Advice from the Top 1% of Software Engineers
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Advice from the Top 1% of Software Engineers.
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18 years and you can still feel the excitement radiating off of the last dude
thats what im saying that dude found his dream job and it just happened to a half a mil year salary job
Google seems to be an ANTIAMERICAN company.Google need to stop bring foreigner workers from India and China and hire Americans or permanent residents
true
@@Vivi98104 y would they stop? like wtf. Who r u to tell them that
With a yearly wage of 400K I would be happy too every day.
The difference in advice given by XT vs other engineers is very phenomenal
I echo this. Amazing the difference of wisdom from a 1-2 yr Googler vs. a 18 yr Googler.
Yeah thanks for this comment. Not that im trying to join google but what he had to say was the most interesting id sya because of his experience
i need to understand how things work to be a gd engineeer!
He's working there 18 years and they only 5 months, what do you expect....
@@owenmurphy2022 and how much hair they still have...
The last person would literally be the best to have as a work colleague. Wonderful man
He’s like the Master Oogway of google
Thats why he is there longterm, idiots... his soft skill is really good
Yeah
@@adamfattal468 lol!
@@adamfattal468That aged well
XT's advice will change my software engineering career: "Most people can do that (become a software engineer) but NOT EVERYONE can become a good one. To be a good software engineer, the most important thing is that you try to understand things how it works, you really really try hard to understand HOW IT WORKS, MAKE IT WORK"
it's like that with all careers
I see that everyday!
For sure in hardware, we have experienced people and they do the job but sometimes they focus on execution rather than questioning why is it done that way or the methodology they relied on for decades. It’s hard to take time in addition to work so that you can understand, gain new skills, polish old skills. It’s a never ending progress but as long as you make progress, you will be relevant no matter what age. Don’t be afraid of feeling inadequate, it just means there’s space to grow. Be afraid of feeling comfortable, it means you outgrew your box and need to seek growth elsewhere
Amazing how 18 years ago google found such a gem of an employee. Passionate, enthusiastic, sociable, and clearly very bright
what happened now??
I'm impressed by XT's passion in what he is doing after 18 years. I imagine most people after 18 years of working in one field would not share the same level of passion.
It's only one guy, but it does seem like Google def uses their talented staff to their best abilities.
“When you have a job in what you are passionate about, you will never have to work a day in your life”
Hmm what a shitty attitude people have towards their lives. Doing something again and again means you have to hate it?
I guess that is why people hate their wives/husband too ?
Y'all dunno what to do without novelty hmm
I dont think he is really that passionate. But he is aware his job is quite comfortable and very well paid compared to have to work 40 hours shift at mcdonald or factory for minimum wage
@@mathewvanostin7118 Dude loves his job because he likes the work as a SOFTWARE ENGINEER. That IS passion. You can tell from his story of the most memorable moment in his career, cracking that bug problem from his first project in a eureka moment. Obviously he wouldn't be happy doing anything else.
XT is one of those people that can break down any complex concept into plain English. I had a Chinese professor who explained things thoroughly in a such a simple way. It wouldn't get boring for 3 hours long. It would be great to work for people like XT, I feel like, although people like him will surely challenge you, but that's the only way to grow professionally.
absolutely right bro but in india the teachers are fucked up even in iits...
That's famously the biggest sign that you actually understand what you're talking about, if you can break it down so well, that even a non developer can understand you.
You nailed it Salih, I could listen to this guy talk about anything. Great comment and best of luck in your carreer going forward my friend.
wtf is xt
I know a Chinese guy who can explain everything with a few words he only knows
Best advise given by the guy who had 18 years tenure - Google is not the only good company, don’t define yourself based on your job… the earlier you learn this, the better for your well being
💯👌
I chased big companies and titles for 11 years...my absolute fav time as a dev was with a startup. Everyone is different. Most corpo jobs pay well but suck.
based on most experiences i see this big tech companies are only good for curriculum and learning. People usually find jobs where you can have better work life balance and be paid more.
Also a flip side to this: Don't apply to Google just because you think we'll look good on your CV. Apply to Google because it aligns with what you want to do as an engineer and you think you can succeed there.
