Those that leave one Googly-eyed

[kpreid]

One of the things I’ve been procrastinatingah, not had the time to do, being busy with school and other projects, is announcing and working on a job search for this summer. I have posted my resume, but I didn’t even get around to mentioning that. The process really doesn’t excite me that much — it’s essentially research, comparison shopping, which I have never been very fond of.

But, last October, I was contacted out of the blue by a recruiter asking if I was interested in opportunities at — Google. After checking that it wasn’t a spoof I naturally said yes, and after a number of rounds of information exchange and interviews,

This summer, I will be (well, subject to my completing the process of accepting the offer) working as a Software Engineering Intern at Google, with the Caja team, in Mountain View, CA.

So — whoa and yay and other such cheerful words. And thanks to my friends at Google who referred me and nudged the process along.^*

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The most uncertain remaining step is finding housing in or near Mountain View (could be as far as San Francisco or San Jose; Google runs a shuttle bus and is convenient to public transportation). Google has provided some general advice-for-interns, but I’d like to hear input from my readers and friends who already live in in the area.

Some parameters:

• I would consider living with other people, but I wouldn’t want to take a chance on a complete unknown. (So if you are someone or know someone with a room...)
• Speaking of taking chances, make the chance of being mugged on the way home in the evening very small, please.
• I am traveling from the east coast, probably by train, so I don’t want to have to transport a lot of stuff, or buy items that I’ll use for only three months — so a furnished space is better.
• I do not own a car, but I know how to drive one.
• I do not own a bicycle, but I used to know how to ride one.
• This will be the first time I have lived outside of my home city for longer than a week’s visit/vacation.

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^*Y’know how job search advice is big on saying you should be “networking”? If you’ve thought you’re too much of the non-face-to-face-social non-polite-small-talk would-rather-talk-to-people-through-the-computer sort for that — take me as an example. This opportunity came to me because of other people who knew me entirely through my work on open source projects (E, and thus Caja-CapTP) — I didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t have done for other reasons anyway. I’m not saying you shouldn't do any of the other stuff you might be thinking of — I’m saying this stuff counts.

Comments

[rizen.livejournal.com]

You may consider looking into the Hacker Dojo. I know some other Googlers hang out there and you may find someone to room with.

Alternately, there's an apartment complex where some of the Dojo people (and also a few of my co-workers) live in MV, not far from me. I think there was a studio open there a few weeks ago. I can put you in touch with some of those people.

Bicycling's pretty big in the area. I'm not in good enough shape for it yet, but I'd like to be. As it is, I walk about 3 miles every day back and forth to caltrain. (I have a car, but you know, getting in shape. Also cost.)

[rizen.livejournal.com]

Also, I'd like to second the digital networking thing. I got my current job through some folks I used to work on open source stuff with, and it's been great. (There are like 8 of us from the same group working here now.)

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

Cool and congratulations! Isn't Barry out there, or is that a different site?

[juan-gandhi.livejournal.com]

Don't they have an accomodation for interns? Never heard of any bothered with renting a room or something. They just live where they are told to live.

In any case, if you decide to rent, rent it at bicycle-riding distance, meaning, somewhere in MV; there are inexpensive places even near downtown.

Check out craigslist. But first, talk to the recruiter, they may give you all the information you need.

[seawasp]

Congratulations on finding a position with them, and I for one welcome our future search engine overlords.

[darius.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the internship! The campus gave me a good impression on my visit.

Do you have any Stanford contacts?

[(Anonymous)]

Getting a sublet from a student away for the summer might be a good option. Anything conveniently located to Stanford will be conveniently located to the Googleplex. I haven't been a student there since the '80s, but they used to keep an off-campus housing board. Perhaps someone at Stanford could help. Santa Clara U is a little farther away, but another option.

Housing in the Bay Area is famously both scarce and expensive. So don't be mortified by what you find (or don't find). Shared housing is a really good idea. Craigslist is worth a shot.

If you're into museums or great food or nightlife, SF is a fantastic place to live. Go for it. But if you expect to spent much of your summer evenings quietly coding, save yourself the commute (~1hr each way) and find a place in or near Mountain View.

Bikes are good. Biking in the area is fantastic. Hills, flats, and good weather all in one place.

Google is in the middle of miles and miles of suburbia. I think the odds of muggings are quite low.