How I became a Software Engineer at TikTok
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- How I became a Software Engineer at TikTok, learned to code, my salary breakdown, and tips for getting a job in tech in 2024.
0:00 - intro
0:15 - Part 1: My Background
0:46 - How I Learned to Code
1:09 - Personal Projects
1:39 - Interview Timeline
1:58 - My Resume
2:20 - I Got an Offer!
2:50 - Part 2: Coding Interview Prep
3:50 - System Design Resources
4:20 - Applying with a Referral
4:52 - Resume Tips
5:15 - Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions
5:21 - How much is my Rent?
5:40 - How much is my Salary?
6:31 - Can I get a referral to TikTok?
6:50 - outro
~resources mentioned in the video~
how to code:
www.freecodecamp.org/
www.udemy.com/course/the-comp...
pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-i...
github.com/armankhondker
coding interview prep:
neetcode.io/practice
www.designgurus.io/course/gro...
elementsofprogrammingintervie...
interviewing.io/
www.pramp.com/
system design interview prep:
github.com/donnemartin/system...
www.designgurus.io/course/gro...
www.oreilly.com/library/view/...
recommended resume template: www.overleaf.com/read/gzgzrps...
leetcode tracking template: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
disclaimer: this is not an official video of the employer, all experiences, thoughts, and views/opinions are of the subject and not of the employer.
♫ music ♫
♪ Mellow Bop (Prod. by Prigida)
• Video
♪ Sway to It (Prod. by Sarah, the Instrumentalist)
• The BOP (Sway to It)
♪ Blue Boi (Prod. by Lakey Inspired)
• [No Copyright Music] C...
linkedin: / armankhondker
twitter/x: / armankhon
I always appreciate how transparent you are when sharing Arman.
Great video as always! 🔥
just trying to provide as much value as possible, appreciate the feedback ♥️
Support for me to get job of coding im developer but ain't have workin
Awesome video, Arman! We need more guys out here like you who are willing to help a person out of kindness. I applaud what you are doing, man.
Thank you, I saw several recommendation videos about how to apply a job, they are all so generic, data structure, algorithm, and so on, but you point out the specific resources, that's what I need!
yea I am glad my experience provided you with some value, appreciate the feedback!
This is such an awesome video! I'll definitely be using the resources you listed for interview prep in the very near future. This video came at the most perfect time
perfect time to start interview prepping with job market picking in 2024, appreciate you :)
This video is perfect for someone trying to get on in 2023 and I'm only two minutes in. Not looking to code, but I like to see what everybody is doing. Thank you for sharing!
I hope this provides some insights into the job market in 2024 :)
@@armankhondkerExactly 2024
Not 2023 lol
Amazing and really helpfull Video! Most of the time this kind of videos do not give practical advise but after yours I have the feeling that I do know which steps to take. Thank you for the value!
appreciate the feedback man, I just want to help as many people as possible with becoming a software engineer and get a job in tech
Love how humble you are despite your amazing success. I was just going through my channels to unsubscribe from and saw you posted a new video. Brilliant vid man, you're a legend Arman.
I try my best man, sincerely appreciate the kind words, wishing you all the best, lmk if I can ever help
Great video! I’m currently on the beginner road to becoming a software engineer. Washington native, love the different avenues for tech in this state☺️
washington is such an amazing state, I love it here, wishing you the best man :)
Love your video! Straight to the point and well planned out
appreciate the feedback :)
Truly a Pleasure watching your videos, thanks for being one of my favs TH-camrs!!
appreciate the kind words :)
I really appreciate the transparency in the video. Great Video! I am a current sophomore studying computer engineering and I am trying to take the same route, your tips are extremely helpful. Thank you & just subbed!
best of luck my man, appreciate the kind words :)
Happy new year ! Thanks for this detailed video !
I am a data analyst from France and I enjoy watching your videos out of curiosity ! It will sure help future SWE around the world 😎
happy new year my man, that is the goal with all of my videos, just want to help as many people with getting into tech as a SWE
This was a great video. You hit a lot of good details and kept it concise! Thank youuu!!
ty for the feedback, I try to value your time :)
Nice work Arman! Always nice to see how people better themselves and do what they love. 👍🏾🔥
appreciate you man, just hoping to help as many people as possible with breaking into tech and getting a job
The most inspirational is because you are common person!
