offer training in various domains to help people break into tech careers. It’s not nationwide though, so check the website for what states they operate in.
  • Goodwill IT Training - Goodwill offers a free IT training program to transition people into tech careers in certain states. Since this is state-specific, the website for the program varies. The linked text is to a Google search to see if they have a program near you.
  • Accenture Apprenticeship Program - Accenture, one of the world’s largest consulting firms, offers an apprenticeship program for professionals looking to start new careers or grow their skills. The details of the program depend heavily on location and the domain you’re interested in, so visit the website to learn more.
  • Just a Start Biotechnology & Information Technology Careers Program - A tuition-free 9-month training program for science and technology careers in Cambridge, MA. You’re not paid while you’re training, but they do help you get a job once things are over. Their only criterion is you have a high school diploma, so recent graduates and career switchers/returners are all eligible.
  • TechBridge Technology Career Program - In their own words, The TechBridge Technology Career Program addresses barriers and improves economic outcomes through technology and career development training and industry-recognized certifications. At no cost to participants, the part-time programs teach unemployed and underemployed adults technology and communication skills, leading to sustainable careers. Explore the website to learn more!

Other

These are career programs that didn’t fit into any of the above categories.

  • YearUp - A non-profit organization that provides tuition-free job training and higher education opportunities to young adults without a four-year bachelor’s degree. So, if college wasn’t an option, or you weren’t interested, they’ll help you find your way into tech/corporate jobs even without a degree.
  • Google Build Your Future Programs - Programs either sponsored by or run by Google for career seekers of various backgrounds and experience levels.

Company Specific Advice

The following section dives into advice specific to the recruitment process at certain big tech companies. I hope this information proves valuable for someone trying to find their way into one of these behemoths. I’ve gathered this information anecdotally, having worked at one of these companies and interviewed up to the offer stage with others. Additionally, I regularly speak with employees at all of them through conferences, tech meet-ups, hackathons, LinkedIn, etc, allowing me to learn about how they do things. This is all public information, I share no secrets. I’ve only pulled it together for ease of access. That being said, don’t take my word as law, always do your research. Also consider that tech moves fast, and companies change, so some of this information may be dated.

An Acknowledgement

I give full and deeply appreciative credit to Gayle Laakmann McDowell—author of the iconic Cracking the Coding Interview book—for being the avenue by which I first learned key knowledge, insights, tips, and wisdom about finding your way into big tech companies. The Behind the Scenes chapter of the book is, without question, the model after which I’ve written the section below. When I first read her book in 2020, I was myself trying to crack the coding interview, with ambitions of making my way into a big tech company. Perhaps more than any other chapter, her inside look at how Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook (now Meta), and Palantir handle interviews got me ready for the recruiting cycle at several of them, ending with offers that changed the course of my life. While I certainly—as a devout Christian—give God the glory, I’d be remiss to not believe wholeheartedly that He works through people like Gayle, who devote time, effort, and energy to empowering others through knowledge.

Or said another way, I’m giving Gayle her props, flowers, respect, all that. She’s an OG of the industry, a legend. I don’t consider myself on her level, but the section below is my attempt at providing something akin to her Behind the Scenes chapter, just refreshed from the viewpoint of someone whose been plugged into tech both through and now post-COVID. You should still absolutely read Cracking the Coding Interview, or Cracking the PM Interview, depending on the roles you’re interested in. New editions are released regularly to keep them relevant with the times.

Microsoft

As Gayle Laakmann McDowell aptly said in Cracking the Coding Interview, Microsoft wants smart people. Geeks. People who are passionate about technology. I’m happy to report that’s still true (even if you don’t self-identify as a “Geek”), but if you want to join their ranks, it’ll help to know how their talent system operates in a post-COVID world.

Microsoft somewhat infamously has decentralized recruiting. This means that each of their many thousands of teams gets to post open positions on the company’s careers site. The result is there being at times hundreds of postings with the same job title. So, consider for a second that you’re someone looking to get into Microsoft as a Software Engineer. After navigating to their careers site, you find a bunch of postings with the job title Software Engineer. What do you do? Well, you have some options.

  1. Read through every single posting and apply only to the ones where the description speaks to you on a personal level. With this strategy, your application goes to a select few teams at Microsoft, the ones that you think are best fits based on your reading of the job description (which, to be candid, might’ve been written by a recruiter, HR representative, or ChatGPT Microsoft Copilot, none of whom are actually on the team in question).
  2. Apply to all of them because you don’t really care what team at Microsoft you join, you just want in. Microsoft has no application limit. With this strategy, you might be concerned that you’re spamming the company, that you’ll look desperate (no shame in that), or too forward. However, you’ll be maximizing your chances of getting in since you’ll be putting up your candidacy to many teams, each with a different recruiter, hiring manager, and possibly tech stack, rather than just a few.
  3. Step back from the careers site and lean into networking through LinkedIn, conferences, career fairs, hackathons, etc. Instead of applying as an outsider, apply with a referral, or connection to a recruiter or hiring manager who’ll keep an eye out for your application. This is a proven strategy, at Microsoft and beyond.

