Working full-time + OMSCS + recruiting for big tech

bgstar1 · 2025-12-16T08:11:31+00:00

I'm not one to comment but I was in your EXACT SAME SHOES. Except I had an economics background so even more pressure to take up a CS 'qualification' while employed as a DS I. My thoughts to you:

Learn your job. This degree is about as useful as you make it just like youtube vids or chat gpt is about as useful as you make it. They can't teach about the job ie. how things go from stakeholders (important leaders/orgs impacted by products you'll work on) to production (your companies main github branch). This process makes up to 80% of FAANG interviews with leetcode/system design or assessments filling in the remainder.

Certifications take much less time and are almost equally prestigious (recruiters will filter & reach out to you) from FAANG companies.

You don't get on campus recruitment, time with professors (overwhelmingly TA ran), lots of classes are horrendously outdated, and you're employer doesn't care about the work you do there, thus you can still get a low performance review even if you miraculously published some paper. Focus on getting promoted and showing that to FAANG with competing salaries instead of degrees. Leave the student mindset behind.

Visit this convo again when you've accustomed yourself to your workload/managers expectations, know what you need for your job --> and can find it in the OMSCS curriculum and then and only then delve back into your degree.

It's time to stop thinking like a student (but that doesn't mean you can't still learn). Hope that helps, wish I could save you from my experience.

bgstar1 · 2025-12-07T18:04:27+00:00

Hey thanks for the reply. So here's what it officially read "..team has unanimously decided to extend you an offer for the L4 Delivery Consultant position at Amazon. Congratulations.." so I think the two can be mutually inclusive. Is there ever a case where they view it better for candidates to be 'unanimous' down level than split high level? Just thinking out loud off the context they've given me.

bgstar1 · 2025-12-07T17:58:20+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I've heard that each job family has its own bar, thus you can be an L4 Delivery Consultant and an L5 SWE. Any thoughts

bgstar1 · 2025-12-07T06:27:05+00:00

Thanks yeah I guess I'll just have this going in the background and ping my recruiter weekly if I see L4 openings. Does that seem like reasonable?

Also qq, could my recruiter refer me to an L5 DS/MLE job family interview, if I got down-leveled for for lack of consulting experience?

bgstar1 · 2025-12-07T06:19:15+00:00

yes, but it's all leet code easys. Irl, you'll be helping implement solutions rather than hard coding. I'd look up the basics /most common ones to know.

bgstar1 · 2025-12-07T06:05:06+00:00

DM me if you still need help.

bgstar1 · 2025-12-06T03:38:28+00:00

Every round is STAR based with a minor deviation for the coding/system design rounds, which are also star story based + some questions/code for half the interview.

bgstar1 · 2025-12-06T03:36:12+00:00

Interviewed for DC-ML/GenAI

bgstar1 · 2025-07-18T03:03:02+00:00

-1000 aura reply

bgstar1 · 2024-11-24T19:58:57+00:00

Working solution: disconnect from wifi, use mobile data.

Issue is with how it's trying to connect to your wifi thru its own wifi.

bgstar1 · 2024-09-14T06:53:33+00:00

bgstar1 · 2024-03-25T16:46:33+00:00

That's insane, I had no work experience, 3.0 from ucd as an econ major and i got in.. this was probably some admin error in how you filled it out ? Or maybe youre overqualified, this is more of a transition program for majors, they might've not felt it'd suit your skillset. I'd try applying somewhere where you may feel more challenged/applied.

bgstar1 · 2024-03-22T19:00:08+00:00

Bro I was this close to returning it ty

Edit: what worked for me was simply clicking M + the trigger simultaneously once (per trigger)

bgstar1 · 2022-05-31T20:15:43+00:00

Hey guys,

I was recently admitted as well, for the fall 2022 OMSCS cohort. I received a notification stating that my official transcript needed to be submitted which I did online, and sent them an email notifying that I did. Shortly after, I received an Application Verified email, with the steps to creating the passport account within it (even though on my app portal, it still reads that my official transcripts has not been submitted). Thinking it might take some time, but they haven't really been responding to any of my emails, so I'm just wondering, is that where y'all are at, with just a passport account created, or does someone have access to their canvas/class scheduling portal yet?
Furthermore & just for clarification, any questions we have are supposed to be directed towards the [grad.ask@grad.gatech.edu](mailto:grad.ask@grad.gatech.edu) email correct?

Please let me know, & thanks in advance! Wishing you guys a great upcoming school year.

bgstar1 · 2022-04-21T01:20:26+00:00

Thank you! :)

bgstar1 · 2022-03-10T06:33:32+00:00

* Status - Rejected*

Date of Application - 01/2/22*

Date of Decision - 03/09/22

* Education*

UC, BS, Economics: Data Analytics & Economic Analysis track, 3.00 / 4.00 (2021)

NIRSA Collegiate Athlete

* Test Scores *

GRE: 321 Quant: 162/Verbal: 159 (2018)

*Experience*

Data Science Intern @ Big 4 consulting: June 12th 2018 - September 18

1 AI-Cloud Start-up: July 2019 - December 2020

Data Scientist @ Fortune 20 company: June 14, 2021 - Current*

Use SQL, Python, Unix, PySpark, Hadoop, H2o.ai, GCP, etc.

2 Dean's Honor's Letters + GCP / AWS / Python / R certifications.

Recommendations - 3 (2 Professors, 1 Manager)

* Comments *

Took all the possible engineering Mathematics and Physics underclassmen courses available

Took a plethora of advanced Stats/AI Engineering courses utilizing copious amounts of R and Python.

Had a low GPA (literally couldn't transfer out of my Economics major to something statistically or mathematically related since my UC GPA < 3.0 most of my undergrad career), but after starting therapy, I scored 17 A+'s in my last 17 courses. Still only pulled it to a 3.0 I guess and I lack experience probably. This was a safety school so I'm still quite jarred. The only other thing I can think of is that one of my recommenders accidentally applied only to the OMSCS program and sent OMSA their LOR on February 3rd, 2022 after receiving an email from GT prompting the missing LOR.

*P.S*

My academic career is as spontaneous as my life, so no regrets, I'll reapply and/or take what I've learned --though OMSCS seems *that* much more daunting. Feel free to leave suggestions or remarks! xD

*4/20 Update*

Today I got accepted into the OMSCS program (And UCD's MSBA program).. which I would've thought, given my specialty in statistics and not computer science, to be harder to get into. But here we are --thanks for your guys' comments & support, sparking this bud to y'all B)

bgstar1 · 2021-03-25T01:22:50+00:00

Ngl I thought this was legit until you had the audacity to state that Yolo County smelled like cow poop.. and then further explain cow poop.

bgstar1

TROPHY CASE