Congratulations 👏🏼 what a great video and well explained at all
Thank you very much to share this video, is so direct and transparency!
I really appreciate the kind words man, happy to help :)
I see you, bro! You've got a great head on your shoulders, and you did it the right way. I had to clap it up when I saw the numbers. Salute.
thanks man I really appreciate it! I'm just trying my best out here and want to help others out as well
Mentioned each and everything that i needed. You gained a new sub 🙂
appreciate the feedback, hope future videos will be helpful as well :)
Wow Arman! 7mins and you just gave us the complete roadmap to secure a SWE role at FAANG. Thanks so much for all the helpful info, and really for just cutting to the chase and providing us real value upfront. You don’t see a lot of SWEs with TH-cam channels do that. I’m definitely going to be using the video as a guide to prep for my interviews!
thank you so much for the kind comment :), i’ve compiled the best interview prep resource in my github, check it out if interested best of luck!
Great Arman! ❤
Thanks for the breakdown :)
I look forward to joining your team soon.
of course, and best of luck with everything!
Man!
Thanks for this detailed video:)
ofc always :)
Value packed video brother 👊
appreciate bro, hope to help as many people as possible with breaking into tech
Awesome video. I have a bit of experience, and even I found this *very* helpful. Excited to see more from you!
awesome man, more coming soon
W vid 🔥about to start my CS masters coming from a prehealth bachelors so I’m trying to learn all I can 💪🏽
Congratulations on all the success, great video 😎
thanks man appreciate it :)
Great video, Arman! 🙌 Nice to start getting to know you a little more 😁
appreciate it Brian, your videos are amazing man keep it up, true inspiration! ill lyk next time I'm back in Houston
surely a motivation booster! loved the video.
appreciate the feedback :)
Concise and straight to the point
always
Hey Arman, the thing you told about spaced repetition fascinates me. Would love a detailed video about the preparation using spaced repetition. Great work as always !
yea it really helped take me to the next level, hopefully I can more in detail in the future, appreciate it man :)
Love your content. Video suggestions: your tech stack, in demand tech stacks?, what you like and dislike about being a SWE, how you stay productive, continuous learning platforms/resources.
ty so much for the suggestions, I hope to create more content like this in the near future :)
heyyy glad to hear your voice!😁😁
been too long man
Great video man! Thanks for the advice on how to get referrals.
absolutely man, as mentioned in the video, reach out for referral info on my team
This video is living proof that success comes with hard work, determination, intense study and strategy for most.
Thank you for providing this detailed, realistic video.
Many people falsely believe that success is easy and seamless.
You put in the work and deserve your success.
appreciate the kind words man, I am trying my best, hope to help as many people as possible
Congrats man
Well deserved
That's a huge amount of work
appreciate it man, hope this was helpful
Straight to the point, thank you
always
dope video as always man
appreciate you :)
Damn great information here, thank you!!
appreciate it man!
Thank You Very Much for this helpful information love from Ghana.
love my developers in Africa, appreciate you :)
You are inspiring us a lot here.@@armankhondker
Great video for aspiring software engineers!
Bro this is literally my life. I graduated with ECE degree at UW seattle, learned js on free code camp a while back and have my microsoft interview in a few days. Wish me luck.
Great video, pray your doing well brother!
appreciate it, you too bro!
Thanks for sharing, Arman!
of course man :)
This is a video with Great Added value, all the best insh'Allah
appreciate it brother
Happy new year guys .
Well i am not a engineer person but i always enjoy your videos specially day in my life 🥰 bcz of your editing
I always see you commenting, appreciate you happy new year!
Nice video bro! I'm a software tester currently learning C# for QA Automation! This is the year to make it happen!😎
thanks man, that's awesome QAs are so vital and we need more at TikTok haha
@@armankhondker well shoot, I’d be thrilled to work there!
Dude, you are amazing!!
hope this was helpful, thanks man
Interesting. Thanks for the transparency!
of course, I wish I had this transparency when I was getting into tech
new subscriber in the town :) love the content
appreciate the support man :)
Great value in this video
appreciate it! hope it can help some folks out in their careers
Great video man!
thank you man
Another Banger!
appreciate you man :)
Inspiring Arman !! Looking forward to connect with you and learn more.
appreciate the feedback, yes we can connect!
