Lessons from a Top 3% Engineer: From Colombia to working in Big Tech + Scale Ups in Spain

Choose Difficulty to Eliminate Competition

“If it’s difficult, fewer people do it - and you’ll have less competition.”

Óscar chose Computer Science precisely because it was one of the hardest STEM careers in Colombia.

And he made a point to always aim for complexity in work - from picking system-critical projects to choosing global clients like Royal Caribbean and Scotiabank instead of local ones.

🇨🇴 From Colombia to Europe: The Hard Way

Óscar’s early years in Colombia were full of ambition… and frustration. He tried entrepreneurship first, but the local ecosystem made it extremely difficult. His advice?

“If you want to suffer, suffer big. If you're going to try to be the next Elon, go to Silicon Valley - not Bogotá.”

He eventually made the leap to Spain, joined a top consultancy, and built experience with globally recognised brands — a key to attracting Amazon's attention.

📈 How He Got into Amazon: Visibility + Mental Strength

Amazon contacted him via LinkedIn in 2018. He started the job in Madrid 7 months later, after 6+ rounds of intense interviews and a slow relocation process.

What made the difference?

• Personal branding: Already having global brands on his CV
• Endurance: A months-long interview funnel
• Mental health: He even hired a career coach to handle interview stress
• Mindset: Continuous growth - not just passing the interview, but levelling up once inside

“In FAANG, they expect you to grow continuously. If you don’t level up, you’re out.”

⚡ Life at Amazon vs Glovo: Intensity With (or Without) Soul

At Amazon, he was pushed to be exceptional - fast, high-quality, customer-obsessed.

At Glovo, he found a startup with the same ambition but a more vibrant culture.

“Glovo wanted to be a talent powerhouse. They hired the best engineers from Amazon, Microsoft, Google… and they paid more.”

But with new ownership, came cutbacks and office closures - a reminder that no Tech company is immune to market cycles.

🧠 Hiring in Tech: The Broken System

Óscar’s reflections on the current tech job market hit hard:

• Interview bar ≠ Job reality: “You kill a monster in the interview just to fill spreadsheets in the job.”
• Top 1% myth: “If you only hire 1%, you better be ready to retain the 1% - and pay them properly.”

He challenges companies to rethink what they value in candidates - and to invest more in spotting real potential over résumé filters.

🌍 Spain, Switzerland, or Remote?

Though many dream of relocating to Switzerland, Óscar gives a warning:

“The Swiss market is oversaturated. Even the top engineers are struggling.”

His view?

• 🇪🇸 Spain offers quality of life, great food, and community - but low pay.
• 🇬🇧 UK and 🇺🇸 US remote roles offer the best balance for top talent based in Europe.
• 💻 Remote-first is the future - but paid at global market rates, not local.

🤝 Why He Joined Our Community

After reaching senior level, Óscar joined our community for one reason:

“When you're technical, you obsess over stack. But you miss the industry - how to negotiate, how to build a career, how to play the long game.”

Inside our community, he’s mentoring others, networking, and working on his next leap — not just to a better-paying job, but to a role where he can lead, mentor, and multiply his impact.

Most recently, this was Oscar's public opinion about our programme:

It's been an absolute pleasure having him in our community.