u/Own-Butterfly6884

Hi guys, I’m a 24yo Master’s student in Computer Engineering, starting my last year.
I have a question for SWEs working at companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.
If you were in my situation, what would you focus on to actually be ready for the job?
I know the usual answer is “build side projects”, but what should I focus on inside those projects? What skills, technologies or problems make a project feel closer to real SWE work instead of just another CRUD app?
If you had one year before graduating, what would you spend your time learning/building to be prepared for the real job?

Hi guys, I’m a 24yo Master’s student in Computer Engineering, starting my last year.
I have a question for SWEs working at companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.
If you were in my situation, what would you focus on to actually be ready for the job?
I know the usual answer is “build side projects”, but what should I focus on inside those projects? What skills, technologies or problems make a project feel closer to real SWE work instead of just another CRUD app?
If you had one year before graduating, what would you spend your time learning/building to be prepared for the real job?

Hi guys, I’m a 24yo Master’s student in Computer Engineering, starting my last year.
I have a question for SWEs working at companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, etc.

If you were in my situation, what would you focus on to actually be ready for the job?
I know the usual answer is “build side projects”, but what should I focus on inside those projects? What skills, technologies or problems make a project feel closer to real SWE work instead of just another CRUD app?
If you had one year before graduating, what would you spend your time learning/building to be actually prepared for the real job and stand out in the current job market?

Hi everyone,
I’ve been lurking here for a while because my long-term dream has always been to work at a Big Tech company, ideally Google, and one day make it to Silicon Valley.
The problem is that I don’t feel like I’m at the level of the people I usually see posting here, and I’m honestly looking for some advice from people who have already gone through this path.
A bit of context.
I completed my bachelor’s degree at University Of Salerno (italy) in Computer Engineering from 2021 to May 2025, and, to be honest, it didn’t go well. I graduated late and with a pretty bad GPA(3,16). There were several personal circumstances that made me lose focus, and I didn’t take my studies as seriously as I should have. I’m not trying to make excuses—it’s simply the reality of what happened, but that’s not the point, just little bit of context.
Things changed when I started my master’s.
I completely changed my mindset. I’ve been working much harder, taking my studies seriously, and I genuinely enjoy learning now. I’m currently finishing my first year of my master’s degree and preparing for a very hard second semester.
At the same time, I have to choose my specialization for the second year, and this is where I’m completely stuck.
The available tracks are:
Enterprise Software Architecture
AI (Robotics or AI Applications)
Embedded Systems
Cybersecurity
Here’s my dilemma.
I don’t think Embedded or Cybersecurity are really what I want to do professionally.
I absolutely love Machine Learning as a subject—I find the theory fascinating—but I realized I don’t particularly enjoy spending hours & days writing huge notebooks to train models. I enjoy understanding how things work more than doing ML research.
Enterprise Software Architecture seems like the most natural choice for me because I genuinely enjoy designing systems, thinking about software architecture, understanding how components interact, and reasoning about the “big picture.” I also built a small custom Java management system for a company after graduating, which was my first paid software project.
But then I keep thinking
“What if choosing Software Architecture means I’ll fall behind everyone else because AI is becoming increasingly important?”
I have this doubt for months.
At the same time, I recently started preparing LeetCode seriously, and surprisingly I’m really enjoying it. Solving algorithmic problems is something that motivates me, so preparing for coding interviews isn’t the part I’m worried about.
What worries me is whether I’m building the right profile.
When I look around, I see people who graduated with outstanding GPAs, won research scholarships, published papers, or already have internships at top companies.
Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out which path I should even take.
So I guess my questions are:
Given this background, is it still realistic to aim for companies like Google after my master’s?
If you were in my position, which specialization would you choose?
Is Software Architecture still a solid path toward Big Tech, or would AI open significantly more doors?
Should I stop comparing myself with people who seem years ahead(I know i have to stop, but in my position is a little bit difficult), or am I actually already behind enough that I should reconsider my expectations?
I dont want reassurance, i would genuinely appreciate honest opinions, even if they’re hard to hear
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been lurking here for a while because my long-term dream has always been to work at a Big Tech company, ideally Google, and one day make it to Silicon Valley.
The problem is that I don’t feel like I’m at the level of the people I usually see posting here, and I’m honestly looking for some advice from people who have already gone through this path.
A bit of context.
I completed my bachelor’s degree at University Of Salerno (italy) in Computer Engineering from 2021 to May 2025, and, to be honest, it didn’t go well. I graduated late and with a pretty bad GPA(3,16). There were several personal circumstances that made me lose focus, and I didn’t take my studies as seriously as I should have. I’m not trying to make excuses—it’s simply the reality of what happened, but that’s not the point, just little bit of context.
Things changed when I started my master’s.
I completely changed my mindset. I’ve been working much harder, taking my studies seriously, and I genuinely enjoy learning now. I’m currently finishing my first year of my master’s degree and preparing for a very hard second semester.
At the same time, I have to choose my specialization for the second year, and this is where I’m completely stuck.
The available tracks are:
Enterprise Software Architecture
AI (Robotics or AI Applications)
Embedded Systems
Cybersecurity
Here’s my dilemma.
I don’t think Embedded or Cybersecurity are really what I want to do professionally.
I absolutely love Machine Learning as a subject—I find the theory fascinating—but I realized I don’t particularly enjoy spending hours & days writing huge notebooks to train models. I enjoy understanding how things work more than doing ML research.
Enterprise Software Architecture seems like the most natural choice for me because I genuinely enjoy designing systems, thinking about software architecture, understanding how components interact, and reasoning about the “big picture.” I also built a small custom Java management system for a company after graduating, which was my first paid software project.
But then I keep thinking
“What if choosing Software Architecture means I’ll fall behind everyone else because AI is becoming increasingly important?”
I have this doubt for months.
At the same time, I recently started preparing LeetCode seriously, and surprisingly I’m really enjoying it. Solving algorithmic problems is something that motivates me, so preparing for coding interviews isn’t the part I’m worried about.
What worries me is whether I’m building the right profile.
When I look around, I see people who graduated with outstanding GPAs, won research scholarships, published papers, or already have internships at top companies.
Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out which path I should even take.
So I guess my questions are:
Given this background, is it still realistic to aim for companies like Google after my master’s?
If you were in my position, which specialization would you choose?
Is Software Architecture still a solid path toward Big Tech, or would AI open significantly more doors?
Should I stop comparing myself with people who seem years ahead(I know i have to stop, but in my position is a little bit difficult), or am I actually already behind enough that I should reconsider my expectations?
I dont want reassurance, i would genuinely appreciate honest opinions, even if they’re hard to hear
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.