I'm literally owner of Google
The last guy is one of those rare engineers that are just so chill but smart AF and can dream up solutions to problems other engineers can't even dream of. Funny enough, Google seems to be VERY good at hiring and retaining these types of people.
He really was!
Absolute respect for XT. Being valued and putting people in the right place. This is what all companies must realize fundamentally.
Last person, despite having so much exprience, is so much humble.
I fell in love with the last guy
XT is worth 5+ million with just stock options. Humble and smart asf.
The way he talked, it’s like if they were friends. Such a nice guy.
The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know
Sure
man i gotta say i love how respectful and kind you are to everyone. i usually don’t enjoy these types of interviews but your attitude is refreshing to see brother! keep up the great content!
Google seems to be an ANTIAMERICAN company.Google need to stop bring foreigner workers from India and China and hire Americans or permanent residents
Indians, asians, there's no africans, latinos and even white americans. That's just...
@@123456789santia bro go away with that bullshit lol.
@@123456789santia did you watch the ppl walking by LOL. he randomly picked 5 ppl...out of 100k+ employees.
@@BD-zg7is randomly are u sure about that
XT is an absolute legend, you can tell how much he loves his job he's so passionate and he was actually extremely good at explaining that issue to where I felt like I could understand what he was saying even though I do not have any background with coding.
Xiangtian is such a sweet guy!
17 years and still so upbeat about his work.
His advise is right. What do you want to do? Think how can you become better at it.
If you do this, companies will come to you. If not google, then some other good company.
Love what you do, grow and be where you are happy.
Thank you for making and sharing this video.
So glad I stumbled on this video as I was having a hard time securing an internship position. This kicked my motivation back up :)
I could hear XT talk all day. To be able to express thoughts so succinctly, so honest.
exactly he's so chill, his whole personality is so likeable
Agreed, natural and positive vibe
With 18 years of experience, XT can easily become a CTO in any company but he chose to stay in Google. That is dedication.
not everyone wants to be CTO, maybe XT's passion is in engineering or teaching and less management and business
@@chriszeng1488 for 17 years?!
is it a complement or an insult
that's just comfort
Dedication to what? Let’s not act like he’s doing Google a favor by staying while he wants to be a CTO somewhere else.
He likes it at Google and he gets paid handsomely.
XT's enthusiasm is infectious! Great advert for the company. They all were. Good job!
When you can remember the specific technical details of a project (or bug!) you worked on 17+ years ago, that's called passion. Knowing how things work (under the hood) is what separates average devs from good devs; passion is what separates good devs from great devs.
True!
People who really love programming remember problems and how they solved them.
It's like. An F1 driver who manages to keep the car on the track after an unforeseen event.
The last F1 race, for example, Leclerc was happier with how he incredibly saved the car at the last minute, losing a place on the podium, than with third place.
The same thing is for a programmer. I found a bug in the video masks of the IBMI AS400, from the 60s, during a course.
I found the solution, but the professor also started looking with me for the reason for the bug. There was no need. It will never happen again, but that's the beauty of programming compared to working in a factory: creating and solving problems. When everything works, you also get bored 😅
As an Amazonian, I would say that DO NOT expect to get an offer at a specific company. Just try your luck at all the nice companies out there and go to the one that lands. I got rejected by over 10 companies but they served as interview practice which helped me land the role at Amazon. Looking back, if all the companies that rejected had given me an offer, Amazon would've been the best option for me still.
I had an offer with Amazon, but rejected. Offer just wasn't that strong
@@aperkins07 I guess not everyone is cut out to be a factory line worker
@@reignmyster they could be talking about Amazon’s software engineering careers. Amazon isn’t just a warehouse job, they have one of the biggest cloud services in the world!!
@@mrheylow7892 Reign was joking btw
I got an offer from Amazon but declined it, cause I actually got higher offers from startups. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Besides being wholesome, XT explained that empty cache problem masterfully, what a cool guy
I could watch the interview with XT for hours. On top of his personality he has a lot to share. Love that guy❤
XT was the only important part of all those interviews. It really must be amazing to have a guy like him as a Project Manager/ Tech lead.
