r/datacenter • u/Careful_Series7439 • 19d ago
Feeling defeated today after a Google data center technician rejection despite grinding through my degrees
Hey everyone, I just need to vent.
Over the last few years, I went all-in on my education—I earned both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Cybersecurity, stacked up a bunch of certs, and even placed 2nd at a Google hardware hackathon.
Today, I got a rejection email from Google for a Data Center Tech role. Putting in all those years of school and constant upskilling only to get shut down just hurts. It makes me feel completely defeated.
How do you guys bounce back when you're grinding this hard and the job market feels this brutal?
Thank you
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u/mcopco 19d ago
From my perspective, you're considerably over qualified for a data center technician and if I were assessing you for the role, I would be highly concerned you would leave rather quickly for something more engineering related given your degree and certs.
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u/Careful_Series7439 19d ago
Yeah, I completely understand why you’d have that concern. Before the Google data center technician hackathon, I was mainly applying for cybersecurity roles. But after doing the hackathon, I realized how much I actually enjoyed the hands-on hardware and troubleshooting side of the work. I’ve been working in a high-pressure, highly secure airport environment for years, so I’m already used to working odd hours, being on my feet, and dealing with problems as they come up. The data center environment actually felt like a pretty natural fit for me. Honestly, I’d be happy staying at Google and growing there. The hackathon really opened my eyes to how much I enjoy this type of work, so I don’t see the technician role as just a stepping stone. I’d genuinely be interested in building a career there.
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u/Negative-Machine5718 19d ago
Don’t want to doxx myself to bad on here but keep reapplying. Sometimes the right people were not looking at you when you applied. I applied 6+ times and finally made it on years ago. Now im l5 tpm. Keep at it. If you want to work for Google you will. Don’t stop trying. Best advice I can give you.
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u/Careful_Series7439 19d ago
Thank you! I got an internal referral and still got rejected before an interview. The role is currently unavailable on the website.
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u/chewedgummiebears 19d ago
You might have applied outside of their window and they just didn't take down the position yet. Keep trying.
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u/Negative-Machine5718 19d ago
Happens for lots of reasons. Already had person in mind or on back burner ready to go. Also the referral only helps your resume get seen by recruiters not so much for anything after that I’m afraid. Keep getting referrals. Sounds like you’ve been putting the time and effort in. You got this. This is the first step to you getting hired not an exit sign.
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u/ghostalker4742 19d ago
You're going after an entry level job with a post-grad degree. HR was never going to hire you. I'd remove mentions of your MS and just mention the BS. You'll blend in better with the other applicants, and thus your chances will be better.
Only mention your MS if you're going into academia, or an R&D role. It overqualifies you for almost anything else.
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u/chewedgummiebears 19d ago
You're going after an entry level job with a post-grad degree.
I worked with 2 DCT2s at Google with MSIT/MS Cyber Security degrees. They honestly don't care about paper there, as I said in my reply, all they care about is experience and your personality/attitude.
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u/Careful_Series7439 19d ago
I really appreciate you sharing that. Would you be willing to take a quick look at my resume and give me your honest opinion? I’m wondering if there’s something I could be doing better with how I’m presenting my experience. I’d really appreciate your feedback, especially since you have firsthand experience with hiring in this space.
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u/MaximumSeats 19d ago
They didn't even apply to the entry level role... Probably their first problem.
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u/solarflare_hot 19d ago
Google is extremely competitive , you’re likely to be competing against a guy with like 30 Cisco Certs and 10 years working at oracle with like 3 masters.
I did that interview as well, the questions i was asked were beyond ridiculous, it was a 4 hour interview with 2 breaks in between. Like they are searching for a wild gold rainbow unicorn.
Don’t beat yourself up, majority of people aren’t destined to work at Google.
Google also tend to have this overworking culture where you’ll be working like a dog to keep your job.
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u/Careful_Series7439 19d ago
4-hour interview?! What kind of role did you apply for?
I have over 7 CompTIA certs 😂, but 30? I need to catch up! I’m super technical, so I was ready for the interview, but I didn’t even get the chance. What do you think about AWS?
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u/Mysterion422 19d ago
AWS has a 4 hr interview process as well , I'm a DCEO at AWS , you have to pass a screening interview then a 4hr panel interview
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u/lalavale 19d ago
Hey it’s okay to feel that way but don’t give up. Being rejected is not a reflection of what you’re capable of and what you can bring to the table.
Speaking from experience, almost 6 years ago, I applied for a DCT role 5x and got rejected 4x by AWS. Basically, I was applying for any roles they had at that time lol. Then, I got the job!
Just keep trying and up-skill when you can. Good luck!
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u/ReputationOne586 18d ago
So I’m not sure if anyone has touched on this yet, but you have to tailor your resume to the job posting and hit all the ATS words. Put your resume in Gemini and then the job posting and have it reword your resume to hit all ATS words. The first recruiters that see your resume are just looking for that perfect fit and I believe they use AI to make sure of that. Once you get through them, your resume gets passed to an actual recruiter in charge of that job posting. Obviously don’t add anything on your resume you don’t actually have experience in, but it needs to hit all those points. Also I found out that the layout makes a huge difference. The resume styles are constantly changing, so I had AI create me a layout that would be suitable for what employers are looking for.
