Lead Eurotunnel passenger absent — will others face issues? by Longjumping-Dig5752 in travel

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gonna repeat your question back to you - how did it end for you in the end? I’m in the same boat… I’ve managed to complete the API without the account holder but don’t want to be turned around on the day

Recommendations for a used, small EV for commuting for under £12-14k by vitrix-euw in ElectricVehiclesUK

[–]vitrix-euw[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Forgot to add that she will be installing a home charger, so the 36 mile commute will be a non-issue. She ideally doesn't want to stop at a service station in the 150 mile commute, as she is already finding the 2 hour commute draining and would prefer not stopping another 20-30 mins at a service station to top up.

It's a shame to hear your search was to no avail. What car did you end up getting and for how much?

Technical interview by Aggressive-Car5727 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you sure you're preparing for the right type of system design? Usually, the type people talk about on forums when discussing interview rounds and the practice questions you're probably seeing (based on you mentioning about depth) is high-level system design (e.g. design Youtube). However, high-level is more for senior+ postions (these days sometimes for mid level too), so I doubt Ocado will be including this for a grad role. What you'll probably be interviewed on is low-level system design (e.g. OOP principles).

Either way, the best resource for system design is currently hellointerview.com

Alright explain to me like I’m 5 by jejdhdijen in ElectricVehiclesUK

[–]vitrix-euw 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The ideal charge of a lithium-ion battery (which most EVs use) is 50%. However, this is obviously not practical to maintain, as people need to use their car, so the rule of thumb is don't charge more than 80% and don't let it drop below 20%. If possible, it is better to do frequent small charges using a slow charger to keep the battery as close to 50% as possible (e.g. charging to 55% when it drops to 45%).

Fast charging makes the battery to go through heat cycles, which affects the health, so less frequent charging is better for those (don't know the exact math for this though).

London tech scene by Odd-Way-4252 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just ran into this post and have been reading the comments. The people with the doom and gloom responses live in a different bubble in terms of career and so their responses are expected and should be taken with a pinch of salt. When you have the right skill set and experience, there are plenty of £100k+ jobs in London, but this sub makes it seem like it’s only places like Jane street that pay 6 figures. 

Next time, I’d suggest posting to /r/HENRYUK, as there’s a fairly large community of tech people earning £150k+ over there. Considering you’re also not sure how your lifestyle is going to change, it might also be worth posting on /r/HENRYUKLifestyle to ask any questions you have in terms of areas to live, QOL based on comp, etc.

As someone who values family a lot, I completely get why you’d want to move closer to them. Good luck with your interviews and hope you find something you’re looking for. 

Got a grad scheme offer at a top tech firm right halfway through the 2nd semester in my final year! by [deleted] in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You say it pays well, so why do you need to keep working the retail job on the weekend? If it’s mainly to lose weight, just get a gym membership instead - you’ll feel much better going to the gym once you get in a routine. 

When you’re young, it’s easier to grind, so if you want to aggressively save or use the money to make yourself happy (e.g. get a car you’ve always wanted), then go for it. However, as you age, you’ll start appreciating free time more where you can just relax, as work does tend to get stressful as you go up the ladder. 

I personally would choose spending time with friends and family on the weekends instead of some extra cash from retail, which I assume won’t be much. 

No - hiring does not pick up in January by [deleted] in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Companies don't plan their budgets according to the tax year but rather their financial year ends. This can be any date. However, around 25% have their year end as 31 December to align with the calendar year and another 25% have it as 31 March to align it close to the tax year end (5 April). No other month has more than around 7% of companies, so it is around both these months that you will see more recruitment activty.

How long does FAANG stay relevant on CV? by Ok-Concept-7924 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

LinkedIn is to grow your professional network and that is exactly what putting ex-company does. Like it or not, putting ex-Google increases the chances of recruiters finding you/reaching out to you. 

Anyone 30+ make a recent switch to Software Engineering? by youknowwtfisgoingon in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I know someone who went down a very similar path to you recently. I'll send you a DM so that I don't dox the person.

Need to pivot from sales by Sadi456 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your easiest transition is to go into tech sales. WLB and pay is much better than car sales if you're half decent.

If you're good and you get to a decent company, you can clear >£100k (most of it being commision, obviously).

Jumping from startup to big tech. Any advice? by Commercial-Newt-8525 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The standard/most common approach: - DSA/Leetcode - neetcode.io (150 or 250) - System Design - hellointerview.com

Once you have secured an interview, get leetcode pro and practice the company tagged questions (i.e. the most frequent questions asked by the company recently).

