Story

Hey guys, I've been lurking here a while and have seen some posts referencing how they feel this subreddit is toxic or depressing, and also asking about what happens to "average joe" CS students. I'd like to share my story if anyone cares. I started my CS degree at a community college for two years, then a I transferred to a no name liberal arts college. If anything this school would be considered below average honestly. I never grinded leetcode, worked on personal projects, or really learned anything outside of the school curriculum. In my junior year I mass applied to internships. I was asked to come in for an interview with a super small company that had maybe 20 employees if you include the interns. One of my interview questions was literally fizzbuzz. I was offered the internship and stayed there for about a year being paid minimum wage. Getting paid to program while a college student instead of working in retail? Hell yeah. I didn't care at all it wasn't a prestigious or high paying internship. In my senior year I mass applied to jobs and received two interviews. One with a government agency and one with a medium sized company I'm sure no one would have heard of. Neither interview was particularly challenging or included any leetcode. I accepted an offer from the medium sized company for a salary of 70k with a 3k sign on bonus. I also received a conditional job offer from the government pending what looked to be a fairly intensive background check. I declined that offer since I'd have to move. My point is if you're gunning for FAANG then by all means shoot for the moon, I wish you the best. But if you're just some college student who's worrying if they'll even find a job after graduation just relax. There's plenty of opportunities out there your degree will open for you that are just fine comfortable jobs. And if you don't find one immediately after graduation, still relax. The overwhelming majority of college students won't. Most major in something much less employable than CS and spend years after being a fresh graduate to find their "grown up" job. It's not ideal but no one seems to care as much as on this subreddit. You'll all be fine.