Working at Google is a dream for many software engineers. While the job comes with many perks and a lucrative salary and benefits, it is also important to know what exactly the role of a software engineer entails. Understanding the role will help you plan your interview prep.
If you are preparing for a tech interview, check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation e-book to get interview-ready! Also, read How Hard is it to Get a Job at Google and Google Interview Guide for specific insights and guidance on Google tech interviews.
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Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:
- What Is It Like to Be a Software Engineer at Google?
- What Does a Google Software Engineer Do?
- What Projects Do Google Software Engineers Work On?
- Skills Required to Crack the Google Software Engineer Interview
- How Hard Is It to Get a Job at Google?
- Tips to Crack the Google Software Engineer Interview
- FAQs on Google Software Engineering Role
What Is It Like to Be a Software Engineer at Google?
Software being an integral part of its products, Google always hires software engineers to work on its various products. Working at Google, you’ll be exposed to a straightforward and efficient process, be it code reviews or new equipment required. In fact, Google has an internal tool where developers could ask other developers to review their code.
There are many perks and benefits of working at Google, including:
- Work-life Balance: Google offers vacations, standard holidays, extra leaves for personal events, sick leaves.
- Competitive salaries: Google is known as one of the highest-paying tech companies
- Multiple Platforms: Google has interesting platforms to which you can contribute, like Android, Docs, and Search.
Recommended Reading: Google Software Engineer Salary
What Does a Google Software Engineer Do?
Working at Google is more difficult than attending its interviews. You might not work on all the features of an application. But you’ll get the chance to work on front-end, back-end, or algorithm development, depending on your expertise.
As a software engineer, you’ll have much more responsibilities, and you’ll work on, not limiting to, the following things:
- Write and build the code
- Write unit-tests
- Run Tests and debug failures
- Review peer’s code changes
- Read and write bug reports
- Debug the problems that arise in production
- Read and write design documents
What Projects Do Google Software Engineers Work On?
At Google, you’ll get the chance to work on various amazing products you use in your daily lives. Here are some of them:
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP): GCP is a suite of cloud computing services that run on the same infrastructure that Google uses for its products like Search, Gmail, and YouTube.
- Google Docs
- Google Search
- Google Maps
- Gmail
- Google Play Store
- Android
- Google Chrome
Skills Required to Crack the Google Software Engineer Interview
We have prepared a list of skills required for you to crack the Google Software Engineer interview. This list is based on the details provided by Google.
- Be familiar with at least one programming language.
- Understand how different algorithms work and their complexities.
- Solve popular problems on hashmap, stack, queues, linked list, etc.
- Learn simple and discrete math problems like probability and statistics.
- Understand the concurrency, processes, and threads related to operating systems.
- System design questions that help you to showcase your problem-solving skills in real-world problems
- Object-oriented programming concepts
Head over to the Learn and Problem pages for more.
How Hard Is It to Get a Job at Google?
Google tech interviews are really challenging. Landing a job is tough because they tend to hire the best out of the best. Also, Google gets tons of applications each year, which makes it even more difficult. Due to this, it sets a pretty high bar to select candidates with sound technical skills.
But, it’s not completely difficult. You should just know the right way to prepare for these interviews.
Interview Kickstart can help you in your tech interviews! With IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from and engage with FAANG tech leads and hiring managers.
Here’s what Aliya Mussina, IK alum and Software Engineer at Apple, has to say about IK’s program:
Interview Kickstart’s Program Met All My Expectations.
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Tips to Crack the Google Software Engineer Interview
Here’s a list of tips you need to crack the Google Software Engineer Interview.
- Learn the fundamentals.
- Practice solving problems using a pencil and blank paper or a whiteboard and markers.
- Create a study list of technical topics to cover. IK’s Tech Interview Checklist will help you with that.
- Create a schedule for studying and preparation.
FAQs on Google Software Engineering Role
Q 1. How long are Google Software Engineer interviews?
A. The duration of each interview round can be 30-45 minutes long, depending on the round. From application to offer, the overall duration of the hiring process can range from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the seniority of the role.
Q 2. Do software engineers at Google work on code reviews?
A. Yes. Google has a unique internal application where developers can ask other developers to review their code. (All information is based on research at the time of writing. Please speak to your recruiter for more clarity.)
Q 3. What are the eligibility criteria for Google SDE?
The minimum qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree or comparable job experience is required.
- 2 years of software development experience in more than one coding language or a minimum of one year of experience with a higher qualification.
- A minimum of two years of algorithmic or data structure experience.
Q 4. What is the first-round interview at Google?
The initial two rounds are telephone interviews in which the interviewer poses the candidate with a single medium or two simple Algo DS problems. The interviewer gives the candidate 45 minutes to work through each one. However, if your performance in the Beginning is strong, those stages are dropped, and you proceed immediately to the next stage.
Q 5. What is the salary of a fresher at Google?
The average annual salary of freshers at Google is around $255,136.