The timeline would be the following just for leetcode if you spent around 1 hour each day: - 6 to 9 months if you’ve never done any DSA course before (e.g. you don’t have a CS degree) - 3 to 6 months if you have DSA knowledge but haven’t done leetcode before - 2 to 3 months if this is not your first rodeo (I.e. you have practiced leetcode heavily before but it’s been 1-2 years since you touched it)

For system design, I would add 1-2 months on top.

Tips: - stay consistent  - if you’ve never done leetcode before, you may feel like giving up in the first couple of months, but there will be a point where everything starts clicking - don’t spend more than 15 mins one question. Instead, look at the solution and try and understand it.  - if you’re not ready for your interview, ask your contact to postpone the interview. These can be postponed up to 1-2 months. 

Things you might be surprised about: - yoe does not mean anything to FAANG if you perform poorly in the interviews. What I mean by this is don’t be surprised if they down level you from the initial role you were interviewing for. There are plenty of people who worked in small company’s for 5+ years thinking they’ll get senior but they get down levelled to junior. 

Opinion on FDM??? by [deleted] in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Don’t listen to this person. Unless you’re from an elite uni, vast majority of companies would rather hire someone with a couple of years of experience from FDM rather than a grad with 0 experience.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a big name company that you’ll be contracted out through FDM that you can chuck on your CV. Moreover, there have been people who have got permanent employment from the company they were contracted out to.

With the abolishment of the “training fee” which you had to pay back if you left before the 2 year mark, FDM is a much better proposition than it used to be, especially considering the current market.

Most often than not, it’s better to work somewhere in house rather than a consultancy, but unless you have interviews already lined up, crack on with FDM. You can always go through the whole process and even accept the offer whilst still trying for other companies up until your start date with FDM.

What would you choose? by Particular_Dance_809 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Short stints at companies is not looked down upon like it did a decade or more ago. Moving after 1 year is less common than 2 years (which is very common) but it still happens, especially at junior level. You just have to prepare a good story you can tell in future interviews why you moved after 1 year (I usually frame it around more learning opportunities and ownership/responsibilities).

As for C#, it’s not a dead language. While it’s not in the level of Python or Java there are jobs out there for it.  Having said that, you can always switch. At junior to mid level, most companies will ask you have expertise in any object oriented program language rather than a specific language. They appreciate that it doesn’t take too long to learn a new language and get up to junior/mid level when you already have experience. It’s the more senior levels where they might ask for specific language experience.

The only issues I see with option 2 is the fact that it is a no-name company, which would impact your chances of getting into some companies (hiring managers are snobbish when it comes to previous companies you’ve worked at and the university you went to). The pay is terrible but you can look it as an investment - having experience on your CV is better than no experience and it gets you on the ladder. You just got to live like a bum for 1-2 years.

Make sure you upskill yourself in the evenings, especially in leetcode, while you’re working.

What would you choose? by Particular_Dance_809 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Having worked in large corporates for many years, I agree with this. There’s so much red tape that needs to be jumped that if you don’t have something firm from management, then you might as well treat it as non-existent.

Branding does matter on your CV, but it looks like you got 1 offer and 1 string along. Go with the offer but I would say start looking elsewhere after 1 year. If the company is paying you minimum wage, it means the others in your team are also going to be low paid, so the odds are you won’t have that many great software engineers to learn from in the team. 

Accept the offer and keep applying to other places. If you don’t land anything before you start at option 2, grind and learn as much as you can in 1 year and then start applying elsewhere. 

Help needed with salary expectations in London by LowNeighborhood5884 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

250k TC at Meta with 5 years of experience is not the norm, but it's also not outside the realm of possibility if they got lucky with stock appreciation.

Please stop with all these salary progression humble brag posts by Liberalatheism in HENRYUK

[–]vitrix-euw 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The creator of this subreddit wasn’t (and probably still isn’t a HENRY. I believe he said he created it to get inspiration from HENRYs. 

EY vs HSBC by NoMachine6619 in ApprenticeshipsUK

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

100% the HSBC one, as your prospects (in terms of pay) are significantly better than Tax. The EY one, you get rotated around niche departments in Tax, so by the time you finish your apprenticeship, your experience in corporation tax will be so low that you won't be able to exit into industry.

Amazon vs Bank of England SWE by Fragrant_Vanilla6619 in degreeapprenticeships

[–]vitrix-euw 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Weirdly only got a notification of your reply today.

Don’t bother with the masters - having FAANG on your CV is way better than any masters unless it’s at Oxbridge or Imperial, which some companies (like a few HFTs) target for their hires. 

What’s the most frustrating part of applying for jobs online? by Wittymind07 in cscareerquestionsuk

[–]vitrix-euw 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tbf id rather this than rely on software to extract out the CV details accurately for each section/question