Need advice from MAANG / Uber/ Help Help Help

Hi Everyone,

I’m genuinely seeking advice and would appreciate your guidance. I’ll provide the complete context of my situation and list my questions at the end. I hope someone from FAANG or anyone preparing for FAANG interviews can help me out.

I have over 3 years of experience and have worked with multiple companies. I left my previous organization around 3 months ago and have been actively interviewing since. While I have received a few offers, none of them are from FAANG. I am deeply inclined towards learning and growth, but at the same time, I want to ensure my compensation reflects the work I deliver.

I’ve heard that an L4 engineer at FAANG can earn around 65-80 lakhs per annum (including stocks, pre-tax). This sounds like an incredible opportunity, but cracking those interviews is no small feat, especially with the heavy focus on Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA). Honestly, I’ve lost touch with DSA and would need at least 6-8 months of consistent effort to get back on track.

Meanwhile, I’ve been diligently saving and investing over the years, which led me to develop an interest in trading crypto and stocks. Since 2021, I’ve earned approximately 30 lakhs from these investments and currently make consistent monthly profits of 1-3 lakhs from the stock market. I believe I can scale this further.

However, I have a strong desire to work at a FAANG company to build impactful and complex products that truly challenge and fulfill me.

Here are my questions: 1. How should I approach DSA practice? I’ve tried LeetCode, but during an Amazon interview, I faced a problem I had already seen on the platform. While I understood the logic, I still couldn’t solve it under pressure. How can I overcome this? 2. How fulfilling is it to work at FAANG? For those who’ve worked there, do you enjoy building or contributing to the products? Does earning 3-5 crores in 3-4 years at L4 make the experience worthwhile? 3. What are the downsides of working at FAANG? Are there aspects of the work culture or lifestyle that you find challenging? 4. Can someone from FAANG/MAANG connect with me? 🥲

I’m at a crossroads. Should I continue working at startups, building simpler products, and focusing on my stock market journey? Or should I dedicate myself to cracking FAANG if it’s truly worth the effort?

Although I’ve partially achieved financial goals, my primary goal is to build and brainstorm complex, impactful products at good MAANG types companies with bunch of smart people around me and also taking the fruit of stocks.

Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences!