Brian Do: Prioritizing referrals helped him land his SWE role

Brian knew he wanted a career in software engineering, but didn’t know which path to take to enter the industry. He studied Philosophy in college and taught himself to code by creating UX projects. Here’s Brian’s journey to becoming a Software Engineer at Statsig, a role Formation referred him to. For more about our Fellowship, visit our site.

What originally got you interested in engineering?
I studied Philosophy at UC Santa Barbara where I really enjoyed the logic courses I took, including a grad-level one I did pretty well in. My roommate at the time told me to consider software engineering since I was good at them. Neither of us really knew what it was like, but I kept it in the back of my mind.

Once I graduated, I started thinking about things that fit with the creativity and logic I enjoyed about philosophy, and that’s what led me to look into design. As a starting point, I looked into web design and began to teach myself how to code, reading through official documentation like MDN or the React docs so I knew I could trust them. I then started to create UX projects; I’d come up with the designs and then build everything. Creating these projects helped me gain confidence.

I knew I wanted to get into software engineering, I just needed to find the right path to entry. I tried getting a SWE job for at least half a year with no luck before finding Formation.

What made you want to up-level your career? What opportunity did you want to pursue?
Coming from philosophy, I felt that my skill sets were aligned with a career in software engineering. I also ran through some LeetCode easies and thought they were kind of fun. Having studied formal logic, which is kind of like doing puzzles, Leetcode felt like it followed that same vein, so I liked doing the problems. I knew I wanted to get into software engineering, I just needed to find the right path to entry. I tried getting a SWE job for at least half a year with no luck before finding Formation.

I was studying for Codesmith's interview in its preparation Slack group when someone told me that I should just do Formation instead because I already knew how to code. I researched Formation and saw that it offered a robust network and was founded by engineers from Big Tech.

What other kinds of training did you consider, and why did you end up choosing Formation?
I researched a bunch of bootcamps and focused on the ones with the best outcomes. I was studying for Codesmith's interview in its preparation Slack group when someone told me that I should just do Formation instead because I already knew how to code. I researched Formation and saw that it offered a robust network and was founded by engineers from Big Tech. Bootcamps like Codesmith are geared more toward startups whereas Formation seemed more connected with big tech or startups with big tech backgrounds. About a week after hearing about Formation, I signed on as a Fellow.

How did you like working with the Mentors?
While there are different session types at Formation, my favorites were algo workouts. There, it struck me how sharp some Mentors were. I thought Ansis and Jeremy were top-tier. One thing I really liked was when Ansis would give really interesting follow-up questions once we coded something; he pushes the understanding of the coding/problems and really gets you to think. Something I really liked about Jeremy was that he was impressively good at simplifying complex engineering ideas to English.

I basically didn’t have any DSA skills beforehand. I could do problems involving arrays, but I didn't know much. Formation gave me all my DSA skills.

What was your specific goal in becoming a Fellow?
I wasn’t super specific about companies, but I was set on joining a creative company. I had this notion that SWE without creative culture and UX design would be boring, but after coding with other Fellows at Formation I realized that it was actually fun to work on engineering problems even without the creative artsy-ness. During the Fellowship, I also broadened my options after hearing other Fellows’ perspectives on the companies they’d want to join.

How did your interview skills improve with your Formation training?
I basically didn’t have any DSA skills beforehand. I could do problems involving arrays, but I didn't know much. Formation gave me all my DSA skills. In terms of mock interviews, I thought it was nice that the engineers who mock interview you all have different personalities. It was good preparation for the wide range of interviewers I faced when job hunting.

What did you think of the tech platform?
The Roadmap feature was cool. It’s Kanban style and it kept me organized. I also liked the inclusion of Gather as a way to simulate togetherness. On a TikTok, I saw a Korean startup had their remote employees check in by sitting at their desks in this game world, and I thought it was funny. After hearing a Fellow say he missed studying in a library, I thought it would be cool to use Gather as a place to work together. I made a Gather map and got some fellows to study together, and since then there have been some official Formation events in it, so it kind of counts.

