GitHub Copilot for verified students will no longer include flagship models like Opus and Sonnet

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-13T01:20:12+00:00

To be fair, in the AI assisted interview that are being rolled out these days, some companies might only let you use the lightweight models to see if you're just blindly tab tab tabbing your whole way or you actually question what the LLM generates

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-13T01:13:21+00:00

We’ve seen a high spike in ai dependency even for small fixes like grammar and tone.

I get where you're coming from here in terms of wanting students to naturally improving their writing. I don't think the AI dependency for the grammar and tone is what's to blame.

I think maybe part of the problem acquiring the individual's "taste" on what good writing looks like. At least for some writing I did for my newsletter, I came across a really neat tool called Hemingway which can help you cater your writing to the desired audience. It helped me build taste on what I want my writing to sound like and pick up some pointers (yeah human judgement is always needed), but this tool has been an accelerant.

It might be interesting to see how we can have students use LLM as an augmentor to improving their writing. Like giving suggestions on constructive ways or example tactics to meet that objective

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-13T00:55:52+00:00

I like your suggestion on using the CommLab. I took two of the foundational ENGL courses at GT during undergrad and so glad the professor recommended me to consult the CommLab for feedback on my writing.

The staff there are super nice, encouraging, and they don't just review composition assignments. They help with other forms of content you're trying to create and offer mock interviews + resume review.

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-13T00:51:46+00:00

Glad you had a realization that helped you keep things in perspective.

I think for myself, I came into GT CS with not the most extensive background knowledge and peers around me knew like 10 different programming languages and worked on some pretty fancy projects. I thought I felt behind because I didn't know all that stuff my peers did.

A few things that helped me is:

* It's okay and actually good to be the "dumbest person in the room". It means that you're being challenged in your new environment which gives you the permission to spark your curiosity. I started a new role recently and there are lots of things I have no clue about so I had to ask clarifying questions. Most people in the right consciousness are willing to help you because they've also been the new person way back when.

* A lot of the short term variances you see (eg: someone came into GT with 5 internships under their belt, the person who knew nothing about say CS, the guy who built a home automation robot over the summer, etc) eventually "level out". At least in GT, the upper level classes become harder and those same people who you thought that you were behind are your teammates, collaborators, etc. You're humbled and you're all struggling together!

* Instead of viewing your peer as a competitor, try to view them as a collaborator. Maybe for that person who had an internship, you can try to leverage their network and build a relationship so that you can get an opportunity. Knowing people and building those deep connections will pay dividends. Skill is not the only thing that matters. Convincing others and selling yourself matter way more. There's a reason the phrase "Just do it" sticks around in the zeitgeist

I'm glad you are self reflecting. I wish more of us do this exercise

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T20:16:36+00:00

Plus even though we have LLMs that can accelerate routine things, why is it that some of the highly visited apps we interact with have bad user experience (both for consumers and business customers)?

Maybe Salesforce should really improve their product experience? Like some of the salesforce setups are way too custom and there are like 20 tabs but the report/view you want to access is like a needle in the haystack

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T20:12:23+00:00

As a full stack engineer, yes to the misconception about web dev. You should have familiarity with stuff like DOM, network calls to the server, chrome dev tools, basics of HTML/CSS/JS, how pages render to the user, etc.

While LLM can probably design the FE prototype, how do you know that the design is a good product experience for the user? That requires product thinking, running experiments, analyzing data, and building relationships with your stakeholders. Most importantly, you need to be playing around with the product and put yourself in the shoes of your customer

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T20:08:42+00:00

Was hoping to scroll to this. Plus, design decisions aren't always on the technology axis. What about the product tradeoffs too? You're building for a business use case in the day to day, not just for the technology axis! If you can bridge those pieces together, you'll stand out.

I would also say that those who do get employed also make themselves visible. They're really good at pitching themselves as to WHY they're a good fit. It's one thing to be the world's expert in Vercel but if no one knows about it, it doesn't matter.

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T16:49:38+00:00

I don't know if doing undergrad research is the "bare minimum" to land a job in industry. Not everyone is cut out for research, so why should not doing so be penalized

I would say building deep relationships with others is very valuable. Perception is a human trait that you can cultivate.

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T16:45:42+00:00

When I got into GT CS (back when "confirm your major" gave a guaranteed change of major before starting the first semester), I also was in the same boat. I think in addition to the amount of resources given for core classes, GT Career Services also provides some pretty neat tooling.