The advices given by the software engineers at Google in the video are:
Allison: Keep trying, never give up in your quest to get into Google.
Eric: Don't stress out too much over preparing for the interview, it's not all about solving leetcode problems.
Another Engineer: Be yourself during the interviewing process, and don't spend too much time on leetcode.
Ashutosh: Work on your basics, and understanding some cool concepts. Focus on threading, parallelization, and similar concepts.
Yusuf: Show that you have problem-solving abilities. You don't have to get the question exactly right, but showing that you understand the processes and algorithms would make a difference.
Another Engineer: You should be able to use the Java collection framework and data structures well to be able to solve problems.
Shantanu: If you have the basics down, you can crack the interview. Other companies might ask trick questions, but Google focuses more on the basics.
Another Engineer: Don't give up if you don't find a suitable role immediately. Sometimes even more perfect roles come up.
Equity: Understand how things work. Try hard to understand how to make things work. Look at the kind of interview questions Google asks and prepare for them, but focus most on what you want to do as an engineer. Think about the skill sets you want to have and grow them.
These tips are a summary of the personal advice given by different software engineers at Google. They all had a common theme about focusing on basic concepts, problem solving, and personal growth. They also emphasized the importance of being yourself and not giving up.
Watched about 30% in and then skipped to see XT's interview. Very good advice, and it applies to many industries, not only Software Engineering. Understanding the fundamentals and how things work behind the scenes, this will give you the ability to really problem solve, design, and troubleshoot your specific platform/product.
An example would be when designing a house, you must understand not only the building materials, but also soil conditions and how soil behaves in that region from season to season.
A more complicated example is understanding differential equations and inverse kinematics so well that you can write out at least the equations for operating a single joint robot by hand. Anything beyond that and I'm turning to Matlab. There will be upwards of 100+ variables with 4 joints if you include moments of inertia, accelerations per COM, centers of masses (COM), sensory feedback from things like rotary encoders, angular acceleration, limits on maximum angle per joint, etc.
The point is, if you understood the physics & math behind that, you would be able to pull off things like Boston Robotics does. The dances are all just mathematics & coding when you break it down. One interview with a woman who programs some of the dancing talked about how you just play with the equations to get the movements you want.
you can understand why XT has been there for 18 years. he loves what he does. you can just feel it in his voice and expressions, and the advice.
XT sounds exactly like my machine learning professor! He is the professor with the highest funding in my university and his enthusiasm is fantastic.
Absolutely respect the guy called XT; he is not just sharing how to join Google, but also share the insights on how to be a software engineer in a good manner. I really hope to have the chance to work with this amazing person someday.
👍
People like XT is why I love programming, honestly we could all learn a bit from him.
We should approach challenges with genuine passion and curiosity, and spend less time thinking about competition and our relationship with colleagues.
true. and we should stop thinking so much about team culture, all hands meeting, communication, talking fake non sense showing you are a team person
@@leopard5810Thank you. It’s actually killing productivity at a lot of companies I’d assume. Everyone should just do their role/part and let the work speak for itself and them.
The Indian guys were straight to the point and gave most practical answers. But best was the experienced person at the end. Good advice.
brother there were 50 indians on the video, which indian are you talking about?
@@Enisss All of them
xt is chinese😅
I always loved all my Indian coworkers and outsourced companies. They work they asses off and are super respectful. One company I worked for flew in the whole QA outsource team to San Jose and it was SOOO fun! Love those guys.
@@BD-zg7is Wow nice.
The guy that's been there for 17 years, I love his story about the bug he had. It's the best feeling to troubleshoot a problem and figure it all out.
That problem of different languages working only after second load and it's explanation by XT is amazing. Even with 18 years in Google and so down to earth.
Yes, that’s the best advice so far. Many people only know how to use things but don’t really understand how they work.
Xiangtian is exactly like one of my favorite computer science professors. Also a Chinese(I'm Chinese myself), when talking about algorithms and some topic in cs, his face will always light up and have infinite words about them. Amazing. I hope I can be an engineer like them, being passionate about things I love all the time, and always inspirational to next generation.