Many people go with #1, which is fine, but can lead to frustration as you’re only getting a look from a handful of teams at a company with thousands of them. You really need to self-evaluate if you’re going with #1. If you have a good deal of experience—in specific programming languages, clouds, frameworks, and tools—then #1 is likely the right choice for you. You’re a specialist, a subject matter expert, a consummate professional with a particular set of skills that you know select teams at Microsoft certainly need, rather than someone with general skills, but with no specific focus (as is the case with most early career job seekers). Take some time to self-reflect and go with #1 if it fits your career profile.

#2 raises valid concerns about appearing desperate, but as someone with public knowledge (nothing secret here) of how recruiting at Microsoft works, I can assure you that these concerns are, if not invalid, greatly exaggerated and, in most cases, not worth worrying about. Microsoft knows they’re hot, that people want to work there, that they’re a cool employer. The same is true of Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and any other tech company you’ve heard of. You need not worry about maintaining an appearance of “interested, but not desperate.” You’re dealing with trillion-dollar for-profit corporations with thousands of employees. Shoot your shot.

#3 is a classic strategy proven to work across corporations worldwide, your network is your net worth. If you don’t feel comfortable with #2, devote yourself to #3. Lean into becoming a master networker. Go to career fairs, conferences, hackathons, tech meet-ups, and the like. Get that LinkedIn premium, and start sliding in some DM’s. Note that this strategy may be impacted by your geographic location. You can’t go to career events if there are none in your area, but you can do whatever you want (within reason) on LinkedIn so long as you have an internet connection.

Now, let’s dive a bit more into #2. With Microsoft—because of their decentralized recruiting—your application typically gets routed to a single recruiter or hiring manager handling recruiting for that team. You’re not applying to Microsoft as a whole as much as you’re applying to a specific team (or organization) within Microsoft. If you apply to a few postings, you’ll be considered by a few teams. If you apply to a bunch of postings, you’ll be considered by a bunch of teams, many of whom won’t even know they’re all giving you a look (speaking from experience). Recruiters at Microsoft are usually contractors, which means they rotate in and out of the company and don’t have unfettered access to internal HR data. They’ll often, after finding a promising candidate, reach out and ask “Are you already engaged with any other teams at Microsoft?”. Now, consider why a Microsoft recruiter, who works at the company you’re looking to join, would have to ask you—who is outside the company—if you’re already interviewing with their company. Well, I’ll tell you why, it’s because they don’t know! While Microsoft recruiters can see the postings you’ve applied to—so they’ll know if you applied to a few or 100s—they can’t see if recruiters for postings they don’t own have reached out to you. This is a function of Microsoft recruiters mostly being contractors (in contrast to Google or Meta, where recruiters are usually full-time employees). Because of this, if you want to get into Microsoft, you’re best served by applying to several postings with your target job title, rather than just the few that seem like ‘good’ fits for you (again, based on your unscientific reading of a job posting written by someone who likely isn’t actually on the team in question).

Microsoft recruiting operates similarly to a professional sports league, like the NFL. The NFL is one organization, but within it are many teams all competing for talent. The NFL encourages this competition, as it hardly matters to them what team someone joins, so long as they’re NFL caliber (with some exceptions, such as putting popular prospects in big market cities). The NFL trusts that, because of the internal competition between teams, the standard for being NFL caliber will remain high, and ever-growing, as teams ferociously search for talent, which might include signing it away from a different team (free agency). Furthermore, there’s internal mobility, so if someone signs with a team and turns out to be a bad fit, they can sign with a different team, but they remain within the NFL as a whole. In much the same way, Microsoft has many teams and organizations, all competing for talent, all with their own contract recruiter trying to help them find it. This recruiter probably needs a certain number of candidates to pass the interviews and get an offer to ensure their contract is renewed. And so, recruiters at Microsoft are competing with other recruiters at Microsoft for talent for their respective teams. This highly competitive sports-like environment has its pros and cons, but I’m not here to discuss that. For someone looking to get into Microsoft, understanding how they recruit should prove valuable.

In summary, postings on Microsoft’s career site are for different teams. If you want to get hired and don’t have a specific team preference, consider applying to multiple postings with your target job title instead of just a few. Now, I’m sure a Microsoft representative or recruiter reading this might say “No no, only apply to positions with descriptions you feel passionate about”. I’d suggest that person, who already enjoys the numerous benefits of working at Microsoft, consider the perspective of those on the outside. To outsiders, Microsoft appears a dauntingly massive organization with hundreds of products, thousands of employees, an untold number of teams, and a lot of confusing job titles. They seek only a single opportunity somewhere within it all. For most people, their goal is to work at Microsoft, not on the “XYZ” team at Microsoft (Xbox being a notable exception, people do specifically target that organization a lot). If that’s you, then I’d encourage you to apply to any and all postings with your desired job title. Roll up your sleeves and shoot your shot!

