Day in the Life of a Software Engineer at TikTok (New York City)

A Day in the Life of a Software Engineer at TikTok in New York City.
disclaimer: this is not an official video of the employer, all experiences, thoughts, and views/opinions are of the subject and not of the employer.
0:00 wake up
0:12 morning routine
0:30 leave to office
0:41 arrive at office :)
1:20 check into desk
1:42 coding block #1
2:22 lunch time :)
3:00 oncall meeting
3:13 coding block #2
3:26 pair coding session
3:36 stand-up meeting
3:59 rooftop break
4:17 debugging call
4:30 leave office
4:43 subway ride
4:52 dinner time :)
4:59 sunset
✈️ day in the life series:
seattle • Day in the Life of a S...
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new york city • Day in the Life of a S...
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new york city • Day in the Life of a S...
♫ music ♫
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[@MountRainier222]

i can tell you put so much effort into these videos and your editing is next level! thanks for all the awesome content :) also i loved the shots of you going around nyc at the end!

[@armankhondker]

thank you so much ♥

[@emmanuelonwoh4696]

Spoiler alert

[@Michealtravel]

@@armankhondkerhi can I be your student?

[@diyaghosh5104]

Appreciating the efforts that goes behind to these each shots and editing off course.

[@armankhondker]

thank you, definitely all worth it :)

[@ede.5487]

This is one of the best Day in the Life’s that’s I’ve seen. Great job !

[@armankhondker]

appreciate the kind words, wishing you the best :)

[@ashp9240]

Your videos are very cool and inspirational for me! Thanks for uploading

[@armankhondker]

keep working hard man, appreciate you ♥️

[@chrismin9680]

Great video Arman! Was a super insightful video! I'm currently an undergrad going into junior year soon and this video was a very well-needed motivator haha!

[@armankhondker]

best of luck man, reach out on LinkedIn if you need a referral, thank you ♥️

[@user-qw5jn3wd4m]

As always great content and amazing clip cut 👍😎 your office is so big, you changed so many spot to work, I like it.

[@armankhondker]

yea I try to change up my work place every hour, appreciate you :)

[@chuongtran6224]

Always wait for your new content. Nice video quality and make me chill after coding time.

[@armankhondker]

I have more coming very soon, appreciate you :)

[@mustafarehman13]

Ah nice to see another one of these. Keep em coming :)

[@armankhondker]

will do, thank you man ♥

[@Patrick_Karlsen]

Awesome video! You are truly living the dream Recently decided to switch my career focus to software engineering and hope to land a job like yours someday. Keep up the good work man

[@armankhondker]

you switched into the right field :), ty man ♥

[@alimuhammadnathani7859]

Love your day at work vids!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate it man ♥️

[@passwordprotectedd]

great video as always. really inspiring!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate the words, wishing you the best :)

[@uma03031982]

My favorite yt king, as your content is awesome, the nicest day in the life series i have ever watched, hope your channel grow as fast as you.... 😊😊😊

[@armankhondker]

thank you so man :), appreciate the love

[@def__init]

The quality of this content is incredible!!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate you ♥️

[@hasanikhtiarta661]

good video man, nice editing and the view also! i also write unit tests in golang and get a little bored sometimes writing lots of use cases for one function lol.

[@armankhondker]

haha at least I know you’re a good developer with all of your tests, thank you ♥️

[@_andrewahn]

Thanks for uploading! Really inspired!

[@armankhondker]

happy you got something out of it, best of luck :)

[@Bluespoose]

the editing on this video is so nice!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate it ♥️

[@udyanishere]

Your vids like reset for brain! Cool and calming

[@armankhondker]

glad you get that feeling :), I need that rn

[@Drusher10]

awesome video, here before goes viral :) After the thousands of layoff from big tech companies, feel rejuvenated to seeing these series on big tech again.

