[cqqxo4zV46cp]

A billion of these stories never prepared me for the utter shitshow that laid itself bare to me when I first became a hiring manager. I’m self-taught, am strongly philosophically opposed to educational or past employer ‘prestige’ like working for FAANG or whatever. Still, I learned pretty quickly to not trust a bunch of naive ‘intuitive’ signals.

[smabie]

The hard truth is that Ivy / FAANG talent is usually higher quality. People just don't want to believe it.

[ZephyrBlu]

It carries signal for being above average relative to the rest of the population, which is a low bar to begin with.

It doesn't carry much signal for being great.

[smabie]

This is true, but any signal for future greatness is really weak I think.

[Comma2976]

I have found that I can take a single look and identify the best engineer and all around smartest guy in a room, often also the funniest, with the caveat that I need a mirror to do it.

[sgu999]

I really thought you were a proper wanker until I reached the end of your sentence, well done

[nperez]

I began my career in a startup where pretty much everyone else but myself was an Ivy grad, with many coming from FAANG internships, and I have very high opinions of them. We all were very driven and all had things to teach each other. I don't want to downplay the notion that it's an indicator of high quality talent. I just think that it shouldn't be downplayed that growing up developing software out of an interest in the work is a strong indicator too.

[thelastparadise]

Sounds like you are inflating your own ego...

[smabie]

I never graduated college and have never worked at a FAANG.