@@armankhondker 💙💙
This video is so transparent and inspiring, thank you for this video!! I was wondering, what are you working in Tiktok? New features, maintaining old stuff...? Also, what languages/framework are you working with? Thank you so much
I work on TikTok Shop, talk about in more detail in some of the other videos. I mainly work with Golang, use a mix of internal/external frameworks
Thanks for this information
hope it provided some insight and you can take some action
Awesome video man , can you please make a detailed video telling roadmap for full stack , also include things like ai and ml as well. by roadmap i mean the things to learn and the platform to learn it from (irrespective of cs degree ) , how much time will it take etc. lots of love from India 💓💖
yes I can work on this, ty for the suggestion
Dope and inspiring sir!
appreciate it bro :)
I just got approved for interview with TikTok for a Mobile Engineer. Thank you for posting this video. It's very helpful.
Hope to see more videos of you talking you look very comfortable and confident talking to the camera I would be so nervous and mess up a lot ☺
it was definitely hard filming this haha, appreciate the feedback :)
Thanks a lot for this video man! I myself wanna base my stack around C, Rust, Go and Python since I wanna go to cybersec, but have always considered taking any job that can land haha
I'm still at uni getting my bachelors, and I need to ask, do companies often check your grades? I failed some courses from 2022 to the first half of 2023 (I was heavily depressed and it really took a huge toll on me) but I'm finally back on track, but my averagd score has taken a huge hit because of those failed courses, so it's kinda scary for me to see if a company's gonna look deep into it
Happy New Year and thanks once again for the amazing content, blessings bro! 💚
I am super passionate about this topic, comapnies absolutely DO NOT check your grades. Please focus on leetcode interview prep and don't worry about your gpa, I wish someone would've given me this advice while I was still in university.
You need to land the best job possible this will matter the most in your career, not your GPA which no one will ever check
@@armankhondker Thanks a ton for the answer man! Many blessings and best wishes bro, keep it up with the awesome content! :D
Jonas Schmedtmann is an amazing instructor. i also take his JS and HTML&&CSS course. Perfect explanation, clear english, challenges and so on.
yes I definitely can recommend him as well, thank you for the suggestion :)
👌 i love this .helps me on my journey
wishing you the best of luck :)
Thank you so muuch :)
big up the chels! (probably why this vid got recommended to me)
big season upcoming, care free cfc
Wow, what a grind! Competition is fierce.
It's like the only two career options these days are 1. Social media influencer (TH-camr/tiktoker)
OR
Software Engineer of some sort.
definitely is a grind, but i wouldn’t say those are the only two options, most lucrative yes but there are others haha
Great brother ❤
♥
great video
thx man
Saw the you where a Prem fan/coded liked the vid. Saw you liked Chelsea and I subscribed COYB!💙😂
appreciate it brother, blues gotta stay together 💙
Happy new year brother..
happy new year bro
Hi, I’m really inspired by your success and would like some guidance. I’m a current CS major and I would want to eventually build an IOS app. However learning swift and putting all my books on one table seems like a dangerous path to take. Would you recommend I just stumble down the path of web dev instead and then branch out from there rather than just learning swift? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
I would start with web dev as the best resources are available and it'll be easy for you to make some personal projects. best of luck bro :)
Love your video btw and I do have a Weird question but I want to ask someone. I just started to code recently and it may seem silly but would you even include other jobs in your resume if they wouldnt be tech related?
you can if you really need to fill in space, but try to show your impact even in the non tech related positions, also i'd use personal projects to replace some of the non relevant jobs as well
Fabulous Video 🍁💟✨️
appreciate the feedback, hope it was informative
Amazing video!! I’m currently a senior high school student and aspire to become a backend software engineer but I can’t think or find a roadmap into becoming a backend developer, is there a roadmap you can suggest i can follow? I want to learn all the skills a software engineer should know in the work field before going to college. :)
Appreciate the kind words, so glad you are getting interested in tech so early. I would say the roadmap provided in this video for learning to code still holds true. For backend specific roadmap, I would just continue to master the fundamentals of data structures and algorithms and then build some unique personal projects. That will give you a great headstart
Nice video! Thanks for all the advice. Do you see any value in getting some added cloud certifications (e.g Azure/AWS)? And do you recommend learning Go on your own time or better to invest that time into Leetcode (If you already have a CS background with knowledge in other languages)?