Check out the page below for interview tips directly from Microsoft.

Interviewing at Microsoft

Google

Google is in many ways the opposite of Microsoft when it comes to recruiting. They are very centralized. You’re applying to Google as a company, as a brand, not just 1 team within Google. To that end, they limit the number of applications you can submit within a certain time frame. When you interview at Google, they’re evaluating if you’re good enough for Google on the whole. It’s not until after you’ve passed the Google hiring bar that you’re placed on a team. This process is called team matching, and it’s fraught with its own challenges, but we’re not here to discuss that. The main takeaway is that Google is very intentional about recruiting people for Google overall, rather than just teams within it. By doing things this way, they’ve been able to maintain their famously high hiring bar, by which they’re able to boast that their employees are elite.

Because of their centralized approach to hiring, your recruiter at Google matters quite a bit. Google recruiters are usually employees, rather than contractors. You won’t get several Google recruiters all reaching out to ask if you’ve already engaged with the company, they’ll know. In fact, they keep tabs on candidates who made it past their first few rounds but didn’t get a final offer, or who got the offer and turned it down. They’re known to reach back out from time to time to see if they can get you another shot. To get an interview at Google, you first need to get the interest of a recruiter, and unlike Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, you can only engage with 1 at a time. This means that networking and referrals are more effective ways into Google than they prove to be at other companies.

So, if you’re interested in Google, head over to their careers site and apply to some postings with your target job title. A word of caution, if you’re planning on networking with Google recruiters, consider applying to only 1-2 postings. I say 1-2 because you don’t want to hit their application limit, which was 3 the last time I checked. The reason you don’t want to hit the limit is because doing so bars you from applying for a certain period, usually 30 days. If you happen to hit things off with a Google recruiter who wants you to apply to a specific position, but you’ve already reached the application limit, well.

Played yourself gif

After you’ve submitted your applications, your next best strategy is to network aggressively with Google recruiters on LinkedIn. They tend to be some of the best in tech and—if they take notice of you—will become your guide towards becoming a Googler. Alongside leveraging LinkedIn, go to conferences, networking events, meet-ups, hackathons, and the like where you know Google representatives will be present. Google hires a lot, they’re just very intentional about it. Spamming their careers site is literally not even possible, so you’ve got to put some extra effort into joining their ranks.

Here’s some general advice from Google on interviewing with them.

Interviewing at Google

Apple

Apple, like Google, has centralized recruiting, but like Microsoft, their recruiters are usually contractors rather than employees. Also similar to Microsoft, Apple has no limit on their careers site for the number of postings you can apply to, but unlike Microsoft, spamming applications at them isn’t a particularly effective strategy (although you’re welcome to try it, shooters shoot). So, as is characteristic of Apple, they’re unique.

If you apply to a bunch of positions at Apple, they’ll likely end up going to different recruiters for different teams. If one of them takes notice of you, they’ll usually start by sending an email asking if you’re already engaged with other teams at Apple. I’m not sure if they’re unable to see that information internally, or if they ask just to be certain, but in my experience, they always ask. Where Apple sets itself apart among the big tech companies is with their profound concern for—not only cultural fit—but alignment (by way of skills) with their distinct way of building products. While this is less stringent for interns and new graduates due to their limited experience, Apple places greater emphasis on this alignment for more seasoned candidates. They want to see experience with the languages they code in (Objective-C, Swift), the IDE they build in (Xcode), knowledge of their very specific design systems, a bias for their line of consumer products, and things of that nature.

Apple has such a dominance over consumer hardware—which exclusively runs their software—that their employees need only be experts in the Apple way of doing things. That’s enough to give them a long and prosperous career. Even if they leave Apple, everyone else on the planet has to build stuff that works on Apple devices, so they’ll still be in high demand. Apple’s robust ecosystem of hardware and software ownership + integration is, without question, the envy of tech companies worldwide. To that end, they’re supremely committed to preserving the integrity of their brand— which is synonymous with quality and privacy worldwide—through their hiring practices. Unlike many companies, Apple didn’t over-hire during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, what layoffs they did have post-COVID were minimal and more about strategic alignment rather than course correction. They’re looking for true believers—Kool-Aid drinkers (not used pejoratively)—people who buy into their ambitious vision for the future of computing. Those who do are invited to join them at their iconic Silicon Valley campus, famously known as the spaceship (or at any of their other offices, they want employees in person).

That being said, the process for getting into Apple can’t really be “hacked”. You’ve got to apply to positions and network with Apple recruiters. Emphasis on “s” in “recruiters”. Unlike Google, which prefers one recruiter per candidate, Apple is fine with candidates interviewing for different teams and thus working with more than one recruiter. Their interviews are so well standardized that, regardless of which team you interview with, you’ll encounter the same hiring bar and expectations. There’s no sneaking your way into Apple. So, in addition to applying to postings, leverage LinkedIn, attend conferences, career days, meetups, hackathons, and network as much as you can.