[@armankhondker]

yea I just want to provide some positive outlooks on the field right now given the current conditions, ty man :)

[@shaikhmubin02]

Great content as always🔥🔥

[@armankhondker]

appreciate you man ♥️

[@romanjolopov655]

Wow another extraordinary video of "day in life software engineer" such entertaining content, never seen such before. Wooooow insane!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate the feedback, thank you so much ♥️

[@FlywithMikey96]

😂😂

[@ian_kelsey]

Great Vid :) I'll make sure to apply for Tiktok 2024 intern when it opens up, Love the content!

[@armankhondker]

make sure to reach out for a referral, best of luck man, thank you :)

[@samirudin1890]

I just started learning golang, and it's pretty overwhelming to me. But your video gave me a huge mood booster to not give up. Thanks 👍

[@armankhondker]

golang is my favorite language by far, it's so easy to work with, keep pushing through man wishing you the best :)

[@andrewdddo]

dude such an awesome day in the life!

[@armankhondker]

appreciate you ♥

[@gangsterkhowai2811]

Really really love your work

[@armankhondker]

haha yea it can be fun at times, definitely hard work though

[@gangsterkhowai2811]

@@armankhondker bro you dedicated as hell so busy still replying hats off

[@elkaliban]

To think that I’m always going to the city and never thought the offic was there. Great vid

[@armankhondker]

haha yea it’s in a really nice spot, thanks man :)

[@matteocasadei1944]

Great video man!

[@armankhondker]

thank you Matteo, wishing you the best :)

[@manodeyvin]

I missed soccer and the corola in your video :(

[@armankhondker]

corolla always missed, reaction coming soon 👀

[@manodeyvin]

​@@armankhondker of course!!! 🤩🤩

[@jfjdcentofo]

Nice vid :) I'll for sure apply to work at tiktok when I look for work

[@armankhondker]

feel free to reach out if you need a referral, thank you and best of luck :)

[@ashtontruman5794]

dope video man!

[@armankhondker]

thank you ♥

[@KevySonhaha]

my favorite youtuber!!! great content as always

[@armankhondker]

my man, thank you 🙏🏽 ♥

[@kenle5472]

Really enjoy your content!!! Could you make a video about your journey to become a software developer?

[@armankhondker]

yes I am planning on making this shortly! thank you man ♥️

[@jaymaimer]

Awesome 👌 loved every bit 😊😊

[@armankhondker]

appreciate you ♥️

[@abderraouf13]

keep going king

[@armankhondker]

♥️

[@jefor4542]

Hi Arman! I’m gonna start studying CS at college in September, hoping to be in your position one day! Your videos are truly inspiring me to work hard in order to achieve my dreams! Thank you so much and greetings from Italy!❤️

[@barewr828]

DAJEEEEE VAI JEFOR

[@armankhondker]

you definitely will be Jefor, bright future ahead wishing you all the best ♥️

[@jefor4542]

@@barewr828 E ANNAMOOO

[@jokeruiner4481]

What is CS?

[@armankhondker]

@@jokeruiner4481 stands for computer science

[@markghattas58]

Great Video! As an undergrad and software engineer intern, it's awesome to see what (hopefully) my future career will look like.

[@armankhondker]

yes you have a bright future ahead of you, you picked the best field, wishing you the best :)

[@ThatsMyKeeper]

Bot

[@syedalishah7595]

Amazing keep it up

[@armankhondker]

thank you :)

[@shohardojaman]

Love it make more video bro❤❤

[@armankhondker]

thank you man :), more is coming soon

[@tusharyadav3917]

Amazing video man , please make a video , how to get job in good mnc's like tiktok and good luck for your youtube journey

[@armankhondker]

I will be making one of these soon, thank you so much ♥️

[@oskarbringle440]

Another great video. Just started my internship last Monday and starting to understand more of how the SWE lifestyle is. You inspire me to wanna work at a big tech company, love it

[@armankhondker]

i'm so genuinely happy to hear this, you can 100% do it, best of luck :)

[@keynertyc]

Great video, congrats bro!, Greetings from a Peruvian Software Engineer!

[@armankhondker]

Peru that’s awesome man, thank you :)

[@decoyminoy]

Great video! How do you go about writing docs for your design as you mentioned in the video? Is it a specific thing that the company has you do so that others can understand your design better or is it for yourself to bring yourself up to speed after not looking at the code for a while.

