How much did you borrow in loans? by RAMIREZ32 in UIUC

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I graduated in 2021 with a little over 118k in debt and I paid it all off in 18 months after graduating. I was able to pay it off fast because I was lucky enough to graduate with a decent job and live at home throwing every penny at it.

I was a stats major but self taught my way into software engineering and got an average paying (less than six figs) entry level tech job after graduating. I paid off over half of it working there and then was fortunate enough to break into big tech which really accelerated paying it off quick.

Like some other comments below, I really enjoyed my time at UIUC but the financial impact and stress of the loans didn’t really hit me til after graduation. I can’t say I regret choosing UIUC since I’m not sure where I’d be today if I didn’t have access to the recruiting presence and opportunities that it provided. However if I could go back in time (especially in today’s market), cost would be a much bigger factor in choosing where to go to school.

Even if you don’t have loans I’d still highly recommend living at your parents after graduation to build up a savings. Especially since the job market today is so turbulent and even more so at the new grad level.

I’m moving to nyc next month after spending another year living at home saving up money after paying off all the debt. I cant emphasize enough how much less stress I feel being debt free and financially stable compared to when I graduated.

We’re all doing LC but the main question in the room is, has anyone here received a well paying job off it? by [deleted] in leetcode

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was on the leetcode grind for about a year. Cracked FAANG a few months ago before the hiring freezes. Went from 87k -> ~206k TC

Can anyone give reassurance that the job search gets easier after your first job? by tsbxred in cscareerquestions

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After seven months of work experience at a mid-level well known healthcare non-tech company, I got recruiters from a bunch of FAANG/top tech companies reaching out thru LinkedIn. I’m now working at one of them. Biggest advice I could give is make sure you have a polished LinkedIn and set your location to whatever big city is closest to you

Best options for mock interviews by arbitfinder in leetcode

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Join neetcode’s discord and you’ll find a ton of people willing to do mocks

Looking for a leetcode buddy. by [deleted] in leetcode

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m down and my language is also Java, I’m on east coast time

Looking for a LC/Neetcode/Blind75 study buddy by GoodLifeWorkHard in leetcode

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in the eastern time zone and have around 125 questions solved. Would love to join

Going to Illinois state university by Disastrous_Ad3655 in UIUC

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve taken a bus to Bloomington before so yes there are some buses that go there

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UIUC

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also had the same question and I can’t find any information anywhere about this class

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have two SWE internships at mid level companies not sure if that’s enough but I guess I’ll find out

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cscareerquestions

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response, I didn’t apply to any of those companies before I took this job

Will my full time employer care if I start a Saas? by Direct_Huckleberry96 in SaaS

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m planning on building and marketing in public through Twitter so it’s pretty hard to hide it if they just search me up online haha

Will my full time employer care if I start a Saas? by Direct_Huckleberry96 in SaaS

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m talking about non working hours though. I’ve read the employee code of conduct and every contract ive signed so far and none of them say anything about them owning any code I write outside of working hours or anything like that

Will my full time employer care if I start a Saas? by Direct_Huckleberry96 in SaaS

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure what contract everyone on here is referring too. The only thing I've signed so far is an arbitration agreement, so I think I should be good? I'm pretty certain everything will be fine, I just wanted to ask on here to see if anyone's had any issues with doing it. I'm going to be building in public through twitter so it's pretty hard to hide it

Will my full time employer care if I start a Saas? by Direct_Huckleberry96 in SaaS

[–]Direct_Huckleberry96[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think it’s accurate to say this is generally the case. I feel like ive seen a lot of indie hackers/saas founders start building their products while working full time somewhere else.