I had been preparing from a long time and had solved over 600 questions(Lovebabbar DSA sheet and Striver sheet) but could not get even an internship offer.
I had interviewed for Zeta and Browserstack but got rejected in the last round and first round respectively. I kept on practicing and finally got a referral to apply for ION Trading. The interviewers were very nice and the interviews were based on DSA, OOPS and practical implementations of DSA. Cleared all the 4 rounds :)
To all those Tier 3 folks preparing, I have a message for you. Please don't lose motivation by looking at the number of chances the Tier 1 people get. Keep working hard, you never know when you'll be contacted by a recruiter(happened with Zeta & Browserstack), I was not at my best when interviewed for them in October-November. But, this time I knew that I can get a chance anytime. That is why I was able to get the offer.
ION is hiring me as a full time SDE from this month and it's a dream come true as I was applying for interships with 10k stipend as well, I guess god had a plan for me :)
This compensation might not be a lot for many people but, I come from a lower middle class background where even 30k per month job is considered very good. So, this is something big for me and my family as I can help my parents and younger siblings in their education now :))
All the best everyone, post your doubts in comments, I'll try to answer everyone to the best of my knowledge.
Education: Tier 3(Pvt college from MP)
Years of Experience: 0 Years
Prior Experience: 1 Teaching assistant internship
Date of the Offer: February 2022
Company: ION Trading
Title/Level: Software Development Engineer
Location: Noida
Salary: 12 lakhs base + gratuity
Yearly Bonus: 1.2 lakhs
Relocation: 50k
Total comp (Salary + Bonus + Stock): approx 14 lakhs (for First Year)
Benefits: Meal coupons, Phone reimbursement etc