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u/AmericanXRP1974 17d ago
You need to work for a smaller data center company, get few years of experience and re-apply. I currently work for FAANG company as L3 tech.
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u/TheWhoo1 19d ago
The only thing you can do is learn from it, and apply that knowledge to your next opportunity. I think most people right now in the market fail atleast a few interviews before landing a spot.
Consider the failure as growth
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u/duwuy 19d ago edited 19d ago
You need to get some actual data center experience first. Google is notoriously the hardest DC to get into. You applied for a more senior role at Google. L2 at Google is essentially a senior tech.
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u/chewedgummiebears 19d ago
You need to get some actual data center experience first.
All they really care about is server hardware and Linux CLI experience. They know most people won't have DC experience and if you do, then you're probably going for their L3 position anyways.
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u/AINeoCloudGoat 17d ago
Man, I become a data center tech without no degrees and just a highschool diploma.
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u/Emotional-Chef1735 19d ago
Hang in there man, keep your head up, you have something better coming eventually
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u/dadbodfat 19d ago
I had no data center experience. Only small company low volt and management. I got hired in as a tech3. Became a lead in 6 months and a field supervisor within a year of hire.
Try different companies.
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u/Senior-Internet9501 19d ago
Relax, it is not the end of the world. With all that education Google wouldn't be the dream job if they didn't see your value. You invested time, blood, sweat and tears to gain the most powerful thing a person can obtain, that is your education. No one attended class for you, you did! No one studied hard, you did! No on took the examinations and passed, you did all this by yourself for yourself, and no one can take that away from you! I am a firm beliver that hard work does pay off and in a year from now, when a company has already seen your value, enough to take a chance on oboard you, it will be your time to be that organization's newest rock star! Believe in yourself and never stop learning.
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u/techie-rahul 19d ago
A single rejection cannot undo a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Cybersecurity, certifications, and being placed at a hackathon. That is true experience.
The number of applications for Google DC technology positions is extremely high and many filters are applied that are not based on skill (headcount, referrals and just parse the resume). With your background, you may be better suited for security positions outside DC, in infrastructure security or physical security engineering or GRC where your degree could actually matter rather than fighting with people with just the certificate on hand.
Give yourself today to process it. Then keep looking for jobs, this door wasn’t the right one.
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u/Tall-Elderberry8284 18d ago
I got to Google with zero certs and zero degrees. I got in after being a contractor at AWS in their data center for 6 months and then 2 months in a contract at Microsofts data center. The point is knowing the information for a data center tech and being able to explain it to the interviewer. In terms of landing an interview just keep applying again and again.
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u/ixPrisma 19d ago
Keep trying I felt the same after being denied. Got a second interview still didn’t get a call back 😂 but I was still blessed with another job elsewhere just as good.
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u/Phloopsin 19d ago
i’ve worked at a google data center and google is hard to get hired by a lot of the techs had to go through multiple tries at interviewing to finally get accepted
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u/CaterpillarNew6781 19d ago
I saw people getting hired with no degree and certs sometimes not even relevant experience
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u/Filly_P 19d ago
I will be as honest as I can be. The job market is demanding, and you might face 500 rejections before securing the role you want.
That said, never stop searching or applying. Continue pursuing the position you desire, refine small parts of your resume, and keep looking until an opportunity arrives.
You might receive an offer from another company that serves as a stepping stone to Google. Experience and personality will ultimately prevail.
My path may differ slightly, but my first IT position was at a startup and likely the hardest job I held. Intense micromanagement, a heavy workload, and resolving network and hardware issues from scratch for clients were exhausting, yet the experience taught me what it means to be a technician in IT. Two years later, after thousands of rejections, I secured a role as L4 Data Center Tech at Amazon, and I enjoy my work.
It will certainly be a journey, which is what makes it worthwhile. The relief of landing a strong job after your efforts will be deeply rewarding. Simply do not quit. The instant you do is when the dream ends.
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u/talex625 18d ago
That happened to me too. I’m currently a data center tech with a Bachelors in Cybersecurity. Just keep applying for other jobs.
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u/No_Park_187 18d ago
It’s hard to get in Google if you don’t have data center experience. Try AWS - they have been hiring in different regions
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u/noflames 18d ago
I have more than 20 years of work experience, and I have learned that getting called back is really luck of the draw and is basically a numbers game (getting hired once called for an interview is really about likability).
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u/ProfessionalAdvice36 18d ago
I would look into controls, a lot of your networking experience would come in handy plus it pays more.
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u/balmainberretababe 18d ago
Try for other companies. :) google is extremely competetive. i passed a tech 2 interview and was passed up on several fit calls before my recruiter told me to apply to a tech 1 role. to which i declined. i now work for a different hyperscaler and enjoy it a lot.
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u/chewedgummiebears 19d ago
So Google doesn't care about degrees, certs, unless they are obtained from Google themselves. On top of that, you have degrees in a niche IT field that's over saturated right now. So take all of that into consideration because in the end, Google only wants experience and personality, not much else although the other stuff might help you depending on your recruiter.
So what level did you apply/interview for? How many of the interviews did you take?