[gothrowaway]

More like:

A couple of years at startups where the hiring bar is lower. A couple of github projects. A couple of presentations at local meetup groups.

And having a really really good interview when you get to the whiteboard.

[yomly]

What level are people entering Goog/Amzn on this path? Presumably not the same as a college graduate...?

[xiaoma]

From what I saw of people in my cohort and the few after it, the entry point is usually a bit higher, like where someone with a college degree + 1-2 years enters.

Disclaimer: my school was a very intense 6-day/week, 10-14 hours per day for a total of 900 or so hours. This is a lot more coding than people tend to think when they hear 3 months and there are instructors and classmates helping with the actual coding process.