--- title: "When Big Tech Says No | Metaintro" canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/when-big-tech-says-no" language: "en" author: "bradlarson" published: "2026-01-08T11:30:00.000Z" modified: "2026-10-02T19:14:20.418Z" --- [Back to Blog](/blog) [Information](/blog/tag/information)[Technology](/blog/tag/technology)[AI](/blog/tag/ai)[Layoffs](/blog/tag/layoffs) # When Big Tech Says No Software engineer Kanish Shah applied to hundreds of internships and got rejected by Google, Apple, and Meta. His unconventional path to Walmart proved Big Tech isn't the only route to a six-figure career in technology. [![Brad Larson](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/7bdeb1a3-e576-43bc-b191-7dbbf2908056_1766029465094.png)Brad Larson @followbl](/blog/author/bradlarson) [January 8, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/01)7 min read ![When Big Tech Says No](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/office-72.png) [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no&title=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no&title=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No)[mailto:?subject=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](mailto:?subject=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no) ## When Big Tech Says No The dream looked simple on paper. Get a computer science degree from a prestigious university, land at [Google](https://www.google.com/), [Apple](https://www.apple.com/), [Meta](https://www.meta.com/en-gb/about/?srsltid=AfmBOoqxAV7e4bgTalktufYf5bxa2oLwzxtoQKHc7QH6fwXV36uGgTGD), or [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com/), and coast on that brand name for the rest of your career. For Kanish Shah, a 26-year-old software engineer who moved from India to pursue his master's at the [University of Southern California](https://www.usc.edu/), that dream died quickly. Shah applied to hundreds of internships during his program and received fewer than 15 callbacks. The tech giants he'd set his sights on rejected him one by one. But what seemed like a career setback turned into an unexpected lesson about where real opportunities exist in technology today. ## The Retail Giant Building a Tech Empire While Shah was getting rejection emails from Silicon Valley, something remarkable was happening in Bentonville, Arkansas. [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/) was quietly transforming itself from a retail dinosaur into an artificial intelligence powerhouse. The company that built its empire on everyday low prices was now building proprietary AI platforms, developing its own large language models, and competing directly with [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/) on technology innovation. Shah landed an internship at Walmart in May 2022 without a referral, going through online assessments and technical interviews. He treated the summer program like an extended job interview, asking for weekly feedback and finding mentors. The strategy worked. Walmart offered him a full-time software engineering role, which he started in June 2023. ## Why Traditional Retail Became a Tech Destination The timing couldn't have been better. When Shah joined Walmart full-time, the company was accelerating its AI investments at a pace that surprised industry analysts. Walmart developed Wallaby, a series of retail-specific large language models trained on decades of company data. The retailer launched Sparky, a generative AI shopping assistant that competes directly with Amazon's Rufus chatbot. Behind the scenes, Walmart built an entire ecosystem of AI agents with names like Marty for suppliers and Wibey for developers. According to [Walmart's corporate announcements](https://corporate.walmart.com/), the company's fiscal year 2025 revenue hit $681 billion with approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. But the real story isn't just size. Walmart now operates more than 200 internal AI agents and has created what executives call "agentic commerce," where AI systems independently handle tasks from inventory management to customer support. The company's chief technology officer, Suresh Kumar, told analysts this transformation represents just the beginning. Walmart partnered with [OpenAI](https://www.openai.com/) in October 2025 to enable shopping through [ChatGPT](https://chat.openai.com/) using instant checkout. The retailer's AI tools helped cut customer care resolution times by up to 40 percent and reduced fashion production timelines by 18 weeks. ## The Compensation Reality Beyond Silicon Valley Shah's compensation package sits comfortably in six figures, putting him on par with many engineers at traditional tech companies. According to salary data from [Levels.fyi](https://www.levels.fyi/companies/walmart/salaries/software-engineer), software engineers at Walmart earn between $106,000 and $482,000 depending on level, with median total compensation around $205,000. Entry-level engineers start at roughly $116,000 in total compensation, while senior positions can exceed $323,000 annually when factoring in base salary, stock compensation, and bonuses. Location matters significantly. Engineers at Walmart's Sunnyvale, California office where Shah works earn higher compensation than those in Arkansas, with California software engineers averaging $126,252 according to [Indeed](https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Walmart/salaries/Software-Engineer/California). The Bay Area offices also offer unlimited paid time off, a perk that rivals benefits at traditional tech companies. ## What Working at Walmart Actually Looks Like Shah works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days with time for family and friends on weekends. His office in [Sunnyvale](https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/06/16/walmart-ceo-on-future-of-remote-work-and-office-space) requires two days per week in person, though policies vary by team. The campus features boxing and pilates classes, basketball courts, a large gym, and subsidized cafeteria options including Asian, Indian, Italian, and Mexican cuisine. Shah typically opts for the make-your-own salad bowl, and while meals aren't