I have never heard of someone passing any FAANG interview without getting the questions correct. When my friends and I went through the process, we passed every round until we did not solve a certain question optimally. I do not feel like the advice being given is genuine about you don't have to get the question correct. That or some people must get really lucky with their interviewer. My friend even solved every question correct and still got rejected. At least that is what he told me.
1. Huge pool of candidates, of course it will be very hard to pass. You are in competition with the most talented software engineers in the world.
2. It might be more about explaining yourself than about solving. It shows there is room for growth. Being able to solve certain styles of questions isn't everything.
3. The Tech World is in a recession right now, lot of people in FAANG are being let go. Right now it might be the hardest time to get a job there in a long time.
It is not result, it is thought process, in fact you nail the question in few seconds and fail to explain reasoning is kind of a red flag tells that you memorized the questions, studied without intuituon. So yes you can pass without the right answer, a genuine one mught even get you extra points if your logic is solid.
Re your friend solved every question correctly and still no offer - perhaps there were flags around communication like explaining their thought process and explaining trade-offs when coding. There is also the behavioural interview which is about things like resolving conflicts with colleagues in the past, and there might have been flags from that one, too. It's not just coding questions.
Exactly! They are right then..that you don't have to get every single problem answered correctly and you could still pass. Your friend answered every problem correctly but didn't pass.
@@user-cj6jd3xx9l Haha makes sense! 🤣👌
Love this video! XT is incredible
I think XT gave the best advice & the wholesome moment is dude remembers first projects bugs
[Best Advice]: You don't have to get the questions exactly right. You just need to know how the process works, and you know the algorithm. Maybe you just don't know the exact syntax but if you show them that you have that problem-solving ability it will make a difference.
This video is taken in front of the MP1 building, which is one of the buildings I interned at Google this summer. I did not get an return offer after my internship and it breaks my heart. I have left the Bay Area for a while now and seeing this video really makes me miss the time I spent there. I thing I learnt from this is that just doing leetcode is not enough and I must practice on my CS skills. Hope I can come back one day! Thanks for your video ❤
Mr wang, please work harder to get this opportunity.
Great 2mins by XT. The sheer passion and enthusiasm says it all
XT is good vibes! This is the type of person I would love to work with if I was at Google. Great personality. These are the folks that make awesome team members and coworkers.
That last guy is such a bright light in this world, I wish more people were like him!!
XT is very articulate, I'm not particularly interested in working for google or being a software engineer, but I enjoyed his insight
They only take Asian and Indian. 😆 🤣 😂...
@@monaliza3334 they’re the most qualified
@@monaliza3334 Bringing race into things just shows how ignorant you truly are. It sets the bar for how intelligible people have to be with you in conversation.
@@monaliza3334 Cultural speaking, they are extremely hard workers that will dedicate their life to their job.
@@burnaxel Not necessarily, bu tthey have the kind of work ethic that isn't often found in western societies. Truth be told, we are very flighty and entitled.
XT made my day, what a fun and humble guy.
Wow that last guy was really humble and explained a lot from his experience. Thanks Kevin 😊👍
I loved my time at Google, was really happy there. I agree with XT that it's more about who you work with and what you are working on that makes a role satisfying
Why did you leave?
XT is a Legend. Thank you Kevin for the awesome experience sharing.
I have watched XT's interview almost 10 times and I am not bored. He must be a sweet guy to work with.
XT stands out... he is definitely a great mentor for sure. Lucky engineers who work under him.
All fun and games until your badge stops working and you get emailed a link to a news article saying google is laying people off
Doesn't matter since these people earn good money. If they are smart enough to get places at Google they should be smart enough with their finances..
It was really amazing to hear how XT is explaining things he does and specially the BUG story. He said it was his first project at Google though he is explaining the issue and how he found the problem & solution as if everything happened yesterday. Like the energy and passion towards his work!
Kevin, you know what you gotta do next, a full review with XT!
