The best time to be aware of the socioeconomic class differences in tech was 20 years ago, the second best time is now. Also some folks just find it difficult to study leetcode problems purely to "prove" themselves, for various psychological reasons. If you can, it helps a lot, as does graduating from top universities with a direct pipeline into these companies. Social signalling is much more valuable nowadays than capabilities.
Sometimes the grass really is greener - company culture can be actually incredibly toxic and compensation very below market, but when surrounded by people who normalize it most folks will project that experience out to the rest.
Sometimes the grass really is greener - company culture can be actually incredibly toxic and compensation very below market, but when surrounded by people who normalize it most folks will project that experience out to the rest.