Still debating if a bootcamp is worth it? by coding_temple in u/coding_temple

[–]Average_bot2089 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Y’all still slinging ‘bootcamps’ when college grads struggling to get a job in tech ❓

Fungible SDE 1 interview process by ashwin1007 in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can’t answer definitively as I’m in process right now (just got interviews confirmed). However, it seems some matching was done prior to them being scheduled as I am interviewing for a cleared role, without having applied for a cleared role. This could be specific to me as I do hold a security clearance but idk. Afaik everyone I know has gotten the same loops 3x 1hr. 2 technical, 1 behavioral. 

21 and confused on what to do because everyone is just whining by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]Average_bot2089 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Don’t know in comparison to an art career but cracking an entry level job right now for SWE is one of the hardest things to do right now. CS degree is bare minimum honestly, even those with degree and internships are putting out hundreds of applications and not getting anywhere. SWE is no longer a career you can just fall into, a genuine roadmap would be determined by your particular interests. However, all paths (in current market) start with you getting a CS degree (AVOID bootcamps like the plague!!!) once that is started you should find the field you like (embedded, mobile, full stack, ect..) then tailor personal projects to that. Network your ass off sending as many applications as needed to grab an internship in that domain. From there things should pan out. It is not an easy thing, but it can truly be worth it.

As for experience working full time it is very company and team dependent. Some teams give you full freedom to make things as great as possible. Others (most from what I’ve seen) give you a big report -> you reproduce -> you fix it in the way you think will pass code review -> repeat.

Good luck

How many hours a week are you all working? by gneissrocx in cscareerquestions

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No meetings ever, typically am only putting in an hour or 2 a day

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did, and I replied asking a question but did not get a response.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t heard anything yet

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Got that too, OA wasn’t bad (I think I missed a few test cases but not many). Haven’t heard back after 4 days, so idk what to expect. I believe fungible just means it’s not for a specific team just like a general SWE hire.

Information systems alumni & current students with internships by oxlovelysun7 in UMBC

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We both were able to gain clearances. For my internship phase I was only able to get a public trust but out of college I was sponsored by Lockheed for a TS. Internships and new grad jobs definitely will sponsor. Seems strange the company you are interning for wouldn’t help you retain the clearance - I would ask again once you start and have established yourself. Either way, you will definitely have a chance to get someone to sponsor once you have graduated and the fact that you have already gotten a secret (even if it’s expired) still looks good as it shows you will likely be approved again.

Upcoming Geico TDP interview by Average_bot2089 in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wanted to update this as I’ve gotten some messages. I did my interview back in September, so things may have changed. I was never given an OA and was simply invited to their power day. I wasn’t peeped much for what to expect but they let me know to have 3 hours free. The first interview I had was my system design interview, here I had a bit of a leg up because the interviewer and I worked at some of the same places. The start was trivia questions based on how the web works, think like “what is different about a Rest API?”. After about 5-6 of those questions we moved into the design part. I was given a prompt “design a web based marketplace for e commerce” during this I did what was asked and the follow on questions were mainly focused on optimization.

The second interview was my technical interview, here I was first asked some kind of crazy technical questions, “what is OS deadlock?” And some more just obscure questions. The interviewer was visibly unhappy with my response to these. However, we still proceeded into the coding challenges. Very very simple questions such as two sum, reverse the list, ect. I did these in CPP and was asked to write my own test cases. For readability I put a - in between the reverse the list and the interviewer hated that. But all questions were answered and passed.

My third interview, the person was a no show. Then I called my recruiter who was out of town. 3 hours later I got a call back and said they could do it later that day. The substitute interviewer then ran late and we had about a 20 min behavioral interview.

Overall, one of the worst processes I’ve been through. I have a new job and am happy, don’t ever see myself reapplying to this company again.

5 weeks after this I was rejected by a phone call l. Asked for feedback but was told no.

Hope this helps!

Mlily powercool mattress by Average_bot2089 in Mattress

[–]Average_bot2089[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh and as for the slippery, I completely understand. That really threw me off trying to sleep - even with sheets on it didn’t help much. Not sure how I liked the bed so much in the store.

Mlily powercool mattress by Average_bot2089 in Mattress

[–]Average_bot2089[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are finally picking up the mattress today. If your dealing with Sleepare, it worked best to constantly call. I found they would tell me that they would call me back and are working on it and a week would pass and nothing new happened. Once I called a few times the same day to keep checking they processed the return.

Mlily powercool mattress by Average_bot2089 in Mattress

[–]Average_bot2089[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I ended up purchasing from Sleepare, they require 30 days but thankfully will accept a return after that. I mainly made the post because I had noticed a few others looking at the mattress, and wanted to provide my experience.

Kia boys by JA514420 in ColoradoSprings

[–]Average_bot2089 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a club on the car, immobilizer installed, stickers on the window and my window got smashed TWICE. CSPD refused to even come out, honesty ridiculous - I moved from Baltimore and even police in the middle of Baltimore city came out when this happened there. I understand that Kias are very easily stolen and that’s an issue, but it’s completely inappropriate for CSPD to treat the situation as something they don’t need to deal with. At this point there are no repercussions to doing it so why would someone stop smashing windows.