I got my AWS Solutions Architect certifcate back in 2021 because it was encourage by my company at the time. I wouldn't say there is much value if you are just going down the standard SWE route and aren't in devops.
I would recommend prioritizing leetcode absolutely, you can learn Go on the job to be honest, isn't hard to pick up.
@@armankhondker Thanks for your insights!
@armankhondker can you tell me can I break into tech at 28. I always was back and forth. How do you get the motivation to keep going and knowing what you'll get. Can you tell me?
Awesome video. Is it best to start from front end programming language such as html, css, and javascript before jumping into python and other backend programming language? I'm at the age of 33, would it be too late to switch into software programming field?
I would start with backend engineering personally, learn the fundamentals of a statically typed language like C/Java
another great vlog mate. It will sure help many people. As per your previous videos, I believe you are more in to back end side i.e. data science\analytics using 'Golang', am I right? if so, looking at this video it looks like you've started your journey learning web development e.g. Javascript etc so when and how did you transition in to core backend?
yea I started with web development and then through my internships and switching teams at my first job I got a lob of different experiences. One team in particular got me started working with Go, that's how I made the full transition, I would highly recommend switching teams as often as possible in your career (whether that be internally or interning at different companies etc.)
@@armankhondker Thanks for the response . when you say backend SE, do you work mainly on Microservices\APIs or Data Analytics?
amazing dude ❤love from India 🇮🇳
appreciate you, love my indians
My issue isn’t the interview, or the prep. With 2 years of experience and a college degree, I’m struggling to get interviews. How did you setup your resume so that you would move forward ?
getting an interview is hard than passing the interview in this current market, I agree. I would optimize your resume and have it looked over by multiple professionals
best morning for mee. hahaa i just found youu
appreciate it bro ♥️
Good one.
ty
Question! I just started the full stack engineer course on codecademy because they had the free trial and my question is do you think it’s worth continuing after the trial and I have to start paying or go with the route you’ve mentioned in the video? Btw love the content!
I would go with whatever is working for you man, if you enjoy it on codeacademy then it's probably worth the money. best of luck man!
try build something on your own after some sort of tutorial grind.
the best thing you can do is to find a internship or some sort of really world experience ASAP, nothing beat working professionally
Legend.
my man, hope you’re well
what do you recommend for time management with the busy work life schedule you have and maintaining a social life?
prioritize your goals and what genuinely gives you joy, cut out the rest and double down on those
Is it worth becoming a Java software engineer for the future due to the development of AI and most automation? Or should I still choose machine learning or working with data? But I just like the software field more than ML.
java and backend developers won’t be affected enough for you to worry, continue please
What made you choose TikTok over Apple? Could you talk about this/compare pros and cons of different companies in a future video
yea I can go more in depth in a future video, in short it was mainly leveling and compensation
At some point did you ever consider a career change? I've been a SE for about 2ish years now, started at Google, and recently switched companies. But now I find myself wanting a more client facing job, or a more drastic change like marketing. Or do you still enjoying programming?
Great Video Aman!
Do you edit them yourself?
thanks my man, yea I edit everything myself
@@armankhondker That's Great. I'm a video editor and will help you edit them for you. So you can save your time as well.I can share my portfolio too.Let me know we can connect (:
Vim pelo mano deyvin através de um react dele e acabou que gostei dos conteúdos e continuei por aqui mesmo. Ótimo conteúdo!
love my man Deyvin, thank you my brazilians
any chance you could share the amazon link for the stand up desk you have in your apartment? Thanks!
autonomous.ai standing desk
Oh I am really appreciate how do you manage your live as software engineer I am from Tunisia and I still learn I enjoy see your daily life routin best of luck 🇹🇳♥️🇵🇸
appreciate the feedback, sending love to Tunisia :)
@@armankhondker thanks
Aye it’s open leaf latex . My professor recommended that to us heavily my last semester
open leaf is an awesome latex editor makes everything more organized
Hello arman,
My name is Mohammed from Sudan and I have a question for you. I want to enter the field of mobile application development, so I thought of starting with JavaScript. However, most people say that it is difficult if you are not familiar with basic programming concepts.
