Meta Software Engineer: I Made $500k/Year Without a CS Degree!

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I sat down with Ray, a former Meta software engineer who went from pre-med with a 3 on his AP Comp Sci exam to making $500K a year at one of the biggest tech companies in the world. He landed internships at Nordstrom, got offers from Google, Amazon, Uber, and a $10K/month quant trading role — all without originally starting as a computer science major.

We break down how he got his first tech internship without knowing how to code, why referrals are more powerful than perfect resumes, and the exact interview strategy he used after getting rejected by Microsoft. Ray shares his LeetCode system, why you don't actually need to know full software engineering to get hired at big tech, and how he went from $52 in his bank account to a $40K signing bonus hitting overnight.

Then we get into the controversial part: why he walked away from $500K to pursue startups and content creation, how his immigrant parents reacted, and his blueprint for breaking free from the 9-to-5 in your 20s.

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I’m Aman Manazir, a career coach and software engineer. I interned at companies like Amazon, Shopify, and HP in college, and the day I graduated I landed a $168,000/year* full-time software engineering job. I help you make it as a computer science student & software engineer and get your dream job offer.

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👉 Ray's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raycfu?igsh...
👉 Ray's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fuchengru...

00:00 Introduction
02:15 From Pre-Med to Computer Science
05:51 Landing Nordstrom Without CS Background
07:23 Exploring Different Career Paths
10:59 Getting Quant Trading Internship Offers
12:00 Microsoft Rejection to Multiple Offers
14:35 Learning from the Microsoft Failure
16:16 How to Get Interviews at Top Companies
20:12 You Don't Need Full Software Skills
21:37 The Power of Stubborn Problem Solving
23:27 My LeetCode System and Strategy
24:37 Is LeetCode Dying with AI
25:18 LeetCode as IQ Test for Engineers
28:56 System Design Matters More Than LeetCode
29:51 What Recruiters See in Six Seconds
32:00 Choosing Meta Over Google and Lyft
33:55 Starting Salary at Meta
36:17 $52 to $40K in My Bank Account
37:04 When Facebook Became Meta
40:05 Daily Life Inside Meta
42:31 Why Tech Companies Give These Benefits
45:14 Free Asset to 10x your Engineering Journey
45:42 Meeting Mark Zuckerberg as Intern
46:42 How to Get Promoted at Meta
50:33 Fast Promotions vs Stuck Engineers
51:45 Watching Layoffs Happen Around Me
52:50 Seeing AI Used in Interviews
56:01 Will There Be Fewer Engineers
57:09 Staying Relevant in AI Era
59:05 Meta Stock Going to the Moon
59:48 Why I Left $500K at Meta
1:05:00 The Next Chapter: Startup and Content
1:06:40 Where to Find Rui
1:07:50 Outro