Here’s some general advice from Apple on interviewing with them.

Interviewing at Apple

Meta

Meta has a centralized recruiting process with recruiters who are usually employees. They’re well-organized, and as a result, don’t require people to employ any sort of special strategies to get in. Meta hires pretty consistently due to Mark Zuckerberg’s seemingly limitless ambitions for the company, which led to their “Meta” rebranding, as they became far more than just Facebook. They also have numerous programs to help nontraditional talent secure jobs, so your chances of getting in may be higher compared to other tech companies.

Since their recruiters are typically employees, they play a crucial role as they tend to stay with Meta for a while. They track promising candidates who made it through some rounds but didn’t pass the final, or who passed the final round but declined the offer. They’re known to reach back out to such people to gauge their interest in interviewing again. So overall, Meta recruiting is most similar to Google, where you want to apply to positions on the careers site (but unlike Google, they have no application limit), while also spending time networking with their recruiters on LinkedIn and at events.

One thing Meta has that most big tech companies don’t is a rotational program for talent that’s “good, but not quite good enough” to pass their hiring bar. If you interview at Meta and seem promising, but not quite there yet, they might hire you into one of their rotational programs. In these programs, you’re essentially a “contract-to-hire” intern-like employee. You have a set period (usually six months) where you work at Meta and rotate between several teams. During that time, you’re expected to learn, grow, and hopefully prove that you’re good enough to be full-time. Many people have successfully made their way into Meta through these programs, so it’s great that they offer those opportunities. You can read more about them below.

Here’s some general advice from Meta on interviewing with them.

Interviewing at Meta

Amazon

Amazon, like Microsoft, employs the professional sports league style of decentralized recruiting. Thousands of teams, thousands of postings, an army of contract recruiters, and competition both internally and externally for talent. As a result, if you want in, you’re best served applying to all postings on their careers site that have your target job title. Your applications are going to different recruiters for different teams. You’re not applying to Amazon on the whole as much as you’re applying to a specific team within Amazon. The more teams you submit to, the greater your chances of one of them being interested in you.

If you think Amazon is just an online retailer, think again. That’s not even their biggest money maker, Amazon Web Services (AWS)—the world’s leading cloud provider—is. They have plenty for people to do and hire a lot as a result. Now, that comes with some drawbacks, such as their infamous “hire-to-fire” policy driven by Jack Welch-style stack ranking, but we’re not here to discuss that. If you get a job at Amazon and end up getting fired, or PIP’d, well at least you have Amazon on your resume, which carries prestige that’ll help your job search.

Some quirks of interviewing with Amazon is their fixation on your embrace of their leadership principles, alongside their bar raiser round. The leadership principles are exactly as they sound, a series of guidelines that govern how Amazon expects employees to operate and do business. They ask about them in interviews and expect candidates to have at least heard of them. The bar raiser is interesting. Amazon interviews typically have 5 rounds, one of which is called the “bar raiser”. In this round, someone comes in to ask you a question that’s way harder than what’s appropriate for the position you’re interviewing for. If you get it right, it’s a strong “hire this person” signal. If you get it wrong, it’s not a deal breaker, but it solidifies that you’re either at or below the level of the position in question. It’s a chance to impress that, if passed, nearly guarantees an offer, and if failed, doesn’t completely sink your chances.

To read more about interviewing at Amazon, check out the link below.

Interviewing at Amazon

Other Companies

Other tech or tech-adjacent companies worth mentioning are Netflix, NVIDIA, AMD, LinkedIn, GitHub, OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Perplexity, Qualcomm, Uber, Square, Spotify, PayPal, Visa, DoorDash, Stripe, Plaid, SoFi, Snowflake, Lyft, Snap, Cloudflare, Atlassian, Salesforce, ByteDance (TikTok), Oracle, IBM, Intel, Adobe, Cisco, Intuit, HP, Mastercard, Sony, Nintendo, SAP, Samsung, Accenture, USA Jobs, PwC, Yahoo, Bayer, Deloitte, EY, Booz Allen Hamilton, McKinsey, KPMG, Boeing, HBO, Paramount, Disney, eBay, Centene, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Ally, Truist, Wells Fargo, Capital One, PNC, TD, Airbnb, Walmart, Target, John Deere, NASCAR, Lending Tree, MetLife, Lowe’s, Home Depot, AvidXchange, Ford, Worldwide Technology, GM, Verizon, Charter Spectrum, Citigroup, USPS, UPS, FedEx, Lockheed Martin, GE, RTX, Goldman Sachs, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Airbus, Honeywell, Morgan Stanley, Slalolm, Slalom Build, T-Mobile, AT&T, CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, McKesson, Siemens, Cigna, Cardinal Health, Dell, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Optum, AbbVie, Red Ventures, Duke Energy, Pinterest, Slack, Zillow, Dropbox, Reddit, VMware, HubSpot, Twilio, Shopify, ServiceNow, Zendesk, Palantir, Workday, Coinbase, Robinhood, Instacart, Zoom, Snowflake, Databricks, Asana, DigitalOcean, Elastic, GrubHub, Squarespace, Roku, Epic Games, Unity, Slack, Samsung, Edward Jones, Fidelity, Allstate, Vanguard, Capgemini, D.E Shaw, Trimble, and Humana.

