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Googley as Heck
Hi, I’m John Washam. Future Googler. Check out my journey on my blog: https://googleyasheck.com
5 days ago · 10 min read

I s tu d ie d fu ll- tim e fo r 8 m o n th s ju s t fo r a
G o o g le in te rv ie w

M y w e ll-w o rn w h ite b o a rd , a d o rn e d w ith D ijkstra ’s sin g le -so u rce sh o rte st-p a th s a lg o rith m .

It’s true. I’ve spent thousands of hours reading books, writing code, and watching
computer science lectures, all to prepare for the Google software engineer interview.

If you’re interested in studying for a coding interview, check out my study plan:

jwasham/google-interview-university
google-interview-university - A complete daily plan for studying to become a Google software engineer.
gith u b .co m

H o w I G o t H e re
I started programming in middle school, but when it came time for college I pursued a
degree in Economics. My rationale was that there would be too many programmers
looking for jobs by the time I graduated. Boy, I was wrong.
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looking for jobs by the time I graduated. Boy, I was wrong.

Later, I joined the Army to become a programmer, but the recruiter talked me into a
military intelligence position, and I spent the next two years studying the Korean
language. I served in South Korea for 2 years afterward.

Before I left the Army, I attempted to get back into programming and was surprised at
the difficulty. I had learned BASIC in middle school and kept programming it through
high school. But I restarted my programming studies with C++, and the leap was too
large. I just couldn’t grasp it.

I did enjoy making websites, however, but I used software with a Word-like interface
that I used to publish my websites. I didn’t know how to make websites from scratch.

After the Army, I decided to stay in Korea for a year and teach English. I used my nights
and weekends to study web programming, using Perl, HTML, CSS (which was new at
the time), JavaScript, and SQL.

After a year of intense study, I landed a job in the Seattle area, and I’ve been here ever
since.

D o in g so m e w o rk fro m th e b a lco n y in b e a u tifu l Be lle vu e , W A .

I’ve been a web developer now for 15 years. I’ve started 3 companies, 2 of which
are still running and generating revenue. I’ve worked at large and small companies,
helped startups launch and grow, and recruited and managed teams. I’ve been a product
manager, a CEO, a designer, and a marketer.

I’ve had a successful career and learned a lot along the way. But I’m not done yet.

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S e e k in g a C a re e r C h a n g e
Remember the part where I didn’t get a computer science degree? It has made a
difference.

A few years ago, I thought I could get hired anywhere. I thought I was hot stuff: the
elusive full-stack web developer. But during my job search in 2013, I realized my skills
were lacking. I had spent so much time chasing dollars by running startups in my spare
time, that I had let my skills atrophy. I hadn’t kept up with technology.

For years, I had learned just enough to get by. I had a wide skill set but wasn’t an expert
in anything.

Don’t get me wrong, I could still get hired, but not in the technologies or areas I wanted
to work in. I could get hired for areas where the tech stack was somewhat outdated, like
me. There’s big money in there, but I didn’t see exciting prospects.

The realization reached its peak last year at a career fair. I was interested in perhaps
working for one of the local companies that were startup labs run by venture capital
firms. However, the fact that I lacked a computer science degree, and the skills and
knowledge that accompany such a degree, meant I didn’t have a chance.

I was working full-time on my businesses at the time, and still am today.

At the beginning of 2016, I decided it was time to make a career change from web
developer to software engineer. I would need to study hard and practice in order to
compress a computer science degree into a few months, but once I did, I could start a
new career.

You may not see web development and software engineering as different positions. Both
involve programming and craftsmanship, but software engineering adds to it knowledge
of data structures and algorithms, compiled languages, memory considerations, and
understanding the impact of coding and architecture decisions on the machines where
they reside.

Large companies that hire for software engineering positions expect candidates to have
this knowledge.

I reached out to an acquaintance who works at Google and asked him questions about
his experience at the company. I had been reading How Google Works and was pretty
familiar with Google already.

Through another contact, I received a copy of Google’s coaching notes that are provided
to interview candidates. This became the basis of my study plan.

Google is a pretty awesome place to work, but before I even knew that, Google was my
goal.

W h y G o o g le ?
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Google sets a very high bar for hiring. They want to hire only the best. So if I set my
sights high (getting hired at Google), I’ll still be quite hireable elsewhere even if I’m not
selected.

The more I learn about Google, the more I want to work there.

In brief, Google is a company that hires smart, creative people, and treats them well.
Google rewards merit, encourages big ideas, and gives employees the freedom to make
good decisions for the user.

The hiring process is calibrated to bring in smart, passionate people. Google has honed
the recruitment and interview process over the years. The brain teaser questions are
long gone. Nowadays candidates are chosen based on coding ability, technical
knowledge, and Googleyness. There’s a lot going on in that one word.

O n a ro a d trip in 2 0 1 5 , I visite d th e M o u n ta in V ie w H Q . T h a t p la n te d th e se e d .

Management is different. Managers don’t micro-manage. They trust engineers to make

Google’s people operations (HR) has learned what works over time, and they use data
and employee feedback to improve evaluation systems, the hiring process, promotions,
compensation, benefits, and more. Read Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock (SVP, People
Operations) for more.

Yes, the benefits are amazing. I went on a tour of the Google office in Kirkland, WA, and
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Yes, the benefits are amazing. I went on a tour of the Google office in Kirkland, WA, and
it surpassed my expectations. And my expectations were already high.

G o o g le In te rv ie w U n iv e rs ity
Remember the coaching notes I received telling me what to study? The list of topics
seemed manageable, even though I didn’t know anything on the list.