Hi everyone,
I’ve been lurking here for a while because my long-term dream has always been to work at a Big Tech company, ideally Google, and one day make it to Silicon Valley.
The problem is that I don’t feel like I’m at the level of the people I usually see posting here, and I’m honestly looking for some advice from people who have already gone through this path.
A bit of context.
I completed my bachelor’s degree at University Of Salerno (italy) in Computer Engineering from 2021 to May 2025, and, to be honest, it didn’t go well. I graduated late and with a pretty bad GPA(3,16). There were several personal circumstances that made me lose focus, and I didn’t take my studies as seriously as I should have. I’m not trying to make excuses—it’s simply the reality of what happened, but that’s not the point, just little bit of context.
Things changed when I started my master’s.
I completely changed my mindset. I’ve been working much harder, taking my studies seriously, and I genuinely enjoy learning now. I’m currently finishing my first year of my master’s degree and preparing for a very hard second semester.
At the same time, I have to choose my specialization for the second year, and this is where I’m completely stuck.
The available tracks are:
Enterprise Software Architecture
AI (Robotics or AI Applications)
Embedded Systems
Cybersecurity
Here’s my dilemma.
I don’t think Embedded or Cybersecurity are really what I want to do professionally.
I absolutely love Machine Learning as a subject—I find the theory fascinating—but I realized I don’t particularly enjoy spending hours & days writing huge notebooks to train models. I enjoy understanding how things work more than doing ML research.
Enterprise Software Architecture seems like the most natural choice for me because I genuinely enjoy designing systems, thinking about software architecture, understanding how components interact, and reasoning about the “big picture.” I also built a small custom Java management system for a company after graduating, which was my first paid software project.
But then I keep thinking
“What if choosing Software Architecture means I’ll fall behind everyone else because AI is becoming increasingly important?”
I have this doubt for months.
At the same time, I recently started preparing LeetCode seriously, and surprisingly I’m really enjoying it. Solving algorithmic problems is something that motivates me, so preparing for coding interviews isn’t the part I’m worried about.
What worries me is whether I’m building the right profile.
When I look around, I see people who graduated with outstanding GPAs, won research scholarships, published papers, or already have internships at top companies.
Meanwhile, I’m still trying to figure out which path I should even take.
So I guess my questions are:
Given this background, is it still realistic to aim for companies like Google after my master’s?
If you were in my position, which specialization would you choose?
Is Software Architecture still a solid path toward Big Tech, or would AI open significantly more doors?
Should I stop comparing myself with people who seem years ahead(I know i have to stop, but in my position is a little bit difficult), or am I actually already behind enough that I should reconsider my expectations?
I dont want reassurance, i would genuinely appreciate honest opinions, even if they’re hard to hear
Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this.