You know that friend. The one who slides into your DMs with a desperate question: “How do I get into tech? I want a FAANG job.” They have zero experience. They dropped out of college a decade ago. They’ve never written a line of code. And they expect you to hand them a roadmap.
Here’s the truth that nobody wants to say: Wanting the destination without the journey isn’t ambition—it’s envy.
On Hacker News, a user asked the same thing: “How to get a non-technical friend into tech?” The comments didn’t sugarcoat it. One person wrote: “If your friend can’t figure this out by themselves, it’s going to be challenging.” Another cut deeper: “Sounds like they want the perks of working at FAANG, not that they want the job.”
And that’s the real problem. Your friend hasn’t Googled a single thing. They haven’t tried a tutorial. They haven’t even asked themselves if they like solving problems with code. They saw the salary, the free lunch, the prestige. And they thought, “I want that.”
But FAANG jobs aren’t rewards for wanting them. They’re outcomes of years of obsessive, self-directed learning.
This is the emotional hook most career advice misses: the fear of being left behind, mixed with the shame of not measuring up. Your friend isn’t failing because they can’t learn Python. They’re failing because they haven’t done the hard work of asking why they want this.
Let me be blunt: If your friend can’t even start a Google search, no Python book in the world is going to save them. The first step isn’t a tutorial. The first step is a brutal self-assessment. Do they actually enjoy debugging? Do they get a thrill from making a computer do something it couldn’t before? Or do they just want the validation of a job title?
Here’s the twist most people miss: The barrier to entry isn’t technical. It’s psychological. You can teach someone to code in a few months. But you can’t teach urgency, curiosity, or resilience. Those come from within.
So what do you tell your friend? Don’t hand them a book. Hand them a mirror. Ask them: “What have you done so far, on your own, to learn this?” If the answer is nothing, then they’re not ready. And that’s okay—but it’s better to know now than after six months of wasted effort.
The real question isn’t “How do I get into tech?” It’s “Do I actually want to build things with code?” Everything else is just noise.
FAQ
Q: Isn't it possible that the friend just needs a good roadmap to get started?
A: A roadmap only helps if someone is willing to walk it. The friend in question hadn't even Googled 'how to start coding.' That's not a lack of resources—it's a lack of initiative. No book can substitute for that first step of curiosity.
Q: So what should I actually tell my friend who wants to break into tech?
A: Don't give them a tutorial. Give them a challenge. Say: 'Build a simple website in one week using free resources online. If you can't figure out where to start, this isn't for you.' The ones who succeed will find a way. The rest will self-select out.
Q: Aren't there people who got into FAANG without any prior passion for coding?
A: Rarely. Most FAANG engineers have a deep intrinsic interest in software—they code for fun, they build side projects, they read about tech in their free time. If your friend only wants the paycheck, they'll burn out long before the interview. Passion isn't optional; it's the engine.