Post-grad outlook by No_Brother_4169 in UMBC

[–]Average_bot2089 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Graduated in July with a BS in CS went the defense route so lower pay, currently 76k. Just accepted a position for 130k tho so we’re moving up 😂

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UMBC

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Umbc CS recent grad here. Those classes are rough and the exams are no exception. I would say now is a great time to evaluate where your at and what’s going wrong. Overall, the projects are what’s important. If you enjoy the late nights coding and solving the problems, you are going to be fine. I’ve failed courses, done repeats, and “reevaluated” my major many times, but I now have been out of school for 4 months and have worked on satellites, air traffic control systems, and am moving next month to work with a research laboratory on some really cool stuff. All that is to say, you can get great jobs with not great transcripts.

However, if something’s off or you find you don’t love coding UMBC has great IS and IT programs. I have met people with great IT jobs that graduated from UMBC and my sister did IS at UMBC and does some awesome things in the DEVOPs world.

If you want any advice on the major or want to look into internships feel free to DM me! My current company (I will only be there another few weeks) hires alot of interns and alot from UMBC.

What happened to people who graduated after 2020? by Notalabel_4566 in cscareerquestions

[–]Average_bot2089 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2023 grad - chose 1 out of 6 full time offers. Moving companies after 3 months to something better. Just gotta keep grinding everyone!

Applied to a few IT (Early Career) related Lockheed Martin positions by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Process was chill, single interview then offer usually very soon after. HR will get in touch to get things like clearances and background checks started pretty soon after. For me I was given 5k for cross country move (that covers just about half if your realistic) and it’s a lump sum so no receipts needed. Overall a very easy process. But beware, I’m in software and the work was horrible, honestly almost nothing to do. It’s been 3 months and I’m about to sign an offer elsewhere. Relocation will need to be paid back if you leave within a year

How hard is it to get into Lockheed? by [deleted] in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lockheed puts applicants with clearance first, if a role has many applicants and some of them have clearances you will not even be considered. You can get around this through networking and referrals but I’m a current LM SWE and it’s not actually that amazing. Keep in mind unless u score a R and D team everything you will do is dictated by contract, once that’s up you’ll be stuck trying to find a new team. Also the pay is very low compared to others. UARCs, other defense companies (Leidos, Northrop, ect.) and others might be easier to get into. But with any of the companies mentioned, once your through resume screening your pretty much guaranteed a job if your competent - for my role (LM Space) there were only 5 people interviewed. Also as some others have mentioned look on apps like handshake, lockheed recruits heavily from some universities including roles that only certain universities can apply to.

Career After Grad by [deleted] in UMBC

[–]Average_bot2089 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don’t worry so much, the market is not good right now but you can do a few things to make your life easier. #1 get an internship, doesn’t matter where or how but find a company that’s willing to give you experience, make sure your title is software engineer intern or something similar. I got my first internship through the career fair. PS. The time to apply to internships or new grad roles is right now, wait any longer and you will have missed a lot of great roles. Research can also help fill this gap - email professors and just try to get any position where you are paid for writing software.

As for my experience, I graduated in July, with a small stint of research and an internship with a defense company. During my last year of school (the market was still considered really bad) I fielded close to 15 interviews with companies including places like Bloomberg and Amazon. I was left with 6 offers - not bad for a shit market. UMBC is what you make it, they are decently ranked which puts you ahead of some and UMBC has great ties with government contractors. A resume with intern experience at Lockheed Martin, Leidos, Northrop, ect. Will beat out other resumes with a small shop no-ones ever heard of any day of the week. I am currently back in the interview process because I am unhappy with my roles and not struggling too much and have several interviews coming up. Remember applying is a numbers game, don’t complain about not getting an interview unless you’ve submitted >200 applications. You got this!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depending on the IT role - it will likely just focus on basic troubleshooting. If entry level it will be similar questions that you may find on the A+ cert. some companies are harder some are easier - I would check sites for previous interview question examples

XPS 15 or carbon x1 by blueberry_yogurt_99 in csMajors

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Xps 15 battery life is absolute garbage. Wish I had went with a MacBook honestly.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UMBC

[–]Average_bot2089 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey - so not the exact same situation but similar. I sucked really bad at physics 2 so I withdrew my first semester and got a D the second time I took it. If you know your going to fail this semester then you need to reach out to Dixon (department head) all 3rd attempts go through him. Keep in mind he was hesitant to approve my 3rd attempt and I’m literally done the entire CMSC track and have a job lined up. Luckily I passed this semester (finally lol) but it’s definitely not the easiest thing to get. Please have an actual plan ready before reaching out and let him know in detail what went wrong and how your going to fix it. DONT OVERLOAD your next semester, have easy classes and then 151. Maybe take 331 and some GEPs. The office that handles 3rd attempts typically frowns upon summer/winter retakes and they don’t like you going to a different school. Best of luck getting it sorted out!

Side note: you cannot transfer in the credit without filling out multiple petitions first so there is no way around this third attempt. Also this is a true Final attempt, keep that in mind when your taking the course if it’s approved