I don’t know anything about getting into those companies beyond what you’d find in a Google search, but I know they all hire tech professionals. I’ve listed them (and hyperlinked each name to the company’s careers site) to encourage you to do some research and apply away!

In closing this section, I beseech you, my dear friend seeking a way into tech, please don’t only apply to the big glamorous companies.

That’s like wanting to go to college and only applying to Ivy League schools. Yes, you should apply to all the Ivy League schools, but if you don’t get in, should you conclude that college is impossible nobody can get in and everyone should give up on it? Certainly not! You only applied to literally the hardest schools on earth to get into. Be pragmatic, apply to your local schools as well, apply to academically prestigious schools that aren’t in the Ivy League (shout out to Washington University in St. Louis, Stanford, MIT, Duke, University of Chicago, Rice, Vanderbilt, Northwestern), apply to HBCU’s, apply to community colleges, apply to international schools, apply everywhere. There’s more than one path to college, just like there’s more than one way into tech. More on that below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some questions I hear a lot from students or job seekers interested in tech careers.

Do I need a degree to break into tech?

No, but you do need some sort of training that you can showcase. This could be certificate programs, coding boot camps, skilling programs offered by companies or governments, or anything along those lines. It doesn’t have to be a college degree; it just needs to be evidence that you’ve invested time in learning the skills of the trade. For example, it could be a major project you worked on that turned into an app or website with your name on it. In tech, people just want to see proof that you know what you’re doing. The most traditional evidence of this is a college degree, but there are other options.

Here are some alternative paths to consider:

  1. Certificate Programs: Many universities and online platforms offer certificate programs in various tech fields. These programs are typically shorter and more focused than a full degree. They’re hardly ever free though, so do your research and choose a reputable, and affordable, option. Some good options are Microsoft Learn, Grow with Google, AWS Certification, Coursera, Cisco Certifications, and CompTIA.
  2. Coding Boot Camps: These programs are designed to teach you the skills needed to land a tech job quickly. Now, to be honest, they’re not as effective as they used to be. There was a time when some misinformed people thought college was dead. All you’d need was a 6-month boot camp to become a software engineer. Just “learn to code”. That fad has passed. With everyone and their mama wanting to be in tech now, and more college-educated people than ever before, boot camp grads are less appealing to employers than they once were. However, if you have literally no background, training, or experience with tech, they’re still good places to get started. They’re highly practical and project-based, helping you build a portfolio of work to show potential employers. I’d just say, please don’t go into massive debt for a boot camp. Please. Like, I’m so serious right now. If you’re paying for one, let it be a cost you can be free of in a year or two. Don’t drown yourself in debt over a coding boot camp that promises to make you a big tech employee in a few months. Be wary of charlatans, as they’re around in abundance.
  3. Online Courses: Websites like Coursera, Udacity, Microsoft Learn, Grow With Google, Codeacademy, Khan Academy, Brilliant, and edX offer a wide range of courses in programming, data science, and other tech disciplines. Some of these courses come with certificates upon completion.
  4. Open Source Contributions: Contributing to open source projects on platforms like GitHub can demonstrate your coding skills and your ability to work on real-world projects. Check out the Open Source Guide.
  5. Personal Projects: Building your own apps, websites, or other tech projects can be a great way to showcase your skills. Make sure to document and share your work on GitHub or a personal portfolio site.

Now, to be frank, it’s harder to get into tech without a degree. Not impossible, just harder. You’re going to have to get it out the mud. Hustle. Hard. Leverage free online learning resources. Join a reputable but affordable coding boot camp or training program. Get an associate’s degree at your local community college with little to no debt. Hunt far and wide for technical training or scholarship programs that upskill people without putting them in debt (check if your state has any). Join the AmeriCorps. Look for startups or small companies that’ll take a chance on someone with passion but no degree. If college isn’t an option, you’re going to have to get savvy. It won’t be easy, but it can be done!

All that being said, if you can go to college without putting yourself in massive debt, I highly suggest that you do. It offers a structured learning environment with instructor-led teaching, networking opportunities, classmates for support, and resources like career centers, fairs, and advisors—all extremely beneficial to students who fully utilize them.

Do I need a computer science degree to break into tech?