Yeah I want an xt podcast
Where he talks about his life or career
last guy is so kind and generous 😊😊😊 and you also my friend who is patient listening to him 😅
Starting my Software Engineering journey in 2023 and already got a Google shirt I found in a thrift store. I also know what I want to do when I finish my course and I'm ready for the challenge!
I would suggest a start up for first job
google just laid off like 12000 people good luck bro 😂
Who’s gonna tell him? 😂
Real advice: If you want to work in tech, rethink what boxes you check (this includes your name, if you think those survey questions are anonymous.)
"Just calm down" thanks for the mind blowing advice
Everyone can be a software engineer but not everyone can be a good one. How to become a good one? Try to understand deeply on how things work. Really Try! Thanks for the valuable advice XT!
I agree
As a still relative newbie I feel this. If you use things like Python and Javascript especially it is really easy to get by without knowing what is going on under the hood. Definitely are people who are happy to be like that. Personally I can't stand that, I am too curious lol
@@adam7802 same to me now learning django and javascript (later maybe react) after i get a job i wanna learn c++ and pointers other stuff. i wanna learn a lot of things :D
@@catify35 I'm trying to learn coding on the gameboy for a deeper dive... Its interesting
@@catify35 that's great. I am doing the exact opposite, from c++ (well versed in pointer arithmetic) to JavaScript (dealing with promise chaining).
More interviews with XT please!!
The last interview with Xiangtian was really insightful, this kind of guy has wisdom and knowledge we all can learn.. overall great interviews!
Thanks for including different kinds of people, men, women, younger, older, seniors, juniors... love seeing the variety
...and it was really great seeing no blacks
God dang it, XT was SOOO wise. Thank you so much for that little piece of advice
XT is the epitome of “find a job you’re passionate about”
I have done multiple interviews with almost every FAANG company and solved about 600 questions beforehand. I failed all Leetcode interviews.
Please stop saying that if you practice enough you will get in because that is simply not true.
The people who apply are usually above average smart and probably don't realize it.
I have 5 years in software engineering and at this point I've just accepted that I'll never get in
dont say that! you are greater than you think! don’t give up yet!
You do realize that FAANGS aren't the only companies. Take off the rose tinted glasses. There are plenty of good companies out there
I wouldn't even want to work at a FAANG nowadays anyway. The markets have shifted and the era of cheap money and tech industry idolization has ended. Between the Fed interest rate hikes, advertising business models being kneecapped, government regulations coming from all sides, the rout in big tech stock prices, and the sudden flood of software engineers in the job market making all of us more replaceable, 2023 is probably going to be tense for a lot of teams.
Come on...I know saying is so easy than being practically... but Just want to say DON'T GIVE UP💜
Those 600 questions you solved, did you understand every one of them? Were they of varying difficulty?
I don't know why, but I feel comfortable when smart people talk excitedly about their major. Thank you Xiangtian :))
I always wonder if the real world problems google engineers solve day to day are as hard as the coding interview questions.
"Really understand how it works, then you can make it work" ...damn that hit hard
I hope to be as humble and excited as XT after almost 18 years at the company!
bro XT is the most humble guy I have ever listened to
Thank you @Kevin, this is a really nice video. I am glad you chose this format. I must say XT needs his own channel, the man is very wise!
Eric , What's your name? LMAO
I only do frontend but I wanna sit down and listen to XT for a full day, dude got so much energy and seems to be so passionate
Awesome interview! I came back to this channel after many years and I found those interview leetcode playlists gone. :( Those were really very educative.
XT could be a lecturer. I like his views and the way he shares it in this interview. Haha
This was awesome Kevin - great to hear from some of the Google employees!! 😀
The last guy was so nice and humble
I adored XT!!! he is such an example of the spirit we should have when working for an amazing company! never stop learning and always try to understand how thing work!!
XT's a genius. I love the passion he has for his job.
*I am really happy to watch this video, especially the views of XT, XT is a senior engineer and he is so humble, I am so happy and i feel like I am at google now* 🚀🤗
XT is an awesome man, so humble and passionate about his business, I wish I have him as my mentor
Last person’s worldview was amazing and so much to learn from. Thanks Kevin!
