The path to Big Tech is famously competitive, a goal many work towards for years. Dhruvi Shah has already done it twice, securing spots at Amazon and now Google before even finishing her degree.
This isn’t a story about luck. It’s a look into the modern playbook for high achievers. A playbook that includes shipping code on projects valued over $120,000 and building a top tier competitive programming record.
In this edition of Young and Ambitious I sat down with Dhruvi to understand the thinking, the sheer force of will that gets a person to the top of the tech world so fast, and what she plans to conquer next.
1. Landing internships at Amazon and now Google is incredibly impressive. What’s some crucial strategies or mindsets that helped you secure these top-tier opportunities while still in college?
One of the biggest strategies for me was consistency with the right resources. I religiously followed Striver’s DSA Sheet, completed 650+ LeetCode questions, and solved 400+ problems on GeeksforGeeks—but more than just solving, I focused on understanding patterns deeply. I also went beyond DSA to really strengthen my core CS fundamentals—OS, DBMS, CN, and OOPs—often revising them through structured notes and mock tests.
Another mindset that helped was not chasing shortcuts. I didn’t just prepare to crack interviews; I prepared to think like an engineer. That helped during Amazon and Google interviews, and more importantly, during the actual internships. And yes, I treated failures as redirections—every rejection was a data point to improve on. That reflective learning really paid off.
2. With strong LeetCode/CodeChef ranks, how has competitive programming shaped your problem-solving skills for real-world challenges, like those at Amazon or for your Google prep? Do you feel that it prepared you for the challenges you face in big tech?
Honestly, LeetCode has been the foundation of my entire interview prep journey. I’ve participated in 30+ contests, reached a peak rating of 1700+, and solved over 650+ problems across all tags and difficulty levels. I made a conscious decision to focus on one platform consistently and build a strong, credible profile that recruiters could trust—especially since companies like Amazon and Google looked closely at LeetCode profiles during screening.
LeetCode contests in particular trained me to think under pressure, manage edge cases smartly, and optimize not just for correctness but for time and space—skills that directly translated to solving real-world problems during my internship at Amazon, where I worked on performance-heavy EMR jobs and pipeline-level debugging.
While I’ve dabbled in CodeChef (2-star rated), my deeper focus has always been quality over quantity—and LeetCode helped me build both depth in problem-solving and credibility in consistency, which stood out during recruiter conversations and interview rounds.
3. You’re juggling studies, high-profile internships, competitive coding, and even a YouTube channel! What drives this ambition, and how do you prioritize to make impactful progress across so many areas?
At the core, I’ve always been someone who’s curious and deeply driven to grow—not just academically or professionally, but as a person. I genuinely enjoy learning, interacting with people, and sharing back whatever I learn. That’s why I started my YouTube channel—not just for tech content, but as a passion project. I see it as a space where I can express myself, capture moments of my journey, and connect with others who are walking a similar path.
I’ve always felt that if you’re blessed with clarity or a breakthrough, it’s powerful to pass that on. Whether it’s breaking down DSA prep, Amazon/Google interview tips, or just vlogging my day, I want to make others feel seen and understood. It’s not just about content—it’s about community. That also reflects in my 30K+ LinkedIn family, where I actively engage, share learnings, and try to keep things real and relatable.
In terms of balance—I’m intentional about focus. I plan in blocks: LeetCode during prep seasons (over 30 contests, 650+ questions), full attention to projects during internships, and content/vlogging when I have breathing space. I don’t try to “do it all”—I try to do what matters most in that moment, and that’s what keeps it all sustainable and exciting.
4. You’ve mentioned an interest in decentralized applications. Looking forward, what particularly excites you about this field, and what kind of impact do you hope to make there, or in tech generally, post-Google?
I’m excited about decentralized applications because they enable secure, transparent, and user-empowered systems—qualities that are vital as we move toward more trustworthy digital platforms. In my internships at Amazon, I gained hands-on experience building large-scale, region-agnostic data pipelines (like the CognitumMWAADefinitions DAGs) and microservices architectures, which gave me a strong foundation in scalable distributed systems that are essential to decentralized apps.
At the same time, through projects like Consumer Connect—a microservice-based platform integrating ML pipelines for complaint authenticity and defect detection—and AutoTestX, an AI-driven automated testing agent powered by Langchain and NLP, I developed a passion for applying ML and deep learning to build intelligent, adaptive systems.
Post Google, I want to use what I’ve learned to focus more on machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI. I plan to build smarter decentralized apps that can work better and be more trustworthy. For example, using AI together with decentralized technology to make better solutions in areas like finance, data privacy, and supply chain. I believe combining these two will help me create useful technology that really helps people and brings new ideas to life.
What an awesome and inspiring conversation! What I find most interesting about Dhruvi Shah’s journey is how it shows what happens when relentless work meets genuine passion.
She has figured out the path to Big Tech. Not with shortcuts, but with deep, consistent effort and a real drive to build things that matter. Her vision for combining AI with decentralized systems shows that her time at Amazon and Google was not the final goal. It was a training ground.
For anyone inspired to build their own journey or learn from hers, you can follow Dhruvi directly.
👉 Connect with her on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dhruvi-shah-118a96282/
👉 Read her articles and insights on Medium: medium.com/@dhruvishah116122
If you found this conversation insightful feel free to read more interesting conversations here: Young and Ambitious
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