No, you don’t, but if you can pursue one, or any degree really, without putting yourself in massive debt, then you should. Let’s use a sports analogy. Consider someone who out of college gets a full-ride scholarship to play basketball at Duke University under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K). They have talent but need to refine it to reach their true potential. At Duke, their going to have access to world-class facilities, healthy food, academic tutors, talented teammates, and athletic trainers providing a structured environment that develops them. Furthermore, they’ll have access to the wisdom and mentoring of Coach K—who has coached some of the best basketball players in human history including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant (Team USA). They get all this free of charge since they’re on scholarship. While they could grow as a basketball player by training themselves—looking up drills and techniques online—they’re going to have a much easier time growing in the regimented environment that Duke provides.

If you go to college on a scholarship, that’s what you’re getting. A structured environment with peers and mentors and all sorts of resources to help you learn and grow. Could you achieve the same growth without college? Absolutely! It’ll require a good amount of self-discipline, but it can and has been done by many worldwide. What you need to evaluate is the cost of going to college. Everything I said about Duke and Coach K, the hypothetical student in question was getting all that for free on scholarship. If there was no scholarship, then forget all that, it’s not worth putting yourself in debt over. See the question above about breaking into tech with no degree if college isn’t a viable option for you.

Does a computer science degree prepare me for a job in tech?

The short answer is yes, but not in the way you might think. Getting your degree is like working with an athletic trainer who helps you grow into a strong, fast, and agile athlete. That’s great. Now let’s throw you on the basketball court and see how you do. Oh wait, they never taught you how to play basketball, so you suck! However, since you’re a good athlete—possessing the key skills of strength, speed, and agility—you’ve got the foundation of what could evolve into a good basketball player. You now need to focus specifically on basketball, rather than the general skills of an athlete.

When you graduate with a computer science degree (assuming you did no internships), you’re like a general-purpose athlete. You’re strong, fast, and agile, (data structures, algorithms, programming languages) but you’re not good at any sports (actual software development). You now need to get good at a specific sport, which is when you become valuable to teams out there. Now, even though you’re not good at any sports, since you’re a good athlete, some teams should be willing to sign and train you on the skills you don’t have. Since you’ve already got a good foundation, it shouldn’t take long for you to get up to speed on some specific domain. That’s how things shake out in a good economy where tech companies are still hiring new grads. If the economy is bad, or the market is flooded with talent because of mass layoffs (as it was following the COVID-19 hiring spree), then this analogy falls apart.

So yes, a computer science degree is valuable, just not in the way you might think. If you’re in college or headed there, try extremely hard to get internships every single summer, not just after your Junior year. Through them, you’ll pick up specific skills in software development—frameworks, design patterns, networking, system design, DevOps, and clouds like AWS, Azure, and GCP—rather than the general skills you’re getting in school. If you ever want to know what real-world software developers are working with, read the latest Stack Overflow Developer Survey in depth.

Furthermore, don’t limit your intern applications to big cool companies alone. An internship is temporary, you just need experience on your resume. Apply everywhere, the big cool companies and the ones you’ve never heard of, don’t discriminate. Remove your location filter, many companies offer room and board for interns. Apply everywhere. If you send 300 applications and think that’s a lot, it’s not, keep going. When do you stop? When you’ve got an offer in hand, and not a moment sooner. When do you start? When you show up on campus in the Fall. Start searching then, and keep searching weekly, daily even. Make applying your hobby while you watch YouTube. Shoot your shot—at everyone.

Also, read this article.

Forbes - Is Coding Education As We Know It Dead?

I have a degree, but it’s not in computer science. Can I break into tech?

Yes. Reference the question above about how a computer science degree doesn’t really even fully prepare students to work as software developers. It equips them with a solid skill set but not necessarily the specific know-how for the job. So, if your degree is in another field, you can still find your way into tech.

First, it’s crucial to understand that there are plenty of jobs in tech that don’t require coding. Think of it like a construction site: you have the construction workers, the skilled individuals who actually build the structures. They’re like the software engineers—the people who create the company’s core product. But there’s a whole support system around that product that turns it into a profitable business.

Who handles the legal complexities of securing the rights to the construction site? It’s not the construction workers; it’s employees with legal backgrounds. They may not know how to build, but they’re valuable to the construction company. Or consider the people responsible for procuring and shipping materials worldwide to the site. They likely have backgrounds in business, supply chain, or logistics—not in construction—but they’re still crucial to the company’s success.

What about those responsible for keeping the construction project on schedule, communicating any issues or needs from the workers to the corporate HQ, and relaying design updates to the team? They probably don’t know how to build buildings, but they still work in construction! And then there are the Civil Engineering majors who create the innovative designs that the construction workers bring to life. These folks wear suits, dive deep into the science of construction, and never lay a brick themselves. Yet, the entire company’s profitability depends on their ability to come up with competitive, attractive designs that win contracts—all without ever building anything by hand.

See what I’m getting at? These tech companies are businesses, and running a business requires a diverse range of skills. Even if you don’t have a computer science degree, there are plenty of opportunities to work at a tech company in roles that don’t involve building the tech itself.

