My name is Steve Huynh, I am a RU-vidr, a Principal Engineer, a productivity junkie. I believe that if we take a structured and engineering approach to our lives and careers we can achieve anything we want. My mission is to help knowledge workers develop a growth mindset so they can live the lives they want, whether that’s getting promoted as quickly as possible, starting a business/startup, or finding financial independence.
I do this by creating RU-vid videos, my weekly email newsletter, and connecting people with a community of like-minded individuals on my Discord, where I distill the lessons I've learned from nearly 20 years in the tech industry.
Notes (so I don't let my Uncle Steve down) 0:41 - Change Happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change 1:58 - Interviewing is a numbers game 2:57 - Interview with multiple companies in parallel 3:21 - Segment Companies into a Tier List 3:29 - Use companies in lower tiers as practice 3:59 - Interviews don't test your day to day skills 5:48 - Allow the interviewer to guide you 7:13 - Don't only focus on the technical portion of the interview 8:34 - Prepare good answers for behavioral questions (relevant video linked)
So technical expertise should be a given for senior engineers, I get that. But perhaps when you ask those engineers what do they need to work on to get to the next level, and they all response "technical expertise" is because they feel like they don't know enough in order to be opinionated and to direct the team towards the right path. If you're opinionated and wrong about your opinions that's bad right? So in a team full of people who are knowledagble, how does one stand out to direct the team without knowing if your answer is right. For that you need experience and deep technical knowledge which goes back to the reason why all of those developers answer the same. No?
Hi, I’m looking into learning a new skill to secure my future in case my business plan doesn’t work. I’m considering learning web development. Is this something you would recommend? I have seven years of experience in customer service, and I am tech-savvy, but I sometimes have trouble staying focused. I would appreciate your advice.
Level at tech companies is completely useless. I don’t have any attachment to titles. As long as they pay what I want, I wouldn’t have any problem in taking a lesser level because it means less responsibility.
Hello and good evening. I've just watched your video, and you are truly an inspiration. I checked Amazon's website for Solutions Architect and IT remote positions but couldn't find any remote opportunities. Is there a better way to search? Also, do you happen to have connections at Netflix? Would you be able to arrange a 5 to 10-minute call?
The best part is that all these mating dances don't demonstrate how well people fit into the team, but rather how successful they are at these mating dances. It looks so miserable when two sane adults are evaluating each other's 'behavior,' and in reality the results of such evaluation depend 80% on their mood and 19% on appearance. Thanks for the second part though, getting better at the mating dances matters a lot. These days, to land a tech lead or architect job, you need to be a fkn stand-up artist ten times more than a software engineer.
You have to consider there's not much of an alternative. If a wrong hire occurs at a high level, it typically takes about 6 months for the company to figure it out and correct it. Even if you do competency based assessments, there is still the personality and communication factor. You can't avoid the mating dance so it's best to master it and just be honest with yourself about what you're applying for.
@@KevinTheCardigan Agree, it’s better/easier for yourself to embrace reality, but it doesn’t mean that it should be the norm. Honestly, is there a single person alive who likes to speak Corporate?
@@Ant3rn I dunno man I just had an interview today and I tried my best to apply the concepts from the video, but did it look like anyone was enjoying it? Not really, it's an awkward circumstance no matter how you cut it
And here's how to get a job now from a guy who hasn't had to look for a job in 20 years, who is probably a cozy millionaire, who originally got his first & seemingly only "real" job by 1.) already living in Seattle and 2.) having a friend who worked at a big company that got him an interview to place him in that role. Don't understand why people are congratulating this "unique" opinion. No real statistics nor data was cited. Ignorance was shown by showcasing new grads - somehow naively implying that only new grads are struggling to find work currently. And nothing was given to back up the claim a job seeker will have an easier time finding a job simply by keeping a spreadsheet and applying for jobs for a few hours and then just painting the day away carefree vs the other jobseeker applying to jobs. What's best about this for me is, if you're a SWE you've probably done at least 1 interview with Amazon in the past 5 years - tell me their interview process isn't among the worst of any company and part of the problem this guy's trying to imply he's on the right side of. At the end of the day this video is simply capitalizing on the bad job market by generating mindless content about it to farm views and clicks to make sure this guys Tesla stays charged.
Hi, what education did you have before getting the amazon job? Any tips on what specific area of computer/software engineering is most in demand in these big tech companies? Thanks!
I love your content, it's just what I was after. May I ask you if you could do a video on the best next step after being hired below your current level?