I studied C++ in university, but unfortunately, due to the war, the university was closed. So I switched to Python, but I didn't continue with it for long. I know the basics of functions, variables, and loops in both languages.
My question is, if I learn JavaScript, will that be enough for me to understand the basics well or should I go back and try to study C++ or Python again before learning JavaScript?
Sorry for my poor English😅
hey Mohammed, I would say you absolutely do not need study C++ or Python before Javascript. I would check out the Javascript course and resources I mentioned in the video. You already have a solid foundation of coding fundamentals
Bro, im 16, and idk if i should pursue a cs degree or not. I feel like i can do so much more if i dont go to college, but you can network with people in college, which can help you a lot in the long term and it still being the safest option yet. What do you think?
you're so young man, I wouldn't rule out any options. College is an amazing opportunity if you have the chance and means to go, but absolutely not needed depending on what your goals are
I have 2 questions: 1) How did you learn Golang? 2) How do I learn about data structures/algorhytms? These appear hard to me. I can program simple things but I don’t have a degree in Computer Science. How I do I self study?
1) I learned Golang on the job, at previous company, easy to pickup if you come from Java or similar backend background
2) I'd highly recommend taking a structured course/youtube playlist for learning DS&A basics
@@armankhondker thank you
hello arman, its good to watch ur video about TT as SE, can you share type of system design question that tiktok give to candidate, any tips because for me its really tricky to pass this type of question compare to leetcode style problem
I mentioned the system design resources I personally recommend in the video, I would suggest taking a look over all of those and actually doing mock system design interviews. Most of us have a bunch of coding interview experience, but not as much with system design so we simply don't have a enough experience with them. For the actual questions, you can review the classical system design problems and that should give you everything you need for any time of question you face!
Hey I arman 😅 i have some stupid questions for you
I am learning Golang its STL Library is good but not sufficient
I have started learning Chi its super awesome i am in dilemma should i learn Mux or Fiber or Gin which one should i prefer to start with and
Which Golang technology you tackle the most in your job.
hey man no stupid questions at all! I would say just pick one and use it to solve the problem your facing, in my job I use an internal framework which is open source known as KiteX.
@@armankhondker thanks Arman
Hi, amazing video. It gave a general feeling of what is needed to work at a big tech company. I have a CS degree from a federal university in brazil and am trying to lend a job in the US (because the currency conversation is just insane, 1:5 usd to brl). Do you have any tips for me? Thank you
yea remote jobs based in the US are a real think, I'd try networking and cold outreaching to clients, potentially try free lancing/open source
I just graduated in May and completed an internship for backend. I am struggling getting a first round interview anywhere
I'd have your resume looked at, it's also a tough market currently, 2024 should be much better
what’s it like going from a mechanical engineering degree to a software engineer? this is the route i’m thinking about taking so I have options post-college graduation(i’m an hs senior currently)
you could take a bootcamp or self-learn, but lots of mechanical engineers do break into tech
Hey Arman, I wanna know the full breakdown of your salary. I heard that the salary is good but the taxes are not. So my question is after the taxes what you get and what salary is all cash or have you got stocks or something.
it's a similiar breakdown to what is shown on levels.fyi, majority is in cash from base pay, and then there is a stock component as well as bonus component. Taxes depend on where in U.S. you live, Cali state tax is high, Seattle state tax in nonexistent
subscribed just cause you're a Chelsea fan!
💙 always
Thanks
I live in Africa especially from Somalia I am software developer I would to work international companies like Google,meta amazon .you video helped me alot
thats awesome, best of luck my man, lmk if I can help!
Which monitor are you using????
hp z38c ultrawide
Hey dude, I was wondering if the referral code is only limited to your TikTok office in the USA. I'm interested in applying for a TikTok content moderator job here in my country, and I was curious about the eligibility/terms of it.
it works for offices outside of the US as well, it may require a VPN if you are in certain countries, dm on linkedin for the info
@@armankhondker Thanks so much dude for the info. Appreciate it.