So yes, you can work in tech without a computer science degree. There are countless roles at big tech companies, and across the Fortune 500, that need tech-savvy individuals who don’t code or build the products. The job titles for these roles might seem unusual and not obviously tied to any college major, but they’re out there. Typically, anything with “Manager”, “Analyst”, or “Specialist” in the title is a good sign that the role won’t require coding but will leverage skills gained from a degree in another field.

Now, If you’re set on becoming a software engineer despite not having a computer science degree, there are several paths to upskill and break into tech. Here are a few options to explore.

  1. Self-Learning and Online Courses: Dive into platforms like Coursera, Udacity, Microsoft Learn, Grow With Google, Codeacademy, Khan Academy, Brilliant, and edX. They offer comprehensive courses in programming, data science, and other tech domains. The courses on those sites are truly fantastic. There’s no hidden tech knowledge at some college somewhere that isn’t found on one of those sites. Harvard famously has their entire freshman computer science course online for free. If you want to learn how to code, I cannot emphasize enough how much you don’t need college to do so. When it comes to coding, college is valuable for the structured learning environment, teacher-led instruction, tutoring, and peer-to-peer interaction it provides. It’s not valuable because it’s the only place you can learn how to code. That’s blatantly false.

  2. Internships and Entry-Level Positions: Try your hand at applying to every entry-level position and internship you can find. I do really mean every single one you can find, not just postings at big cool companies you’ve heard of. If you’re trying to break into tech with no computer science degree, you really have no business discriminating. You need someone, anyone, to take a chance on you. Don’t despise humble beginnings. Send your application everywhere. Smaller shops are more likely to take a chance on someone without a computer science degree for a role that usually requires one. Once you have experience, you can climb the ladder to better roles or larger companies if that’s what you’re looking for.

  3. Certifications: Consider getting certifications in relevant technologies or methodologies. It’s a good way to boost your resume if you have a non-tech degree but want to show you’re committed to making the switch. Some good platforms are Microsoft Learn, Grow with Google, AWS Certification, Coursera, Cisco Certifications, and CompTIA.

  4. Coding Boot Campus: I discussed these in the section above about getting into tech with no degree. To summarize, these can get you ready for a tech job quickly, but they should be approached with caution, as there are many scams out there that over-promise and under-deliver. Don’t go into massive debt for a coding boot camp. Do an intense amount of research before paying for one, talk to graduates of the program, find Reddit comments from people speaking candidly about it, and be skeptical of promises. Boot camps have value, you just need to self-evaluate heavily to see if it’s really the best route for you before jumping into one.

  5. Networking: This is key. Connect with tech professionals through LinkedIn, and attend conferences, meetups, career events, and hackathons. Being active in tech communities on HackerNews, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), GitHub, and StackOverflow can also help with finding mentors, advice, and the latest information about the state of the industry.

  6. Projects and Portfolios: Work on personal projects to build a portfolio. It can be challenging if you have no coding background, but if you’ve done some coding before, try creating a website or app that you can showcase as proof of your skills. Employers love seeing tangible proof of what you can do.

Plenty of people have successfully transitioned into tech from various backgrounds. The key is to keep learning, adapting, and showcasing your skills. You can find more tips and stories from others who have made this leap on forums like Reddit here, here, and here. Keep pushing forward—your degree is just the beginning!

It seems like there are a lot of people interested in tech, to the point of over-saturation. Is it too late to get into tech? Is it even worth pursuing as a career? Will there even be jobs by the time I finish college/training?

To start, only God knows the future, so take everything I say here with a grain of salt. That said, I think a brief history of tech might help in understanding where we are today.

In the 1980s, 90s, and even into the early 2000s, tech careers were often seen as unglamorous, the domain of nerdy, basement-dwelling men. But then, something shifted. Companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon (even before it became a retail giant, its cloud services were making waves), and Apple started skyrocketing in market value, rewarding software engineers with executive-level salaries. The tipping point came when Mark Zuckerberg and his passionate crew at Facebook entered the scene. Zuckerberg, in many ways, ushered in an era where software engineers were treated like rock stars. Suddenly, tech jobs weren’t just well-paid; they came with perks that sounded like they were pulled from a billionaire’s dream—crazy high salaries, free dry cleaning, gourmet chefs, private concerts with big-name stars, company retreats to exotic islands, luxurious office spaces you never wanted to leave. Zuckerberg put pressure on all the other tech companies to compete with the pay, perks, and luxurious lifestyle he was providing his employees. Facebook quickly became one of the hottest places to work for new grads from top universities, but also for seasoned professionals from Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Amazon looking for a change.

The general public started catching on to just how lucrative tech careers could be with the release of the 2010 film The Social Network. The movie, despite its historical inaccuracies (as decried by Zuckerberg and others involved), sent one message loud and clear: those nerdy tech guys? They make serious money. If you were looking for a ticket to riches, tech was the way to go. Fast forward over a decade, and now everyone wants to break into tech—not just because they love computers or software, but because they see it as a path to wealth, an easy job, and an easy life.

