Success Story: Jacob Authier

Today we’re introducing you to Jacob Authier, a Full Stack Software Engineer at Amazon. Jacob is a self-taught software engineer who tried Leetcoding on his own to prepare for interviews before turning to Formation. Here’s how he landed a SWE role at Amazon.

What was your educational and professional background before Formation?
I didn't know about SWE jobs until after college. I earned a degree in Civil Engineering and started working as an estimator right out of school. During my time as an estimator, I started to look for ways I could improve the repetitive and steps-long processes that civil engineering is known for. I taught myself to code and used it in my day-to-day tasks whenever I could; I loved that software engineering made the processes so streamlined. I enjoyed learning about coding so much that I started practicing Leetcode problems to see if I could prepare to interview. Then I found Formation.

Can you paint a picture of what you were looking for before you joined the Fellowship?
I mostly wanted to be able to work side-by-side with Mentors. I remember my first week at Formation; I was excited to work with a Mentor who worked at a top company because I had never done that before. After working with this Mentor, I realized not only how smart they were but how open to helping they were—they want you to improve but they also really cared about what they were doing.

What other kinds of training did you consider, and why did you end up choosing Formation?
Initially, I considered self-study, focusing primarily on resources like Leetcode to prepare for software engineering interviews. However, I soon realized that I wanted something more targeted and personalized. Formation caught my attention because it's not a traditional bootcamp, but rather a specialized program designed to train individuals specifically on the interview process itself. What set Formation apart for me was its commitment to work with me until I secured a job that I truly wanted. Unlike other approaches, where I might have felt pressure to accept the first offer, Formation ensured that I could aim higher and find a position that genuinely matched my goals and expectations.

Interested in leveling up your career like Jacob? Apply for the Fellowship below!

What was your specific goal in becoming a Fellow?
My target company was Amazon. I wanted to be a backend software engineer. Without Formation, I wouldn’t have known how important the behavioral interview process was to actually landing a role like that. I worked with one of Formation’s career coaches and she helped me so much on my behavioral skills. They’re all open to answering any questions you have and always respond.

What was it like working with the Mentors?
Incredible. There are group sessions where you’re working with other Fellows and a Mentor is leading, which was nice to see others’ approach. If the Mentor gave them constructive feedback, you could also apply that to yourself. It was so nice getting that feedback in a session. Formation allows you to do regular mock interviews with highly qualified interviewers, and these interviews were GREAT! The Mentors were honest and let you know what you need to work on. I would go into a mock interview and leave with great, constructive feedback on what I needed to do for the next interview.

How did your interview skills improve with your Formation training?
I went from 0-100. I remember my very first algo interview — I failed it. My mock interviewer gave me a bunch of great feedback and even made documentation about that feedback. The mock interviews made me notice things about the interview process that I didn’t know I needed to work on, like communication. Through Formation, my behavioral skills skyrocketed. I could only have done it with Formation’s Mentors and Career Coaches.

How did Formation help you prepare for your new role?
Being able to communicate is helpful in my current role. I don’t exactly use algos on the job but they help me at a high level in thinking about how you should code in a maintainable way. You can come up with the right algo in an interview, but it may not be super clean. The feedback I got from the Formation Mentors has allowed me to write code and think at a high level before writing so others can understand my code.

How did you like the peer mock interviews?
You’re not going to get the same feedback as you do with Mentors, but I liked being able to interview others. It put me in the position of the interviewer. If my peer skipped over the main part of the discussion and went straight into coding, it kind of shined a light on the times I did that and reminded me to not do that in future interviews. Peer mock interviews allowed me to see what I should and shouldn’t be doing in an interview.

I met a lot of really cool Fellows through peer mock interviews and one who is now at Amazon. The Fellowship allows you to talk to other Fellows who are in the same boat as you, which is valuable. A lot of fellows have years of experience and it was nice to learn from them, talk about their experiences, and get some insight into what my next steps as an engineer might look like.

What team are you on in your new role?
Amazon digital ads

What is a project you're working on in your new role?
Right now, I'm working on a big update to our alarming systems in our pipeline. It's a key project that needs careful planning and attention to detail.

“Quick-Fire” Questions

First code you shipped?
Putting together the integration test for our pipeline at Amazon — it took a month! They threw me into the fire.

Proudest moment?
Landing a job at Amazon. Before I landed it, I didn’t have a social life, was working full-time, and doing Formation. I was talking to friends but was pretty much always home. Now, I’m in a top-tier company and can kind of resume my life again.

Favorite session?
It was a 1:1 mock interview with Hansel, an Amazon Bar Raiser. He gave me a lot of honest, constructive feedback which was amazing. Of course, it didn’t feel great, but it helped me. I valued the feedback I got from his session.

Biggest surprise about Formation?
One of the standout features of Formation for me was the access to knowledgeable and supportive mentors, including Michael, the Co-Founder. I had the opportunity to ask him many questions, and his answers were always insightful and of high quality. My Fellow Manager, Cara, was fantastic. Our conversations were thoughtful and high-level, and her support for my career development felt sincere and personal.

Your next career move awaits. Apply to our Fellowship and get 1:1 mentorship, unlimited mock interviews, and guaranteed placement at a job you love.