How I Broke Into Tech (And You Can Too)

Dear Curious Minds,

Today I am sharing my personal story about how I broke into tech as beginner coming from a faraway land (6,490 miles). I grew up in Mongolia, a place that feels worlds apart from the United States. But that is not the point of this story. So…..back in college, I didn’t have everything figured out. I didn’t have a perfect plan or a five-year roadmap. Coding??? Hmmm, the only reason I decided to go for computer science was I like learning new languages and problem solving. When I started coding, I was just doing it without really understanding the logic behind it. However, I was doing well in my programming classes, building solid projects, and gaining experience through my research assistant role and many more. But as graduation approached, I knew it was time for a reality check. That’s when I started seriously looking into the industry and preparing my resume.

During my junior year in college, I started actively asking my professors about opportunities—research roles, ongoing projects, anything that would help me gain experience and build my resume. I also reached out to seniors to learn about their internship experiences and how they prepared.

Eventually, I was fortunate enough to join a Machine Learning Research group with a mix of students. To be completely honest, I didn’t make a huge impact on the final project because the direction shifted and the development changed. But the experience was still incredibly valuable. I met a senior who guided me through resume preparation, taught me the STAR method, and told me: you need to start practicing leetcode.

I started visiting the Career Center regularly to get help with my resume, practice mock interviews, and pick up whatever tips and tricks I could. I put a lot of effort into preparing for my future, trying different approaches, and slowly, I began getting closer to landing real interviews.

Time passed and it was September…. I began applying for many internships. One of the first companies to respond was Expedia Group. I was immediately excited — not only because I admired the work they were doing in travel tech, but also because they were building a new beautiful campus at the time. I couldn’t wait to interview.

When I received the first-round online assessment, I immediately started researching previous Expedia internship interview posts and practicing technical problems shared by past candidates. And guess what? I passed the first round — hooray!

About a week later, I received an email from the recruiter letting me know I was moving on to the second round. This round was an online video interview where I had to record my answers to several questions—things like “Why did you choose to apply to Expedia?” and other behavior based questions!

I recorded my responses, tried to stay confident, and sent it off with my fingers crossed.

Guess what… I passed again! :)

Within a week, I received another email from the recruiter letting me know I was moving on to the final interview loop. It was technically an “in-person” round, but because it was during the pandemic, everything was held online.

That summer, I had been grinding LeetCode for about three months — in between shifts at the frozen yogurt shop where I worked. (A fun chapter of life, but not the point of this post… keep reading!)

The final round for the internship was four hours long: three technical interviews with engineers and one behavioral interview with the recruiter. And honestly? I got a little lucky — but I was prepared, too.

During the technical interviews, many of the problems were similar to ones I had already practiced on LeetCode. I walked through both the brute-force approach and the optimal solution, explaining my thought process clearly.

For the behavioral round, I ended up getting a question about Big Data — something I was comfortable discussing because of my Machine Learning research experience and my Intro to AI class.

So yes… YAY! I’m no genius, but I had done my homework, and it paid off.

Guess what??… I passed the interview loop!!! Hooray for me :)

After the interviews were complete, I received an email saying I had made it to the team matching stage. Team matching basically means you’ve already passed the interviews — now managers from available teams meet with you to see where you’d be the best fit.

I had a few managerial calls, shared my interests, and eventually… I was placed on a backend team.

Guess what again??… I officially broke into tech. :)

I remember feeling unsure in the beginning, until I met a college senior who guided me through the process — resume prep, STAR method, LeetCode practice, everything. I took that advice seriously and committed to preparing myself.

I faced plenty of rejections from other companies along the way, but each time I reminded myself: “This just means I have more time to get better.” And honestly, that mindset made all the difference.

With the right guidance, personal dedication, consistent practice, and a willingness to learn — you can break into tech too.

Note: Receiving Offer was the best part of Breaking Into Tech!! Wallet upgraded…..

Best Regards,

Until next time — stay curious!