BigTech and BigSchool most certainly get you in the door.
You still have to leverage connections at BigSchool and your previous BigTech though, many ex-FANG fail to do this.
People without these obvious advantages should be looking into other industries outside of direct tech. Oil/gas/energy, Supply chain/logistics, Automotive (Ford etc), Retail tech (Walmart Global Tech), and so many other industries where they still need SWEs.
Many people overlook these options. Pay may not be big tech level but being jobless is worse.
I assume ppl aren’t looking for big tech money, there’s enough posts out there telling you exactly what to do to get in at those places.
I’m curious, was there anything you recall from those posts that differentiates the general experience with applying to those places versus big tech?