I'm not from a strong coding background, learning Java (just to know a JVM language first) for the first time. Worked in IT industry for 4 years now in Infrastructure.
What path can I follow to land a job in a big tech (I'm also from a foreigner country) in the role that I aim to, even if it's to become a Junior or entry-level SWE?
Don't really care about decrease in pay.
I have actually spent a lot of time trying to get Big Tech to hire more talent out of the Middle East, which is a historically neglected region when it comes to SWE talent. From that experience, I really validated what I'm sure everyone here expected: It's really hard breaking into Big Tech when you don't live in a major tech hub. π
That being said, I have seen success cases and here are the levers they pulled:
All of these levers are applicable to people who live in Silicon Valley, but they're even more important for folks who are coming from a less traditional background.
We have a lot of other resources around breaking into Big Tech where we go into this entire topic more in-depth:
I truly believe that anybody can eventually make it into one of these prestigious companies, but I want to make it clear that it's extremely hard (usually 5x harder than people think) and you will need a lot of patience and grit. This is where the Taro community can really help - Any arduous journey is far better with company. π