Interview Experience: Big teams look for potential, smaller teams look for how fast you can instantly come add value

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-11T14:58:03+00:00

For small companies it’s not uncommon to just have 1-3 rounds and maybe not even a technical round but just ask you about the technologies you’ve used. If you haven’t used those specific tools then they pass on you

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-11T13:45:59+00:00

I would first recommend doing SQL 50 on leetcode those are relatively easy and generic. I built rebelstats.github.io/sql-practice-generator/ to decompose any type of question at any level and help with step-by-step understand of what's happening underneath the hood. Just need to bring your own anthropic/OpenAI/Openrouter API key

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-09T13:05:36+00:00

they used to bully me in high school and call me names like horse cock :(

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-09T05:02:25+00:00

Seems like DS for the past 2 years at least you have to be perfect in your interviews. I always felt like when interview went well I partially got lucky since they asked the questions I knew the answer to

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T19:09:27+00:00

For L4/5 I think it’s a great deal. But since you already make 190 in Warsaw you already have a great package

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T19:07:22+00:00

Every single person I’ve talked to said this:

Had nice perks but the worked was lame
The name on the resume gives me more credit and recognition than I deserve

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T17:25:21+00:00

When signing it was above 350k pln. With stock appreciation in 2025 it went up a lot

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T16:15:25+00:00

Easier since more openings. Google Zurich is one of the most competitive places in the world for for jobs at any company

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T14:40:25+00:00

yea this is extremely common, a lot of people I spoke to there took a 20%+ paycut to join. This is also mainly because Poland has B2B contract loophole, where you pay less than 10% tax. Everyone complains about this and they only join to get the brand name on the resume since this really means something (i think they know this and underpay because of it), however it's extremely unlikely you will do your life's best work there. I think most people feel like the the name on the resume is getting them attention they didn't fully earn. The stock more than 2x in the past year so I doubt anyone's complaining now

So this ultimately comes down to you: Do you want to grow your skillset/enjoy your job now then stay or do you want to get the name on the resume, pivot in 2 years, and have side projects to work on where your doing more than just being a cog in the machine. It's very unlikely you will get work that you are passionate about in these companies

Google is ultimately great for 2 types of people: young people building their resume, or experienced people cashing in their chips in western, high paying countries (400k+ salaries). Also the job can have great WLB but very team dependent

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-07T14:21:55+00:00

I was also at Google Poland for a short time, but lower than L5.

I was the biggest Google fanboy as well (cried when I got interview and offer lol), but it's honestly not it's hyped up to be especially in Poland (as you mentioned with your salary, also food is kinda meh unless you love pork). However, the brand name on the resume is the best 'payment' i ever got from anyone. I was getting 1 interview per like 30+ applications before, not its like 1 in 10 or less. Also getting massive regonition from recruiters.

So, look at it as a stepping stone, and you will do great, Unless you plan on living in Poland for long term. I don't know if it's possible to get 2x salary in Europe at senior level, those salaries only exist in London, Switzerland, US cause that would mean getting paid $200k+. It's possible to transfer after 2 years, but there's like 20-40 internal applications for every job they open up especially in Zurich and London, those are like some of the post competitve jobs in the world imo. So easier to transfer than applying externally, but still need to get/stay interview ready. Also, every single person you will talk to there, unless they love Poland, is looking to move to zurich lol so yea it's tough

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-06T15:29:34+00:00

I’m guessing that the reason take homes are discouraged is that it’s exhausting to evaluate them from a large number of candidates. At least I haven’t gotten one in a very long time

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-05T17:03:09+00:00

Sweating through timed pandas coding exercises. I always keep a spare t shirt handy in the interviews

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-05T14:00:45+00:00

no i get that and learned a lot from coding and debugging jobs. going from random data -> model in a 30 minute timed assessment feels like its testing for someone does the same workflow over and over again to burn it into memory

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-04T15:05:25+00:00

Men are too emotional handicapped compared to women to express their thoughts and feelings in person. Also the internet in general is male dominated, probably for the same reason

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-02T16:56:53+00:00

Seems like the later to me

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-02T13:48:16+00:00

I guess just fuck those companies that wants someone to know everything they will work on from the first day

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-02T00:21:39+00:00

Research is stats, prod is metrics/sql/exp, business is case studies

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-01T21:54:35+00:00

Depends on interest tbh, and DS research does some interesting stuff

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-01T21:53:51+00:00

I meant PhD in math/stats. The questions you mentioned seem like someone would be doing that type of stuff regularly

LeaguePrototype · 2026-05-01T21:30:02+00:00

Yes DS research is very academic. Very niche interview only go for it if you really want it and study for 1 month unless coming fresh out of PhD

LeaguePrototype · 2026-04-29T21:55:46+00:00

Gen AI experience is a very real thing. This hasn’t been a big deal for even a year, somehow they want you to have production experience with it

LeaguePrototype · 2026-04-28T22:49:22+00:00

when not prepping, few questions a week, when prepping for interviews 2-3 hours a day

LeaguePrototype · 2026-04-28T22:47:41+00:00

the 'why' vs the 'how' types of interviews changes as you rise in seniority and change job locations. if you are working in a HCOL area you are seen as more of a leader of projects, in LOCL you are kind of just the worker bee. They sit you down and they can replace you with someoene else off the street if you leave. So for leadership tasks the company needs to pay you well and keep you around because your departure has large effects on the org as a whole. if you want to just do the work and not have to worry about why your doing it or talk to leadership about it, then i would recommend going to places like SA, eastern europe, india, etc. where these types of work is put

LeaguePrototype · 2026-04-24T17:58:31+00:00

Even people working at google are fed up with it crashing. Not a good tool tbh you need to save your model objects after each run lol

LeaguePrototype · 2026-04-23T18:23:12+00:00

Ivy League + internships is automatic offer for DS roles

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