I turned the topics on the notes into an outline and started filling in the topics with
YouTube videos of lectures from MIT and UC Berkeley. A video on linked lists in one
place, a video about queues in another. The list started to grow.

I published the list on Github because my Github account was pretty empty. Since all
the code I wrote for my businesses and work was private, my Github account made it
look like I didn’t code at all. I needed to build up a portfolio. I originally called the project
“Project 9894”. Google launched on Sept 4, 1998. Hence the name. I later renamed it to
“Google Interview University”.

Over time I added some optional topics that I discovered along the way.

M y su m m e r re a d in g list. A little o ve r th e to p .

I was pretty amazed I had gotten so far in my career without even knowing how a CPU

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processed a program, how memory worked, or any of it. I had known “just enough” to be
a success.

My little Github project started getting a few stars, and I published a blog post
celebrating 20 stars.

One morning, I awoke to find it had grown to 120 stars. Someone famous had tweeted
about it during the night, and that led to it ending up on the Github daily trending
report. I was #1 trending on Github for a few days.

Many kind people reached out to thank and encourage me. It turns out there are
thousands of people who want to not only work at Google but want to work as a software
engineer, and this list was just the to-do list they needed.

It’s now at over 21,000 stars.

I still can’t believe it.

W h a t If I D o n ’t G e t th e Jo b ?
It won’t be the end of the world.

I’ve put the time and dedication into my studies for the goal of getting hired as a Google
software engineer, but even if I fail, I’ll still be armed with the skills and knowledge
required to work as a software engineer at any company.

Wherever I end up, I’m going in as an entry-level software engineer. I’m not going in
with 15 years of software engineering experience because I simply don’t have it. When it
comes to this stuff, I’m the equivalent of a fresh CS grad.

But I have the enthusiasm of a new grad, too. This is a new world for me. I’m just getting
started. I’m not afraid to make mistakes. I know I will. I also want to learn everything I
can and be an excellent addition to any team.

D o n ’t S tu d y A s M u c h A s I D id
Yes, I took 8 months. But I could have abbreviated the process. Like any startup with a
big goal, you make mistakes and do things that waste time. There are always things you
want to go back and do differently.

I studied topics I didn’t need to, some because I thought I would need them for the
interview, and some because I wanted to have the knowledge on hand for when I started
working. I didn’t want to be a burden on the team I’m assigned to. It turns out I simply
over-prepared.

I spent 3 weeks reading a 1,000-page book on C++. I don’t remember 1,000 pages
worth, but I know a good bit about C++ now. As it turns out, I’m using Python for the
interview, not C++. I had assumed I needed C++, C, or Java, but I was wrong. It’s good
to ask, not assume.

I read way more books than I needed to. There are only 3 or 4 books I should have read.
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I read way more books than I needed to. There are only 3 or 4 books I should have read.

I have a code catalog of dozens of algorithms that I review, most of which I wouldn’t
expect in an interview. You don’t need to do that.

A sta ck o f a lg o rith m s, p rin te d o u t fo r re vie w .

I watched many hours of YouTube videos but could have watched far less, and spread
out topics over time.

I should have stopped reading books and watching videos earlier and started on coding
problems sooner. I would have been able to spend more time applying the topics I
learned.

Spaced repetition is the key to memorization. Once you learn something, review
it again later, and again even later. At each repetition, you reinforce your learning.
Spending hours and hours at one time on priority queues won’t make you an expert.
You become an expert by revisiting and reviewing over time. If you do so, you’ll get to
the point where can’t forget details.

To help review, I made 1,792 flashcards (digital flashcards). This is way too many. I
review them on my phone or tablet whenever I get a spare moment (such as during
Christmas shopping). Flash cards and spaced repetition go hand-in-hand. Once I get an
answer on a flashcard right, I don’t mark it as known. I keep it in the deck and once I’ve
seen it and answered it correctly many times, then I mark it as known.

My sense of fear (“What if they ask me a question about red-black trees?”) led me to
study far more topics than I needed to.

But I didn’t want to just prepare for the interview, I wanted to prepare for a career at
Google, solving large-scale problems. That means knowing algorithms that will save
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Google, solving large-scale problems. That means knowing algorithms that will save
computing resources of time, space, and I/O.

I may never need to know a maximum flow algorithm (Ford-Fulkerson), but it’s nice to
know I have that tool available if the situation arises (without memorizing the
implementation), and can recognize its application to a problem space.

C o n c lu s io n
Early on, I wished I could skip all this learning, and just hurry up and get hired so I
could instead spend my time learning the languages and tools for the team I join. But
along the way, I realized how important this knowledge is, and even though most of it
may not be applicable on a daily basis, I’m glad I put in the effort. I have a new
appreciation of the history of computing, the greats in the field, data structures and
algorithms (and how they complement each other), and how computer systems work at
low-level.

I’ll be putting in my application soon. It’s been a long journey getting to this point — 
almost an entire year. It began back in January, but I wasn’t able to commit to full-time
study until April.

I’m about as prepared as I can be. I can’t keep studying and putting off the application
forever. At some point, I have to take the leap.

I see a bright future ahead.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

Update —  Dec 16, 2016:

The overwhelming response to my article is kind of freaking me out. I’ll reply to

Also, quite a few people have this question:

Thank you for the response. Some folks probably are scratching their heads with the same
question.
I’ve done a lot of startups. They always involve a lot of work and usually very little reward for the
extraordinary…
mediu m.co m

W h e re to F in d M e
Googley as Heck: https://googleyasheck.com

Google Interview University on Github:

jwasham/google-interview-university
google-interview-university - A complete daily plan for studying to become a Google software engineer.
gith u b .co m

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