[@armankhondker]

writing design docs is all about gathering clear requirements from the product side and then using your domain knowledge of your team's code to break down with a solution. It is an iterative process and you have reviews with all relevant stakeholders to make sure nothing is missed. hope this helps, best of luck man :)

[@tiffanycurtis4794]

Loved the shower part 🤣🤭

[@armankhondker]

😭

[@mastercode7851]

it's a 5-minute walk to the office: arrives after 15 minutes lol

[@armankhondker]

lmao I had to stop to film these clips brother

[@mastercode7851]

@@armankhondker yes i know also nyc is very crowded

[@kwabenantwifrank]

Bro i will surely meet you one day much love from Ghana

[@armankhondker]

thank you so much, hail Ghana ♥️

[@matheusnico1as]

2:50 just a tip looking for your wholesomeness Stop working at lunch time and just lunch away from the computer, this is not healthy, sometimes you just need to separate some activities. Great video!

[@armankhondker]

this is honestly great advice that I need to take. sometimes I priortize work a bit too much, but I agree this isn't a healthy habit at all. appreciate you keeping me in check ♥

[@crjacinro]

Cool video! Have you been to the Singapore office? Hope to see a vid there too!

[@armankhondker]

not yet but I want to visit our international offices, Singapore is high on the list :)

[@lbdtm1]

very productive day

[@armankhondker]

yea it's hard not being in my usual setting, but I made the most of it

[@GaniyuTheGreat]

These videos make me wanna work at TikTok 😅 awesome content bro

[@armankhondker]

haha that's the goal, promote the company then get a promotion 😂

[@diyaghosh5104]

​@@armankhondker🤣🤣🤣

[@Phuuuu]

Loving this content, got my SE interview for tiktok coming up 😁. Any Advice?

[@armankhondker]

I would definitely keep grinding leetcode questions and brush up on system design depending on the level you're doing for. also do plenty of mock interviews to practice your communication, wishing you the best :)

[@aviraldixit1011]

Please make a video on how you crack the TikTok and I love your videos man

[@armankhondker]

I plan on making this video, thank you so much :)

[@mohac___]

Cool day in the life video! And by the way, can you just switch between offices as you wish? Or do you have to be at certain places at certain times?

[@armankhondker]

you can work from any office you like, and we have access to every office location :), thank you sm

[@cristianyepez1507]

I loved your video! I am studying CS currently and I am showing interest in database programming! It is possible to connect through Linkedin? Keep posting videos!

[@armankhondker]

yes absolutely feel free to message me, wish you the best :)

[@hosseinkouhzad6646]

awsome

[@armankhondker]

♥️

[@Youtuber_YusukeFromGermany]

Once thing I have learned that nowadays you only need a reliable laptop to make your money. Nothing more. You can work how and where you want and have everything with you. What a great time to be alive

[@armankhondker]

completed agreed, its such an amazing time to be alive :)

[@ab76254]

Looks like a dream! I started as a full time backend engineer last month in Southern Ontario (not Toronto), and really looking forward to all the possibilities this career path has to offer! Great video, hope to get a job in NYC or California in a few years

[@armankhondker]

that's awesome man congratulations, I can see a bright future for yourself, you definitely can with a bit of interview prep, best of luck :)

[@TheShanshami]

This is tuff my boy! I have a question, did you have work experience for your first internship or not?

[@armankhondker]

no I didn't have any experience prior to my internships! thank you man ♥

[@TheShanshami]

@@armankhondker so on your resume applying for internships, you didn't mention any work experience on any projects you did?

[@armankhondker]

​@@TheShanshami For my first internship my resume mainly consisted of personal projects, coursework, and the relevant skills I had at the time. I also did an externship which I put under a small experience section with some non-tech related work. hope this helps!

