Mentored Minds Sheila Alemany & Sabina Cartacio

Sheila and Sabina chat with ML software engineer, Mark Fajet, about the promotion process in industry. He has been working in big tech companies for almost 5 years now and has learned that the promotion process isn't as smooth as he originally expected. 

Topics discussed in this episode include: 

What the promotion process entails⁠
How to assess yourself to make sure you meet the requirements to move to the next level⁠
How to get your manager and peers on your side to help with your promotions⁠
Some unexpected hurdles you may face during the process ⁠


Referenced resources: 

Brag documents (document your accomplishments): https://jvns.ca/blog/brag-documents/
Professional Development Plan template: https://www.seoptimer.com/blog/professional-development-plan-template/

Sheila and Sabina discuss some questions submitted by the listeners!!

Some of the topics addressed include: 


Existing opportunities exist for post-graduates that couldn’t land an internship during undergrad
Whether remote work is here to stay
Total compensation and why you should care about it
Imposter syndrome
How to get into a tech career (or specifically machine learning) without the classical computer science training
How to ask for recommendation letters when all your classes are online



Referenced resources: 


2022 Major League Hackathons: https://mlh.io/seasons/2022/events
Levels.fyi: https://www.levels.fyi/
Coursera: https://www.coursera.org
Udacity: https://www.udacity.com/



If you have any more questions, feel free to DM us @mentoredminds on Instagram or email us at mentoredmindspodcast@gmail.com!

Sheila and Sabina talk about all things graduate school. They discuss what master's and doctoral degrees entail (M.S. vs. Ph.D.) and the varying options available depending on the degree. More importantly, they discuss some reasons someone should pursue them and some cases where someone shouldn't pursue these degrees. 
Follow us on instagram for more: @mentoredminds

Sheila and Sabina chat about all things program management! For those new here, Sabina is one of our podcast co-hosts, and she has been a program manager at Microsoft for the past 2.5 years. In today’s episode, we chat about what the role entails and how it differs from other computer science roles, such as software development engineering and research roles. Check it out if you are interested in exploring what it takes to be a program manager, what their day-to-day life may look like, and how to get the skills necessary for the role!

Sheila and Sabina talk with the inspiring Tara Sibel Demren about her journey in the startup circle and how she uses art and those around her to keep her grounded and growing. Specifically, we touch upon entrepreneurship, networking in college, imposter syndrome, using art to help with anxiety and stress, and more!

Tara is currently a co-founder of a solar energy startup called Spriteful but is also an author and artist! If you enjoyed this episode, she goes into more detail in her latest book so make sure to check it out!

Tara’s Website: tarasibel.com

Tara’s Art Instagram Page: @tarasibelart

Tara’s NEW BOOK “The Express Lane for Young Adults” (Coming Soon): expresslanebook.com

Sheila and Sabina chat with the great Mark Fajet about nailing technical interviews. Specifically, they discuss some of the ambiguity around these interviews, Mark's straightforward approach to them, and helpful resources that helped him to easily and consistently ace software development technical interviews. Mark is currently a software development engineer 2 at Amazon, and in today's episode, we hear his perspective as both a successful interviewee and interviewer. 

Resources from today's episode:


Cracking the Coding Interview book: https://www.crackingthecodinginterview.com
HackerRank Interview Preparation Kit: https://www.hackerrank.com/interview/interview-preparation-kit
LeetCode Practice Problems: https://leetcode.com