Is Grinding LeetCode Worth It?
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses whether beginners should practice LeetCode for their first job in software development. It suggests that while LeetCode is beneficial for interviews at big tech firms like Google and Microsoft, it's less relevant for roles in other industries. The speaker, with over 20 years of experience, has never encountered LeetCode in non-tech interviews. They argue that LeetCode problems may become obsolete due to AI's ability to solve them, predicting a shift towards more collaborative coding interviews. The advice is to research a company's interview process and prepare accordingly, focusing on portfolio projects and coding principles for non-tech interviews.
Takeaways
- 🔍 The necessity of grinding LeetCode problems depends on the type of company you're targeting for your first job.
- 💼 If aiming for big tech firms like Microsoft, Google, or Meta, LeetCode practice is highly recommended due to their focus on data structures and algorithms.
- 🏢 For businesses outside of big tech, such as in healthcare, finance, or insurance, LeetCode may not be as crucial as these companies prioritize practical business logic over algorithmic challenges.
- 🛠️ Practical experience and understanding of data structures and algorithms are beneficial for any developer, regardless of the company type.
- 📚 LeetCode can be a good resource for learning and practicing, but it should not be the sole focus if it doesn't align with job requirements.
- 🤖 The rise of AI and its ability to solve LeetCode problems might diminish the value of these problems in interviews, as they can be easily memorized or templated.
- 🔮 The future of coding interviews may shift towards more whiteboard-style and pair programming exercises to better assess a candidate's true abilities in a collaborative setting.
- 🔍 It's important to research a company's interview process to understand what to expect and prepare accordingly, including potential LeetCode problems.
- 🗣️ Communication skills and the ability to discuss coding principles and portfolio projects are essential for interviews, especially in non-big tech companies.
- 👩💻 Tailoring your preparation to the specific requirements of the company you're interviewing with can increase your chances of success in the hiring process.
Q & A
Is grinding LeetCode necessary for a beginner developer to get their first job?
-It depends on the type of company you're targeting. If it's a big tech firm like Microsoft, Google, or Meta, grinding LeetCode is recommended as they often include data structures and algorithms problems in their interviews.
What is the 'secret handshake' to get into big tech companies mentioned in the script?
-The 'secret handshake' refers to the practice of grinding LeetCode problems, which is a common preparation method for interviews at big tech companies that focus on data structures and algorithms.
Why might companies outside of big tech not prioritize LeetCode problems during interviews?
-Companies in sectors like healthcare, finance, accounting, and insurance tend to have different types of problems and may not require candidates to implement their own data structures and algorithms. They often prefer practical skills and ready-made packages over custom implementations.
What is the speaker's opinion on the effectiveness of LeetCode problems in job interviews?
-The speaker believes LeetCode problems are not indicative of what developers do on the job, are more about memorization than true problem-solving, and can be easily solved by AI, making them less effective as interview questions.
How does the rise of AI affect the relevance of LeetCode problems in interviews?
-The rise of AI and the improvement of AI tools make LeetCode problems easier to solve, potentially reducing their value as a measure of a candidate's abilities since AI can provide solutions.
What alternative interview methods does the speaker predict will become more common due to AI?
-The speaker predicts that whiteboard-style interviews and pair programming exercises will become more common as they require interaction and can't be easily substituted by AI.
Why might take-home coding tests become less reliable in the future according to the script?
-Take-home coding tests may become less reliable because if the candidate is not supervised while coding, it's hard to determine if the solution was generated by the candidate or with the help of an AI tool.
What should a candidate do to prepare for a job interview at a company that might include LeetCode problems?
-A candidate should research the company's interview process, possibly through resources like Glassdoor and LinkedIn, and ask the recruiter about what to expect and prepare for during the interview.
What other skills and topics should a candidate focus on if they are interviewing for a non-LeetCode focused company?
-A candidate should focus on their portfolio projects, understanding coding principles like dependency injection and unit testing, and be prepared to discuss and justify the decisions made in their projects.
How can a candidate find out if a company includes LeetCode problems in their interview process?
-A candidate can find out by doing research on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn or by directly asking the recruiter about the interview process and what to prepare for.
Outlines
💻 Should Beginners Grind LeetCode for Job Interviews?
The video discusses whether beginners should practice LeetCode problems to prepare for their first job interview. It emphasizes that the necessity depends on the target company. For big tech firms like Microsoft, Google, and Meta, which are known for including data structures and algorithms in their interviews, practicing LeetCode is highly recommended. However, for businesses in sectors like healthcare, finance, accounting, and insurance, LeetCode problems are less relevant as these companies focus more on practical, business logic-related tasks. They typically use existing packages and libraries for complex operations rather than implementing their own data structures and algorithms. The video also touches on the rise of AI and its impact on coding interviews, suggesting that LeetCode problems may become more about memorization and less about true problem-solving. It critiques the use of LeetCode by big tech companies for not being indicative of job tasks, being memorization-based, and being easily solved by AI tools. The video concludes by advising job seekers to research a company's interview process, prepare for LeetCode if it's part of the process, and focus on portfolio projects and coding principles for non-LeetCode interviews.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡LeetCode
💡Data Structures and Algorithms
💡Grinding
💡Big Tech
💡Pragmatic
💡Business Logic
💡AI and Coding Problems
💡Take-Home Test
💡Whiteboard Interviews
💡Pair Programming
💡Portfolio Projects
Highlights
The necessity of grinding LeetCode depends on the type of company you're targeting for a job.
