• Tricia Goh is a final year computer science student at the National University of Singapore.
• Unlike most of her peers, Goh says she is not gunning for a job at a FAANG company.
• Goh received a job offer after competing a six-month internship at a Norwegian software company.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tricia Goh, 22, a senior at the National University of Singapore studying computer science. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her education and employment history.

Landing a job in the tech industry isn’t as easy as it once was. It’s scary to read news stories about how tough the job market is for computer science graduates these days.

Computer science has also become more popular and competitive as a major. There are nearly a thousand students in my batch. This means that each of us could end up fighting with hundreds of people for the same number of roles.

Interestingly, studying computer science wasn’t always on the cards for me. Like most Singaporean youths, I had no idea what I wanted to study at university when I graduated from junior college.

To get a better sense of what I wanted to do, I spent the nine months I had before college doing internships. I ended up doing two internships — at a primary school where I taught English and mathematics and at a local IT company that focuses on enterprise software.

Working at that IT company was a transformative experience.

I had the benefit of getting one-to-one guidance from the company’s founder, and got to learn more about the tech industry and ecosystem.

The internship ended up sparking my interest in computer science.

In fact, even when school started, I still found myself heading back to the company to help out and brush up on my understanding of areas like cybersecurity and software engineering.

Interning my way to a full-time job

It wasn’t easy adapting to university life during my first few semesters.

The curriculum was challenging, and I thought my grades didn’t accurately reflect what I could contribute to a company if hired as a full-time employee. That drove me to do more internships to accrue hands-on experience.

This year, I did a six-month internship at a Norwegian software company. The company recently set up its headquarters in Singapore, and I participated in its efforts to break into the Asian market.

At the end of this internship, I was offered a full-time job.

Rejecting the FAANG rat race to walk my own path

Many of my peers are gunning for top high-paying jobs at FAANG companies like Facebook and Google.

People like me who don’t aim for those positions often get asked questions like, “Why aren’t you going for the best jobs out there? Why aren’t you trying to get a job at Google?”

However, I have no regrets about prioritizing my own growth by working at a smaller company.

Working at a FAANG company may be something that many computer science students see themselves doing, but such a goal isn’t in line with what I want out of my career.

My long-term goal is to become an entrepreneur and start my own company. I know that I won’t be happy earning lots of money if it means working long hours.

I would rather do something more fulfilling that still allows me to support my family and live well. I don’t mind opting out of the hustle of chasing big-name companies for smaller learning experiences instead.

Do you have a story to tell about your tech or finance career? Reach out to this reporter at ktan@businessinsider.com.