Two former Carleton students who currently work for Google stopped by Carleton’s Kailash Mital Theatre March 24.
Dan Calvert, a senior software engineer, and Maryam Tohidi, a user experience researcher, offered students a glimpse of what working at Google is like. The two graduated from Carleton’s computer science program in 2003.
They spoke about their transitions from attending Carleton to getting jobs at Google, explaining the importance of co-op education and working in small startup software companies.
For Calvert the seminar was an opportunity “to share with students the kinds of things Google does, get them excited about high-tech career opportunities, and try to demonstrate that there are a lot of possible paths to success and happiness in a career.”
With 70 offices in 40 different countries, including an office here in Ottawa, working at Google can be intimidating but has its perks, Calvert said.
“The products we work on are used by millions of people around the world everyday. It can be a bit daunting, but we think what we do has an impact,” Calvert said.
Regardless of Google’s large size and worldwide impact, both speakers stressed that Google still has the atmosphere of a small startup company, similar to the companies they both experienced before coming to Google.
“The fact that the culture is still the same is great. It feels like a very big startup,” Tohidi said. “Each employee still has voice.”
“I wanted to feel like I had an impact,” Calvert said. “That’s why I always liked startup companies.”
Now, he said he continues to have that feeling with the work he does at Google.
At the end of the day, Calvert said the seminar was a success.
“I was honoured that there was such a big student turnout to hear what we had to say,” he said.
“I would strongly encourage people to pursue their passions—whether their goals involve Google or not,” he said. “There are plenty of opportunities out there to do really cool things and to make a difference.”
