23-year-old Phan Huy An received the news of his acceptance as a software engineer at Google on 14/5, three days before graduating with a master's degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). According to the 2026 QS World University Rankings, UIUC is among the top 70 universities globally. An maintained a GPA of 3.89/4.

"I was overjoyed, especially since I had almost given up," An shared.

An is a former physics student from Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School in Nghe An. After winning first place in the national physics competition in 2020, he received a full scholarship to study electrical engineering at VinUni University. In his third year, An applied for the university's joint program with UIUC and secured a master's scholarship.

Phan Huy An in the US. Photo courtesy of the subject.

Phan Huy An in the US. Photo courtesy of the subject.

He explained that his undergraduate and graduate studies shared several similarities, particularly in fundamental subjects like microprocessors, computer architecture, embedded programming, digital signals, and embedded systems. However, he faced challenges with advanced programming and operating systems courses.

Thanks to his background in electrical engineering, An possessed a deeper understanding of hardware and the low-level operational principles of systems. Throughout his first year, he sought out resources and studied new concepts to improve his grasp of these subjects.

The Nghe An native shared that he was determined to work in the US. After arriving, he began planning and contacted Vietnamese international students for information and guidance. An recognized that to secure a job, he needed an internship at an American company during his first summer. This would provide him with experience and programming skills, enable him to practice tests at tech companies, and prepare a strong application.

During his first semester, An sent his resume (CV) to hundreds of companies, but without success. Reviewing job descriptions, he realized his CV was flawed, listing too many projects. He then tailored the details to each position, experimenting with various CV formats and condensing the content onto a single page.

A month later, An received interview invitations from three tech companies, including Qualcomm and Marvell. He ultimately secured a computer engineering internship at Marvell from May to August 2024.

Juggling studies and his internship, An still dedicated an hour daily to self-study, practicing test questions and interview prompts found online.

"I would work through the problems, answer them aloud, record myself, and then listen back to make adjustments. I've maintained this routine for the past two years," An recalled. This practice gradually enhanced his communication skills and overall presentation.

Last October, An began submitting job applications, totaling around 300-400. In addition to his master's degree, his CV showcased his undergraduate research experience and numerous computer software projects from his graduate studies, such as designing a RISC-V microprocessor and building a Linux operating system similar to Windows.

Despite waiting for 5-6 months, An received no responses. "I felt discouraged and had decided to return home to seek employment," he said. However, he continued practicing his skills through recruitment tests, believing they would be beneficial even if he didn't secure a US job.

In March of this year, An received interview invitations from four companies: Google, Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia.

According to An, becoming a full-time Google employee requires three rounds of interviews. In the first round, he completed an online programming test. After passing, he moved on to a live coding round, monitored by three judges who also posed questions. The final round focused on behavioral questions, with a fourth judge inquiring about past situations to assess his problem-solving approach.

An believes his daily practice familiarized him with the question formats, enabling him to approach the challenges calmly and successfully. About a week later, he received an offer, but had to undergo three more interviews to find a team. He was finally placed in a group working on the operating system for smartwatches.

"I was overjoyed, especially since I had almost given up," An shared. Besides Google, he also received a job offer from Amazon.

Nguyen Van Dinh, Deputy Director of the Electrical and Computer Engineering program at the Institute of Engineering and Computer Science, VinUni University, taught An two courses and supervised his graduation project on "Serverless Edge Computing." Dinh noted that An's project received high praise from the evaluation committee for its innovative approach.

According to Dinh, An is quiet and not overly boisterous in class, but always provides thoughtful and insightful answers when questioned. He was impressed by An's perseverance, remarkable self-learning ability, and consistent dedication throughout his research.

Reflecting on his experience, An believes the key is continuous skill development and maintaining a state of readiness to seize opportunities.

"Don't be afraid to apply to your dream companies because you have to try to know where you need to improve," An advised. He will begin working at Google in July.

Binh Minh