Getting into big tech isn’t always a straight path. Pooja Dutt went from a 2.6 GPA, countless failed interviews, and severe impostor syndrome to landing a $200K software engineering role at Microsoft. In this video, she shares her raw journey of setbacks, resilience, and the exact strategies that turned rejection after rejection into success, and how you can do the same. 🚀 BREAK INTO TECH WITH SWE LAUNCHPAD Join my community of like-minded, aspiring tech professionals. Inside, you'll learn How to break Into tech with practical resources, job prep guidance, and real industry insights you won’t find in school. → ✉️ SAJJAAD'S NEWSLETTER Discover the latest tech trends shaping the industry, unlock career tips, and access exclusive resources to stay competitive in tech. → 🧑‍💻 LEARN TO CODE Learn to code with bite-sized projects and an AI-bot to help answer your queries. I recommend you start with their python module, then check out java and javascript. → (It's FREE, but you can use the code SAJYT for 20% off of premium features!) 📄 FREE RESUME REVIEW → ⬇️ POOJA'S SOCIALS: 📸 Instagram: 👔 Linkedin: ▶️ YouTube: ⬇️ MY OTHER SOCIALS: 📸 Instagram: 📱 TikTok: @sajjaadkhader 🌍 My website: 00:00 From 2.6 GPA to Microsoft engineer 00:21 Starting with an unrelated major 00:50 Discovering computer science classes 01:26 Career fairs and job search with a 2.6 GPA 01:48 Landing first internship at a local company 02:17 How did you break into big tech? 03:02 First Microsoft interview 03:30 Interviews at Meta, Google, Reddit, LinkedIn, Amazon 04:07 The Amazon interview 04:54 The Google interview and studying with a partner 05:21 Second Microsoft interview 06:13 The Reddit interview disaster 06:58 Amazon final round 07:53 Breaking point - impostor syndrome and doubt 08:53 Final chances at Microsoft, Meta, and LinkedIn 09:46 The LinkedIn and Meta final rounds 10:15 The Last Hope... Third Microsoft final round interview 11:05 A huge stroke of luck 11:37 Both Microsoft teams want her 12:03 How failed interviews are a good thing 13:06 The three buckets of interview types explained 13:17 Resources for technical prep 14:01 Resources for system design prep 14:23 Importance of mock interviews for behavioral prep 15:50 The #1 advice for students breaking into tech 16:17 Why cold applying doesn’t work anymore (and how to win) 17:11 How AI tools changed the job application process