[@PrathameshMawlankar]

Its so cool that every time when you make a day in the life of a TikTok software engineer you are at a different TikTok office location. Which location is next haha

[@armankhondker]

I have my sights on our LA office next 👀, thank you man :)

[@sunnysingha1154]

Wnt more contents like this bro ❤️🇮🇳..keep it up

[@armankhondker]

more is coming, thank you :)

[@sunnysingha1154]

@@armankhondker eagerly waiting ❤️

[@raza2198]

Thanks for the video, love your work appreciate the help your providing! I’m currently a CS major in my junior year, and haven’t had a single internship listed on my resume. What projects and skills do you think I should work on to put on my resume to land an interview? And would it be possible to get a referral from you?

[@armankhondker]

feel free to message me on LinkedIn, I’ll take a look at your resume and give you a referral :)

[@raza2198]

@@armankhondker Tysm!

[@user-rk8tq1hl1x]

Hey I’m going to study computer science myself beginning this October, can you tell us how you got that job? The office looks awesome, this is great content. Greetings from Germany!✌️

[@armankhondker]

best of luck man, you are in the best industry, yea I plan on making a video on exactly this! appreciate you :)

[@sourovchandra2061]

❤❤

[@armankhondker]

💙

[@Melooo910]

Wait a minute the lobby looks so familiar to me (4.36). Isn't that the one from the Suits series or do all loby in new york look the same 😂😂

[@armankhondker]

yea I think everything in NY just looks the same, I couldn’t confirm since I don’t watch TV lmao

[@KahnJi]

❤

[@armankhondker]

♥️

[@mustafarehman13]

Have you got any tips for those who didn't study CS on how to code from scratch? Currently a burnt out med student and want to branch out and see if coding is for me.

[@armankhondker]

absolutely, I plan on making a video on this. to start, I would watch MIT/Harvard intro to CS courses. If you enjoy those, then you are well on your way :)

[@mattstyles4283]

If you’re in the UK (or willing to move) you should look into 1 year Masters courses for CS conversion. I did mine at Uni of Birmingham and now 2 years in as a software engineer on a bot control system :)

[@uma03031982]

But please make some long day in the life videos😊😊

[@armankhondker]

I definitely plan on this! stay tuned for the next one, will be a bit longer

[@asianstud7]

5 min walk to the office? Doesnt get any better than that.

[@armankhondker]

yea it was so nice ngl, would go most days since it’s that close

[@asianstud7]

@@armankhondker LOL. Id go in every day just to make the bosses take notice.

[@franzo13579]

Love your videos . Hate your employer. Still, thanks for the effort you put into your work and these videos 👍

[@armankhondker]

yea no hard feelings at all completely understandable haha, and thank you so much :)

[@willdazns]

Did you go to nyc office for actual business or just to visit? Wondering if we can just visit and get the trip sponsed haha😂

[@armankhondker]

yea I had an actual business trip planned for NYC, haha na you need to have legit reason and confirm with your manager

[@krzysztof4802]

It's good that you like this job, but I would literally step under a bus if I had to live in a treadmill like this. No matter what money. I chose the option of starting my own business and it turned out to be the best choice possible. A lot of free time, good money and less stress and responsibility.

[@DiegoTorres-zk2so]

so we're not gonna talk about how he almost missed his toothbrush with the paste

[@armankhondker]

we don't talk about that haha

[@fadhilkiima30]

Do you guys use UML to design your systems. Asking from the Congo

[@armankhondker]

it's hilarious that you ask this because I literally just finished making a uml diagram for a project's tech design. yes we do, lucidchart :)

[@joeyjaehyeokkim5064]

The office seems so empty! Must be nice to be able to do work in silence o.o

[@armankhondker]

yea the offices usually aren't too packed, more free food for me :)

[@Gegagrega]

Hi, I am about to graduate and my first job will begin in a couple weeks. Do you or anybody in the comment section have any tips on transitioning from college to work life? I already got some internship experience but I am still kinda nervous to leave college for ever. Best regards

[@armankhondker]

I would say the transition is what you make of it, work life will be much easier than college. You will have more free time and generally free on the weekends. I would say just make sure to stay in touch with all of your college friends and don't lose those connections.

[@Gegagrega]

@@armankhondker Thank you! That is solid advice.

