It doesn’t help you get a software engineering job at BigTech, I would have had to grind leetCode like everyone else.
It did help me get a job as a mid level “cloud consultant specializing in application development” in AWS Professional Services department. It paid around 10% less than a software engineering (SDE) job (cash + RSUs) and was a “field by design” fully remote job. It was the last category of jobs that were forced to be in an office when not on a client site this year.
There are all sorts of jobs at AWS and GCP like that - solution architects, engagement managers (it helps), pre-sales architects, program managers, etc. Heck you can make more in recruiting or HR at BigTech than you could make as a software developer doing enterprise dev.
I had been gone for a year and half by then. Now I’m doing the same thing, making the same amount (all cash) as a “staff consultant” working full time, remotely at a third party consulting company.
I most likely could work at GCP doing the same thing as a “senior consultant”. But I don’t do BigTech and I definitely don’t do in office jobs.
