College to Industry

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Bridging the Gap: From CPSC 120 to SWE

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Yes! It is possible, but it takes time and effort!

• Going from college to your first position is difficult

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• It should not be something you expect to fall into your lap by just going to classes and graduating

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• You will be actively competing against other applicants who do more than just their degree

acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

The reality of the situation is…

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• You should apply to as many positions as imaginable
• Nothing is guaranteed
• Competing against thousands

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• Some students apply to over 500 positions!

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• It's just as much about who you know as what you know.

acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

So how do we land a position?

There’s actually a few steps to get to that point:

• Applying to the Position
• Receiving and Completing an Online Assessment (OA)
• Receiving and Completing an Interview(s) (in-person/virtual)
• Receiving an acceptance email

(Note: This is just a general overview, different companies may have different methods in finding candidates. Not all companies give OAs, it varies)

(Start)

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Applying to the Position

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• Initial screening eliminates the majority of applicants
• Often focuses on keywords, job requirements, and how closely your application matches the position

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• Revolves mostly around your resume

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• Many companies use ATS to pre-screen applications before they reach a human recruiter

Completing the OA

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• Online Assessments (OAs) are timed technical tests aimed to filter most applicants
• Sometimes automatic
• Can be proctored
• Typically LeetCode-style questions
• Often requires a high/perfect score to move on

Completing the Interview

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• You have a real chance at this point
• 99% of applicants never make it to the interview
• Can be as high as a 30-50% offer rate

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• Interviewer RNG
• You are at the mercy of your interviewer
• Interview format varies between companies
• Often LeetCode-based or System Design
• All interviews are a learning experience, regardless of outcome

You got the offer, now what?

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• Retire at 30

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David J. Solano

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David Solano

2021-2022 - 1st Year (Freshman Year)

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2023-2024 - 2nd Year (Sophomore Year)

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Spring:

• Realized I wasn’t happy with my career options
• Maintained a 4.0 gpa
• Switched to become a CS major over the summer

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Fall:

• Enrolled to CSUF as a Business Student
• Joined CSUF Honors
• Joined a fraternity to have fun

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Fall:

• First time touching C++
• Realized I needed to do more to get a career in tech
• Became involved with ACM, although I didn’t like it initially.
• Overtime I started attending EVERY meeting and becoming close friends with the board

Spring:

• I became an Algo board member after grinding leetcode and networking with the board
• I realized that breaking into big tech wasn’t going to be as impossible as I initially imagined
• I ran for ACM President and won!

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David Solano

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2023-2024 - 3rd Year (Junior Year)

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2024-2025 - Fourth Year (Senior Year)

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Spring:

• Graduate CSUF!
• Begin obtaining my Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance

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Fall:

• Stepped down to ACM Treasurer
• Obtained Full Time Software Developer Engineer Offer at Amazon under Regional Services (Security Clearance required)
• Continue to grind Leetcode!

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Spring:

• Co-Directed Fullyhacks
• Landed Amazon SDE Internship, lived in Washington DC over the summer
• Finished up my ACM Presidency!

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Fall:

• Became an SI for Algorithms and Data Structures (CPSC 131), this was my first technical experience
• Lead ICPC as the Team Lead
• Juggled 7 Classes and GRINDED Applications, sent 20+ some weeks

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Ashley Chan

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Ashley Chan

acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

2022-2023 - 1st Year (Freshman Year)

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Fall:

• Dorming
• Took CPSC 121 & started meeting people
• Applied for Google STEP
• Involved in WiCSE
• Found out about ACM & became involved; really tried to put myself out there

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Spring:

• Took CPSC 131
• Tried to grind leetcode & youtube Walkthroughs on problems
• Did the STEP interview & got the offer
• Became more involved in ACM
• Did FullyHacks!

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acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

Ashley Chan

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2023-2024 - 2nd Year (Sophomore Year)

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Fall:

• Became ACM AI Board Member
• Continued trying to do well in classes & get to know friends/people more
• Applied to more internships
• Found out about Google STEP return offer

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Spring:

• Became ACM Marketing Board Member
• Became a CS SI for CPSC 120 (Supplemental Instruction Leader)

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acmcsuf.com/sp24-college-to-industry

Ashley Chan

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2024-2025 - 3rd Year (Junior Year)

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Fall:

• Continued on Marketing Board
• Became a Node Buds Big :))
• Became Senior CS SI Leader & CPSC 121 SI
• Found out about Google SWE return offer & now in project matching
• Currently working on personal projects

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Angel Cervantes

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Angel Cervantes

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• 2020 - 2021 — First Year (at University of British Columbia)
• I’m a 2020 high school grad :)
• All online cause of Covid. I met almost no one
• Did not apply to anything…
• 2021 - 2022 — Second Year (at University of British Columbia)
• First time in Person
• Really struggled in School (bad at classes, few friends, rained all the time)
• Applied to only a few internships
• 2022 - 2023 — Gap Year
• Web Development Bootcamp (Fall semester - only)
• 20+ Web Projects
• Learned a lot of web dev concepts
• Tried new things at CC like Graphic Design (It was fun lol)
• Decided to go to school in California. (I needed a lot of GEs from CC)
• Taught kids coding - very fun
• Applied to internships, got nothing (very close a few times…)

Angel Cervantes

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• 2023-2024 — Third Year at CSUF (as a transfer)
• Did much better in school. Gained confidence.
• Applied to hundreds of internships (got a few interviews but so hard as a 3rd year)
• Joined ACM (as Dev Board Member in Spring)
• Got a job at Omnidya (an insurance company) in March
• Continued this until end of July
• 2024 -2025 — Fourth Year at CSUF
• Continued ACM as Node Buds Co-Lead (helped create the program, stepped down recently) and Algo Board member
• Applied to more internships, got internship at MethaneSAT (started 2 weeks ago)
• They asked me about my job experience and leadership
• Lessons I learned
• You can get back up. Being at rock bottom does not mean you have failed. You just need to keep trying
• Sometimes the what you thought you really wanted isn’t what is best for you.

Q&A Section!!!!!

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Don’t give up!

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take

FullyBeyond!

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• Learn more about UX/UI design, network with like-minded individuals, and create a portfolio project—all within just 24 hours
• Showcase your creativity
• Open to all skill levels
• Follow our IG @fullybeyond to stay up-to-date!
• Apply at fullybeyond.acmcsuf.com

Thank you for coming ❤️

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