[@baristoprak]

Hey bro I want to ask you about the macbook size, I'm currently a software engineer student I'm gonna buy a mac but I can not decide whether the 16" or the 14" mac pro. I have an external monitor at home but I work on the campus quite a lot time so is it better to have a bigger display at outside with the 16" or is it too big what is your opinion? Weight is not the problem for me but is the 14" provides enough working space or should i go for the 16". Thank you a lot awesome video btw

[@armankhondker]

Both of my macbook pros are 2021 14" m1 macbook pros. I got my personal one at 14" since it was significantly cheaper than a 16" and my work one only the 14" was available when I onboarded. Initally, I was sad I couldn't get the 16" since I wanted the maximum possible screen size, but the portability has been super nice while traveling and going to coffee shops. I would say if you are always going to be using your laptop at home and price isn't an issue go with a 16", or else I would save some money and get the 14".

[@baristoprak]

@@armankhondker I like to use my laptop at coffee shops and since I go to the university almost daily i will be on the go. My question is do you feel like it's enough to get some job done at the 14" or you feel like you definitely need the 16" if you want to work without a monitor. Do you feel like the 14" is too small or 16" is too big etc. Thank you for your response and attention :)

[@armankhondker]

@@baristoprak No I believe 14 inch is definitely big enough! I would personally go with 14 inch after considering everything. You can't go wrong with either man. 16 inch display is more of a nice to have feature, not needed at all

[@baristoprak]

@@armankhondker Thank you a lot! You've cleared my mind really. Waiting for your next videos, subbed

[@jakefoster9859]

This is the life I want I high school going to be a junior and looking at software engineering as my main career Any tips on how to learn coding?

[@armankhondker]

I would watch MIT/Harvard intro to CS courses on youtube, start to learn a coding language of your choice in depth, and then start practicing leetcode problems. you'll be ahead of 95% of your college classmates, best of luck man :)

[@jakefoster9859]

@@armankhondker thanks

[@uma03031982]

Plz make a video on software engineer (how to become)

[@armankhondker]

I plan on making this after two more videos. It will be really detailed and hopefully answer all of your questions, wishing you the best :)

[@ReallyDru]

Bruh amazon need to step their office game up mannn

[@armankhondker]

lmao yea when I visited Amazon offices, it felt like mega corporate overlords built them

[@starzvishnu]

Hi Arman, Do we need DSA or the development skills are enough to crack interview in TikTok. Kindly share your experience!

[@armankhondker]

yea you definitely need to practice leetcode and study system design, but those resources are super well-documented online, best of luck :)

[@owenbowler3022]

Would you recommend college or course type coding/tech programs going into coding? Like do you think job wise I could still secure a solid coding job off no college?

[@armankhondker]

yes there are plenty of my coworkers/people in my network who have gotten jobs without going to college for cs or even at all. this field is more of a meritocracy and based on your actual skillset/what you can produce. you just got to put in the work, wishing you the best :)

[@owenbowler3022]

@@armankhondkerthank you so much, love your content and keep up the work aswell!

[@armankhondker]

@@owenbowler3022 thank you ♥

[@mikesquires4727]

realistic day in the life, I was actually just about to apply to tik tok, would I be able to get a referral code?

[@armankhondker]

yea I try to keep all my videos as realistic as possible while still engaging, and yes of course man feel free to message me on linkedin!

[@huaweihonor7714]

Do you have too much Scrum meetings? What do you think about them, are they helpfull or take lot of time ?

[@armankhondker]

not too much actually, my team only has it twice per week, I think it's helpful to hear general status updates from other team members, we try to keep our updates to less than 2 minutes per person.

[@huaweihonor7714]

@@armankhondker nice thanks for sharing. Twice a week sounds better than every morning. Do you use some tracking/management tool, Jira for example ?

[@pessie83]

@@armankhondker But what does the term 'Scrum meeting' mean?