Big tech firms like Microsoft, Google, and Meta are known for including data structures and algorithms problems in interviews.
For big tech companies, LeetCode is considered a 'secret handshake' to get an interview.
Non-tech companies like those in healthcare, finance, and insurance may not prioritize LeetCode.
Practical experience with data manipulation and business logic is more valued in non-tech companies.
Implementing custom data structures and algorithms is often unnecessary in business applications.
LeetCode problems are becoming more about memorization due to the rise of AI and available solutions.
AI's ability to solve LeetCode problems questions their value in assessing a candidate's skills.
Interviews may evolve towards whiteboard-style and pair programming exercises to mitigate AI's impact.
Take-home tests may become less reliable as AI tools improve, potentially leading to their decline in interviews.
It's important to research a company's interview process to prepare effectively for interviews.
LeetCode can be beneficial for understanding data structures and algorithms, even if not used daily on the job.
If LeetCode problems are part of a company's interview process, it's advisable to prepare for them.
Focusing on portfolio projects and the ability to discuss coding principles is crucial for non-LeetCode interviews.
It's acceptable to ask recruiters about the interview process and what to expect.
The importance of being able to speak intelligently about coding principles and justify decisions in your work.
The conclusion emphasizes the value of being prepared for various interview styles and the evolving role of AI.
Transcripts
should I grind leak code as a beginner
developer to get my first job and the
answer is it depends and a lot of people
don't realize this because if you go out
to social media sites like Reddit you'll
see people on there talking about how
they've grinded hundreds of hours of Le
code problems in preparation for that
first interview so let's talk about the
reality of the field now if you're
targeting one of the big Tech firms
Microsoft Google meta those companies
are rather famous for putting data
structures and algorithms problems into
the interviews and if you're going for
one of those companies then yes
absolutely you should grind leak code
because that's kind of the secret
handshake to get into those companies
but on the other side you have somebody
like me and I've got over 20 years of
experience in the field but I've always
focused on Developer jobs for businesses
that weren't big Tech so we're talking
Healthcare we're talking Finance we're
talking accounting and insurance those
companies have different types of
problems and different types of people
working for them and those companies
typically don't care about lead code I
have never been asked a leak code
problem interviewing for one of those
types of companies and I've never seen
companies that really ask for that and
the reason is those companies are a
little more pragmatic they understand
that their applications are mostly about
loading data from some kind of data
source doing some manipulation in
business logic and then storing it back
and when you're working in that type of
software you're not implementing your
own data structures and algorithms and
if you need something complicated
there's usually a package or something
that you can just go out and grab that
will do that work for you if you're
implementing those things yourself
you're probably over complicating things
and doing something you shouldn't be
doing so interviewing leak code
you want to go to Fang do it grind it
you want to become a better developer
and really understand data structures
and algorithms and how those data
structures work yes go play with Le code
if you enjoy it but don't feel like you
have to do it because it's not something
that you really use on the job and now
of course we have the rise of AI and
these leak code problems are really easy
for the llms to solve because there's so
many Solutions out there for them to
pull in as templates so these leak code
problems are going to become more like
memorization they already kind of are
and that's why I don't think they're
really good questions it's something
I've always kind of poo pooed at the big
tech companies about that they use these
Le code problems because number one like
I said they're not indicative of what
you do on the job number two their
memorization and regurgitation they're
not really true thinking and problem
solving that you would want to get out
of a developer and three the llms are
really good at it so why would you ever
ask somebody to write their own when you
could ask the AI just to do it for you
and that day is coming sooner rather
than later I also want to take a step
aside Beyond leak code and talk about
these coding problems in interviews
because I also think that AI is going to
mean the death of the take-home test
because if you're sending somebody a
take-home test and you're not watching
them write the code and the AI tools
keep getting better you're not going to
know if the person actually knows what
they're doing or if they just had the AI
tool do it for them so something I
expect to see interviewing evolving to
is more whiteboard style interviews and
more para programming exercises where
you're going to be required to have a
conversation and build code with another
human being because that's going to be
the only way they can really be sure in
this AI future so that kind of wraps up
my thoughts about leak code if you like
it do it if you're going to Big Tech do
it you should always do your research
about a company in their interview
process because you shouldn't be
surprised if you get in there and they
ask you a leite code problem you can go
to glass store and Linkedin and do your
own research and you can find out what
their interview process is like and if
you can't find it you can absolutely ask
the recruiter it's perfectly fine to say
hey I'm coming in for an interview what
should I expect what should I prepare
for because they'll give you that
information if you ask for it and if
leak codee problems are on those list
then by all means grind it and if
they're not you should be focusing on
your portfolio projects and your ability
to speak
intelligently about coding principles
like dependency injection and unit
testing and be prepared to talk about
your portfolio pieces and justify the
decisions you made because that is the
stuff that's going to get you hired in a
non-leak code interview happy coding
[Music]
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