I’m Michael. I was a principal engineer at Facebook from 2009 to 2017, where I was the top code contributor of all time and also conducted hundreds of interviews. I recently co-founded Formation.dev, an engineering fellowship that trains and refers engineers directly into big tech. Ask me Anything!

r/IAmA

u/luckyjenjen wrote (the comment Michael replied to):

Is it worth it? I'm doing a pt degree in computing and maths (but will still have to specialise after doing the degree) aiming at debugging I think . Totally honest - I'm doing it for the money - welding and woodworking ain't getting me a pension... Don't get me wrong, I love i

u/michaelnovati replied · May 4, 2022 ★ FEATURED

Hey, I think it's great you are talking your time and doing a degree over a longer period of time instead of a short bootcamp. From my observations, it usually takes people up to 2 years from day 0 to make a real transition in jobs. A few things, I think you can try to apply your background. Like maybe look at Autodesk as a target company! Second, don't choose a language based on market demand if you are willing to work remotely and/or move. Choose the language you gravitate towards to get started and build the fundamentals first.