How did you measure your progress/success through the program?
Formation gives very clear milestones. I didn’t do anything special to measure my progress, the platform did it for me.

Interestingly, I’d place those 2 companies within the top 3 companies I’ve ever interviewed with. They were both referrals through Formation.

What was your job interview process like?
Toward the beginning, I was really confident because I was good at algos. I was too excited going into my first interview and got a Leetcode easy and failed it. Then, I missed the optimal solution to another LC easy. After that, I started giving myself sessions where I’d just run through a bunch of LC easies, not necessarily coding them out but just coming up with the optimal solution, then moving on.

I did something similar to warm up 30 - 45 mins before interviews, except I’d completely code out every single easy, even if it was trivial. This was because in warming up, the goal was to get out stupid coding mistakes, not just to understand good approaches. I also started to change my attitude and the way I presented myself behaviorally by bringing genuine excitement and positivity into my interviews. I was interviewing with 7 different companies and had all the interviews stacked throughout the upcoming weeks. I hadn’t failed any of those loops by the time I got 2 offers and accepted one.

Interestingly, I’d place those 2 companies within the top 3 companies I’ve ever interviewed with. They were both referrals through Formation. They were also both algo heavy, and their processes were incredibly fast. Formation’s Director of Career Services, Michelle, understands interview norms and helped me see that I had power in deciding when to have my on-site interviews. She helped me see that it’s in the company’s best interest to get me through the process, so they’re going to try to be as accommodating to your schedule as possible. In the end, I accepted a role at Statsig.

Whereas information on the internet can really vary in quality, I felt a big strength of Formation was that by having engineers with high-level backgrounds and having helped engineers from many different backgrounds enter the industry, Mentors and staff had much more valid takes I felt I could trust.

“Quick-Fire” Questions

First code you shipped?
A personal project for a vegan restaurants/recipes app.

Proudest moment?
My personal project, Reverie, was an abstract idea I had for helping creatives brainstorm. I set a deadline of 1 month so I could play with some TypeScript, GraphGL, etc. They were all new to me, and I was up every day from day to night working on the project. I was actually able to do it within the timeline. I talked about this project in all my interviews.

I’ve been in these sessions where I heard from other Fellows and got the impression I’d probably have fun working with them in a real work environment.

Biggest mistake?
Putting too much weight on pessimistic Gen Z takes on Reddit and TikTok of the workplace and the interview process. Their takes may very well be valid for many cases, but it’s really encumbering in actual interviews/work to actually internalize them.

I was also demoralized by checking r/cscareerquestions where every other post was someone championing the idea that CS majors were superior and non-majors would never get jobs. If I could go back, I would censor that subreddit for myself because it’s surprisingly out of touch. Whereas information on the internet can really vary in quality, I felt a big strength of Formation was that by having engineers with high-level backgrounds and having helped engineers from many different backgrounds enter the industry, Mentors and staff had much more valid takes I felt I could trust.

Sometimes you get a Leetcode hard, and when you get a really talented Mentor and talented Fellows in the session, it’s a great feeling and genuinely fun to work on those problems together.

Favorite Formation event?
I did a mock interview with Daniel and I interviewed one of Formation’s Mentors, Phillip Su.

The speed networking event was also really cool. It’s not realistic to meet every single Fellow during the Fellowship, so this event gives you the opportunity to meet more Fellows and Mentors.

Favorite group session?
Algo workouts. Sometimes you get a Leetcode hard, and when you get a really talented Mentor and talented Fellows in the session, it’s a great feeling and genuinely fun to work on those problems together. These people are all giving good ideas. I’ve been in these sessions where I heard from other fellows and got the impression I’d probably have fun working with them in a real work environment.

Biggest surprise about Formation?
The background of its staff and mentors. Michael was the top contributor of all time at Facebook, and Daniel shaped the interview process there, as well. They don’t brag about it, so it’s not something I would have expected. There are some really high level mentors too, reaching Principal+ levels at big companies. I don’t even know how they have time to do this.

Looking to supercharge your career like Brian? Take five minutes and apply to Formation's Fellowship today.