Mariah Papy: Making the shift from being a computer scientist to a software engineer helped me land a role at Google
While working at a non-profit post-graduation, Mariah started to miss the day-to-day coding she did in college. She turned to Formation to help her land her next role. In the process, she learned the difference between being a computer scientist and a software engineer. Here’s Mariah's journey to becoming a Software Engineer at Google.
What originally got you interested in engineering?
I took a CS class in high school called The Joy of Computing where my teacher intentionally put an emphasis on creativity and joy. I enjoyed the class but I didn’t think I was that great at it. I was 1 of just 2 women in the class but my teacher encouraged me to keep going so I took the AP class. I learned so much and worked really hard but didn’t pass the AP test and was very discouraged. But I still liked coding so I kept it in the back of my mind.
Around the same time, I was applying to college. I wanted to get into film, so I chose a university that had both CS and a film department. During my first-year, I took one CS class and one film class. I loved the CS class; it was awesome. I got to do so many interesting projects and had an awesome professor. I learned how computing is fundamentally mathematical but also beautifully artistic and pushes you to think in a way you don’t normally.
I missed getting granular and working on the building blocks of the problem. I wanted to brush up on my coding skills and wanted support to get my first engineering role. Formation helped me build back up the algo and interview skills and helped me navigate the job application process.
What was your educational/professional background prior to Formation?
I majored in Computer Science and minored in Data Science and Screen Studies at Clark University. When I graduated in 2020, it was a very difficult time to find a job, so I moved back home to Oakland and found a job at a non-profit. I was doing systems- and operations-related work, building out program participant user flows and helping program managers understand their program metrics with data and dashboards.
What made you want to up-level your career?
In the fall of last year, I realized I missed getting to build things with code. I missed building things from scratch. I was looking at big picture things at my last job and, while I liked having a bird’s-eye view of things, I missed getting granular and working on the building blocks of the problem. I wanted to brush up on my coding skills and wanted support to get my first engineering role. Formation helped me build back up the algo and interview skills and helped me navigate the job application process.
What were you looking for before you joined the Fellowship?
My biggest priority was that I wanted to work on a diverse team where I am valued as a whole person on the team. That’s unfortunately really hard to find. Formation showed me all the options, including startups and companies I had never heard of. The mentors at Formation helped me realize that at a lot of big companies, your experience is going to depend on your team, not necessarily what you’ve heard about the company.
Through a conversation with Daniel, I realized that I knew how to be a computer scientist, but I didn’t know how to be a software engineer. I found that I needed to brush up on all the levels of engineering —react, database, frontend, etc. I worked with the Mentors and started to see how those pieces all fit together.
What was your specific goal in becoming a Fellow?
Gain confidence and get a SWE role. I remember being so embarrassed when I couldn't do a basic sorting algo when I joined. I learned that it's just about practicing and getting feedback. Formation reminded me of the importance of being able to sit with the uncomfortableness of not knowing.
How did you work with the Formation staff and Mentors?
Each Mentor had a different style and each was helpful to me at different points in my journey. Through a conversation with Daniel, I realized that I knew how to be a computer scientist, but I didn’t know how to be a software engineer. Coming into the Fellowship, I had barely used Github and I didn’t understand how to work within a bigger code base. I found that I needed to brush up on all the levels of engineering —react, database, frontend, etc. I worked with the Mentors and started to see how those pieces all fit together.
Cara, my Fellow Manager, was also awesome. Being in the Fellowship, I really felt like everyone was there to help me succeed. It was a very supportive environment.
Because everyone at Formation supported and believed in me, I never felt embarrassed telling them when I didn’t get a role I wanted. We were all in it together. When I did tell them, I received even more resources and support to get me in a better place for my next interview.
How did you measure your progress/success through the Fellowship?
I tied my progress to step completions on my Roadmap. Getting through each of the sections felt so good! Each time I passed a milestone, I would tell my friends so we could celebrate. It was so exciting to see how I could complete a coding assessment in 45 minutes that I struggled to even finish a month before.
Throughout my job hunt, I did 4 on-sites, which felt like a lot, especially because I was working full time. I didn’t get the first 2 (one of which was one of my top companies), and it was hard to not feel super discouraged. Because everyone at Formation supported and believed in me, I never felt embarrassed telling them when I didn’t get a role I wanted. We were all in it together. When I did tell them, I received even more resources and support to get me in a better place for my next interview.
How did your interview skills improve with your Formation training? How did you benefit from mock interviews?
Formation builds a really good template of what to do in an interview; the Engineering Method was really helpful and made interviewing a lot less stressful. It gives you the scaffolding to build up an answer. All the mock interviews I did in my Fellowship helped me see that interviewers are just like us. The person on the other side is just a human going through this, too. Once I had my algos down, I could focus on just being a human, making jokes, and admitting when I got stuck.
If you would have told me at the beginning of this process that I would have gotten here, I would have never believed you. It feels so crazy that all the hard work paid off and I am now officially a Google software engineer!
What team are you on in your new role?
Engineering Product for Android, internal tools for Android Engineer
“Quick-Fire” Questions
Proudest moment?
I think one of my proudest moments during my Formation experience was when I got my offer from Google. If you would have told me at the beginning of this process that I would have gotten here, I would have never believed you. It feels so crazy that all the hard work paid off and I am now officially a Google software engineer!
Biggest learning moment?
When I took the Computer Science AP test and failed. I remember being so sad and thinking CS was no longer an option for me. My parents, on the other hand, were like, “who cares, you still took the class!” Once I got to college and was successfully majoring in CS, I realized the AP test was just a moment on my journey. I know what it feels like to fail, but I can prevent failure from affecting my internalized worth and know that I can get through it and learn from those mistakes.
[Formation] was such a mixture of people from different parts of their careers, and it was fun to hear about their experiences. I got to ask questions and build that community, all virtually.
Favorite group session?
It was a career session with a really supportive Mentor who wanted to talk to us and connect us to his network. It was so valuable to see that mentors can be very generous and gracious, and I learned that I want to do that for others when I’m able to.
Biggest surprise about Formation?
That a fully virtual network could feel so connected. When I started the sessions I was very worried about the awkward zoom buffer and meeting people virtually. But it was not awkward at all, and everyone was so wonderful and supportive. It was such a mixture of people from different parts of their careers, and it was fun to hear about their experiences. I got to ask questions and build that community, all virtually.
Looking to level up your career like Mariah? Apply to Formation's Fellowship to gain access to an AI-powered interview prep roadmap, plus unlimited technical mentorship and mock interviews.