free, drinks like fountain beverages, tea, and coffee are complimentary. The work culture emphasis on mentorship and growth appealed to Shah more than the prestige of a Big Tech logo. He found engineering teams working on genuinely challenging problems at massive scale. Walmart processes over 270 million customer visits weekly across more than 10,750 stores globally. The company's supply chain involves 100,000-plus suppliers, 150 distribution centers, and one of the world's largest private truck fleets. Building AI systems that work at that scale requires solving technical problems just as complex as anything at Google or Meta. ## The Broader Job Market Shift Shah's experience reflects a larger trend in the technology employment landscape. Traditional tech companies conducted massive layoffs throughout 2024 and 2025, affecting giants like [Amazon](https://www.businessinsider.com/laid-off-amazon-employees-share-what-happened-tech-job-market-2025-11), [Microsoft](https://www.businessinsider.com/former-microsoft-worker-job-hunt-money-struggles-2025-9), and even [Walmart](https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-cutting-roles-remove-layers-complexity-2025-5). Industry analysts note that job security no longer correlates strongly with working at Big Tech versus other sectors. Meanwhile, retail companies are aggressively hiring engineers. Industry surveys show that 78 percent of organizations used AI in at least one business function in 2024, up from 55 percent in 2023. Retail leaders predict AI will have the greatest impact on customer intelligence, inventory management, and customer service over the next two years. Companies like [Target](https://www.target.com/) are similarly investing billions in AI infrastructure and competing for the same engineering talent that previously only considered Silicon Valley. Scot Wingo, CEO of ReFiBuy, an AI startup focused on retail frameworks, told [Retail Brew](https://www.retailbrew.com/) that Walmart's early AI commitment gives it a first-mover advantage. After years of playing catch-up in e-commerce, Walmart found its footing and is now charting its own course rather than just following Amazon's playbook. ## The Practical Advice for Job Seekers Shah's message to other engineers is straightforward but runs counter to conventional wisdom. Aiming for Big Tech remains completely valid, but rejection shouldn't feel catastrophic. High-impact work exists across industries, including startups and emerging tech companies at traditional businesses. The tech industry recalibrated significantly over the past few years. Layoffs affected companies of all sizes, not just struggling startups. What provides real security isn't a company logo but continuously building relevant skills, staying adaptable, and making meaningful impact in your role. For engineers currently navigating the job market, Shah recommends not limiting yourself to a narrow set of companies. Apply to hundreds of positions if necessary, but also look beyond the obvious names. Walmart hired [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/) reports from engineers who came from elite backgrounds but couldn't crack Big Tech. Many discovered that faster career advancement, better work-life balance, and comparable compensation existed outside Silicon Valley. Shah also noted that his career hasn't suffered from working outside traditional tech. If anything, being part of a company's transformation from retail giant to AI powerhouse offers opportunities to shape technology strategy rather than just execute someone else's vision. At a traditional Big Tech company, early-career engineers often work on narrow slices of massive systems. At Walmart, Shah found himself contributing to projects with direct business impact from day one. ## Looking Forward in Tech Careers The conventional tech career path looks increasingly outdated. Companies like Walmart demonstrate that retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance sectors are building sophisticated technology organizations that rival traditional tech companies in scope and ambition. These companies often move faster than established tech giants, unburdened by legacy systems and entrenched bureaucracies. For job seekers, this creates both challenges and opportunities. The challenge is recognizing where genuine technical work happens beyond the obvious brands. The opportunity is finding roles with faster growth trajectories, less competition, and often better work-life balance than what Big Tech offers. Shah's story isn't about settling for second best. It's about recognizing that the technology industry has fundamentally changed. Innovation happens everywhere, and some of the most interesting problems exist in companies most people wouldn't think to apply to. The retail giant accepting your application might be building more cutting-edge AI than the social media company that rejected you. Ready to explore tech opportunities beyond the usual suspects? [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) helps you discover high-growth tech roles at companies transforming their industries, not just listing the same Big Tech positions everyone else applies to. ### Share this article [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no&title=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no&title=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No)[mailto:?subject=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no](mailto:?subject=When%20Big%20Tech%20Says%20No&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fwhen-big-tech-says-no) ![](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:800/q:30/plain/images/bridges/bridge-expand.1df895c6bd76d96f.png) For job seekers ## Ready to find a role that actually fits? Upload your résumé, start a Job Search Thread, and let Metaintro rank real openings against your experience — then guide you from search to offer. [Get Started Free](/signup)[Search matching jobs](/jobs/search) Match Compare live roles against your current evidence. Position Turn proof projects into role-specific applications. Improve Use market feedback to keep the skill plan current. [Return to navigation](#main-navigation)