Watched about 30% in and then skipped to see XT's interview. Very good advice, and it applies to many industries, not only Software Engineering. Understanding the fundamentals and how things work behind the scenes, this will give you the ability to really problem solve, design, and troubleshoot your specific platform/product.
An example would be when designing a house, you must understand not only the building materials, but also soil conditions and how soil behaves in that region from season to season.
A more complicated example is understanding differential equations and inverse kinematics so well that you can write out at least the equations for operating a single joint robot by hand. Anything beyond that and I'm turning to Matlab. There will be upwards of 100+ variables with 4 joints if you include moments of inertia, accelerations per COM, centers of masses (COM), sensory feedback from things like rotary encoders, angular acceleration, limits on maximum angle per joint, etc.
The point is, if you understood the physics & math behind that, you would be able to pull off things like Boston Robotics does. The dances are all just mathematics & coding when you break it down. One interview with a woman who programs some of the dancing talked about how you just play with the equations to get the movements you want.
He reminds me of a supervisor I had, my supervisor would never give up and find a solution for clients she will know a lot about the company since she is been there for 20 plus years but something I admired of her is that even when she knew a lot of operations of the company she was always open to learn from her subordinates.
man the 18yr software engineer was precious, i've the same excitement when speaking of coding and i'm sure i'll have the same in 20yrs. I would have ask him what he thought about AI and their possible role in replacing developers.
Love the work you've done. I'd love to see more content on google recruitments specifically for non-tech roles. Thanks.
Didn't Google just layoff 12000 people via email?
Yup !
Synopsis :
• Work on being Yourself!
• Maintain Discipline & Consistency! Just keep trying even if the odds are against you!
• Don't stress too much!
• Simply cramming up LeetCode won't make you a Smart Engineer!
• Work on Your Basics! Do shine some focus on core CS concepts like "threading", "parallelization" etc.
• Focus on Health & doing 'not-boring' stuff!
• Try to learn something new & explore different things (e.g. recent topics) everyday!
• Build good Peer Connections & try to maintain them!
• Being 'open' opens new doors!
• You might not code perfectly at the first try, but if you know the process & can communicate well with your interviewer, then you've already won half of the battle!
• Focus on Problem Solving, use different Data Structures, Algorithms and Frameworks as a tool to reach your goal(s)!
• It's okay to fail sometimes, since "Failures are the pillars of Success"!
• Always try to think outside of the box!
• Understand how things work, and then try to make it work even if you're willing to give up!
• Do give a think of what you want to deliver as a Software Enginner! What kind of skillset you want to have so that you can work to grow that!
𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙎𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙊𝙣𝙚! - 𝙓𝙏
Why Google? → Google understands people's value and they try to put people in the Right Place
I teach middle school CS. I will use this one for the start of my Advanced Game Design, (Pygame) class from now on.
Thank You, Kevin
the last guy could be my favorite uncle. damn.
XT is the real MVP. I will take his advice to heart when starting my journey towards becoming a full stack dev in 3 weeks!
XT reminds me of Mr. Ping from Kung Fu Panda. You can tell how passionate someone is when they get in depth of every question. Salute to you as i aspire one day be as excited and passionate as you when it comes to a job or hobby, Especially at an older stage in life
Love XT and his expressions. 😹😹👏🏽
Great advice too.
Amazing video Kevin!!! 🤝🏽
What else do you think, they will say apart from "It's great to work here" in front of Google Office and in front of camera?
He’s got a point though. The camera changes things. No one is gonna trash their employer on camera in an economic downturn
LOL the 18-year dude was so excited that he even bursted out Chinese he might not even notice
Hey! *ERIC* , What's your name?
XT was so nice! Loved every interview. Thanks for sharing Kevin :)
That conversation with XT is enough after a wholesome tired day
Super refreshing 💙
kevin:eric whats your name
eric:i am eric
"Try to understand things how it works." It's the smartest advice for every newer people coming to the software development.
I love how passionate they all are. And they were all like "Focus on the basics". In other words, learn well, not far.
I love the video man .. please do more of these but from different companies including startups
Also like the part where you ask them about the technologies to use I think thats very important especially for confused starters like me..Thanks man