This Indian-origin engineer in the US landed at Walmart after Big Tech rejections: Here’s what he advises job seekers

In a technology job market where Big Tech brands often dominate aspiration, the career path of this Indian-origin engineer in the United States offers a straight counterpoint.Kanish Shah, a 26-year-old software engineer at Walmart, moved from India to the US in August 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Southern California. Like many international students, he began his job search with a narrow focus. “I was excited about the idea of working at a Big Tech company like Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, or Netflix,” Shah told Business Insider.That strategy did not work out as planned. Shah applied to hundreds of internships and received fewer than 15 callbacks. All of the major Big Tech firms he targeted rejected him. One of the few opportunities that progressed was an internship at Walmart, a company he had applied to early on without a referral.A recruiter contacted him around October 2021 for an online assessment followed by two technical interviews. He received an offer soon after and began the internship in May. What followed, Shah said, reshaped how he thought about careers in technology.“I treated the internship like an extended interview,” he told Business Insider. He asked for weekly feedback, stayed engaged during meetings, and sought out a mentor. That approach helped him convert the internship into a full-time software engineering role, which he started in June 2023.When Shah joined Walmart full time, the company was undergoing a broader shift. “The company was evolving from a traditional retail giant into a tech-driven, AI-powered organization,” he said. That transition, he added, made the role feel like an opportunity to work on systems with real scale while continuing to learn.Shah now works out of Walmart’s Sunnyvale office and lives in Milpitas, California. He typically works from 9 am to 6 pm and goes into the office two days a week, though expectations vary by team. “I’ve found that the work culture and work-life balance at Walmart are really great,” he said, according to Business Insider. He added that having time for family and friends on weekends mattered to him.There are differences between Walmart and traditional Big Tech firms, Shah acknowledged. Large technology companies often offer early exposure to global-scale systems, internal tooling, and established engineering playbooks. Brand recognition can also ease future job mobility.Still, he said those differences have not felt limiting. “I haven’t felt that I’m missing out on meaningful learning or career development where I am,” Shah told Business Insider. For him, ownership of work, mentorship, and scope mattered more than the company name.His advice to young tech job seekers reflects that shift in thinking. Aiming for Big Tech, he said, is valid. Failing to land such roles, however, should not be treated as a verdict on one’s career. “High-impact work can be found in many environments,” he said, including startups, midsize firms, and large companies outside the traditional tech hierarchy.Shah also pushed back against the idea that compensation or security is exclusive to Big Tech. He said his own pay is in the six figures and noted that layoffs over the past few years have affected companies of all sizes. Job security, in his view, is not tied to any single employer.“What gives me confidence is focusing on the factors I can control,” Shah said. That includes building relevant skills, staying adaptable, and trying to make a meaningful impact in his role.It is important to understand that the tech industry offers more than just one viable path. Fixating on a narrow set of companies can obscure opportunities that sit elsewhere, often in plain sight.