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Dark_Lotus · May 2, 2007, 07:04 PM

I think it would be awesome to work for apple as a software developer. I'm attending Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville next fall, majoring in Computer Science. They have a great Comptuer Science program there and I really think it will help me get my dream job at Apple. Does any one here work for Apple? Or has any one worked for Apple at one time? What is it like? Where were you located? I am guessing that you would either have to move to one of the Apple headquarters either in Califournia or Texas (Any other locations?)? What are my chances of working at Apple? Would I have to start out working at a retail store? Just looking for some input and information on working for them.

mduell · May 2, 2007, 08:10 PM

Why would Apple waste the skills of a CS college grad working at a retail store?

It may not be a bad idea to work at the Apple Store during college to get your foot in the door and see the internal-only job postings (most companies have them), but you wouldn't work there after you graduated.

Dark_Lotus · May 2, 2007, 08:53 PM

Thanks. Where are all the jobs at Apple located? I'm guessing just in Califournia and Texas?

Dork. · May 2, 2007, 08:58 PM

If working at Apple is your "dream job", then study hard and put in some extra effort during your school time. Big, growing companies hire many people right out of college, and your job over the next four years is to make yourself such a compelling candidate that you'll get the job over all the other schlubs who apply. (In fact, Apple has a page here for new grads interested in working there.)

Start studying right away. Your GPA is the average of all your classes, so first-year classes count just as much as later classes. I'm not saying that you need to ace all your classes or you have no shot at all. But I knew kids in college who had a lot of problems in their first year, but were too proud to get help. They figured out things eventually, but in the meantime they average from their first few semesters dragged down their GPA. They had to explain to the college recruiters why their GPA wasn't an indication of the type of work they would do, which is always bad.

Internships and Co-Ops are also good. It gives you an opportunity to gain some experience working in a corporate environment while you're still in school. And employers like to hire people who have that experience. Apple has a few listed on that page, but there are many other companies that offer them, too. You'll be doing the crap work in an internship that the full-time employees don't want to do, but you'll also be learning, too.

Dork. · May 2, 2007, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Dark_Lotus

Thanks. Where are all the jobs at Apple located? I'm guessing just in Califournia and Texas?

Apparently.

Chuckit · May 2, 2007, 09:14 PM

If you want to be a programmer for Apple, you will live in Cupertino.

Dork. · May 3, 2007, 07:18 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

If you want to be a programmer for Apple, you will live in Cupertino.

Every programmer I know gets all uppity when you call them a "programmer", and not a "software engineer"....

hemant · 09:18 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

Every programmer I know gets all uppity when you call them a "programmer", and not a "software engineer"....

Yeah, because they are 2 different professions. Its similar to the difference between a mechanic and a mechanical engineer.

goMac · May 3, 2007, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Dark_Lotus

What are my chances of working at Apple?

Try to get an internship in the summer. They hire a bunch of students every summer to work in Cupertino, and you can usually find these jobs on their web site. I think they even have an entire web site just for internships.

Anyway, interns are usually hired after graduation to work full time.

goMac · May 3, 2007, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by Dork.

Start studying right away. Your GPA is the average of all your classes, so first-year classes count just as much as later classes. I'm not saying that you need to ace all your classes or you have no shot at all. But I knew kids in college who had a lot of problems in their first year, but were too proud to get help. They figured out things eventually, but in the meantime they average from their first few semesters dragged down their GPA. They had to explain to the college recruiters why their GPA wasn't an indication of the type of work they would do, which is always bad.

Apple seems to care more about experience than academics, although a CS/CE/EE degree is definitely a must have. But don't worry as much about your academics as much as your experience with the Macintosh platform. An internship again would help with this, as you'd work on Macintosh programming during the summers and get experience that way.

GPA gets important if you are going for a competitive position, but honestly, I don't see that being a problem at Apple. They've been hiring like crazy, and they're building that new building to house more employees.

Chuckit · May 3, 2007, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by Dork.

Every programmer I know gets all uppity when you call them a "programmer", and not a "software engineer"....

Allow me to rephrase: If you want to work for Apple in a field other than sales, accounting or tech support, you will have to live in Cupertino. That's where the software and hardware are made, and they'll only allow telecommuting in very special circumstances by all accounts I've heard.

Dork. · May 3, 2007, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by hemant

Yeah, because they are 2 different professions. Its similar to the difference between a mechanic and a mechanical engineer.

I know, but for some reason programmers tend to call themselves "software engineers" even if their experience, training, and job description doesn't warrant it, because it sounds better. At least, in my experience.

ChrisF · May 3, 2007, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

...they'll only allow telecommuting in very special circumstances by all accounts I've heard.

An Apple engineer friend of mine does exactly that... from the east coast.

TheoCryst · May 5, 2007, 02:59 PM

You'll probably notice that your CS classes don't touch Cocoa with a 20-foot pole. When Apple interviewed me for a summer internship, one of their first questions was regarding my Cocoa experience. Once you have a semester or two of programming done, buy Aaron Hillegass's book on Cocoa (Amazon usually has it cheap, in the $20-30 range) and just dive in. But don't get too ahead of yourself: Cocoa requires some background in C, which you won't have until after your first semester (or later).

For now, make sure you attend all your classes, pay attention to your professors, go to office hours, form study groups, and don't get wasted the night before a test. Experience may be more important than grades, but grades are still crucial to getting a good job after college.