What are the pros and cons of working at big vs small tech companies? Around mid-2020 I was back at Microsoft after leaving Facebook and taking a break. I was leading the applied science team for Machine Teaching, working with a great group of people. But suddenly there was a big re-org. Teams were split, projects canceled, and I found myself under a different … [Read more...] about Working at Big (FAANG) vs Small Tech Companies
Career transitions
3 Tips for Coding Interviews
There's always time pressure during coding interviews. And writing code on a whiteboard creates additional challenges. Here we discuss 3 tips for being efficient in a coding interview. In the following video, you'll learn about how to write less code, manage your whiteboard space and even get full credit for partial solutions. If you liked the video you can subscribe to … [Read more...] about 3 Tips for Coding Interviews
Hitting PAUSE
"What if we took a break from work to travel the world with our kids?" The idea This is an idea that started to float in our heads a couple of years ago. It got seeded back in 2015 when one of my wife's friends from work took 6 months off to travel with his family. At that time it seemed like something other people did, certainly not us. We could think of many reasons why this … [Read more...] about Hitting PAUSE
Working at Microsoft vs Facebook
"How does working at Microsoft compare to Facebook?" This is a question I've gotten a lot in the last year. Back in 2017 I joined Facebook after spending most of my career at Microsoft. In this post I'll try to answer this as objectively as I can :). But first a disclaimer: The views expressed here are my own. They do not represent my current or former employer's. The first … [Read more...] about Working at Microsoft vs Facebook
The Research Software Design Engineer – there and back
At Microsoft Research (MSR) there's a not-so-well-known role: the RSDE (Research Software Design Engineer). In this post I cover my experience going from SDE to RSDE and back to SDE, as well as the pros and cons. My path to RSDE Even before I joined Microsoft I was fascinated by a lot of the work being done at MSR. As a new college grad the idea of working there seemed like a … [Read more...] about The Research Software Design Engineer – there and back