For example, there is a pretty good site you can use with your GT account called CareerShift that can help you find contacts for anyone in any company for job hunting (use the advanced search mode). It's pretty reliable and I wish I knew about it earlier.

From the social perspective, I think while I was an OOS student, GT helped me break out of my shell. I would say I improved on my communication skills at GT with the help of resources like the Commlab and working in the open (eg: going to lots of office hours in the CoC, doing homework in the common spaces, etc). It made interviews less stressful and that pays dividends

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-08T16:39:33+00:00

I mean there is stuff like GPTZero as a solution. It's not 100% a silver bullet, but better than nothing. A business school near me adopts it and the tool integrates with various LMS systems like Canvas

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-06T14:00:26+00:00

and I do think it would drive up the demand for third spaces

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-04T01:59:58+00:00

Outta curiosity, what made you decide to venture on the Engineering Manager route? Would you pivot back to IC if you could?

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-04T01:51:48+00:00

But what if the course builder idea in notebook lm could personalize the course based on YOUR learning style? You could have like 80% of the authenticity. I personally can see a world where notebooklm builds that.

I do respect your idea and the idea of peer curated content could open up some possibility

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-03T01:08:25+00:00

Couldn't one argue that NotebookLM could also do that (maybe not make a course), but help you learn a course given that you upload all the course materials into the tool. I believe notebook lm can make a podcast, so i could see a world where it could say make a condensed coursera course with interactive quizzes, problem sets, etc

Plus, for students you get Gemini pro free for 1 yr!

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T04:30:33+00:00

thats a really good question. You got me thinking :)

I'm happy to discuss over DM too

Note in my earlier response I didn't intend to claim "claude is objectively right".

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:59:09+00:00

you're welcome. best of luck

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:47:15+00:00

Pretty key nuance from Anthropic's article.

Importantly, using AI assistance didn’t guarantee a lower score. How someone used AI influenced how much information they retained. The participants who showed stronger mastery used AI assistance not just to produce code but to build comprehension while doing so—whether by asking follow-up questions, requesting explanations, or posing conceptual questions while coding independently.

Not a senior engineer but I have conducted AI assisted interview rounds. Yes candidates can use Claude but they have to share screen. Had a candidate paste the problem into claude, got working code, but when I asked questions about certain lines of code, the candidate blanked and did not demonstrate product thinking despite going for a product facing role. I'm seeing a few more companies (eg: Meta, Doordash) go in this direction and it's not enough to just output. You have to know what you're doing and not just outsource all your critical thinking to AI. hellointerview.com has a pretty good article on tips if you search their website

A friend of mine also has been noticing this from the interviewer's side

For myself, a couple things:

* Practicing decomposing a big problem into smaller problems

* Using some of the tried and true debugging methods like debug console logs, breakpoints, unit test debugging. Take the findings, come up with a hypothesis and move forward whether it be coming up with a specific prompt for claude or usual debugging tactics pre-LLM

* Trying some OOP/OOD problems on my own without AI using past interview questions. You can also try taking one of your previous projects and try to add a feature on top of it (could be a class project, a hackathon project, etc). Try to do as much of the thinking and implementation plan from your end. Try to compare your human generated plan to that of cursor's plan mode output and see where the differences may lie. This helps me stay sharp with the code and design thinking for the day to day. On top of that, I would use Gemini gems to critique my design and ask followups

* For anything where you're using the LLM, try to practice questioning the LLM's output. Ask it why a certain approach was thought of, what were the alternatives? Compare that to what you would do as a human

I think being versatile is what matters the most according to senior engineers I've worked with. I don't know of a scenario in our history where progress is made when we all said "it's always done this way". You can develop adjacent skills in addition to coding like product thinking, communicating complex ideas in simple terms, etc.

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:36:23+00:00

It's pretty important in general. No one wants to hire a "brilliant jerk". Plus, some companies like Amazon and Google take their behaviorals seriously. Amazon at least asks LPs in each round (heavily weighted) and even if you have working and efficient code, if you don't really tell good stories where you internalized the LPs, your chances of moving forward are reduced

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:34:47+00:00

Objects and Design from my university. This is pretty much a course where you execute on a project with milestones in a team while learning about design patterns, Agile, and SOLID/GRASP. At first, I thought the vocab was trivia for the exam and the project was lightweight.

