Better Know a New Grad – Michelle Ferreirae
September 10th, 2013 | Published in Google Student Blog
Today we’re featuring Michelle Ferreirae, a Software Engineer on the G+ Notifications team based out of Mountain View. Michelle joined Google full-time in late June, but she made her debut at Google last summer as a Software Engineering Intern on internal tools. Michelle is from San Diego, and graduated in May from Wellesley College in Massachusetts with a B.A. in Computer Science.
Tell us a little bit about how you first got interested in computer science?
I had absolutely zero exposure to computer science before I got to college; I thought I was going to be a political science major. My first semester, I only got into one of the four classes I had originally wanted, so I had to use my backup plans, and introductory CS was my second backup. I adored the class; I hadn’t realized that I could take logical thinking, which I’ve always loved, and apply it to making cool, useful programs. Halfway through the semester, I found myself doing my CS problem set to procrastinate on readings for my political science class, and I realized I should probably reevaluate my major plans.
Tell us about your path to a full-time software engineering role at Google? What inspired you to initially apply to Google?
I’ve always loved Google products... long before I worked here, I convinced my family to switch to Chrome and use Gmail and Google Docs. I wanted to do an industry internship after my junior year, so I applied to lots of places, including Google. I was a little surprised when they emailed me back! After my internship, I got the chance to convert to full-time. I got offers from other companies too, but I was really excited to come back to Google; I’d had an awesome summer.
Were there any particular classes, clubs, and/or activities that you participated in during college that you found especially helped prepare you for an internship/job in the tech industry?
The most helpful thing I did was research. Wellesley has a Human Computer Interaction lab that I joined at the beginning of my sophomore year. Working in the lab let me work on much larger projects than I had seen in my classes, and gave me a much better sense for how to work on a team and deal with a large code base that wasn’t my own. Plus, the projects I worked on were really interesting–applications for tabletop touch screen computers that make scientific research more accessible to students in introductory science classes.
I know you attended a small liberal arts college. Do you have any suggestions for current students at similar types of colleges who may be interested in pursuing opportunities at Google?
Don’t be afraid! I was worried my classes were too theoretical; I knew people at other colleges who were learning things directly related to software engineering, while I was doing theoretical, non-useful computer science. But that hasn’t held me back; I’m able to learn new skills quickly when I need to. Another tip: liberal arts colleges often have strong alumni networks; it can be helpful for finding a job, at Google or anywhere else, to reach out to an alum who works there and talk to them.
What’s your favorite Google memory or ‘Magic Moment’?
This is my second year in the Google laser tag league. We play in between two Google buildings, where we hide behind trees and come up with strategies to draw out the other team. Sometimes other Googlers wander through, unaware that anything is happening... and other times they notice the engineers laughing and shooting at each other. It’s fun, exciting, and silly, which is exactly what I expect from working at Google.
Tell us a little bit about how you first got interested in computer science?
I had absolutely zero exposure to computer science before I got to college; I thought I was going to be a political science major. My first semester, I only got into one of the four classes I had originally wanted, so I had to use my backup plans, and introductory CS was my second backup. I adored the class; I hadn’t realized that I could take logical thinking, which I’ve always loved, and apply it to making cool, useful programs. Halfway through the semester, I found myself doing my CS problem set to procrastinate on readings for my political science class, and I realized I should probably reevaluate my major plans.
Tell us about your path to a full-time software engineering role at Google? What inspired you to initially apply to Google?
I’ve always loved Google products... long before I worked here, I convinced my family to switch to Chrome and use Gmail and Google Docs. I wanted to do an industry internship after my junior year, so I applied to lots of places, including Google. I was a little surprised when they emailed me back! After my internship, I got the chance to convert to full-time. I got offers from other companies too, but I was really excited to come back to Google; I’d had an awesome summer.
Were there any particular classes, clubs, and/or activities that you participated in during college that you found especially helped prepare you for an internship/job in the tech industry?
The most helpful thing I did was research. Wellesley has a Human Computer Interaction lab that I joined at the beginning of my sophomore year. Working in the lab let me work on much larger projects than I had seen in my classes, and gave me a much better sense for how to work on a team and deal with a large code base that wasn’t my own. Plus, the projects I worked on were really interesting–applications for tabletop touch screen computers that make scientific research more accessible to students in introductory science classes.
I know you attended a small liberal arts college. Do you have any suggestions for current students at similar types of colleges who may be interested in pursuing opportunities at Google?
Don’t be afraid! I was worried my classes were too theoretical; I knew people at other colleges who were learning things directly related to software engineering, while I was doing theoretical, non-useful computer science. But that hasn’t held me back; I’m able to learn new skills quickly when I need to. Another tip: liberal arts colleges often have strong alumni networks; it can be helpful for finding a job, at Google or anywhere else, to reach out to an alum who works there and talk to them.
What’s your favorite Google memory or ‘Magic Moment’?
This is my second year in the Google laser tag league. We play in between two Google buildings, where we hide behind trees and come up with strategies to draw out the other team. Sometimes other Googlers wander through, unaware that anything is happening... and other times they notice the engineers laughing and shooting at each other. It’s fun, exciting, and silly, which is exactly what I expect from working at Google.