[@tahamohamady-du6vq]

موفق باشی پسر

[@armankhondker]

ty ♥

[@chan90s]

Hey just found out your channel. I have 6 years of experience as a SDE and PM. Looking for PM roles particularly in the shops team. Have a similar experience in the past. I'd love to connect with you

[@armankhondker]

yea dm me on linkedin

[@HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA]

those pair coding meetings look a bit blackmirror ngl

[@armankhondker]

haha I see what you mean

[@abdisomali369]

I fear for my eyes from the computer light cuz software engineer work on computer all the time and also i have epilepsy,should I start this major?

[@armankhondker]

yea I thought this too, but I don't really think this is an issue, worst case your eye sight gets a little worse over the years and you just need to get glasses. I'd be more worried about constantly sitting and try to alleviate this via standing desks/ergonomic desk setups.

[@abdisomali369]

@@armankhondker kudos for your great reply.

[@vartan_babayan_4388]

hey! I wonder how can I reach you out for referral?

[@armankhondker]

feel free to message me on linkedin! best of luck

[@mintlata]

Do you need to get permission to record inside the building, or you can just do it without asking a manager/staff?

[@armankhondker]

yes you have to get permission and follow guidelines

[@thesmartguyy]

The most impressive part is you setting up the camera while walking lol Do you have a degree?

[@armankhondker]

yea i get that one a lot lmao, yea i studied ece in college

[@sergiodurval715]

what web framework do you use for golang ?

[@armankhondker]

I use an open source http framework called kiteX built by TikTok, hope this helps :)

[@iGamerTags]

love how calming ur videos are , also can i get a referral hehe

[@armankhondker]

of course man, reach out to me on linkedin, thank you :)

[@iGamerTags]

@@armankhondker i dont have a linkdin its for way too professional people i am a med student no time for social media , also i was just kidding i dont even use tiktok my girl does. just found ur channel and loved what u were doing, impressed for sure.

[@armankhondker]

@@iGamerTags feel free to send me a message on instagram/twitter then!

[@neikosamahontwitch]

I know you don't know who I am but I would LOVE to have a conversation with you around the whole "tiktok" thing and kind of how to exploit the algorithm.

[@armankhondker]

absolutely man, feel free to reach on on linkedin :)

[@kartikeofficial1778]

Hi love your videos but I have a query. I am from India and want to work with TikTok NYC, How could I possibly approach ?

[@armankhondker]

yes you absolutely can, you just need to pass our interviews and then you will mostly be able to select your office location depending on your role. best of luck man :)

[@kartikeofficial1778]

Great! Can you suggest me which area should I focus on. I want to work as software developer.

[@mantakamahir]

Just being curious do you have Bangladeshi ancestry because you have last name Khondoker Some of my friend have that surename 🤓

[@armankhondker]

I have some bengali roots yes :)

[@SonDzokuo]

This is so depressing, every video of "Day in a life" after COVID is with empty buildings and no people, so sad :(

[@armankhondker]

yea it's not as packed, but there definitely are still lots of people I just chose to include any of them in the video

[@setahikaru.]

What did you major in college, or are you self taught?

[@armankhondker]

I studied electrical and computer engineering in college, but I definitely did my fair share of self learning on the side as well. hope that helps :)

[@uma03031982]

Can you plz tell me how can i be a software engineer

[@Noozis]

bro, what programming languages ​​do you know?

[@armankhondker]

most of the common languages I have experience with, nowadays I mainly work with Go

[@vazsa7387]

hello arman, loved your video!! i'm a nodejs backend developer with 4 years of working experience and i'm currently living in iran, do you think it's possible that i can get a referral from you?

[@armankhondker]

absolutely message me on linkedin, best of luck :)

[@enthusiastcreative]

Where are you from ? your name is like you are from bangladesh . Love your content i wish if i could get your assistant to get up to your level . Love from bangladesh

[@armankhondker]

I was born in u.s., appreciate the love 🇧🇩

[@naveenmunasinghe]

Hi , As a software engineer, do we need a degree to work in an company ? 😊

[@armankhondker]

absolutely not, field is a meritocracy, it’s about what you can deliver, I know plenty of software engineers who went to bootcamp or come from non traditional backgrounds :)