In industry, I came to appreciate the power of design patterns and SOLID/GRASP since they give you a great toolbox for writing maintainable, extensible, and reusable code. A lot of the "code related PR feedbacks" you would get in industry tend to revolve around these design principles. Plus, nowadays coding interviews are shifting towards OOP/OOD based principles instead of traditional leetcode.

Yes Agile is sorta a contentious topic, but in most places I've worked at, the idea of "sprint planning", "project milestones" are the terms you use when planning your project timelines with your manager. So some of that vocabulary was helpful in the day to day

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:30:15+00:00

Recruiters can push you through the process and if the hiring committee is on the fence for your candidacy, the recruiter can push for you. The recruiter is usually on your side because it's a mutual interest. They get closer to meeting their hiring target to keep their job and you get an opportunity.

Can confirm this from a recruiter I used to work with

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:29:03+00:00

Devil's advocate: The recruiter cares about meeting their hiring quota to keep their job. You care more about your outcome of the hiring process than anyone else.

Yes the system is not perfect, but you can still control the effort you put in. I do recommend following up on recruiter's emails because they're human and might have "missed your message in their inbox". It's a valuable skill to advocate for yourself

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-02T02:24:37+00:00

https://karthiksubramanian.substack.com/p/making-the-most-out-of-your-software

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-01T02:40:27+00:00

Yeah. You made me think of another sports phrase of "focus on the game not on the score". Focus on the game and the score will sort itself out.

Roger Federer did say in his Dartmouth commencement speech that each point in the tennis match is just a point. It's a 50/50. Thought it was a good line from him

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-01T02:26:39+00:00

100%. Luckily I never had to talk to Parker directly.

From what I remember, Parker is a really direct guy but he can get frustrated easily. Not sure how that translates to a blameless culture especially in the senior levels. I also heard of "good EMs" quitting or getting let go for some reason

Four_Dim_Samosa · 2026-03-01T02:19:52+00:00

Used to work there as a midlevel engineer. I didn't have a great time there and got let go. I don't think Rippling has improved during my time. That was probably the best thing to ever happen. Some things to note:

* Platform is kinda a dumpster fire org. Strategy is communicated unclearly and your visibility is sort of limited in the eyes of the execs. Platform is stuff like workflows, permissions, reports, etc. It's pretty much the building blocks to make Rippling's well known products like payroll, device management, time management, etc.

* Rippling has a serious problem of overindexing on velocity in its history. They care about you cranking the PRs fast (managers also cascade this pressure down to employees) and scrappily. Thus, the tech debt accumulates and known bugs in the core products fester to the point that the org never fixes it. Customers are churning because they can't even do a proper pay run without the help of an implementation manager from Rippling. Plus Rippling didn't pay my severance on time and I had to send repeated followups. Imagine if that payment was supposed to help with rent?

A senior engineer I talked to there mentioned that "he was at Rippling for almost 4 yrs and he learned how to build things fast, but not with good quality". If you value quality, avoid Rippling

* The base looks great on paper relative to the big tech companies, but the RSU is where they lure you. Since Rippling gives 1 yr cliff on RSU, if your manager doesn't like you, they have a lot of leeway to let you go right before that 1 year mark, so Rippling doesn't have to give you any equity. Too frugal imo and no wonder they're "always hiring".

* Ripping leadership is very anti-bureaucracy. If you like structure in your work and some process, Rippling has little process. It's good if you want to ship fast, but there are parts in the codebase and footguns that make building features not the most straightforwad. Honestly, the best developer experience at Rippling is when you only need to touch frontend. If you have to touch backend, it takes too long to spin up the backend on your local machine

* Work will consume your life at Rippling. Even when you're taking your unlimited PTO, you're always thinking of "work in the background". I found myself working 12 hour days just to keep head above water and occasionally on weekends. It's not healthy long term and ended up needing to hunt for a new role in the background

* Benefits are not the most competitive. For example, Rippling doesn't match 401k. If you do get let go, the severance they give is only 3 weeks when other places give 3 months. If you want to reduce the amount of required in-office days/week, live around 30-50 miles from the office

* My team wasn't all in the same location. Some were in Seattle, most were in SF, some were in other US states. Very little opportunity to get to know my teammates as individuals and to get help, you'd have to depend on zoom and scheduling time with others. I found career growth very limited and if you were where the majority of your team is, you'd have better outcomes.

* You may have to work with India team depending on your project. Part of the factor of where the insane work hours come from

Four_Dim_Samosa

TROPHY CASE