The truth is, much like the challenge of making it into the NBA, where fame and wealth await, securing a job at major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon is now tougher than ever. These companies are like the NBA of the tech world. Sure, they pay well, and those jobs (ostensibly) aren’t disappearing, but the secret’s out. Everyone knows how attractive those positions are, and everyone wants in. If you’re a job seeker with your eyes only on these big names frustrated because you haven’t broken in, you might be operating with a narrow perspective of the industry. I invite you to expand your horizons with me right now.

Let’s consider the world of business as a whole, not just tech companies. Pull up the S&P 500 and ask yourself, how many of those companies—most of which are not primarily technology companies—use technology to conduct their business? The answer is nearly all of them. Companies in healthcare, finance, agriculture, manufacturing, entertainment, construction, education, media, retail, industrials, defense, energy, insurance, automobiles, textiles, and various sciences—you name it—are all using tech to do what they do. Technology has permeated every facet of modern life and business. Because of this, there is a wealth of jobs for software engineers, product managers, and everything in between, not just at the big elite tech companies, but literally everywhere else as well.

I started my career in government at the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a Software Developer. To be more specific, my official job title was “Computer Systems Analyst,” but to the rest of the world, it was effectively a Software Developer role—USPS just preferred their own government-approved terminology. In this job, I was paid well above the average salary for the region (St. Louis, Missouri) and enjoyed excellent job security, thanks to the union supporting all postal workers. I worked 9 AM - 5 PM, and often finished my work in the first half of the day, with little else to do in the second half. My coworkers were kind, my manager was supportive, and I was rarely put under any stress or pressure. Things were peachy. I was in tech with a tech job, but it wasn’t at one of the fancy, glamorous companies that people lust over as a ticket to riches. But for me, it was the perfect setup—I was doing my master’s degree in the evening, so I needed an easy day job that didn’t stress me out, as I was plenty challenged by my coursework. The key takeaway is that many non-tech companies are actively seeking tech talent to boost their operations and stay competitive.

If you’re struggling to break into tech but are only focusing on glamorous, high-profile companies trending on TikTok (the “Day in the life of a Microsoft/Google/Apple/Meta/Amazon employee” videos) and you’ve concluded that getting hired is impossible, tech is over, or a tech career isn’t worth pursuing, then you’re missing the bigger picture.

Here’s an exercise for you: go to LinkedIn or Indeed and type in “Software Engineer,” “Software Developer,” or “Product Manager.” Scroll through the results. Every time you see a company you’ve never heard of, some random name where you have no idea what they do, yet they’re hiring tech professionals—that’s evidence of the point I’m making here. Stop worrying about getting into Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon, and realize that you can find opportunities at that local healthcare company nobody outside your state has heard of because I bet they’re hiring tech professionals.

Stop fixating on the NBA and concluding it’s impossible to have a basketball career. There are professional basketball leagues in Canada, Europe, China, Africa, Australia, and more. There are even minor professional leagues in the U.S. that may not pay as well as the NBA, but they pay. Many current NBA players started in one of these other leagues before making their way to the NBA. They understood that professional basketball, as a field, is in demand worldwide, and many organizations beyond just the biggest one are looking for talent. The same is true of tech. Almost every company out there—millions of them, many of which you’ve never heard of—is looking for tech professionals. Before you conclude that tech is over, that nobody can get hired, or that a computer science major is pointless, expand your horizons. Think not just bigger, but broader. Remove the glossy allure of only the high life at big tech companies from your eyes. If you enjoy working with software and computers, start looking at opportunities at places that might not be tech companies but need tech professionals. There are plenty of them. Don’t lose hope, you’ve gotta get up and try, try, try.

What about layoffs?

Watch this video (and read the comment section) to understand why so many tech companies had layoffs post-COVID. The short answer is, if you work at a corporation, there’s no such thing as complete job security. However, that doesn’t mean you should sit down, give up, and lose heart. The layoffs post-COVID were unique, and the first of their kind (at such a large scale) in the tech world. Understanding why they happened can help you better understand how to navigate your career going forward.

Is working at a big tech company still a dream job?

Watch this video (and read the comment section) to gain some knowledge that might help you answer this question for yourself. Nobody can answer this for you. My personal opinion is that if you go into things with your eyes wide and head on straight, you can build generational wealth for your family at the various big tech companies. If you go into things naively (simping for a corporation), well then, you’re setting yourself up for heartbreak. It should be a mutually beneficial, but ultimately transactional, relationship with strictly defined boundaries. Consider corporations like sports leagues, once you get into the NBA, you have massive opportunity before you, but you have to be savvy to make use of it. Some athletes go broke after they retire, and others, like Shaq, build empires that set their families up for generations. Don’t play the fool, be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

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