Former BB SA to Big Tech Engineer
Feeling inspired in writing this post as software engineering vs banking is constantly and heavily in depth discussed topic on these boards, and as one of a few who has been through both fields I would like to give my 2 cents from a first person viewpoint. Another reason that I am writing this, is to give back to the community for their advice to when I was a student (posting under new account as old one had too much identifying information) and general personal financial advice whenever I periodically lurk here.
My story:
Like a few other academic all star posters here, I majored in both economics/CS at a target school, seeking to target my academics with the most professional + financially lucrative career path. Come junior year I maintained a high GPA, was able to snag a couple solid banking internships and a couple solid big tech internships. After an intense back and forth debate of whether to do banking or engineering, I choose the former as the "prestige" of the banking internship weighed heavily on my mind. Though, after completing my internship, I felt a sense of regret in my previous choice. Having to wake up before sunrise and then get packed like a sardine on the subway and only being able to go to sleep past midnight racked my body to no end, and all for some dumb PowerPoint formatting issues? Though, I received a return offer from said bank, I pretty much immediately declined it the next day. When senior year arrived I successfully re-recruited for tech and that is where I am today.
Facts/Myths :
There are some "facts" that are regularly posted on this site, that I would like to corroborate/dispute based upon my observations and some general guidance I would like to give
1. Anyone can get into FAANG.
Not true. I have the internal hiring statistics for my FAANG, and we regularly reject > 80 percent of undergrad applicants for full time software engineering positions from our target schools. Even for Amazon, the vast majority of my mid bucket CS classmates get rejected there. Leetcode technicals are at least five times harder to master than banking technicals. I like that in my current role, I get to do technically challenging but meaningful work instead of the mundane banking stuff.
2. Comp Ceiling/Distribution in Tech
True. Senior Software Engineer making 400-600k seems to the general ceiling. For reference, last year my company hired ~3,500 entry level USA engineers but only ~300 or so past the senior software engineer level. Though t it is relatively quick to make senior engineer with the average time being about 5 years from entry level, with the majority of new hires doing so. I assume the MD to analyst hired ratio is slightly better, though maybe not by much.
3. Ageism/Sexism in Tech
VERY untrue. At least in my experience, the most respected and acknowledged engineers in my extended team are age 40+, with their expertise and knowledge being thoroughly involved in all the critical system developments, with the two most senior being women of color. Such distorted biases may stem from the generally perceived cultural of the field before modern day FAANG took off. Though, for those interested in the diversity department, my department of 100+ engineers is 60 percent Indian, 20 percent Chinese, 20 percent white/other asian, 1 black(African immigrant), 1 Hispanic(pale as snow).
4. Return to Office in Tech
Not true. While, some tech companies have introduced a policy of RTO, this is generally unenforced. Take my advertised job description, it has a "hybrid" office requirement, but I haven't gone into office for a day of work. Competing firms that my colleagues have departed to that have come with a "hybrid" job description and been in the news for RTO, have also seen such policies unenforced. You can take your 400-600k salary and comfortably work remotely in Iowa these days.
5. Low Hours in Tech
Not true. I have worked quite a few 50-60 hour weeks. Some days with only two/three or so hours of sleep. Much like banking, if a client needs a response or there is a tight deadline you have to just power through. In this aspect tech hasn't been what I imagined.
Thanks for this - this seems like the first reasonable take on tech I’ve seen on this forum.
I have a question. Im a consultant, but have done programming / data engineering on projects and have found that I really enjoy technical work. I have no STEM educational background. What would be the best path to be able to get past resume screens at FAANG in a couple of years? Is there even a path, or would that be an unrealistic objective?
I code every day on the job in SQL/Python, but usually there’s a pretty low ceiling on how complicated my programming tasks are. I know I’d have to bolster my profile with outside projects or courses, but I’ve never found a clear answer online as to what it takes to get an interview at a FAANG firm. All I ever hear is ‘grind leetcode’, which I understand is critical for passing interviews, but isn’t necessarily helpful for getting them.
I plan on doing a masters in CS in a couple of years regardless (think OMSCS/MCIT), but I wasn’t sure if there was a reasonable path to interview at top SE roles before that, or if it would be a complete long shot.
Forget leetcode for now. You are absolutely correct in your assessment that with your current experience/background the highest hurdle in getting into a FAANG level company is first securing an interview. There are two feasible ways I see possible to strengthen up your relevant background. The first of which is transitioning to a lower tier software company, such as Textron, Infosys, Cognizant, etc, and then upon getting relevant experience take your shot at applying to FAANG level companies along with some leetcode practice. The second of which is to apply and be accepted to an accredited master's program in computer science/related fields and from there try to apply to FAANG level companies. There are cons and pros for both. For the former you wouldn't need to shell out $40-50k for a degree and could start earning a decent salary right away, but in my view this option would have a slightly lower chance of getting your resume passed than if you were to complete an accredited CS program. In addition, lower tier software companies are prone to layoffs and market fluctuation, so your career transition could be dead in the water if after four or so months of joining the market plunges south resulting in your job termination and not enough relevant experience to be competitive for the big boys.
The one thing I do not recommend doing is going to a bootcamp. There may be some successful bootcamp antecedents scattered in the internet, but in my experience, out of my 80+ Linkedin connections to fellow coworkers under my org, not a single went to a CS bootcamp.
OP, thanks for this. Currently a senior with a minor in CS and have enjoyed all the classes (I’m done with it), but took my BB IB return offer for now. I’ve done 1 software internship and have 0 projects, but I’m sure I can address the latter. Current tech hiring climate + CS-light background might make it especially tough, tho. Do you think there’s merit to doing the full IB/PE stint if the end idea is switching to SWE / Product? Would be more for the experience than a logical next step because I know I’m not becoming a lifer in IB/PE, but I could speak to work ethic, efficiency, and integrating client / senior needs as translatable skills after IB. Mired in indecision / confusion rn honestly lol, ultimately know it’s a matter of what I want but don’t have enough color on everything to know
If you don't have any tech experience you're going to start at an entry / junior level position.
So if SWE is your goal then there's absolutely no reason to do a 2+2 in finance, just start leetcoding now and apply in a few months once everyone knows their hiring targets. If product is your goal then you could start in IB, but exit early to a tech company or startup and then lateral to product after that - again no reason to do the full PE stint. But it's still a long shot and the sooner you can be close to tech the better
Some good advice here from Analyst in Consulting below. Will echo the sentiment that if SWE is the goal then you should start trying to transition right now. Though for PM, while I can't speak for IB experience helping to get into big tech, I can tell you consulting to tech maps out quite nicely especially for those with some relevant CS background such as yourself. MBB Consultants often are credited and valued for their years of experience in consulting upon exiting into tech. A former MBB manager will usually get a senior product manager position, former MBB non equity partners into director positions etc. If you can sell your IB experience as consulting related I am sure you will do fine.
Even for MBB it's hard to directly transition into product, much more people first do a stint in strategy / ops or product marketing first because that's what's most immediately transferable.
IB's even less straightforward because you never really do anything operational, which doesn't bode well for a job where you have to take charge of building a product.
I could see it if you went IB -> strategy and ops like the consulting path, or IB -> strategic finance or something and then you lateral to product after that. But I don't really see a way to go straight from IB to product outside of very small startups.
That said, even if you don't immediately end up in product it's not necessarily a bad thing, since to be good at product you need to know how all functions and departments fit together.
Do tech. IB/PE is for low IQ individuals you’ll regret it
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